SHOWCASE: Talon's Reach space marine captain

Warhammer 40,000: Talon's reach space marine captain

So... yes... Updates have been a little thin on the ground of late. There are good reasons for this, but at the same time, they're not particularly 'good' reasons. Unfortunately, real life has reared its ugly head a lot this year and inflicted a seemingly limitless number of woes. The main one that has impacted my painting, however, has been that work is so ridiculously busy that I now exist in a near constant state of exhaustion. Many things have suffered as a consequence, my health and my painting among them. I have, however, managed to find time to complete what is—at the end of April—only the second model I've finished painting so far in 2017: this limited edition space marine captain.

DISCUSSION: 2016 in review

Horus Heresy: Imperial Fists Phalanx Warder marine

Horus Heresy: Alpha Legion contemptor dreadnought

Age of Sigmar: Orruk Warchanter

2016 was an interesting year for me as a painter. It's safe to say it wasn't the most productive in terms of output, but what I lacked in quantity, I was pleased to make up for in quality. This was the year that saw me finally take a step up in terms of both ability and purpose. Having painted purely for pleasure in the past, 2016 saw me enter my first competition. I was more than happy to come away with a finalist pin for my efforts, and look forward to more opportunities like that in future.

DISCUSSION: Golden Demon 2016

Golden Demon 2016: the crowds gather to inspect the entries

We've had a week for the dust to settle now, so I thought it would be nice to revisit last weekend's Golden Demon competition at WarhammerFest. This year it was held in my home city of Coventry. I didn't go to the last one, so it was a nice opportunity to see the changed format (it used to run over a single day at the NEC in Birmingham). I also entered Golden Demon for the very first time...

SHOWCASE: Nârik Dreygur, Consul-Praevian of the Iron Warriors

Nârik Dreygur, Consul-Praevian of the Iron Warriors

For the last couple of months, I've been gradually doing more and more work on this project. This is Nârik Dreygur, The Gravewalker, Strategos-Minor of the Apolakron, and Consul-Praevian of the Iron Warriors. With such a short, catchy and easily-memorable title, you'd expect a suitably imposing miniature... and this is it. This is a limited edition model, available exclusively at the events that Forge World attended last year... or to anybody, like me, who couldn't make it to the events, but found one on eBay. I loved the model when I saw it, but toyed for a while with whether it was worth getting, mainly because I don't collect Iron Warriors (but do collect their mortal enemies: the Imperial Fists). It's such a good model, however, that I eventually decided to relent. I'm glad I did. As well as being a joy to paint, as of yesterday, it became my first ever entry into the Golden Demon painting competition, and earned me a finalist badge for my efforts.