[P&M] Relic Forums Conversion/Painting Competition Voting Pt2

[Unforgiven1977]

So now ends our 2nd official contest here on the relic forums. If you really think about it this technically our third as this wasn't actually an extension of the conversion contest. But to hell with all that. What matters is we now have some damn fine painted mini's to gaze upon. Created by some damn fine artists.
Now for the best part. We get to vote on them and pick our favorite.
Thanks to all you artists who took part in this. You guys produced some amazing works within, what I consider a grueling time frame.
Also thanks once again to cfoley for hosting the pics for us.

See the entries here.

SO LET THE VOTING COMMENCE.

[Tinweasel]

First, I voted for whats_true's "Rath of the Wolf" figure - while the other entries are all good, it came down to a decision between Ap0k's and whats_true's figures. I leaned more towards whats_true's after studying 'em both carefully - I'll have to admit that I wasn't amazingly impressed with the unpainted figure when I saw the original conversion pics, but now that I can see it in detail and painted... well, it really is an impressive conversion! I think the painting, although in mostly neutral earth tones, really "makes" the figure - the attention to detail is good, and I can pick out a range of techniques throughout the different areas of the conversion (highlighting, drybrushing, washes) playing up all the different textures nicely - leathers, fur, metallic pieces, etc. It seems to me that the subdued palette of the Space Marine serves to draw the eye to the brighter "wolf magic" and it's lighter, brighter scheme.

In terms of why I ran with whats_true's figure, it was more a case of what I felt was "lacking" in Ap0k's, to be honest. I think Ap0k's SM Bike Captain, while solidly painted, seemed to have just a little too much contrast between the individual colors on the figure and their respective shading, and the highlighting itself is too "thick" with not enough gradation between "metal" and "shine." I understand that because the metal is painted so smoothy it's reflective (good job on that!,) it's going to have a higher contrast between dark and light - all that aside, I just think that the thick highlighting color on the metal was too "abrupt" and was just too outright silvery to fit the gold/brass color of the metal itself. When taken with the shading/shadows for the metal which appear to be straight lining-in of black, I just don't think the overall appearance of the armor is "subtle" enough. The details on the rest of the model follow in the same vein - I understand that he's riding through snow, but aside from the crevices, the "snow-covered" tires are straight black as opposed to a "softer" color; the parchment and scrollwork on the rear of the bike are shaded and lined with what looks like pure black, as opposed to a softer brown; things like the weapon strap seem like they're all edge highlight or shadow with no gradation on the face of the material itself... IMO the figure's good - no question of that, and I'm hoping my impressions don't come across as a "rant" against his entry; nothing of the sort.

In comparison of whats_true's and Ap0k's entries, I just think the less "stark" paint job won me over!

[Edit] I'm an idiot and didn't study Ap0k's bike tires carefully enough - it doesn't really change my overall feeling about their appearance, though, and definitely doesn't change the fact that I'm an idiot! [/Edit]

[nyyti]

Rath of the Wolf!
Although Ap0ks and Tins were painted/converted excellent, I found this to have the best idea. Congrats!

[Shas'ui]

I voted for whats_true as well. That is just an amazing conversion and I fell that it stands out from the rest.

[thesilent1]

I also voted for whats_true. After carefully examining it, I noticed a ton of details that I overlooked before. Besides, the conversion idea is still kick ass!

[offended_angel]

WOW! i had to vote for Ap0k's briliant.. :insane:

[TheDeinonychus]

I actualy got two votes. I feel flattered ^_^

[whats_true]

Tin, you have no idea how much you just made my day


Hugges to everybody

I enjoy painting Space Wolves because I get the chance to use such colors. It the whole Viking theme that I enjoy the most about them.

On a side note:

All the entries were stunning. BillyBob's base had to be the best one in the entire gallery. turtlefishstick's pose is almost like taking a photo of him about to lop off someone’s head. juckto did a nice job on painting pale flesh. thesilent1 gets brownie poets for not doing a space marine as well as making it look truly Orky. Ap0k...well, what can i say. It "bling-bling" man! Excellent conversion too! TheDeinonychus did a extremely unique one, in that i have never seen anything look it before. Really good. fifth_horseman, i just noticed the gun firing. That’s crazy man. Well done on the shoulder pad too. And finally, Tinweasel, whom my vote goes to, for though Apok did an excellent job on the painting, and I do mean EXELENT, Tin delivered the his model with surprising effectiveness, considering that his looked like a blob unpainted. For if you truly study his, you can see that he painted every single detail in the model, from the chains to the white eyes. A special note on that right foot, just stunning.

