As someone who entered an image that was almost all 3rd party meshes,
I feel that I need to make a comment here. First, I do not feel that
"POVRAY only" created images were given a big advantage over using
third party modelers. I used Rhino to speed things up so that I could
put my effort into texturing, lighting, etc. I am terrible at using the
more advanced POVRAY geometry functions and didn't feel that I had the
time to learn how to use them and still create a good scene. My failure
to win first prize is obvious to me, not enough artistic expression
or "flare" (not "SDL only" modeling preference). I did a lot of
experimenting to find the right density of meshing to acheive a good look
in the enlarged views and to find textures that looked good enlarged as
well. I do not feel that the effort was wasted in any way by any so-called
preference for SDL only created images.
   Also, I have to take a very mild exception to Gilles'comment about
Rhino not being a hobbyist tool. Compared to what I use at work, Rhino is
more of a toy than a realistic production tool.
   Anyway, I will probably use the same tools and techniques for the next
contest and spend my time between now and then refining my knowledge of
POVRAY. Its a great tool and fun to work with in conjunction with the other
tools that are available.

Chris Holtorf