I'm wondering if collaborative efforts are accounted for in the rules. I have an idea for the contest, but I'm not a good modeller. Nor a very good artist, lol.

If I worked w/ someone else, who was interested in the competition and we won, how would that work?

my best guess would be, you and your partner would have to figure it out

Well, 1st prize is a laptop from alienware. Hard to split one object.

One person will have to submit it. One person will get the laptop.

If that one person sells it and splits the money... then they're honest. If not, the partner is probably SoL.

Official rules won't be out until the contest opens. Until then, unless a Dev opts to opine, the following is just a WAG. But I would imagine it's a "one entry per person; one person per entry" type of thing. If you want to collaborate with your friends and then submit it under one of your accounts with a behind-the-scenes agreement, that is beyond Cryptic's scope of power.

Ah, thats what I figured about it, but i want to be sure. I think I may ask someone with no interest in it. I was hoping a dev would respond lol.

I don't think you need to concern yourself with procuring a modeler. It mentions on the contest info page that some kinda tool or program is gonna go live on Dec. 9, more than likely to facilitate the participation of those artistically and technically disinclined.
I, too, was looking for a modeller, as I am but a lowly graphic and cartoon artist. But re-reading the contest info page is how I picked up on that bit about the alluded-to program.

pffft, rules, this is Cryptic!

You have just as much chance of winning this with a team of modellers and texture artists as the fool who enters a song or a picture of his captain...

I would love to try this, but I work for Dell who purchased Alienware. I am guessing this means I am disqualified from being able to enter or win.

Unless Alienware has zero involvement. Cryptic could have just bought two computers from their website and sent one to a local print shop to be painted. Then you would be eligible. From what I gathered from the email it's just Cryptic, CBS, and Intel employees that would be ineligible.