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HOUGHTON -- Creativity in the cold.  That's what Michigan Tech's snow statue competition is all about.

This year students were challenged to build statues based on a comic book theme of heroes and villains.

The team of Delta Sigma Phi has been working on their Transformers-themed entry for almost three-and-a-half weeks.

"We just wanted to do Transformers out of the get-go; we just thought it would be a really cool idea.  There's a lot of good stuff you can do.  You can throw lots of detail into it; that's always a big factor in the scoring," said Garrett Shaw of Delta Sigma Phi.

So how exactly do those details get added? Shaw wasn't willing to share.

"Ah, it's a little proprietary I guess, but it's a lot of slushing and chopping," Shaw explained.

The hope is with extra slushing, which is water mixed into the snow, enough detail can be added to beat the team's second place finish from last year.

While those in the long-term competition are putting the finishing touches on their work, competitors in the all night event just got started at four in the afternoon.

The team representing the American Chemical Society sketched out their statue first.

"The mole is the mascot of the chemistry world, so he's our super hero," said a member of the ACS.

Many students took the overnight shift Wednesday to finish their statues in time for Thursday morning judging.