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I just got back from the U.S. GamesDay and the most unexpected of results
occurred-I won the 2002 Slayer Sword. I was utterly shocked because I
truly did not think that I had a shot this year. The only miniature I had
brought to GamesDay was a 40k single, which has not won the sword in the United
States since I have been competing. With the likes of Bobby Wong and Jason
Richards prowling the Categories, I firmly believed that this was not going to
be my year. Two years ago after I won my first sword, I wrote my article
"MY THOUGHTS ON HOW TO WIN AT THE GOLDEN DEMON" which explained that
winning a the Golden Demon requires both a lot of hard work and a healthy dose
of good luck. You can still see this article on Jason Richards's Web site
here: http://www.miniaturespace.net/Victor%20Hardy's%20advice.htm
What was true in 2000 is even more true in 2002.
[pagebreak]This year I originally did not intend to go to the U.S. Games Day because of the
ban on past Golden Demon winners. Rather, I planned to go to England
to try my luck there. Two months prior to Games Day they lifted the ban on
Sword Winners, and suddenly I was back in business with respect to U.S.
competition. The only problem was that so was Bobby Wong. If you
compete in the U.S. then you know what I am talking about. I have come to
terms with the FACT that Bobby Wong is the most technically proficient blender and
highlighter in the United States, and probably in the world. His highlighting and blending technique is unmatched and every one that has seen his miniatures in person leaves with a sinking suspicion in the pit of their stomach that Bobby is working on a whole another level than the rest of us.
One of my daemonsHe is the man to beat on the U.S. circuit-we all know that. Worse still is
that he primarily competes in the 40k categories, the same categories I
compete in and I knew he was working on a 40k single figure. The road to a
first place trophy (which was what I was hoping for) for me would have to go through Bobby.
With that being said, he is not unbeatable, no person is. The Golden Demon
("GD") are a painting competition which is highly subjective. In addition
to painting technique, many other factors come into play, most important of
which are individual preferences of the judges concerning style. If I was
going to win, I would have to do something different than Bobby and hope that
the Judges just liked what I did better. I had decided that I would
paint up an over-the-top Daemon Prince conversion based upon a Cave Troll model,
at least, I would have a size advantage over Bobby. Furthermore,
fortunately for me, Bobby and I have almost diametrically opposed painting
styles and maybe I would get lucky with Judges that preferred the look of
my miniatures.
[pagebreak]
Bobby is the absolute master of the classic, super clean "cartoon
style" (which he hates being described as such) which currently dominates
the
U.S. GDs. This style was first interjected into the GW hobby by Mike McVey
and is used by other competitors such as Brian Shaw, Chris Borer and Brett
Dewald (his 40k stuff only). Bobby's miniatures' most notable features are
bright contrasting primary colors (painted on a white undercoat) and
exaggerated edge type highlights that move from the base color to pure white in
under a millimeter of distance. His miniatures tend to have simple
color schemes that show off his flawless blending technique. His
miniatures are pristine and without flaw. Never will you see a brush
stroke or a rough
transition. They evoke a sense of a perfect beautiful world of the
future-the world of "Star Trek."
One of my daemonsAs Bobby embodies the perfection of Star Trek universe, I strive for the
"Road Warrior" look. I try to project a primitive and savage
feel to my
Chaos Marines. My miniatures are dark with deep shadows (painted on a
black undercoat) and naturalistic color schemes (at least for 40k). My
highlights never go to white, but my shadows tend to go to pure black.
Several of my models were painted without so much as a drop of white paint--even
mixed
with other colors. The schemes are intentionally overly-complicated to
create an asymmetrical, eclectic look of being feral and primitive. I
consider my style to be "realistic" in the same vein as the work of
Jakob Nielson, Jeff Wilson and David Brooks.
As different as our styles are, I knew I had to "upjump" my painting
technique if I wanted to be an effective competitor. The field has moved
extremely fast in the last few years in terms of the level of painting technique
required to be in the game. Although I have been successful for
the past two years with my usual bag of tricks, I needed something new. This
leads me to an important part of doing well at the Golden Demon. You
must continue to grow as a painter or the world will quickly pass you by.
One of my favorite parts of the hobby is studying the work of other people. I
constantly do it to find more techniques to incorporate into and improve
my own style. I refer to a lot of the painters by name in this article,
but I do not actually know these individuals on a personal level. I know
their
work from repeatedly studying painted miniatures on the internet and the White
Dwarf. I actually spend more time looking at other people's work
than painting my own miniatures. Two notable advancements that I learned
this year came from studying work outside the U.S.[pagebreak]
Last year I took a trip to the Canada Golden Demons. I
was fresh from winning the open category at the 2001 U.S. GamesDay
(winning over
impressive models by Jason Richards, Chris Borer and Jeff Wilson) and
winning the 2000 U.S. Slayer Sword. I was up for a rude awakening in
Canada. My models used the same patterning style that had been so
successful in my two prior competitions, did not do as well in
Canada--both taking third place
prizes.