So, to all who did this contest, well done.

[aceofchaos]

sorry tin but Ap0k has my vote. tough discition though

[MaD_hAmiSh]

The entry's are amazing, better than last times in most cases. The three that really stood out for me were What's_True's, Ap0k's and Billybobs. The nurgle marine is truly disgusting (in the way it should be, it's Nurgle after all). The funny plaguey bits and the shiny armour, along with the zombie face make for an excellent figure. Ap0k's biker marine is very shiny, and metally, the rust/gold (can't really tell which) effects are amazing and the whole mini fits quite well together. Although I think, as Tinweasel has said, it was a bit too shiny to beat What's_True's "wRath of the Wolf." The Rune Preist looks like he just stepped out of a longhouse, the mud base is wonderful and the natural browns and earth tones really work well together. His staff and face especially stand out and look really well done. I felt that the wolf and magic effects weren't quite as good as the rest of the model, viewed from the side at least. If you take a closer look at the front you can almost see it leaping from some frozen tundra as it is summoned. A brilliant job done by all, and it was a very close thing between the Wolf and the Biker. The green trim and tentacle on Juckto's Chaos Marine also stand out. Tinweasel's Apostle is well done, the powermace and red of the shouldpads stand out for that one. Fifth's Iron Angel marine is very nice as well, especially the freehand symbol drawn on the shoulderpad, but the boltgun flame looks out of place, being so bright on such a dark model. The chest eagle and highlighting on the legs are really good as well. The Blood Angel veteran sargeant is good, and was close behind my top three despite fuzzy pictures. The Kommando's skin is great as are the choppas, he is possibly what Turtlefishstick's veteran is look so surprised about. The Red lining in the armour is especially effective for this marine.

There's my vote and my inane ramblings about the competition. Great job on everyone's entry.

[Unforgiven1977]

Alright. I'm super pissed now because I had this lengthy post all typed up and almost finished when something shitty happened and my browser shut down. Post gone. So to hell with it.
For reasons which I won't get too into for fear of the same thing happening again, it came down to whats_true and BillyBob for me. However I loved whats_true's conversion and now that it's painted I love it 100 times more. So there's my vote.
BillyBob this is your best work yet IMO. There were a couple of things that I thought could be touched up but I was so impressed with the gruesomeness of the paint job that whats_true really only edged you out because of the sheer coolness of his conversion.
Great job everyone.

[Chake99]

To quote what I said in the other thread and bring it to its proper place

Tinweasel--
Extremely nice. The mace is well done, as is the conversion. The paint-job is excellent as well; the rusty trim, and the skulls everywhere are bits I particularly like. The red is wall blended as well.

Critically I have to agree with the rest about the "fleshy areas." As well it doesn't seem to scream Word Bearers as much as it could; the weapon doesn't look particularly like a crozius arcanum (fallen chaplains), and I think the effect would be better bare-headed.

However the Parchments everywhere do a lot to make up for it. No Apostle of the Dark Gods should go into battle without his armour adorned with hymns to the Dark Ones!

Great job.

The fifth horseman--
Nice. Love it. The conversion for the most part is subtle but well done. And it screams dark angels. The chestplate has a watcher in the dark, the greave has the lion sword on it just like the original pre-heresy design. The shoulder pad too seems amazing. Is it really hand drawn? If you say yes I doubt I'll believe you . The two things that detract however are the bolter explosion, which though a nice idea could have been executed better; it should have more colors than yellow and white, and it doesn't seem on par with the rest of the model. The second problem is that though extremely nice doesn't have as much of a "wow" factor as the other models. All in all good job.

TheDeinonychus--
The picture is much to blurry, which is a pity as the model itself seems quite nice. The standard is excellent, as is the blood drop on his arm. I also like the wings; nice salute to Sanguinius. He seems much to orange and monachromous however, as well as too busy from all of the plasticard(?) studs.

Still a well done model.

Ap0k:
Disgustingly awesome.

This guy sure is a bling-marine. My only nit-pick would be disagreeing with the color-scheme... but now it is starting to grow on me.

Excellent job.

Whats_true--
This is one wicked model. The conversion is insanely nice, (such a cool wolf!) and the paint job seems to be just as well done. My only problem with it would be the photos, which seem to be of lower quality than could be desired. New ones with brighter lighting and sharper focus would be excellent.

