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The first show of the year net me five wins at the IPMS Hobby Expo in Petaluma, CA:

Gold - Dioramas - "Castle in the Sky"
Gold - Automobiles - Landscaping Truck
Silver - Figures, Fantasy - Ruby
Silver - Figures, Historical - Japanese Bust
Bronze - Automobiles - Oldsmobile 442 Junker

The automobiles category was a surprise for me, as I never would have guessed that judges would rank my landscaping truck ahead of my junked 442. I'm certainly not complaining about taking two trophies in a category, but I was certainly surprised by the results. When I got the bronze for the 442 I figured that was it for me -- and when they called me back I had no idea what it could be for.

Let me add that the Hobby Expo was, without question, probably the best single day event I've ever attended. It was very well organized, had an INCREDIBLE showing (easily 300-400+ models!), a lot of displays, and other clubs -- such as the 501st Garrison, Astro Mech makers, and lots of prop builders -- in attendance.

And now... back to the hobby table so I can get some painting updates posted.

I had the pleasure of attending an IPMS Regionals event, and came home with my first "Best of Show" award -- along with 5 gold, and 2 bronze awards. One of the judges let me know that one of the bronze would have been a gold, but for a very, painfully obvious seam... which I had, of course, totally overlooked. Alas. Still, you won't catch me complaining as I hadn't expected that model (Castle in the Sky - Diorama) to even make the first cut.

Best of Show - Marder III M (Artillery)
GOLD - Ruby (Figurines)
GOLD - "Fresh Meat" (Cars - Custom)
GOLD - 1966 Oldsmobile 442 Junker (Cars - Stock)
GOLD - Alien Bust (Sci-Fi)
BRONZE - "Castle in the Sky" (Diorama)
BRONZE - VW Chicken Coop (Cars - Custom)

I got some great feedback from the judges on several of my entries, and I'll make some improvements before the next show on those models that didn't place this time.

I have to admit that I was totally taken by surprise by the "Best of Show" award. I had already handed out the "Best Weathering" award (sponsored by Secret Weapon - so I got to hand it out) and figured my job was done for the day. They actually had to call my name three times to get me back up there. When I finally got to the stage we had a discussion that went something like this:

Me: Sorry, what's up?
Head Judge: Best of Show
Me: Sure, what did you need me to do?
HJ: You won.
Me: What?
HJ: Best of Show, you won it. For your Marder.
Me: Really?

There was a fair big of laughter at this point as much of that was picked up by the live mic. Oops!

And now it's time to get on to the next projects, and keep right on painting.

Until I spot the next thing that needs "fixing," this is it for the 442 kit.





It wasn't easy to close things up and hide all of the trash inside -- but there's enough going on that when you see the kit up-close you're drawn through the windows, so it's not all lost.

And now I need to not break it until the December IPMS event.....

This model was painted largely as an excuse to work with the flexible sandbags (THEY ARE AWESOME!) and try my hand at tying tiny, tiny knots.

The weathering was done using Secret Weapon Weathering Pigments as washes. This let me get a nice, rippled look of once wet dust. What you see in the picture, below, was largely washed away and only existed as a backdrop for the more recent dust.

Overall I'm very happy with the kit and how it came together. I've already found a couple of little things to tweak - like the misplaced rope under the bottom ditching log starboard side.

I'll take this with me to the Yuba City and Sacramento IPMS Regional shows this year.


This is a look at the color modulation, and forced focus, prior to weathering and filters. The finished effect is MUCH more subtle and really works as a whole.

CMON Voting Link

So I've been just a wee bit busy with the Tablescapes Kickstarter Campaign, but I did manage to make it to Adepticon this year and enter the Crystal Brush with five models... one of which took gold!







I have to say that if one of my models was going to win I'm thrilled that it was my historical vehicle entry.

As the sponsor of the "Best Weathering" category I also asked Roman and Raffa for their opinion (Roman was judging Crystal Brush - top photo) and their reply was, "There's a German tank that is very good. The open artillery piece." I got to smile, thank them, and ask for a second choice... because I couldn't win my own award. That's probably the best compliment I've ever received on my work.

Of course then I got home and managed to drop my Crystal Brush trophy. All six pieces are sitting in their box. I am a sad, sad panda.

And now the model just has to survive until the California IPMS regional event this year....

The Marder is finally finished! Well, at least until I notice something obvious in the photos that I missed while looking at the model.

I used the Dragon 1/35 Smart Kit, a milled barrel and rounds, brass detailing for the helmets, and made the stowage rolls.

I will probably do a bit more pigmenting on the stowage but I do otherwise consider this complete. I'm very happy with the colour modulation and overall effect, but like any kit there are plenty of things I would have done differently now that it's finished.





I did manage to make the cracked leather seats more visible -- with a helmet and strap on one of them to help draw in the eye -- and added a family portrait to the wall of the fighting compartment.

The radio is fully detailed and includes a headset with tiny, tiny wiring. I don't think I'll ever do that again. Ever.

I'm finally working on the detailing and finishing... and there's nothing quite like a camera to help you find the spots that need to be touched-up. In particular the (unfinished) gun return, and the shell storage.

But I'm very happy with how the radio turned out, although you can't see the metallic sheen in these photos, and that I managed to get the tiny headset built and positioned without losing my mind. Of course none of this would be complete without cracked leather seats!

I still have a lot of finishing to do, more detailing, weathering, the road wheels and tracks, and a bit of stowage. I do hope to have it finished in the first week of February though.

I'll have photos up of my winning entries later -- but I'm so thrilled to have left the California IPMS competition with three trophies, including a gold, that I had to post a little something right away.

There were easily more than 300 models at the event, divided into 21 categories. I have never seen that many competition worthy models in one place at one time. It was amazing! I met some wonderful people, learned a lot, and had a great deal of fun.

Thank you, IPMS Silverwings, for putting on a great show!

While I'm not going to post photos of the entry itself, this is the base for one of my upcoming IPMS competition entries.

The text is German for "Water stop" and the scene includes a water marker, the water cans, and a discarded water barrel. From the front view the train car will sit at the right edge of the scene, leaving a small section of the track exposed.


The foliage is thickly layered to give the scene a more wild feel, with paths trampled out at the front where an officer will be standing.

I'll post finished photos following the competition -- wish me luck!

I'm back from Kubla Con 2012 with trophies! All three of my entries managed to place and my "Happy Monk" took the People's Choice award this year.

I got some great advice from a couple of the judges after the show and I'll have some better models to show next year.


StuG III Ausf. B - Dragon Models - Gold
CMON voting link


Old Japanese Man Bust - Silver
CMON voting link


Happy Monk - Silver & People's Choice
CMON voting link

And I've already ordered the model for my next competition vehicle....