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Vote time!

This month the topic was: Weathered - Rust and Dust! Mud and Blood! We want to see the dirtiest, nastiest model put on a base. Practice those weathering skills. None of that parade ground clean, spit and polish stuff. Revel in the filth, play in the dirt, show some wear, tear, and decay.

As always, you're free to hand out as many votes as you like, and for any entry you feel deserves recognition, based on anything from technical proficiency or model choice, a neat conversion or a cool take on the theme, or anything else! You're also very welcome to leave some feedback here for the entrants, and many of the images click through to the Dakka gallery if you'd like to give out a vote or two there as well.

Daia T'Nara - Plague Marine


Nevelon - Deathwatch


carlos13th – Sentinel


inmygravenimage – Nurgle Squad


halfling84 - Abandoned Fishing Boat


tzurk – Buildings


Ezki – Immolator


Captain Brown - Crewmen


Peterhausenn – Chaos Spearman


theCrowe - GobSmasha


Turaxa - Necron Slasher


Mr Nobody – Plague Marine


ZergSmasher - High Priest on Bone Dragon


Geifer - Swamp Golem


Jammer87 - Fenbeast


Pariah Press - VSG, Plasma Regulators, and ZM floor tiles


Pursuit Of Happiness - Orc


Midget Gems - Ork Rusty Tank


Maharg - Orc Bloodbowl Player


JoshInJapan - Wasteland Lawman


Chris56 – Wurmspat


Vejut - Derelicct Galleon Tank



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As always, if you notice I’ve missed something, let me know. Poll will run for 5 days

How am I suppose to limit my votes when they're all so damned good?! Some of you need to put a little less effort into this.

 Mr Nobody wrote:
How am I suppose to limit my votes when they're all so damned good?! Some of you need to put a little less effort into this.

More than once, I have ended up giving everyone (except myself, of course) a vote.

 Mr Nobody wrote:
How am I suppose to limit my votes when they're all so damned good?! Some of you need to put a little less effort into this.

I handed out a lot this month, everyone doing a bang up job

Yes, there were a huge number of outstanding entries this month. Great work, y'all!

 Mr Nobody wrote:
How am I suppose to limit my votes when they're all so damned good?! Some of you need to put a little less effort into this.

Less effort? I put as much as I can into my entries and they still end up mostly as also-rans in the voting! I've only been within spitting distance of the podium a tiny handful of times. Clearly I need to find a way to put more effort into mine.

Time for the winners.

In 3rd with 21 votes is Daia T’Nara's Plague Marine, covered in eons of grime and germs






Charging across the pitch in battered armor is Maharg's Orc Bloodbowl Player and 23 votes









And the catch of the day is halfling84’s Abandoned Fishing Boat at 25 votes for the gold. Lovely realistic wear and tear on that boat!











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More then normal (if that’s even possible) amazing work from everyone! Fantastic month all around with a very high level of work for everyone. Congrats to the winners, but everyone should be proud of what they did this month. Just great work, all the way down the list.

Edit: Also updated the index thread, which was a bit behind.

There were a lot of good entries last month. Congrats to the winners!

Congratulations to the winners, and to everyone who entered. You all deserve comments, but I'm too busy with exams to write.

 ZergSmasher wrote:
Less effort? I put as much as I can into my entries and they still end up mostly as also-rans in the voting! I've only been within spitting distance of the podium a tiny handful of times. Clearly I need to find a way to put more effort into mine.

You have definitely been putting in the effort, and it shows in every model you enter. I can't say that I've cracked to code, but based on my results, what I find get the votes include:

1) Oldhammer. People seem to like old models lovingly painted.
2) Painterly techniques, like Object Source Lighting and Non-metallic metal effects. Also, really nice gemstones, where applicable.
3) Odd one-offs that don't belong to an army or warband, but will look cool on the shelf.

All that said, I try to remember that I'm not competing with the other entrants, but with myself. Every once in a while, I like to look back through my older work and see whether/ how much I've improved. Your painting has come along, and will keep getting better as long as you push yourself. Let's keep at it!

Congratulations to the winners and good job getting something painted, folks.

 JoshInJapan wrote:

 ZergSmasher wrote:
Less effort? I put as much as I can into my entries and they still end up mostly as also-rans in the voting! I've only been within spitting distance of the podium a tiny handful of times. Clearly I need to find a way to put more effort into mine.