Awesome job.

TheSilent1:
Another well painted model. The camoflauge on the face is particularly nice, and the blood on the axe is a nice touch. However the pain-scheme appears too banal (more colors!) and the highlights could be more distinct.

GJ

Billybob:
For some reason after last comp I had tagged you down as a "decent but not truly exceptional painter." Guess it's time to replace the tag. Truly zombified champion. The eyes are incredibly well done, and the skulls stark white contrast to the rest of the model is excellent. As is the grimy stuff (whatever it is, it looks digusting) that is covering parts of his armour.

Not really any major nitpicks, but perhaps more colors could've been added to add to the "wow" factor, without making it busy.

Juckto:
The pictures could be higher resolution... right now I'm struggling to see details. Noise marine? If so not bright enough. Any other type of CSM? If so too gaudy.

Other than that seems to be a great mini, I particularly like the head and tentacle arm.

GJ

Turtlefishstick:
There is something about this model that is once attractive and repulsive... I don't know what it is but good job. I like the weapons (for highlighting) and backpack (for shading) the best.


All in all great job from everybody. I'm not sure who I would vote for but it is prolly between Ap0K and Whats_true.

Right now I'm going to take another look, and I will edit this post with my decision.

Voted Wrath of the Wolf. That is one kick-ass mini.

All in all good job to everyone.

[BillyBob]

I had to vote for Tin for the following reasons:
1. It's a dark apostle
2. his blends make it look like candy.. yummy, delicious, corrupted candy

[SlickWilly]

I voted for turtlefishstick....his mini, to me, has a certain quality which all of the others lack... Im not sure what though. The closest I can get to describing it is a factory made mini....and not even that comes close.

Whatever, I just liked it.

[Lord_Calgar445]

i went for the bike

[wing5wong]

not sure if you noticed, but you spelled whats_true's Wrath of the wolf as Rath of the wolf ;P

[Tinweasel]

not sure if you noticed, but you spelled whats_true's Wrath of the wolf as Rath of the wolf ;P

So did whats_true... Heh.

[fifth_horseman]

Nope. It's a game of words - whats_true chose his Wolf Priest's name to be Rath.

[cfoley]

That was a very difficult decision. There was a shortlist of four for my vote. In the end it came down to picking faults in the painting. The last two were decided on the smoothness of the blending.

Well done, Tinweasel.

[Legiemus Urov]

After taking my sweet time, I voted for tinweasel's figure. I loved the gradiation on the red armour, and the amount of detail on the face and the parchment.

This was a really close call, and I should say that I'd probably go for whats_true's entry if the space marine armour was a tone or two brighter. I loved the dark earth tones, but the marine's armour could do with some more contrast. Maybe starker highlights is all it needs.

Ap0k did a great job on his entry, and I doubt that there are many who could do better in the 10 or so days that the participants had to work on painting. My gripe, as I said when voting for the conversions, is the pose. By the way, I must know which colour's that copper. Please?

[Ap0k]

The Gold recipe (thanks VtraxX) is Shining Gold over black basecoat, followed by a mix of green/brown wash watered down 5:1, then rehighlighting the gold back up through shining, into a 50/50 shining/mithril silver, and finally pure mithril at the edges. It should have had in betweeny blends of 75/25 and vice versa, along with a green, brown and finally orange glaze. I could then have highlighted it back up to pure mithril at the extreme edges, but I just didn't have the time.

Let me give some insight into how the model developed for me from the get-go.

I had recently read the Taros campaign, and Orelius (a captain at this stage) is mentioned as having lead the Raptors forces in aid of the other Imperial Troops. I already had a Raptors dread painted, so I figured now might be an opportunity to expand on that a little (especially since my converted Assault Terms are due for a Raptors colour scheme).
As I was nearing the end of the conversion, I realised that it was far too ornate for a run-of-the-mill captain, so I figure that if we fast forward 10-15 years, he's now at company champion status, and a veteran of anti-Tau warfare (which explains the speed and close ranged weaponry, since Tau tanks gave the Imperial troops an awful lot of bother on Taros). This in turn gave birth to the almost garish colourscheme,

Company Champions want it to be known that they are company champions. They want their allies to see them on the battlefield and take courage from the trail of destruction they create, they want their enemies to see them and be very very afraid of whats inevitably going to be coming their way very very soon.