Far more important was arrival of three new painters on the
scene: Tim Kholmetz and the Rantz brothers (I think they are
brothers). All of them employed impressive freehand work. This
separated the men from the boys
at the Canadian competition, leaving me one of the boys. At that
moment I
knew that freehand was something I had to master and something that could
give
me an edge in future competitions. I set out to develop this
technique for myself which leads me to my Sword winning entry which I will
discuss more later.
The second new technique I learned was the use of subtle color blending
with high water washes (95% water) to smooth out the color transitions in
the
shadowing of my model. I learned this technique from studying the
French Golden demon winners (particularly Thomas Barse and Dave Thomas)
who blend
purples and blues into the shadowing to add hints of many colors to the
model. Also my friend Douglas Hahn experimented with this technique
years
before. After studying the French models, I began to notice that
hints of different colors show up everywhere in every day life, even in
what appears
to be a single color. If you really look at something, rarely are
things purely one color, but rather they reflect the many different colors
of the
light spectrum. The recreation of this effect is used by artists all
the time outside the miniature painting world. From over one foot
distance,
my miniature appears to have dark brown and black shadowing. In
realty, the model is primarily shadowed in purple, green and violet.
The intersection
of the color blends produce an olive-dark brownish color which fades out
to purple, violet and green as you move across the shadow. When you
look
closely at the model you can see many different colors in the shadows.
This creates a model which is both colorful and wonderfully drab at the
same
time, giving it a very natural feeling of light. Next time you paint
a model try shading (with a heavily diluted wash) yellow with purple and
try
shading red with blue (or green) and green with violet-you might be
surprised with the results. Then try all three.
[pagebreak]
With these two techniques in mind, around Christmas of 2001, I set out to paint
a new pilot model to develop these additions to my current style.
Before I get involved in a large project, I try to practice on smaller models to
see if the new technique is going to work out. I chose a
Terminator character to fill in the gaps in my chaos army line up. My
pilot model was purchased by me from Brother Sinaer's web site. If you are
not
familiar with Brother Sinaer's work, you should definitely check it out. He is
one of the best converters (maybe, the best) of GW miniatures. I have
been a big fan of his green stuff casting and relished the opportunity to paint
one of his models, much like someone who enjoys collecting rare GW
figures. Steps on how the pilot model was originally converted can be
found here on Brother Sinaer's website:
http://www.thewarp.net/war/repent/images/rf/workcompleted/workcompleted_oid027.jpg
I took his model and made substantial conversions of my own
to it. I pulled off all four limbs and repinned them to change the
stance of the model
from looking down to looking slightly up and walking down steps. I
replaced his right leg with an imperial terminator sergeant's leg (after
filing off all
the detail) so as to have a flat spot for my yet to be developed freehand
work. I re-sculpted the leg joints with bands so has to create an
appropriate seam for the new leg. I also extended the right arm off
the model and added a servor, a corrugated tube and a wire to create
underarm
detail to his terminator armor.
I extended the fur pelts with green stuff to accommodate the
new body positioning as well as moved the severed heads to the rear of the
model. I pulled off the right hand blades and chains to give me more
room for freehand painting, as well as switched the top fin of the gun to
make the model more balanced. I also changed the hand positioning to
spread the left arm out from the body. I added a search light to the
body and gems to each of the swords and his arms. I added multiple
body parts and straps to accessorize the model to look like my other
miniatures. Finally, I created a very elaborate banner made from
green stuff as well as a large scenic base (the stones were dremmeled out
of plastic to make bricks) to top the model off. The banner included
hand sewn stitches from actual thread to enhance the feral look of aged
stretched animal skin. The amount of conversion I added to this
already converted model greatly exceeds what the average GD competitor
does to his models. I spent probably between 20-25 hours on converting the
model in addition to what Brother Sinaer did.
As I started painting the model, it took a life of its own.
The freehand work came much easier than I had expected, so I went to town
on the model.
I covered both the front and back of the banners, the base, the power
glove, the right shoulder pad, the wrist, the butt plate and both ankles
with
freehand demoniac faces. In total there are 14 separate faces put on
the model, peering out of the armor and banner.
[pagebreak]
I got so engrossed with painting this model that it soon became apparent that
this project was going to be far more than just a practice model. I ended
up spending more time on it per square inch than any other figure I had done.
In all, my total time spent converting, planning and painting the miniature is
about 150 hours. Three quarters into the model, I found out that the ban
on past Sword winners was lifted. This meant I was going to compete 3
months earlier than expected (the U.K. competition is in September), leaving me
no time to start and complete my Daemon Prince model.
That also meant that I would have to go to Baltimore and directly compete
against Bobby in the 40K single miniature category, without the advantage
of having a much larger figure to impress the judges. Any thoughts about
winning a sword were gone, as the 40K single category traditional has not
been a strong category to compete for the Sword in the United States. However,
40K single year to year is the toughest category, attracting by
far the most entries and the top painters. A win there against all the
prior sword winners and top painters would be one to definitely cherish. I
would just have to do my best and hope for the best.
