One thing I can't help noticing about the beautiful weather we've had in the UK over the last couple of weeks is that it doesn't half dry out the paint on your palette quickly! Not that I'm complaining. I'm a slow painter at the best of times, but my need for swiftness is rather pressing at the moment.
In less than two weeks (as of writing this), on the 27th July, 4Tk Gaming in Colchester is holding its annual Summer Open Day, incorporating the Golden Gears 2013 painting competition. As this is not only my FLGS, but also a tremendous supporter of the wargaming hobby in general as well as the shop who kindly bought Ayako Ito during the Heroes For Heroes painting event earlier this year, I felt compelled to enter. And of course, we painters do love to show off our work, don't we?
Now, one miniature in a few weeks is no problem, though a stretch for me at competition standard, but my painting guru Gus Pollard has instead managed to somehow convince me to enter not one, but FOUR categories; Single Figure, Troop/Unit, Vehicle/Monster, and the Open Category.
EIGHT MINIATURES. (Again, for most professional painters this would be a breeze, but for me it's a big deal).
Luckily, I'm cheating with the Vehicle/Monster category, I have a certain Mantic Kings of War Orc Giant which fits the bill nicely, or I could enter my Space Wolves Land Raider. Neither of them are perfect, but I do love them. (I wonder if I could enter them both...?)
The problem with the other categories is that I actually have to get something painted!
So what am I working on, then?
Well, the Open Category was a bit of a given. How could I resist painting the beautiful 'Artemis' from Hasslefree Miniatures? This miniature was made for competitions. Large areas of metallics, large areas of skin. There's no superfluous detail - it is a miniature which does not allow you to hide poor painting - which of course may be my downfall!
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| Artemis - Work In Progress |
For the Troop/Unit category, I decided to enter my five-strong Ito Clan starter set for GCT's Bushido. I fell in love with these guys while painting Ayako Ito from the same range. They are five vastly different, characterful miniatures which meld both history and fantasy seamlessly. The greatest challenge for me I think will be the cobra-headed warrior, Akimoto. As you can see from the work-in-progress photos, I'm deviating from the traditional greens of the Ito Clan to go for a more serene and oceanic turquoise feel.
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| Ito Clan (and Artemis!) - Work In Progress |
Finally, the Single Figure category is a bit of a secret at the moment. All I will say is that it's a sci-fi miniature from Mantic Games.
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| Ooooh! The intrigue!!! |
But why all the secrecy, I hear you ask?
Well, as of this month, I have become part of Ironwatch magazine's 'Iron Forge' team along with some other fantastic miniature painters. Each issue, we will all be trying to submit some beautifully painted miniatures from Mantic's many excellent games. However, I'd quite like to give the magazine an air of exclusivity - or at least, first dibs, so where possible I'm trying not to show my submissions until they've been published in Ironwatch first, which I'm sure you'll agree is the decent thing to do! All I will say about the miniature so far is that I'm very pleased with how it's shaping up...
Sorry there's nothing more concrete at the moment, but hopefully there will be lots of exciting finished projects to show by next month!
Now for more painting!