The first choice of colour was Green. It had to be, those are Raptors colours afterall. Its basically Catachen green highlighted up through camo green and finally edge highlights of rotting flesh. The second colour had to to scream "I want you to see me and wish you hadn't, whilst inspiring friendly troops to victory". Gold seemed the obvious colour here. It complements green well, and a great beaming beacon of relfected light striding through the battlefield is surely going to cause inspiration or dread, dependant on which side you're on.

I'd always been a fan of Dante's armour, so I decided to have a shot at it myself, to see if I couldn't get some experience using golds (on a side note, compare the gold here to that on celestine, it's a pretty big difference). The rest of the model was trying to balance the gold/greens in appropriate areas, along with finding a colour neutral to both that could be used repeatedly on smaller details. Red. It wasn't used much, but I think it brings a little extra to the mini that wouldn't have been there had I gone with Snot green or something. Purity seals should always be red IMO, and the cloth holding the sword to the meltas would give me a nice contrast to the planned green scabbard and gold handle.

Thats pretty much the general gist of the thought process. I'm fairly pleased with the result given that most of it was painted over the weekend before the deadline. Although some areas are a little sloppy, it's all been chalked up to experience now. I hate going back and repainting since if I screw it up, it will never be the same, and I'd lose any incentive to fix it ("it'll never be like it was, whats the point"). It was the first time I'd tried 'proper' looking gold, so I'm happy there, though more blending stages would be a must for the next time round (it's a fairly long process to do properly from start to finish, and time was against me, which is why I skipped the last few stages). Edge highlighting on other areas is a little sloppy as well, due to my bad time management and having to do a lot at the proverbial 'last minute'.

I would presently consider it my best work from the point of view that it's better than Celestine (in my view), but I know I can do better, and all this criticism is good to have. So thanks everyone for your comments so far, they're appreciated. Sorry for making a long post.


As for why I voted Tin? That red is stunning. Red is a pain in the ass to shade/highlight at keep it looking like red, but it's been done very very well here. The pallid, transparent flesh is nice (could do with maybe being a little more veiny though, possibly some very thin blue/purple lines running through it), and the light gold/coppery colour for the metallics is something I don't think I've seen done before. I'm not sure what my feelings are on the colour of the power mace, maybe a darker blue would have worked better, but that risks having the whole mini subdued, where it provides a nice contrast in its present state.

The only thing it's missing is a base Rivers of blood or tar would be my personal choice (to symbolise the faith ebbing away) for that methinks.

Good job all, it's been a lot of [hectic] fun

[whats_true]

neat back fluff Apok.

And yes, I spelled it "Rath" not "Wrath", for it makes it look like its in a different language.

[turtlefishstick]

Well it has been a couple of days and it was a tough choice, but I picked Tinweasel. I have to agree that the red is simply stunning. :nod: I want my room painted that red. And over all are really solid paint job. Great workTin, I can't wait to see what it really looks like with a base on it.

Thanks for the vote SlickWilly! :turtle:

[Brother Wolf]

Well, first congrats to everyone for doing such an awesome job. It saddens me that I couldn't finish participating in the contest, but it also fills me w/ awe as to what I would've been up against had I finished.

Since thins wasn't a GD comp and I'm merely an enthusiast and not a trained judge, I let my gut vote. After going through everyone images, I voted for Ap0k. I'll be honest, it's probably because it's a bike model. Still, I recognize Tin's comments concerning the highlighting seeming too broad/thick. However, after having seen umpteen million NMM versions of gold/brass in the last year, I found the use of real metallics not only refreshing, but the fact that the highlighting does carry a significant amount of the same traits which make a good NMM look so believable. Other than the fact that his wheel is turned the slightly wrong way, (if he were actually driving faster than 5mph, the wheel turning in would be counter to the gyroscopic effect and would, in effect, dump the captain on his ass). Still, the action of the pose and the paint are both amazing and captured my attention from the get go. Hell, the photo quality is top shelf to boot.

That being said, there's so many other terrific examples. Tin, your apostle is sickeningly cool. The armor & the mace are stunning and the detail work is awesome. But the bloated, putrid flesh pouring out here and there really make the model come 'alive' as it were. Really terrific job.

I want my room painted that red.

My guest bathroom is painted that red. It's like taking a piss in a blood soaked tomb during parties. Muhahahahah!!!!

