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#Post#: 31--------------------------------------------------
How to win a Golden Demon or die trying (getting finalists)!
By: Mamikon Date: September 23, 2018, 7:22 am
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Hello guys! I figured that we should have a thread like this for
people who are trying to win their first Demon and they are
seeking advice from people who have more experience.
I can’t say that I have a lot of experience as I’ve only
participated in 5 golden demons.
The first one was in 2008 when I was a kid, I’ve won a silver
Young Blood Demon.
Next time was in 2014, I’ve got a finalist in single and nothing
in large model.
Then in 2016 Ive went for the 40K open day and got two
finalists, one in single and one in duel +nothing for my vehicle
and open.
Finally in 2018 I’ve went to two demons, first one was the Hours
Heresy Weekender in February, coming away with a gold in
Necromunda Gamg category and two finalists for my duel and open.
Then, in July, there was the Forge World and Specialist Games
open day that left me with two bronze demons for my Necromunda
single and Age of Sigmar single and two finalists for LotR
single and open.
So I can’t really give that much advice at the moment as I don’t
feel hat I’m a professional in winning, nether I am completely
sure I can give advice, that when applied correctly, can
actually make you win...
I will only say:
1) Make your miniature as clean as possible. There can literally
be NO flaws. The judges will spot every single error there is,
no matter how well you’ve hidden it!
2) Paint more on less. What I mean is: painting a smaller piece
to your best possible level is better than paintg a huge,
monumental piece to a level that isn’t that good. You don’t need
a incredibly cool diorama to win in say open category, if you
have an amazing paintjob on a 28mm character - you have a good
chance!
3) Have an idea for the piece, make it tell a story. I think
judges appreciate that. If you have a piece that isn’t only well
painted but tells a story - you are more likely to get more
attention. I think that’s just common sense, if you have two
amazingly painted miniatures but one is cooler, has something
special to it, which one are you going to award? Exactly.
To be clear, this is just some advice I can give, this isn’t
scientifically proven to work, just my thoughts :D ;D ;)
I would like to ask anyone who has some experience and knowledge
to share their advice here as it can be incredibly helpful for
people that are trying to improve their painting and get that
Demon they dream about.
I remember spending so much time on wrong things that didn’t
place, feeling so empty, so depressed. And it wasn't the fact
that I couldnt paint. I just didn’t know what to focus on, I
didn’t understand my mistakes. Then I got some advice and now
I’ve got a few demons to stand on my shelf.
If you are seeking advice - this is the place to ask. As for 3
days of this forum existence (on September 23rd) we have 34
users and over 50 golden demons shared throughout them all. I
believe there’s plenty experience here to share ;)
Kind regards
Mamikon
#Post#: 57--------------------------------------------------
Re: How to win a Golden Demon or die trying (getting finalists)!
By: The Chin Date: September 26, 2018, 7:25 am
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Completely agree on having a background or story to your piece.
We have a huge range of fantastic lore and background to help
ground our entries. The judges are just as into this as we are -
give them something they can geek out to! Simple things like
having a model with a certain livery to help you understand when
or where the piece is set. Having a space wolf on thunderwolf
mount with Harald Deathwolf's great company sigil is a simple
example.
Chances are if you can think of something like that and know of
some lore to back it up the judges do too!
#Post#: 75--------------------------------------------------
Re: How to win a Golden Demon or die trying (getting finalists)!
By: ZenGorilla Date: October 1, 2018, 7:46 am
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Choosing the correct category can also help swing things in your
favor as well. For example, just about everyone enters something
into the single Warhammer 40,000 model category, where as the
Duel category gets significantly less entries. At least from
what I've read online.
There is nothing wrong with entering any category you wish, but
it can never hurt to tip the scales to your favour every now and
then.
#Post#: 133--------------------------------------------------
Re: How to win a Golden Demon or die trying (getting finalists)!
By: Mark Lifton Date: October 11, 2018, 3:23 pm
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[quote author=ZenGorilla link=topic=13.msg75#msg75
date=1538398015]
Choosing the correct category can also help swing things in your
favor as well. For example, just about everyone enters something
into the single Warhammer 40,000 model category, where as the
Duel category gets significantly less entries. At least from
what I've read online.
There is nothing wrong with entering any category you wish, but
it can never hurt to tip the scales to your favour every now and
then.
