79.5: Unlimited Zen Aircraft – Winners Announced

1st Place – “Ready to takeoff” by Ra Tascon

Ra Tascon took 1st place with his old school biplane complete with magnet runway. Most of the building blocks are quite simple, but together are very effective in completing this plane. The composition is very nice also. The runway leads your eye to the airplane, and provides the illusion of movement, like we caught this plane during takeoff. 1st place awards Ra Tascon $70.

2nd Place – “Drone” by DBOI

In 2nd place we have DBOI’s Drone. Very well executed, the details and curvature of the body are spot on. DBOI achieved this drone by starting with the cross shape and building it all up from there. 2nd place awards DBOI $55

3rd Place – “Saab JAS 39 Gripen (Griffin) – Multirole Fighter Aircraft” by tend2it

In 3rd place we have tend2it’s Griffin Fighter. Very sharp and precise, with clear attention to detail. Clocking in with 1233 Zen Magnets, tend2it said the tricky part was achieving the distinct shape and angles with the limitations of the magnets, as well as mixing coupled and parallel bonds. 3rd place awards tend2it $45.

4th Place – “B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber” by Pent

Pent took 4th place with this Stealth Bomber. That distinct bomber shape is spot on, and the raised cockpit and details are well done. The photography itself leaves a little to be desired. A tripod would’ve helped the clarity, and the lighting is harsh, but the build itself is great. 4th place awards Pent $35.

5th Place – “Leaving On A Jet Plane” by YoyoBandalore

In 5th place we have YoyoBandalore’s Jet Plane. A clean construction with a nice touch of blue in the lighting. However, the photo is very dark and it feels like we’re losing the details a little bit. 5th place awards YoyoBandalore $27.50

6th Place – “Zen Balloon” by Amaryllis Zen

Amaryllis Zen’s hot air balloon floated into 6th place. The construction of the balloon is excellent. It stands on it’s own and the teardrop shape of the balloon is perfect. I think with a better photo, this would have placed higher, but it looks to be a hand-held, phone photo in low light. A bit blurry, a bit dark, we’re losing some detail, and the cotton clouds are barely visible. Not bad for Amaryllis’ first contest submission. 6th place awards Amaryllis Zen $22.50.

7th Place – “Tiny Plane” by Krazy Kat

Krazy Kat took 7th place with the 216 magnet Tiny Plane. Kat approached this with our favorite mentality: how can I make this with only 216 magnets? 216 piece airplane achieved, and with a base to make it fly above the ground. 7th place awards Krazy Kat $17.50.

8th Place – “Magnet Drone” by Luisin

In 8th place we have Luisin’s Magnet Drone. Luisin modeled his construction after his own drone and it is really quite effective. The body could’ve benefited from a little more depth and definition, but overall well done. 8th place awards Luisin $15.

9th Place – “weird looking airplane” by y0chi

Last but not least, we have y0chi’s weird looking plane. Actually, it’s not THAT weird looking. Kind of like a commercial airliner with a fighter plane cockpit. This could probably be scaled down and built with a set of 216 as well. 9th place awards y0chi $12.50.

Everyone really did a fantastic job on this contest. So much so that we gave prizes to everyone. Keep up the amazing work!

Thanks to all our participants and judges. If you haven’t already, click on the images to check out the original size. And keep in mind that contests held here are independent of the Zen Gallery. Magnet sculptors can always submit photos to gallery.zenmagnets.com to win magnets as well. Spectators, keep your eyes peeled for the next contest, because you choose the winners. Contest Winners, we’ll email you your prizes soon.

Contest 79 submissions are in, we have 9 valid aircraft constructions for you to feast your eyes on. Check out the thumbnails below and follow the link to vote for your top 3.

Deadline for voting is June 8, 2020. If you’re ready to cast your votes, follow this link: