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http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?community=&catId=&categoryId=&pIndex=0&aId=9700007&start=1

Some amazing stuff here, really nice.

Liliana Troy, former Slayer Sword winner, entered several pieces this last year and didn't even place - that gives a good sense of how tough the competition was!

My only peeve about this year was the winner of the Vehicle category - it isn't a vehicle! It's really classed as a 40k monster, yet somehow made it into the Vehicle class. Nothing against the painter on this one, but the organizers should really watch how these things are classed. The silver daemon winner of the vehicle category was basically screwed out of his gold because of this misclassification.

That rant aside, there was some really nice pieces this year. Congrats to all the winners!

i like the black templar and salamander marines more then the nurgle marine.

Man, when I've been painting as long as I have and a youngblood who gets honerable mention paints just as good, it makes me want to break all my paintbrushes and flush the paints down the toilet.. lol

man that was some aweinspiring stuff there.

Great stuff - I love the Wazdakka on jetbike! And the Eldar ramming the GK just gives me the giggles! I like the glowy eyes on Ismael Camarillo Jr.'s Librarian. Nice effect.

Anyone know what model Andrew Lum's Orc Boss is based on? Or is that a sculpt?

GrimTeef wrote:http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?community=&catId=&categoryId=&pIndex=0&aId=9700007&start=1My only peeve about this year was the winner of the Vehicle category - it isn't a vehicle! It's really classed as a 40k monster, yet somehow made it into the Vehicle class. Nothing against the painter on this one, but the organizers should really watch how these things are classed. The silver daemon winner of the vehicle category was basically screwed out of his gold because of this misclassification.

Well you can forgive the judges here, they clearly got confused when there wasn't a Nurgle-themed model to give the Gold to, like they did in 80% of the other categories...

Hey, GrimTeef - did you submit an entry this year?

yeah,
The jet bike ork isn't really a Vehicle either!!

the Eldar avatar conversion ... is outragously good!
Might have to nick that idea!

Panic

Excellent use of the deceiver there.

Wow!

The reworked Masque, the fantasy Ghouls that actualy look good, the Nurgle Chaos Warriors, that Iron Warriors Vindi, Liliana Tory's High Elf Noble (which totally should have placed)... wish I'd seen them in person. Fantastic work.

Can some post a piccie or two - no access at work :-(

I'm impressed! In years past the LA GD wasn't as high of quality as these winners are. They were always good, but these are phenomenal!

Ozymandias, King of Kings

GrimTeef wrote:http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?community=&catId=&categoryId=&pIndex=0&aId=9700007&start=1

Liliana Troy, former Slayer Sword winner, entered several pieces this last year and didn't even place - that gives a good sense of how tough the competition was!

Or how blind judges can be.

Some of the honourable mentions were robbed, but that's a very high standard this year.

That Avatar conversion is a good idea that I expect to be nicked by quite a few people.

Phazer

Agreed. I've found more Golden Demon stuff in the Honorable Mentions than between the winners. Alas de gustibu non est disputandum.

NAVARRO wrote:
Or how blind judges can be.

Agreed that High Elf standard is beautiful.

I concur, hell that youngblood imperial pilot and about 4 others in each category did better than than the first place winner. The dude that won gold with 4 different models has no depth, it really does look like he just really nice basecoats compared to some of the other works on there.

Do they release the judge's names and rational for choosing who they choose? I think some providing the public with perspective and the ability to annoy them with outraged emails may help all of us wondering if they were wearing beer goggles for some of these choices.

Beer googles or the fact that photos let some miniatures (and their paint jobs) look better than others.

I dig the black templar stuff, especially the terminator squad. Where are the helmets from btw?

Greets
Schepp himself

This is odd. I didn't expect that the LA GW would get so many great miniatures.
Although some, like the Librarian in the duel, look odd (I mean, the double-headed eagle just standing there ruins the scene for me). Others, like ogres, seem to be favourites.
And finally, the FW GUO which frankly beats most of those I've seen painted gets an honourable mention only.
The Mahud king looks suitably impressive and a lot more original than another Gollum, Aragorn or Galadriel (also sharing the page with him is another amazing Galadriel).

And the Imperial pilot...

Schepp himself wrote:Beer googles or the fact that photos let some miniatures (and their paint jobs) look better than others.

No beer goggles unless GW spent time shopping some models in the honorable mention category for fantasy.

