mutt wrote:
Hey, I guess I didnt think ahead of time that people would be upset or miffed about giving up the customs. I thought if I offered the prizes up it wouldnt be as bad but I do understand. I guess it was a bad attempt at trying to basically trade some stuff I had for customs and do it in a fun way, but guess it sounded better in my head than presented out.
No offense, but reading your "half good idea," it's easy to see how people would feel hesitant to enter your contest... everyone sends you a custom-- which you get to keep-- then two of them win something. The folks who don't win are out their custom, time & labor, and fodder. If customizers here banded together, donated their customs, and proceeds went to charity, I could see this happening, but as it stands, I honestly feel you're better off either commissioning pieces or doing a straight-up trade, as you mentioned.
As for the contest, the usual "submit custom pics and everyone votes on the winners" route works for a reason. If you choose to buy or trade for the winning customs, that's awesome, but that's also between you and the artist.
Your Real American Hero custom contest is a rad idea, and I think you should do it. Good luck to ya.
Matthew – 
And like I said it was a half assed idea presented bably. So I take no offense to anything anyone has said. I will try and start another thread with an updated " NEW AND IMPROVED 
" contest. Thanks to everyone for their comments harsh or not and advice on how to get this going.