OcTRAINber 2018: The Foreign Challenge is go!

[raised]

Update: We have decided to extend the deadline untill the end of Sunday November 4th. Hope this will be enough for all to finish your builds!

Edited October 29, 2018 by raised

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Ohhh yeah!

[raised]

Aaaand it's a wrap! Well, it's been a wrap already for like 7 days, but due to some business from our side we weren't able to post that message here ;) Anyways, thanks all for entering, I will follow up with a post on BMR very soon!

[sed6]

Hmm...for some reason my IRL entry wasn't counted among the 26 entries. I wonder why not?

[raised]

@sed6 I have send you a PM.

[sed6]

22 minutes ago, raised said:

@sed6 I have send you a PM.

Replied. Thanks!

[zephyr1934]

Oh man, that does not look like an easy job to pick winners from so many fantastic builds.

[pagicence]

Any news on the results?

[M_slug357]

@raised yeah, Where are the results?

[Hod Carrier]

I think they’re enjoying JUDGEvember too much. 

Actually, I wouldn’t like their job. No doubt the guys are having a tough time separating the entries. That said, a little update wouldn’t go amiss, even if just to reassure that everything is still going ahead.

[Glenn Holland]

Hey guys, we've all been really busy during November (holidays, personal lives, one of us started a new job, etc.). We're on the home stretch now. I extend my apologies that we haven't posted the results yet. Rest assured, they are coming, and we will be sending out prizes shortly thereafter.

And yes, it was a bit difficult, at least for me, to sort through these awesome builds. Excellent job everyone, it was definitely a good OcTRAINber.

[Hod Carrier]

@Glenn Holland Thanks for the update. News of the judging is eagerly awaited.

I have hesitated to say this so far because I don't want to appear disrespectful and I certainly don't want to be misinterpreted. I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that the time and effort that you guys put into running, administering and judging this contest, together with the generosity of the sponsors, is very greatly appreciated. We understand that this is a voluntary effort on your part and the time required has to be balanced with other commitments.

However, we also have lives and commitments outside of the hobby that need to be balanced. When you see the quality of the entries and appreciate how much time and effort has been invested in these models and how the entrants have prioritised OcTRAINber in order to meet the deadline, perhaps it isn't so much to hope that the timeframe for judging the entries could be a little tighter. In summary, we have prioritised OcTRAINber and we hope that you have too.

As I said above, I really don't want my words to be misinterpreted. I am a firm supporter of OcTRAINber and always look forward to it coming around for the challenge that it brings together with the outpouring of creativity that it generates. It is not my intention to be discouraging or to "bite the hand that feeds", but rather to warmly suggest how the contest might be improved.

Best regards.

[Glenn Holland]

1 hour ago, Hod Carrier said:

@Glenn Holland Thanks for the update. News of the judging is eagerly awaited.

I have hesitated to say this so far because I don't want to appear disrespectful and I certainly don't want to be misinterpreted. I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that the time and effort that you guys put into running, administering and judging this contest, together with the generosity of the sponsors, is very greatly appreciated. We understand that this is a voluntary effort on your part and the time required has to be balanced with other commitments.

However, we also have lives and commitments outside of the hobby that need to be balanced. When you see the quality of the entries and appreciate how much time and effort has been invested in these models and how the entrants have prioritised OcTRAINber in order to meet the deadline, perhaps it isn't so much to hope that the timeframe for judging the entries could be a little tighter. In summary, we have prioritised OcTRAINber and we hope that you have too.

As I said above, I really don't want my words to be misinterpreted. I am a firm supporter of OcTRAINber and always look forward to it coming around for the challenge that it brings together with the outpouring of creativity that it generates. It is not my intention to be discouraging or to "bite the hand that feeds", but rather to warmly suggest how the contest might be improved.

Best regards.

Absolutely no worries on my end. We all certainly wish we could have posted the results weeks ago. We were pretty quick last year, by comparison. 

Thanks for understanding our position. It’s obviously a labor of love and of course this is something we genuinely want to put together for you all, and we seriously love doing it. Just one of the ways BMR can move this hobby forward. 

As a side note, we should have the results posted within the next week. @raised is getting things wrapped up on his end, being the “main coordinator” if you will, and he’s also probably the busiest outside the hobby. 

I hope this delay isn’t sitting too badly with anyone. OcTRAINber is definitely something we would like to do every year and we don’t want to turn participants away. 

[raised]

^ What @Glenn Holland said. We are currently finishing up the results, hopefully we will be able to post them sometime this weekend! Thanks again for all the patience, I have to admit all the waiting doesn't deserve a beauty prize, as they say in the Netherlands...

[Glenn Holland]

Hi everyone, @raised has posted the results of this year’s competition. The final article is now available on the Brick Model Railroader website:

https://brickmodelrailroader.com/index.php/2018/12/09/octrainber-2018-the-results/

Thank you again to all of this years participants. We hope you enjoyed the challenge this year, and we’ll be thinking about new challenges for next year. 

Glenn

[Hod Carrier]

@Glenn Holland Thanks for drawing our attention to this.

Can that really be right...?

[Glenn Holland]

5 hours ago, Hod Carrier said:

@Glenn Holland Thanks for drawing our attention to this.

Can that really be right...?

Indeed, and thus I must say congratulations! The bus was surely a favorite of all four judges. Excellent work, and to the rest of the winners and participants!

[zephyr1934]

Congratulations to all who entered and especially to those who won. It was fascinating to see the progress from the comfort of my armchair.

[Hod Carrier]

I just want to add my thanks for the hard work put in by @raised, @Cale, @HoMa and especially @Glenn Holland for his patience. It's these guys selfless efforts that make OcTRAINber work.

I also want to congratulate all the entrants for creating some truly amazing MOCs and inspiring and absorbing WIP stories. There was some truly awe-inspiring and top notch brickage going on, together with some brilliant and unexpected prototypes.