Announcing the Contest Winners!

After a week of difficult, soul-rending thought -- and of banging my head against way too many walls -- I've finally picked the winners of the first ever Attic of Astounding Artifacts "Amuse The Doc" contest. (Catchy name, right?) So, without further ado...

The winner for the illustrated category is Chad Thorson. His untitled illustration did an excellent job of capturing the spirit of these great old toys, and pretty much depicts what I was like as a kid (if I were skinny, covered in freckles, and living in the 1950s).

The winner of the written category is Norbert Landsteiner, with his homage to My First Dictionary. I know that his entry is illustrated, but I decided the clever coolness lies in its text, qualifying it for this category. That said, I love the illustration, too.

I want to thank everyone who entered the contest. Your work was fantastic, and it all brought a smile to my face. Here are the rest of the entries. If any readers see something they like, I encourage them to speak up and show these artists and writers some support!

1. "Thunder Robot Doing A Silly Dance," by John Morgan
A lot of work obviously went into this entertaining animated gif. If only the real toy could bust a move like this!

2. "I Row Bot," by Eric Stettmeier
A clever pun anchors this cute depiction of the classic battery operated Jupiter Robot. Nice attention to the toy's details.

3. "Smoking Space Man," by Eric Stettmeier

There's a lot of personality and warmth in this portrait. The huggable robot!

4. Short Story: "Stamin And The Cranag," by Steven Baker

An action-packed science fiction yarn by one of the Attic's guest bloggers. It incorporates a slew of familiar toys -- all of which are from Down Under

Contest Is Over!

My many thanks to everyone who entered the contest. There were some truly imaginative, fun submissions, and I look forward to posting them all for the rest of you to admire.

What I'm not looking forward to is picking a winner. It's hard!

But that's no excuse. I need to man up and do my duty. So it's off to my Pondering Room, where I'll ponder until I can't ponder no more. And when the pondering's done, I'll announce the winner. Expect to know by Friday.

So hold tight, you scamps.

Win Stuff!

That's right, kids. It's time to win some fun prizes! For months now, I've been trying to entertain and educate you all on the glories of vintage space toys by writing about, and photographing, interesting robots and ray guns from my collection. Well, now it's time for you to entertain me!

~the contest~

Write a short story that uses one or more of the toys featured in this blog. 

I don't mean write about the toys. Rather, I want you to write something that makes these toys real and uses them as props or characters. Perhaps a story about a space hero who uses a Pyrotomic Disintegrator, or a Smoking Spaceman that saves a colony of alien farmers. I don't care -- use your imagination and see what you come up with. There's no length requirement or restriction. 

~or~

Create some visual art using representations of one or more of these toys. 

Again, use your imagination! Don't just create a portrait of the toy -- that's boring and probably won't win. This can be a comic, an illustration, a painting, a sculpture, a photo montage, a piece of animation -- anything!

~then~

EMAIL ME a copy of what you've written or a photo/scan/whatever of your visual masterpiece. 

I'll pick one winner from the written category and one winner from the visual category to each receive a grand prize. You're free to submit as many entries as you like, in either category -- or both! However, you can only win once.

Let me repeat: Entries should be EMAILED TO ME. Use the button on the right side of the blog -- it will take you to my profile page, which has an email link. 

~deadline~

All entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday, September 7 September 21. That should give you all enough time to blow my mind.

~the prize~

So what do you win? Glad you asked! You'll win at least a modern reproduction of a vintage robot, to be picked by me. You'll probably win some other stuff, but I'm still thinking about the prize pack. Besides, isn't it more fun to be surprised? I promise not to foist any of my random junk on you -- this isn't an excuse to clear out my clutter. 

Unless you ask me not to, all entries will be posted on the Attic of Astounding Artifacts -- at my discretion. You can feel free to get as R-rated as you like, but since this is a PG-13 blog, I reserve the right to not show the rest of the world your masterpiece. You can still win a prize, though -- good is good, right? 

So that's it. Get cracking! I'm looking forward to seeing what you all create.

Some legal fine print: 

All entries remain the property of their creators. The creators automatically grant permission for me to post their entries on my blog. However, if they tell me not to, I won't (easy, right?). All prizes are intended for adult collectors, and the Attic of Astounding Artifacts and its owner are in no way responsible for anything that might happen once you take possession of the prizes. (I know, I know -- they're just toys. But I've gotta say it.) The winner will be picked by me, Doc Atomic. My decisions remain final. There is no cost to enter, and shipping for the prizes will be paid by the Attic of Astounding artifacts. Contest is open to anyone, including friends and relatives of Doc Atomic.