Dinosaur Toy Forum Diorama Contest 2023

After a three-year hiatus, the Dinosaur Toy Forum Diorama Contest is back! In fact…

The 2023 contest is now open! There is no sponsor this year but there will be prizes.

Rules, regulations, terms and conditions

Anyone can enter. All members of the Dinosaur Toy Forum, including staff, can participate. Non-members who wish to participate are invited to register an account on the Dinosaur Toy Forum (this is free). 

Dioramas. Dioramas must feature prehistoric creatures: from belemnites to Brontosaurus. for the purpose of this contest the definition of “diorama”  is open to interpretation. It could be anything from a traditionally constructed self-contained diorama scene, to a photograph of toys arranged outside, whatever you like. So, get creative! Dioramas must be new (never published or shared on the internet before) and must have been produced by the entrant. Stealing somebody else’s diorama will result in disqualification.

One diorama per member. Entrants may submit one photograph of their diorama. Once submitted it cannot be exchanged for an alternative entry.

Title. Entries must be accompanied by a creative title. 

Photoshop. Photoshop is allowed, but the original photograph(s) used in the diorama must be your own. Using somebody else’s photographs will result in disqualification.

Winners. There will be three winners in first, second and third place respectively (no joint positions). The winning dioramas will be selected by an anonymous public poll open to all Dinosaur Toy Forum members, which will take place within seven days after the closing date. A tie-break poll will be created in the event of any tied positions. There will also be three additional honourable mentions for dioramas in positions four to six.

Prizes. This year the forum’s Admin will provide cash prizes:

1st place prize: £50 (GBP)

2nd place prize: £30 (GBP)

3rd place prize: £20 (GBP)

Prizes will, preferably, be transferred to winners via PayPal, and if this isn’t possible, then via bank transfer. Any currency conversion or transfer fees will come out of the prize money. Winners will be contacted by email in October 2023 after the winners have been selected and officially announced. 

How to enter

Entry fee. This year we are suggesting a small but optional £4 donation from everyone entering the contest. This will help support the contest and the Dinosaur Toy Forum, contribute towards the prize fund, and help to ensure the contest will run again in future years. However, for anyone unable to donate, for whatever reason, that’s okay: entry remains, ultimately, free. To donate, use the following PayPal button:

Note, the donation process is separate from the contest entry process, so you can donate at any time before or after you submit your entry.

Submission. Entries should be submitted as a jpeg (.jpg or .jpeg) image file at least 1000px wide. Larger sizes will be accepted but will be resized by the contest organiser for ease of viewing on the web. Send your entry as an email attachment to [email protected] with the following format:

The email title should read as follows: “diorama contest 2023 [ forum username ]” 

Include the diorama title in the email body.

Entries must be anonymous until the winners are announced. We therefore request that entrants do not watermark or sign their entries or discuss them on the forum until after the results are announced.

A confirmation reply email will be sent to entrants within seven days of receipt. Please be patient. If, after seven days, you have still not received a confirmation reply, then feel free to email again to ask if your entry was received.

Deadline. The contest is open from today (Saturday 7th January 2023) until the deadline on Saturday 30th September 2023 (entries received after 00:00 hours AST on 1st October will be invalid.)

Additional terms and conditions

By entering this contest you agree to give the Dinosaur Toy Blog and Dinosaur Toy Forum the right to share your entry in the public poll, in public blog and forum posts, and on social media, for the following purposes: the public vote, announcement of the winners, and promotion of this and future Dinosaur Toy Forum Diorama Contests.

Donations are non-refundable, even in the event of disqualification or failing to submit an entry before the deadline.

Good luck! We hope you have a great Dinosaur Toy Forum Diorama Contest 2023!

Need inspiration? Check out all the entries to the last contest in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce_kLHfDlcU And also look for the entries to other past contests.