Whats_true, I mean, damn. I love me some Space Wolves and Dwarves. You're ability to capture earth tones so well is disturbingly impressive. The only reason I couldn't lean in your direction was because the earth tones were too good. It just didn't POP. Has nothing to do with being a bad job. On the contrary it's stunning. I guess my desensitized, over-stimulated psyche just needs more OOMPH and less ooooohhhh.

Congrats to everyone for doing such a good job across the board.

[Dante]

My guest bathroom is painted that red. It's like taking a piss in a blood soaked tomb during parties. Muhahahahah!!!!

Anyways, I liked all the entries. I was surprised at seeing that old marine on the bottom. I was scrolling, scrolling, then BAM classic looking marine, ready to chop someone's head off! It made me laugh.

My final choice was between Ap0k and Tin. Both are painted really well. The red on that armour was so...perfect! But I really didn't like white/bone parts. And that's why i voted for Ap0k. Great painting, and I really liked it so it got my vote!

I'd always been a fan of Dante's armour

Why thank you Ap0k! I like to keep it clean and shiny! haha.

[Dooks Dizzo]

Hands down Apok.

I wish I had entered my Grand Master into this, he has the best metalic blue armor I have seen on a model to date. Anyway I'll definitely get in on the next one.

[aceofchaos]

yeah me too...
even though i couldn't stand up to apoks design, i could still give a run for his money

[Evolution]

This was for me a hard decision between Ap0ks biker and Whats_true's Rath of the wolf.... in the end I had to go with RotW, it just looks too damn cool not to.

[ChaplainGreyus]

Ap0k's model is teh poonage!
Didnt know company champions could be given bikes or bolters/ meltaguns though...
can someone fill me in on this?

[Ap0k]

They probably can't. Not like I actually care though. As far as I'm concerned, when it comes to display mini's, coolness > WYSIWYG.

In about 10 years when I have enough Raptors marines painted for display purposes to make an army they might have changed the rules (doubtful :P), or, the more likely scenario is that it'll be an army of 'counts as'

As it is, it's probably not in any way legal at all. As a matter of fact the Emperor would probably be pretty pissed at me for the sheer amount of codex violations it presents :steam:.

[BillyBob]

Consider him a Master on a bike with a power fist and master crafted combi Melta.

[Ap0k]

Could VDR it if necessary probably. I prefer the idea of twin linked melta or multi melta attack bike Either way the subject is moot. It's not likely to ever be used for gaming

[Unforgiven1977]

Congrats Ap0k on yet another victory. You must be getting sick of winning these things by now. LOL. You ought to be given the title "Undisputed Relic Forums Miniature Contest Champion". Ok maybe that won't all fit.
Seriously though, that's one damned fine mini. Not to mention it makes a really cool avatar.

[Ap0k]

hehe, thanks Unf. Tired of winning? Never! It's good to see Orelius well recieved, makes it worth the £30 something it cost me in bits/boxed set orders(!).

I finally took ionfish up on my prize from the last comp, after fiddling with the pics in photoshop for about an hour to make it look a little more lifelike (not sure if I achieved that or not) I finally had something I could bear to look at when I posted, since Celestine just didn't want to become an avatar at all (the hussy...).

Thanks all who voted for me, and congrats everyone who entered on completing the challenge of getting your mini's painted on time. It's been fun (as you would expect)

[BillyBob]

Thesilent1, juckto and I all take the "least votes prize", seeing as how you can't get lower than 0!
I say we get custom avatars, seeing as how I want to put my Sarpedon as my avatar!!!
.. well, we can always dream, can't we? :wise:
Still, good job all. the quality of this contest was significantly above the last. I dunno how it's possible, but it was! :ds:

[whats_true]

I like your Avator better than you modle Apok

Congrats to all that participated.

I'll beat you one day APok :fencing:

[cfoley]

BillyBob, don't take the number of your votes to heart. The way polls work is that they only determine the most popular entry. You can't use the results to put the rest in order. For example, if everyone who voted for Ap0k thought your entry was second best, you would have easily been second. I think that you along with everyone else did really well and I regret that I couldn't enter this one.

I think that the biggest congratulations go to Ap0k, though.

[Unforgiven1977]

Well said cfoley. I also think the next contest should be set up so everyone gets multiple votes instead of just one.

[juckto]

We aren't getting votes at all for the next competition. We get scoring cards instead . Apok will be able to see exactly how far ahead he is of second place .

Off topic: :haha: gotta love those random smilies