[/quote]
Well, that's my secret busted!! :D you'll all be in duel with me
now 😩
Yup, tactical category selection can be key. But it's not just
about the sheer number of entries, it is also about the quality
of the best in each class and the barriers to entry .. I.e. The
amount of time required to complete an entry for a class. Most
people have a single mini somewhere that they are proud of, so
entering single mini categories has a low barrier, so this
swells the number of entries. It was far worse in the Games Day
days when you could get into the event an hour early if you
entered GD, so loads of people brought single minis just to get
in early. I even remember an empty flocked base brought in as
Frodo wearing the ring! The top painters will spend 100 or even
200 hours painting a single mini entry, so enter those at your
peril if you are starting out. That said the Lord of the Rings
category does ebb and flow in quality as the mini releases are
not as appealing to painters as 40k and AoS, so if you want to
paint a single mini, go there.
To be honest, all of the other categories vary in standard from
year to year. The unit classes tend to look fuller because most
gamers have a good unit they game with so can bring that along.
However, units and larger models take more time to paint, so if
you are a person who spends 150 hours on a single mini, a unit
of ten to the standard you desire is a big ask. The top bods do
enter these categories but in lower numbers The large model
categories have been made harder to enter too as you can no
longer enter an ogre or an ork boss (I was guilty of both before
the rule change 😉). But if you can deliver a very
consistent paint job, perhaps with a few extra twists added to a
model, you can do very well in the unit and large model
categories. Actually Bloodbowl teams and necromunda gang
categories are good possibilities as not everyone wants to paint
them. Certainly Bloodbowl appeals to fewer people.
And yes, my beloved duel category does also suffer from a
shortage of entries at times, more so at the mini demons because
people have not had the time to put into creating something (I
can spend nearly as much time building a duel as I do painting
it). Diorama is also often short of entries. With those two
categories, you have to do more than just build a model and
paint it, so a barrier to some. I'm actually a diorama builder
by inclination, but they take too long so a duel is the next
best thing. Getting some real action going on between two model
is vital in duel. You can't just plonk two models on a base
facing each other. However, getting something going on is easier
now as there are more action poses available, but you still need
to do something extra to set a scene etc. The two duels that I
am painting at the moment have no conversions at all,just mini
kit bashes, whereas for previous ones I have had to do some
serious kit bashing and converting to get some decent poses.
The one thing that I would warn against is spotting weak
categories from an event and going for that the next year.
Everyone else will have done the same 😂. (I also used to
show dogs, and the same happened there). I remember a weak duel
year a while back. The following year it was inundated and the
standard was too high for me to live with. The double bluff
might be best. Look for the scariest category (outside of 40k
and AoS single) and go for that. But now you are wondering if
everyone will do that, so should I now go for the triple
bluff..... 😂😂😂.
Or a good tactic could simply be to stick to one category over a
few years and hope that the ebb and flow of the standard of
entries falls in your favour from time to time. I have been
doing that with duel for a long time but have also had runs in
monster and unit categories.
Perhaps most importantly, make sure that you are painting
something that you want to paint. You are going to spend a lot
of time doing it, and it is supposed to be fun!
#Post#: 139--------------------------------------------------
Re: How to win a Golden Demon or die trying (getting finalists)!
By: Mamikon Date: October 15, 2018, 4:38 am
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Oh Mark you are so damn right ;D
We have to remember that Golden Demon isn't just about how good
of a painter you are but also about who turned up.
You can be an amazing painter but if Soper, Bohun and Kanaev
turn up in the same category as you have - get a beer and move
on! ;) ;D
Oh I remember my sacred duel in 2016, it was my best paintjob
till date and everyone next to the cabinets told me I was going
to place. Just 10 minutes before the end of the period when you
can enter the contest Matty Kennedy turns up with his amazingly
painted Ork vs Blood Angel and there's my demon gone! haha I was
happy to lose to that tho as I knew I couldn't paint my duel any
better!
So yeah, I would say this: do absolutely everything in your
power to feel good about the entry as even if you don't win, you
will be sure you did everything you humanly could (not counting
hijacking opponents family members and blacklisting ;D ;D ;D).
#Post#: 151--------------------------------------------------
Re: How to win a Golden Demon or die trying (getting finalists)!
By: SkelettetS Date: October 19, 2018, 4:35 am
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Just want to add, its also very much about luck. If your kickass
entry got put in a dark corner of the cabinet it can be
overlooked, especially at gd classic with the much more entries.
I took a bronze with a lotr entry at this years wh fest in
dusseldorf with the exact same mini that didnt even place
finalist in uk a year earlier, where it was put alone in bottom
shelf never to be seen again.
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