Player's Choice Awards

During The Necronomicon last weekend, the Hardliners were pleasantly surprised when our own Tog was awarded “40K Player’s Choice” awards in the unit and army category with his wonderfully highlighted Tau. When it came to painting, his army was easily in the top 5 (out of 70) armies present. However, it would be hard to say that it was number one. This phenomenon is not an isolated case; as I’ve been to several tournaments where the best painted models (as determined by color selection, technical proficiency, and technique difficulty) did not win the award. There always appears to be an aspect of the winning model, beyond skillful paint application, that makes it rise to the top. The below discussion is my exposition on the “Player’s Choice Award” based on observations of miniature appearance competitions for the last 10 years.

First of all, the evaluation of painted miniatures is subjective. In the absence of specific grading criteria (which is often the case), judges will grade a model in a similar manner as a fine work of art; which is based on numerous categories of personally-appreciated aesthetics. Although I think it is impossible to define criteria by which one can predict the allure of one fine work of art over another, I do think it is [much more] possible to create a set of rules that can closely approximate the appeal of one army/figure over another due to the shared subject matter, media, and audience demographic in miniature wargame modeling.

If painting skill only distills the list of competitors to the top 5%, what aspects of the model or army make it more compelling?

1. The army/figure must grab your attention from a distance. Sometimes this is difficult because, by their nature, miniatures are small. I have noticed these four techniques used effectively:
a) Use large models (such as vehicles, monstrous creatures, giant banners)
b) Stage your model(s) on a large and/or decorative base (e.g. plinth for single models, elaborate movement trays for units, or dioramas for armies)
c) Use bright colors
d) Paint the model(s) with a high degree of contrast

2. The army/figure should look unique. Of course, the technique that is used to achieve uniqueness must still be appealing and appropriate. I have noticed several ways to achieve this aspect:
a) Use a rare model (e.g. special edition release, out of print, one-of-a-kind sculpts, etc)
b) Significantly modify a common model (e.g. combine parts from several models, sculpt changes, etc)
c) Combine models from different genres (e.g. use raptors to represent jet bikes, etc)
d) Paint the models in a manner that is rarely seen (e.g. Non-metallic metal, complex blending, monochromatic, etc)

There ya go! Two rules that sound simple yet can be followed in an infinite number of ways. Obviously, I’m suggesting that the viewers need to be “wow’d” by the models as well as impressed by the painting. Furthermore, I propose that it is the modeler that is most talented in his application of these two rules (which involves more than just painting) that most often wins the “Player’s Choice” award.

One parting question for the readers (assuming you mostly agree with my ideas): Do you think that an army/model’s chances of winning Player’s Choice go down if the audience has already seen the model(s) before (i.e. from a webpage, previous competition, etc) since some of the “wow factor” was been reduced?

2009 Necronomicon Pictures

I did not get as many pictures as I should have, but here is what I have. Hope you guys enjoy.

Necronomicon 2009

Necro Display Base Day #6 - Complete!!

Well after some work I have added the final touches to the project. In the first two pictures you will see some static grass that was added to give the terrain contrast. This is consistent with the basing on my models.

I then added trim to the edges to give the base a finished look. This should not only make the base look better but add support and protection for fragile foam edges.

Finally the army on the base. Almost like they are on their home planet! :)

That completes this project. A few more models to finish and I am ready for the event. Only 3 weeks to go!

Eldar Necro Display Base

Like Tog, I recently completed my army display base for the Necronomicon this week. Unlike Tog, I had the constraint that it had to fit in my luggage. Therefore, mine is smaller, less elaborate and includes no free space for decorative terrain or structures. Nevertheless, I'm pleased with the results. Below is a quick look at the progress through the major stages:

Step 1. Map out the proposed placement for the models. I was going for a simple stair-step piece so it just made sense to put the tall models in the back and the harlequins up front. Fortunately, the squad size and structure of my army made for a very balanced look with two tanks and two jet bike squads on either side and the littler squads spread evenly out front. The Farseer would fall in the center of it all but needed some sort of raised platform to give him the attention he required.Step 2. Cutting the cork. I used cork to represent layered rock on several of my character pieces in the army so I found it only fitting to use it for the overall base. I like how the torn edges of cork create a very natural looking rocky edge effect and this step did not take a great deal of time.

