(This was written with expressed approval from TSworkshop.)

June 2020 saw the announcement of the Maquina Mecha contest organized by a prominent figure in the community. It was your typical run-of-the-mill mecha contest. It promised fun and a variety of prizes from companies such as Vallejo and SMS, including a considerable cash prize.

What happens when you place in a contest and only revive two out of the thirteen prizes?

This is what happened to TSworkshop and several of the other winners. They received the announcement that they won that February of 2021 as the contest ended at the end of 2020.

So they waited and waited and waited.

Waiting until 2022 is what they did. So when they confronted the organizer they were met with apologies for the delay, promises of shipping out prizes by march, and excuses such as:

The sponsors weren’t responding.

The 1800 USD (yep, over a thousand dollars) is still “partially here” but is being kept for taxes and shipping. How is it still partially “here” without the implication that it was not available?

By December they were told that the organizer replied that they were dealing with a family illness. Not that a prize won in 2020 has to do with an event in late 2022 has anything to do with each other.

TSworkshop eventually posted about this situation at the beginning of the month only to be met with an apology from the organizer that the prize money was spent on whatever. Which begs the question, what was the money spent on?

There was a fundraiser for the family member to cover the cost. Hell, there was even Maquina magazine that was announced in April of 2021 which was about 120 pages long. Where did the funds from those go?

(Besides from a poor joke about spending the prize money on an iPhone 11?)

Not to mention the Parteon associated with this builder brings in around 1,580 a month from around 120 patrons.

That’s a pretty good chunk of change.

Many of the sponsors reached out to discuss that they were kept in the dark on the whole situation and that they attempted to communicate. Vallejo even dropped sponsorship, which to me seems to be a major reaction that makes me wonder about the full scope of the problem. What else went on to send this decision over the edge? What actions are the sponsors going to take to aid the winners? Where are the non-cash prizes sent to Don?

The only response from the organizer was a low-effort apology on his Facebook page and Instagram story. A problem at this level should have a larger more heartfelt response if the individual was truly sorry instead of deleting winner announcement videos and Facebook comments.

This whole situation is highly unethical and I feel so terrible for all the builders who put effort into this contest only to get fished out of rightful prizes. I’m hoping we get more answers soon. There are too many nice folks in this hobby getting overlooked by large accounts who use their platform and scam both individuals and companies.

These builders deserve closure. The community deserves answers.

If you’re hosting a contest then deliver. Don’t screw around.

I’ll keep updating this as information rolls in.

---

Have a happy Monday, everyone!

-J