You have definitely been putting in the effort, and it shows in every model you enter. I can't say that I've cracked to code, but based on my results, what I find get the votes include:

1) Oldhammer. People seem to like old models lovingly painted.
2) Painterly techniques, like Object Source Lighting and Non-metallic metal effects. Also, really nice gemstones, where applicable.
3) Odd one-offs that don't belong to an army or warband, but will look cool on the shelf.

All that said, I try to remember that I'm not competing with the other entrants, but with myself. Every once in a while, I like to look back through my older work and see whether/ how much I've improved. Your painting has come along, and will keep getting better as long as you push yourself. Let's keep at it!

To add to this;
Zerg, you have been getting better, and it does show. Unfortunately, so has everyone else. (Unfortunate for an individual, amazing as a whole; proud of everyone here)

You are solidly in the pack here. So the question is what can you do to stand out? To continue Josh’s list:

4) Engage in the community. Post WIP, comment on other people’s work. When people go down the list you want them to know your name. By showing your work and talking about your thoughts, asking questions, getting answers, people get vested into your project.
5) Try new things. One of the goals of the comp is to get people to grow and push themselves. Go out on a limb, and push yourself. and let us know! (see previous point). Even if you don’t nail the execution, you can get points for trying.
6) Stick to the theme. A lot of people will enter stuff that’s only vaguely on topic. Myself included from time to time. This is not The Way. I will 100% toss votes at lesser paintjobs that nailed the job description over GD level stuff that didn’t. On that note, when I ask for topics for next month you can skew your chances but suggesting things that align to your project queue. Just make sure they are universal enough to cover a broad swath of things.
7) Scratchbuild. This sort of relates to 1 and 3 above, but if you paint something ordinary, it’s hard to stand out from the crowd. You need to stand out. How? It’s hard to do if you are painting primaris Lt. #15. Raiding the vaults of nostalgia, rare special editions, or kitbashes. Or offbeat minis from games nobody has heard of. Even if your paintjob won’t stand out, your mini will. And that can get votes.
8) Bribery. Vote early, vote often. Break the system. Buy votes. Get your family and friends to log in and vote for you. Blackmail people. You can also reserve your vote till the end in the hope of manipulating ties on the podium to allow more people to win. Game the system.
9) Dark pacts with ruinous powers. Sell your soul (or firstborn) to some evil power for skill with the brush.
10) Hope for a month when the usual suspects at the top don’t enter. The reality is that we welcome people of all levels. And there are some crazy good people among us. And yes, they tend to dominate the podium. But are also here to answer questions and help out. They may be the competition, but are also the mentors, advisors, and aides. Steal their tricks. Follow in their footsteps, watch and listen to what they do. So when they do enter, take advatnage of that. But when they miss a month? Strike!
11) Better pictures. We can only vote on what we can see.
12) Get Gud! I say this sarcastically, but keep pushing yourself to improve. At the end of the day, better paintjobs get more votes. Everyone, even those at the top, still has room to grow. Keep pushing yourself, keep improving. I don’t want to imply that you are a bad painter, but we all can be better. Try new techniques, different tools. What’s holding you back? Do you need to refine what you are doing?

I wasn't trying to be salty, I was just trying to make a cheeky response to that other comment about everyone needing to put in less effort. But I do appreciate the advice, as sometimes I do feel bad that my efforts go unnoticed and unrewarded. And that other month where I did get close only to end up missing the podium felt like when Lucy pulled the football away from Charlie Brown at the last second. There are definitely some months where I do kind of phone it in like if I don't have much time, and I definitely don't expect votes there. It's the ones where I absolutely put my soul into it and then just don't get noticed that kind of bum me out. I remember when I entered The Lion and while I consider it to probably be my best paintjob to date, it just didn't get noticed at all. That's partially on me as I was stretching the theme (and I really wanted to paint that model for a tournament the following month), but it still hurt.

I do appreciate our supportive community. I should avail myself of it more, but it's nice to know everyone's pulling for each other. I'm not quitting anytime soon even if I finish dead last in these comps. I get compliments on my stuff from my local gaming group, so I know I'm doing something right when it comes to painting and modeling.