Hi Everyone! The Counter Charge Spring Paint Contest has drawn to a close, and while we are all still waiting to see which entries the judges pick out, I wanted to share some of my favorites, figuring that some of you may not want to look through literally hundreds of Facebook comments, or maybe don’t even have Facebook!
I have tried to avoid highlighting the usual suspects, or those featured in Steve Hildrew’s weekly updates (though some may have slipped in). So, if your entry is missing, never fear, that may be because you are one of those jerks we are already hearing a lot about!
First up Alaric Hart’s really amazing tree dudes.
What a absolutely adore about Alaric’s trees is how natural they look. They fit so naturally in with the wildlife on his base, and really feel like they are about to march on Isengard!
Let’s transition from natural earthy tones, and switch to an super stylistic and frightening entry, King Bowen’s Unit entry. No idea what they are, but look at them.
Bowen has managed to use extremely stark color transitions and highlights to create an unsettling ghostly appearance, that almost looks like illustrations pulling themselves off of a page.
I mean look, the left one particularly looks almost two dimensional. The use of a limited color palette also means the details he wants pop SO much!
Bright colors can be challenging to pull off, but Matthew Temple has nailed it with these stunning Forces of the Abyss.
I love the details that the colors choices pull out. So many Forces of the Abyss armies I see are demonic reds, which while ok, is sort of cliche and done, plus visually meh. Temple has made use of electric greens to grab the eyes, and then given rich purples for the eyes to explore.
Temple’s unit of succubi here really highlight what I am talking about, look at all the cool detail. I really like the crystals he has used with his basing as well!
Drew Richardson is not a name I frequently hear when discussing talented painters, but the man did he create some amazing pieces for this contest! Check out these spooky Centaurs! Normally I think units need central color schemes to be tied together, but the same color yellows, metals, and bones tie these really differently colored models together.
Continuing on with some amazing work, Drew submitted this really amazing goblin character. The shading on the skin and attention to detail is just amazing.
Switching gears to some bigger models, check out Dylan Murrays frightening Giant! I’m not certain if he uses this as a giant or something else, but I love how the model pose and basing work together to create a great silhouette.
There were a number of really amazing monster entries, and Mantic models were featured heavily. Joe Krone painted this great Steel Behemoth. While the color scheme is relatively traditional, I love how this lets the model itself be featured heavily. He has also done some really cool weathering on the metal, particularly on the horns.
Continuing with the Mantic monsters, check out Martin Thirlwell’s pair of really amazing Abyssal Dwarf beasts! The Overmaster on Flying Monster is not a model I usually like, but the great detail work on the scales and excellent use of color really sells the model!
Even cooler, Martin has painted the new Hellfane model, and I couldn’t help but highlight it, even though I think Steve already did in his videos.
Speaking of new Abyssal Dwarves, check out Matt Wiseman’s paint job on the new Abyssal Dwarf sculpts!!! I love that he went with something other then lava basing, allowing the colors on the models to really stand out. The fiery looking beards is a great touch!
Departing from Mantic models for a bit, look at Ben Ratall’s ferocious Lycans!!! Their poses, the shading on the fur, and the use of basing just makes this unit extraordinarily interesting. I’m not quite certain why they are wearing ties though…
Kicking it a bit old school, Dave Szymanik painted these really cool Enslaved Guardians. I always had a fondness for these models, but never really saw them painted, so I couldn’t help but highlight them here!
Bringing the units out from Large Infantry, and down to the shortest of short, a troop of dwarves, is Billy Smith’s dwarf gunners. Yes I know Billy is a very prominent painter in the community, but I couldn’t help but giving props for the work that went into this unit.
First, these models while packed with character, are small, but Billy has given each of them a heroes level of care. The subtle but effective basing also shows that sometimes, a few pieces well positioned, can tell as much of a story as many pieces.
At the risk of swelling Billy’s head too big, look at the amount of detail he has packed into these dwarves’ faces! I almost always look first at the faces when I am paint judging models, its the most important part of the model, but often the hardest to get right. Not only has Billy nailed it, but he has added extra details with the rosy hew on the cheeks and nose!!!!
Switching from tiny dwarves, to massive birdmen, check out Ben Ratall’s avian Beast of Nature! The Beast of Nature has always been an odd unit, it is one of the best things in Forces of Nature, but also can be such a wide variety of things, that the model choices are all over the place! Sometimes I love what I see, other times i’m like… Here though Ben has nailed it!
Finally, I have the last entry I wanted to highlight. This is another painter that gets a tremendous amount of attention, and honestly it is 100% well deserved. As a fan of the horrific and twisted, I couldn’t help but just go WOW at this entry. It is Chris Walsh’s tentacle monster!
I mean just look at this thing! One real lack in the miniature hobby, at least in my opinion, is truly horrific models and paint jobs. However, there are some standouts, and Chris’s Nightstalker project is packed full of terrors from the depths of the human consciousness.
Just look at the eyes, the spit stringing between tentacles, the slug like back, its a perfect blend of lovecraftian horror, I LOVE IT!!!!
I wanted to give a big shout out to everyone who painted and entered something in this contest. I have an immense amount of fun watching entries progress and get turned in, and it really drove up the amount of miniature pictures I saw being shared. Great work everyone!
I also wanted to thank the entire Counter Charge crew for doing such an amazing thing for the community. Pulling something like this off is not easy, and they nailed it! Well done, I cannot wait to see who ends up winning!
D’aw I didn’t even see this shoutout. Thanks guys <3