Hello! Matt Crump here from England. As Hoagy (Paul) kindly mentioned this year I became a Golden Demon finalist in the Warhammer single mini category and Hoagy was good enough to offer to put up some pictures of my work.
To be honest I only started entering competitions about 4 years ago when I moved to my new house. I decided to visit my local store and take some of my mini’s with me. I was quite surprised at the reaction of the staff and fellow gamers and I was promptly told that I had to enter the stores summer painting comp called ‘Golden Demonette’ I duly entered and finished second in both veteran 40k single model and 40k conversation I was chuffed* to say the least and after that point I’ve been entering competitions since!
My proudest moment though as mentioned was being a finalist at GD2008. It came as a big surprise but in hindsight was it fate? I will explain further! Now I’m not a warhammer player I think the models look great but I love 40k to much to invest time and money in its technological inferior cousin.
Anyway I was in my local store looking at the new daemons of chaos range when my wife points at the masque mini and asks ‘what is that’? ‘It looks good you should buy it’! Now if you knew my wife you would know I couldn’t refuse such a request (partly ‘cos I harbour thoughts she may one day get into this hobby of ours!!!!) as she has a way of looking at you…. She also stated in addition to buying I was to paint it and not stick it in my draws with all my other unopened stuff. (Something I’m sure all gamers do is hoard and I am a hoarder). So being the dutiful husband I am I brought the mini and set about painting it. After about 10 hours of enjoyable work the masque was finished and my wife was duly pleased with the paint work and the mini went in the cabinet with quite a bleak future as I had no intention of doing a slaaneshi army or playing warhammer!
I had decided to enter GD2008 earlier in the year and was setting about preparing my 40k entries when again I believe fate and the wife intervened when I asked her which single mini she preferred me to enter the choice was between the titan priceps or the death watch space marine, both which had served me well in store comps. She stated instead that I should ‘enter the daemon woman thing’ (the Masque). I argued against but then agreed I’d enter her into the Warhammer category (thinking ‘well I don’t care about warhammer but it keeps the wife happy’). Anyway the rest as they say is history.
The masque became a finalist while all the 40k entries got nice comments but no further. When I told my wife of my success I was met with ‘See I WAS RIGHT listen to wifey she knows best!’ A lesson to us all I think!
Needless to say The Masque is now my most cherished of minis and as such she is pride of place in the cabinet!
On the other pictures the ultramarines razorback was joint 1st in the vehicle category at Derby stores heat of the national painting comp. the princeps and the death watch marine have finished runner up in veterans comps at local stores and Abbaddon is just a great model to make but I am too scared to enter him! The forgeworld Baneblade is part of my gaming Imperial Guard army and was a real pig to build but I’m pleased with the airbrush finish! Hopefully the citadel version will be an easier build (article for the future eh Hoagy?) and if you ever get the chance buy the armorcast version!
(* to those non-brits out there, ‘chuffed’ is Brit-slang for ‘pleased as hell’!)
When Cannons Fade... 