Golden Demon competitions are held every year,
in the United Kingdom and the United States,
giving dedicated Warhammer hobbyists
the opportunity to submit their very best work
and claim glory in the ultimate miniatures painting competition.
Are you the one who’ll triumph over all
and lift the legendary Slayer Sword?
Hello one and all and welcome back to The Art of Caesura!
Last week I started off my coverage of Warhammer Fest 2023 with a look at many of the "famous" personalities that I met at the event, this week we're zeroing in fully on the plastic!
One of the joys of visiting Warhammer World is getting to see the ACTUAL miniatures painted by the world renowned 'Eavy Metal team that grace the boxes and pages of Warhammer publications. There is really very little comparison between seeing a miniature on a page (even one that has been professionally photographed) and seeing the real thing - being able to walk around it and appreciate its three-dimensionality, and see for oneself the eye-watering smoothness of blends on these miniatures in 1:1 scale - not magnified on the page of a magazine.
It was, thus, quite a treat to see a bunch of these recently shown off miniatures for myself at Warhammer Fest.
Here comes the huge caveat for this post. My photo quality is not excellent. I took all of these pictures on my phone under far from ideal conditions: by elbowing my way between / over / under other excited attendees, through a pane of reflective glass and under less than ideal lighting conditions. I have cropped all the images and tried to colour-correct. That being said I think that there is still some value in these photos because many of the non-commended Golden Demon entries will not be published online (outside of the artist's social media page).
I will start with some of the 'Eavy Metal miniatures that were on display, beginning with the recently released: Lion!
The sword, "Fealty" was especially impressive.
Below is the glow-up for Commander Dante. While mind-blowing, I felt the NMM wasn't quite as scintillating as on the previous incarnation.
Below are a bunch of pics of the box-art versions of the new Leviathan Space Marines...
...and their Tyranid vis-a-vis.
Below is an assortment of other 'Eavy Metal-painted minis that they had on display.
Rogal Dorn, the spiritual Primarch of the Black Templars (who I met at the fest - see my post from last week!)
The new Seraphon (Lizardmen) looked glorious; complete with nip-slip!
In previous years, Games Workshop have (contentiously) only posted pictures of Golden Demon winners (not the many many commended entries which were often only a hair's breadth from the podium) or those that earned a finalist pin. It seems that this year they will be posting some such pictures - which is excellent news. Regardless, I tried to take pictures of as many of the miniatures that really captured my imagination (or were Black Templars).
I am so sorry that I don't have credits for this incredible work, but the pieces are displayed anonymously. If you see your work here let me know in the comments below and I'll be sure to link to your socials. And if any Golden Demon entrants have found their way to my blog, welcome, and bravo!
The piece above was one of my fave of the whole show, it was just so different and told such a strong and unique story - especially with the clever painting of the Valkyrie shadow.
Above, the trophy for the "Young Bloods" (participants 16 years and under)
The model below was another favourite of mine. Inspired by the cover of the 2000 Orcs and Goblins army book for Warhammer Fantasy Battles, that one hit me right in the nostalgia!
The shadow for the display above is (expertly) painted!
Phew!! Some talent eh? I am undecided about whether Golden Demon is something that I would ever want to enter. I am heartened to see that other painting styles than the pure "Games Workshop House Style" (smooth blends with extreme edge highlights) are being considered. I just don't know if spending hundreds of hours on one miniature (which would equate to 2 years of work with my current time constraints) would be a fulfilling process for me. It would, of course, be exciting
At this point a quote from James Clear's Atomic Habits comes to mind:
The only way to become excellent is to be endlessly fascinated by doing the same thing over and over. You have to fall in love with boredom.
I really do believe this is true; that many times those who come out on top are the ones most willing or able to stick with a task through the parts that are a boring slog. This has certainly been true for me at many points in my life: when I was practising for a half marathon, studying for medical school etc. If you can hack your brain into enjoying (or at least finding something captivating) about a process that others can't stick, you will be well placed to excel.
Thanks for tuning in this week and last for my Warhammer Fest 2023 coverage. I hope you enjoyed getting a look through my lens.
I'll see you next week right here on The Art of Caesura!!
Watching: Best in Miniature
Next Week:
A grumpy chap...
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