Sunday, June 26, 2011

Armies on Parade, here I come!


Ok, the "first round" of Armies on Parade judging took place in the North American Hobby Centers yesterday. I decided to take my army to White Marsh as it has really been my default store since the closure of the Glen Burnie Battle Bunker.

When I arrived, Scott (the manager) let me know that there were only one or two others who had expressed an interest in entering. This was a little disappointing, so I headed across the street to grab a quick beer with a friend and former colleague, until the set-up time arrived. When it did, I hustled back over and set up my army across from a young guy fresh home from his first hectic year at college, Daniel.

I will admit it felt a bit like I was, as they say in the tournament scene, clubbing a baby seal.

Unlike my six months of on-and-off work on this army (of almost 150 models) and my 20 years of painting experience, I discovered Daniel had only started his army two weeks ago, upon returning home for the summer. Even with only two weeks on the force (and about three years of hobby experience) Daniel put in great showing, with some fun conversions and a really cool looking display board. Here are some shots of his board and army.





After we'd laid out our armies, Daniel and I had a great chat, exchanging information about various aspects of our armies and boards (both lamenting the drying time of Water Effects). He's a really nice guy, and it certainly made me feel old when he asked me how long I've been in the hobby. I realized it's been 20 years (give or take a month). Crazy.


In the end, I was victorious. Thank you to GW for running the event, to Daniel for his valiant effort, to Brien for the use of his airbrush, to all of you who gave me encouragement along the way, and to my secret weapon...my Powder Monkey t-shirt. Looks like I'll be wearing this one to Games Day Chicago!

Cheers
Dave

9 comments:

  1. Your right Daniels stuff is great and his display board is top notch. And in 2 weeks? That guy has alot of talent.

    Congrats on the win and now having a lucky shirt haha.

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  2. Unfortunately lucky shirts, socks, etc. lose their power after you wash them... Good luck with that! ;)

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  3. I'm not saying he should have beaten your entry, but Daniel's army and display board are really good.

    As much as I love to see beautiful works or art like yours, I also like to see high quality 'gaming-standard' armies that look like something I could conceivably (with a fair amount of hard work, practice and time) achieve myself.

    His colours look really good, the conversions are all characterful and the display board really sets it all off.

    Good luck to yourself in the next round!

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  4. Well done Dave, your army looks great from the back!

    Congratulations on making it through to the next round.

    I really like Daniel's army and display board as well, he did a top job.

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  5. well done mate good luck on the next round !

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  6. Well done Dave... its great to see a Veteran player spending the time and also encouraging another generation of players... I have been doing this since 87.

    Anyway well done, and show us the back of the Merchant! we want to see the design you picked!

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  7. I can think of worse ways for him to have spent the day than getting the chance to hang out with one of best painters and genuinely nicest guys in our hobby.

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  8. Hi guys

    Thanks for all your comments. Daniel's stuff was certainly nice and the vote on the day was 12-8. Next year I'm sure it'll be even closer.

    Cheers
    Dave

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