Step 3. Adding the sandy ballast, small boulders, and the rocky outcrop for the Farseer to stand on. The sand was added to create additional texture to the piece. I imagined the eroding of the rock edges to create small pepples and sand so that dictated its placement. Small boulders were also added from cork "crumbles" left over during the tearing of the large cork sheets. The stand for the Farseer is simply several layers of cork stacked on top of each other.

>Step 4. Coloring. The bases on all of my Eldar resemble sandy or rocky ground covered in snow. The display base was painted to exactly match that. It started with a heafty base coat of black (I used spray paint to save time and get a nice flat coat that didn't cover any of the cork's texture). Next, I dry brushed it with a pewter gray followed by two more layers of progressively lighter shades of gray. I was careful to catch the sharp, torn edges of the cork with the paintbrush to ensure the rocky-look was accentuated. I think it worked.

Step 5. Let it snow. I used the same snow technique I've been using on all of my models' bases. Its simply watered-down and spread-out whipped spackle. The actual name of the product is Foam Putty but I have a small bucket of whipped spackle that looks, feels, and smells just like it. In any case, I throw a glob on the base in various places and smooth it out by watering it down and spreading it with a wet knife. When it dries, it looks like a snow drift.

Viola! The base is complete and the models don't fall over. I saved the neatest part for last. The foundation for this base is actually a breakfast in bed tray that can be purchased fairly cheaply ($13) from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It has fold-out legs that (a) allow it to fit neatly in my suitcase, (b) bring the models closer to eye level for viewing, and (c) can be positiong over the terrain on the game table so you don't need to move the terrain out of the way to lay it down between games. Unfortunately, I cannot claim credit for this idea. A couple of players shared this solution with me at last year's Baltimore GT when they saw that i was moving my army around on an old, burnt cookie sheet.

Necro Display Base Day #4

Well I made some good progress today. I found that the humidity does not seem to effect the acrylics paints as much when they are used at full strength which is necessary when dry bushing. Because the paint was able to dry faster today I made a lot of progress as you can see below.

As can be seen I applied a lighter brown on top of the dark brown/black base coat to give the shadow layer more warmth.

I then applied a yellowish brown similar to the tau cept ochre foundation paint to bring the base color closer to the sand color you would expect for the tau home world.

Finally I highlighted with a bone white color to accent the sand. This is very similar to the theme used when basing my main army.

After that final highlight was completed you can see the final product. I think it turned out pretty well.

Tomorrow I will give the whole thing a coat of thinned down glue to seal everything and then apply some static grass to add some additional depth. The whole thing will be finished off with black trim. I should have the final product ready by Wednesday. I will post and update then.

Necro Display Base Day #3

So it turns out glue takes a lot longer to dry in 80% humidity then I had originally expected. Because of this I didn't get everything glued until this morning :( Good news is I got to move forward today. The following picture shows the gravel/sand I applied to give the base that desert feel. I had a little bit of trouble getting the glue to stick. The Styrofoam is very slick on the smooth parts and the glue does not like to stay put. Good news is it seems to have dried well.

Next I based with a mixture of black, dark brown, and some glue to insure that the gravel would stay put after the paint was applied. This turned out to also be a very long process as the paint had the same problem with the Styrofoam as the glue did. Patience seems to have gotten the job done.

I will most likely apply a second coat after the drying is complete. A good night of drying for the base coat and I should be able to get a few more colors on tomorrow. My biggest worries at the moment are whether the paint will stick properly once it is dry. I will likely coat the whole thing with thinned down glue in the end to give a lacuer like coat.

More to come...

Necro Display Base Day #1

Well I finally got around to starting my display base for The Necro 2009. I have decided to got with a desert feel as it goes well with the traditional Tau colors I used for my army. I started with just a piece of foam core for the base and began to build up from there. As you can see I went with blue high density Styrofoam.

I got to use for the first time my foam cutter. The thing works like a charm, cuts through the foam like a hot knife through butter.

Finally here is the mockup for the back portion of the board.

Here is my test placement of my army. Looks pretty good I think. I did end up having to added a little more height in the back to make it look right, but I forgot to grab a picture.

Well that's it for today. Tomorrow more gluing and paint! :)