So GamesDay 2002 finally came, but my meeting with Bobby in 40k single did not
happen. He did not complete his 40k figure, but instead entered the
Warhammer Fantasy single figure with a Prince Tyrion model. Indeed, very
few of the usual top competitors entered my category. Rather, they all
went to Warhammer Fantasy single miniature, traditionally, one of the weakest
categories. And it was a shootout in the Warhammer single category.
Bobby Wong, Jason Richards, Jeff Wilson, Brett Dewald, Brian Shaw, Daniel
O'Toole, Greg Smalling, Laszlo Jakusovszky, and at least 4 other people all
entered models that on any other year could have taken first place. It was
the strongest category I have ever seen. Bobby Wong ended up taking the
Warhammer category and I ended up winning mine. So I got my goal of a 1st
place in 40K single and I would get my meeting with Bobby Wong in the
competition for the Sword.
Now, about being lucky. In the 2002, more so in any contest, there was not
a single miniature that stood out as the best among the Sword contenders.
The Category winners eligible for the sword were:
Bobby Wong (1st WARHAMMER SINGLE and 1st VEHICLE) had, as expected, the most
technically perfect and beautiful Prince Tyrion model on the table. Both
striking and flawless, your eyes were instantly drawn to it in a table with at
least 50 miniatures on it. I still get an inferiority complex when I see it.
He also had a UltraMarines Rhino done in classic military modeling techniques
that took 1st place.
Jason Richards (1st 40K LARGE FIGURE) had a fully sculpted Nurgle Great Unclean
One with an extremely original paint scheme which looked you straight in the
eyes and said "pick me." It had all the ingredients of a Sword Winner,
technical excellence, originality, and being down right cool. I have really
become a fan of Jason Richards. He is the most versatile GD competitor
capable of full figure sculpts. He is the most ambitious of the GD
competitors, pushing the limits with novel paint schemes, techniques and
sculpts.
Bryan Shaw (1st BATTLE SCENE) had made the atom bomb on miniature painting.
Everyone knows if you want to win the Sword, paint up a dragon. He not
only did that, but he painted up two converted dragons dueling in the air.
He has won more GD trophies than anyone on the planet (21 awards, I believe) and
is one of the greats of miniature painting.
Brett Dewald (1st 40K SQUAD) had entered a squad of his very successful void
reapers marines which have taken three trophies for his army. He has the
honor of winning the second most awards of any one on the planet (16). I
used to study both Brian Shaw and Brett Dewald in the White Dwarf when I was
still in diapers as a miniature painter.
Jakub Tracz (1st WARHAMMER REGIMENT and 1st WARHAMMER MONSTER) has the honor of
winning more awards in a single event than any other person: 7 awards. He beat
the record set by Jason Richards last year (6) and matched my career total of 7
in one show.
Tom Schradle (1st DUEL) a winner of 8 golden demons and a former Portent
Brushworks painter. He did a very nicely put together duel scene.
Jeff Wilson (1st OPEN) although fortunately for me the Open category was not
eligible for the Sword, I have to mention him as his work has been highly
influential on me. I have drawn much inspiration from him and admire his
very detailed work. My all time favorite GD entry was the Forest Dragon he
entered in 1999 in the U.S. Open category.
The moment of truth arrived where the Sword winner would be announced. At
that moment, I was looking at Bobby Wong, Brian Shaw and Jason Richards to
prepare to congratulate the winner. Already being content with winning my
first place trophy, I was floored when the words came. In an instant, I
had become the first person ever to win two Swords in the U.S. competition and I
took the highest award I was eligible for the third year in a row in Baltimore
(In 2001 I was limited to the Open category, where I took 1st place, and was
ineligible for the Sword). I would be lying if I said that I was anything
but overjoyed.
Anyway, to the point. Any of the first place models could have been
picked. All of them were basically excellent. The three judges happened to
pick mine. If you like technical excellence and striking models, your
going to think Bobby Wong or Brett Dewald got ripped off. If you like big
ticket over the top models, Bryan Shaw and Jason Richards both got dissed.
And if you happen to be impressed with extensive freehand painting and
naturalistic color schemes, the judges' decision was just right. At the
level of the Sword, these are the types of things that the decision turns on.
It's all about who is judging and how they are feeling that day. On any
other day, any of the other competitors could have won. There is no such
thing as the best painter who objectively deserved to win it all. It's
about doing
well enough to be in the position of getting lucky and then actually getting
LUCKY.
My predictions for next year . . . . To the extent that these things can be
predicted, it would have to go to Bobby Wong or Jason Richards (or Jennifer
Haley, at the time I wrote this she was not competing at GD). In my
opinion, Bobby sets the bar for excellence in painting technique and, as far as
I am concerned, he is the man to beat--if you can. He will no doubt
paint up a storm by next year.
Jason Richards is the most ambitious painter I have ever met. I pride
myself on being ambitious, it being my strongest asset-so coming from me it is
my highest compliment. He could take it all. And then again, there are
hundreds of very skilled competitors that come to the Demon or that just paint
their figures for the local store. Any one of them can step up to the
plate, and knock it out of the park. Anything could happen.
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