Open source meets the open road with the Open RC Accessory Design Contest, courtesy of Pinshape and Open RC Project founder Daniel Noree.

The Open RC Project and designer Daniel Noree have partnered with 3D model community Pinshape to launch the Open RC Accessory Design Contest.

The aim of the contest is to encourage Pinshape’s legions of 3D designers to create appropriate accessories like spoilers, a driver, car tires, or a Go Pro mount that will complement the Open RC design.

Daniel Noree, Creator of Open R/C and judge for the contest, said:

“The Open RC community is all about innovation and constantly experimenting to improve the Open RC design. I hope this contest will inspire more people to get involved in 3D printing, the maker community, and of course the OpenRC Community.”

If you’re interested in this contest, the good news is that designers are free to create any accessory they wish, just so long as it fits with the design framework specially created for the contest.

Lucas Matheson, CEO of Pinshape: “We are very proud to have such a strong RC community on Pinshape and we want to host a contest that supports the creativity behind this awesome project. I’m very excited to see what different accessories designers come up with.”

If the idea of designing isn’t enough to entice you, then check out the prizes available, including the newly released ZYYX+ 3D Printer ($2077 USD) and a 3D printed Open RC F1 car with an electronics kit from Hobby King.

How to Enter the Open RC Accessory Design Contest

In order to enter, all you have to do is design any car accessory that is compatible with the holes in the updated Open RC design files, which you can download from the Pinshape contest page.

Once you’ve designed your accessory, upload it to Pinshape and make sure to check the “Submit this model to the Open RC Accessory Design Contest” box on the upload form.

Designs will be judged on their creativity, the overall design quality, uniqueness, intricacy and detail, technical excellence and — of course — compatibility with Original RC F1 design. The judges are also looking for ease of printing on FDM 3D printers too, so something to keep in mind!

The contest runs from February 1st to March 15th 2016, so if you think you have a chance of winning, make sure to check out the page here.

If you’re worried your skills aren’t up to scratch but you still want to keep up with the action, then make sure to check out the winners. They’ll be announced in the week following the end of the contest in a post on the Pinshape blog! Good luck!