2003 GOLDEN DEMON MODELS for BALTIMORE

Well, GD has come and gone and after a nasty 28 hours of travel [home to Baltimore and back] a sinus cold and very little sleep I am happy I went. The competition was fierce in almost every category even though a number of the veterans were missing. I finally got to meet Jen Haley and Lilly Troy and had a great time hanging out with painters I have become acquainted with. The stress of competition is dulled by the fact that everyone there is so nice and respectful. Every ones art is different and each of us can appreciate what the other has done with a keen eye for quality.
I was somewhat surprised to see USGW people judging the event. In past years it has been done by staff from UKGW and I was not alone in wondering why this changed. I must say that the three judges did a fine job under difficult conditions. There were a number of categories that had multiple 1st place possibilities and they agonized over each one. All in all it was a great experience and I look forward to next year when I, hopefully, will be competing an a number of European events.

ARCHAON LORD of the END of TIME

1ST PLACE WHFB SINGLE FIGURE

This model was the first one I did for GD 2003. I picked the model up as soon as it was released and painted it specifically for the competition. I am very happy with the look, however, I am surprised that I won with the model. It is not to say that it is not a well done figure it is just that it is completely stock. The paint work on the model is pretty much like the actually Games Workshop model with the addition of some advanced techniques. For me, this piece is a tremendous triumph since it won based solely on the paint I applied and not based on any conversion or sculpting. More pictures can be found here.

GRANDMASTER OCTAVIUS

2ND PLACE 40K SINGLE FIGURE

This model was one of those figures that comes together very quickly and yet is very frustrating to finish. What I mean by this is that the 'glow' I tried to achieve turned out well but took a lot of work to make it even half way believable. The swirls on the armour were achieved using lighter shades of the base armour colour in 10+ layers. This layering makes the swirls really come to life. The idea for the base and pose came to me as I read the Inquisitor game book to get ideas. I imagine that Octavius has returned to the Fortress of the Inquisition and has brought the head of a demon prince for complete and utter annihilation. The Grandmaster would stand before a holy choir of mindless automatons as they chanted the rites of purification. Then as the ritual ends he drops the head into the holy fire of the Emperor. More pictures can be found here.

PUTRICIUS the FOUL, CHOSEN of NURGLE

1ST PLACE 40K LARGE MODEL

This massive model was started shortly after I finished Archaon. The banner was sculpted first but was the last thing to get painted. I worked on this model off and on for the better part of 10 months. It became a labour of love [and hate] and was, IMHO, my best shot at best of show. I stopped recording hours after a one month break but figure the model is well over 200 hours. The base model is the obliterator that I picked up as a pre-release. More pictures can be found here. I have also included the greens of the model here.

ASMODAI INTERROGATOR CHAPLIN

1ST CUT BUT DID NOT PLACE

I really like the way this model turned out. IMHO the model itself is not so good. There are scale issues and he is not nearly thick enough. The marble base was a cool effect to paint and it looks real due to the 10+ layers of gloss varnish used during the painting process. The hardest part of the model was the banner. I find large symmetrical free hand art difficult at best and a chore under normal situations. In the end it turned out well but it sure did take a lot of time. People that see the model IRL say that the cloth glows. I have my theories about why this model didn't place and the main one is that since I copied the 40K version exactly I was unable to add freehand details. I guess I could have done this but then it might not have looked like Asmodai. More pictures can be found here.