Salt Flat Nomads

There are a bunch more models in the works where this guy came from.  But the project is losing momentum....

One of three sculpts for the 'Tribal Warrior'.  I'm painting two sets of these guys and gals. 
And then there are a half-dozen more models to paint in addition to the Tribal Warriors.

One, I played my game of Dark Age at NOVA Open, so I don't have a gaming goal to drive me forward to finish painting the figures.  And, two, these guys are really challenging to paint, because they have so much fine detail.  Probably the finest detail I've seen in a metal sculpt, on par with Confrontation Cynwall and Alahan figures.  So they're pretty time-consuming.  On the other hand, I've been enjoying the learning process, as I've worked on them.

So I'm posting a pic, in the hopes that it will give me a kick in the pants to finish out the project.  And I get to see how one of my new backdrops works (the MacroMat set by TableWars).  Pretty pleased with it!  It gives me a lot of flexibility to control the amount of colored "splash" in the background (very little here, which was what I wanted to test).

The sculpts are incredibly convincing in their anatomy, and the figures tell so much story in just their posing.  Given the style, I suspected that Patrick Masson was the sculptor, but I'm told the sculptors from Big Child Creative did the work for the Salt Flat Nomads, and I'm unfamiliar with who those sculptors are.  In any case, the poses and style of the figures really stir my imagination, which is what keeps me going on the project.

NOVA Open 2017

We'll just jump right into the 'Best of Show', by Damon Drescher.

This year was a banner year for both NOVA Open and the Capital Palette.  Unfortunately, I only took photos of the Capital Palette entries, so this post will mainly be a massive photo-dump of the Capital Palette.  But, hey, probably no complaints about that, right?

The 'Bust' category was very competitive this year.
One of my favorites, by Melissa Powell.

Sculpted by Roman "Jarhead" Lappat.
Painted by John Stiening.

Another one of my favorites.  Not sure of the artist, unfortunately.

Fantastic tones and mood by John "BloodAsMedium" Margiotta.
John pretty much brought his entire collection, which was awesome. 
Filled the cabinets with incredible work across all the categories.

I plan to write an article for Figure Painter Magazine, when I can access to the official Capital Palette photos.  I'll probably reuse some of my write-up here, when I write the article.

John Margiotta's entries in the "Vehicle" category.
I love Grot Tanks!  I'll be using these for reference, when I eventually paint my own.

NOVA Open acquired two more display cabinets for this year, bringing the total to 7 wide cabinets and 2 tower cabinets.  Good thing, too, since there were more entries this year than any other -- 95 entries in the Single Figure category alone!

Some very unique pieces.

I still contend that the Capital Palette cabinets offer the best public display in the hobby.  And I also contend that the Capital Palette trophies are the most attractive trophies in the hobby (solid crystal obelisks, representing the Washington Monument), as well as the most practical (for transport and display).

By John Margiotta

The judging panel this year consisted of Roman Lappat of Massive Voodoo, traveling all the way from Augsburg, Germany, for the third year in a row; James Wappel, professional miniatures painter from Chicago; and Dave Taylor, long-time professional hobby editor, painter, photographer, marketer, designer, player, charity organizer, and all-around swell guy.

Two pieces by David Powell. 
Great to see his return to the Capital Palette, after moving to LA!

This year saw the second iteration of the move to the "open" judging format, where all entries are measured against a bronze/silver/gold standard.  Multiple medals can be awarded in each category, but the bar was set very high this year, and a bronze medal was hard-earned!

The categories included:  Single Figure (which included large figures, such as monsters and cavalry); Unit/Squad; Vehicle; Bust; Diorama; and Sculpture.  A "Best of Category" was awarded to one artist in each category, earning the coveted obelisk.  One person was also awarded a super-size obelisk for "Best of Show".

Multiple "Unit/Squad" entries by John Margiotta.
Phenomenal work!

There were awards for special categories, including:  "Fan Favorite", as voted by ballot by NOVA Open attendees; "Most Creative", awarded by Massive Voodoo; "Best Weathering", awarded by Secret Weapon Miniatures; "Best Lighting", awarded by PoweredPlay Gaming; and "Best Speed-Painting", awarded by Grex Airbrush.

Winner of the "Unit/Squad" category, by Nick Pasch.

A cool diorama.

My favorite piece in the show, by Val Melik.
This one won Best of Category for "Diorama".

Plans are already afoot to tweak the competition for next year.  The judges are proposing two divisions:  Journeyman and Masters.  The Journeyman division is intended to encourage beginner and intermediate painters, who may be reluctant to compete against more experienced painters.  The judges have also proposed a "Young Painters" division, as well, to encourage young painters.

This was my one entry -- gaming figures for Confrontation. 
I had no time this year to work on competitive, display pieces. 
These guys earned a Bronze medal, though, so I'm pretty pleased with that, given the tough standard this year!

I may blow off Adepticon for 2018, for a variety of reasons.  On the plus side, that will give me more time to complete some proper, competitive projects for NOVA Open.  That said, I'm really going to have to push beyond my current level, if I'm to earn a Gold medal.  But that's OK -- I've generally been a Silver-level painter, once I'm thrown into a larger pool of painters.  The fact that I may be a Silver or Bronze-level painter at NOVA Open demonstrates how the show has advanced to the level that I always hoped it would attain.  I'll happily take home a Bronze, if it means I can ogle at 9 cabinets of world-class art!