Not taking anything away from the winners, the work is top notch. However, it is a well known fact that GW judges subjectively to say the least. If the boys in Glen Burnie don't like you, your entry could be the ninth wonder of the world but you wont win SQUAT. There are a number of very well known and respected painters that refuse to enter GW events due to the judging practices.

taebeck wrote:If the boys in Glen Burnie don't like you, your entry could be the ninth wonder of the world but you wont win SQUAT.

It's probably be better to say that you won't win if they do not like your work as the miniatures have no identifying names on them (except if someone were to add a signature or something). Staying in the spirit of Games Workshop's games is one of the main criteria so as long as a judge can justify some preference with this technical superiority and imagination are not primary decision factors.

If the dude with four gold and "flat" base-coat that LucasLAD mentioned is Thierry Husser then you should take a look at the photos on his homepage here. Not all is "Golden Daemon" quality and even his dirt sometimes looks strangely clean. The "just base-coats" look in the photos is probably the result of less extreme highlighting and shading (and event photography).

But just pushing every shading until you hit black and every highlight to white doesn't define a good paint job, it just hints at some excessive rendering fetish.

I think I came off a bit harsh I'm not saying that his quality was bad, I just think there were better.

Obviously the judges didn't think so, such is the beauty of personal opinion.

From the look of the Honourable Mentions the Judges had a really tough time choosing and it could have quite easily come down to the smallest of details the swung it one way or the other.

I'm really glad to see the over all quality of the entries sky rocket this year. It now looks harder to win there than at Baltimore (which used to be the top dog of US Games Days).

I heard one of the judges was Chris Bell, he had a decent looking Crimson Fist army a while back.

Allot of talent was in the GD at LA this year. Record entries in the GD, record attendance, and some very impressive club tables.

Very impressed by the overall work...

I just wish they'd come back to Atlanta.

Mario wrote:

taebeck wrote:If the boys in Glen Burnie don't like you, your entry could be the ninth wonder of the world but you wont win SQUAT.

It's probably be better to say that you won't win if they do not like your work as the miniatures have no identifying names on them (except if someone were to add a signature or something). Staying in the spirit of Games Workshop's games is one of the main criteria so as long as a judge can justify some preference with this technical superiority and imagination are not primary decision factors.

If the dude with four gold and "flat" base-coat that LucasLAD mentioned is Thierry Husser then you should take a look at the photos on his homepage here. Not all is "Golden Daemon" quality and even his dirt sometimes looks strangely clean. The "just base-coats" look in the photos is probably the result of less extreme highlighting and shading (and event photography).

But just pushing every shading until you hit black and every highlight to white doesn't define a good paint job, it just hints at some excessive rendering fetish.

To say that the judges wouldn't know who entered a certain piece is naive.

First of all, the GW people know many of the high lvl painters on site and see what they check in. Word of mouth could have most of the entries pegged before the official judging starts.

Second, you can spot many painters work a mile away. Impeccable freehand and realistic earth tones, Marika Rimer. Stunning color theory and detail work, Derek Schubert. An over abundance of purple, Jennifer Haley (inside joke LOL)

The judges are not a paid outside company that comes in and judges impartially, they are just people in the hobby one way or another. They are only human and human nature might make you more critical of a person that has been critical of you/ your company/ your buddy. I am sure it happens at many painting events, it just seems to happen more frequently at GW events.

The Golden Daemon judges are, at best, mercurial. What might win at one GD may not even place at a different one against the same competition. There are certain standards, of course, and the top circles tend to be from models from a limited group of painters, but within those circles there's a lot of personal variation.

It also has to do with what "style" is popular with the judges at the time. A few years ago it was all about the bright and cartoony paint scheme. After that, for a while you couldn't place if you didn't do a substantial amount of NMM techniques. It looks like now the focus is on darker, grittier, more realistic models for the most part.

BTW, that forgeworld Great Unclean One in the honorable mentions is actually not just a display piece for paint competitions - it's actually part of a play army (nurgle daemons, 40k). Look for it, and the corresponding pieces, at the LVGT. Should be damn impressive.

taebeck wrote:To say that the judges wouldn't know who entered a certain piece is naive.

First of all, the GW people know many of the high lvl painters on site and see what they check in. Word of mouth could have most of the entries pegged before the official judging starts.

Second, you can spot many painters work a mile away. Impeccable freehand and realistic earth tones, Marika Rimer. Stunning color theory and detail work, Derek Schubert. An over abundance of purple, Jennifer Haley (inside joke LOL)

3rd didnt slayer termi participated on a GW site competition not long ago? slayer contest or something...