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I was at the 2018 Adepticon in Schaumburg, Illinois last month helping out at the Reaper Paint & Take tables. I took pictures of the stupendous international Crystal Brush competition entries and other minis and terrain with an eye towards the interests of the people on this forum. Also some fun cosplay and miscellaneous interest. I can't guarantee my photographs are great. I was using two cameras with very different capabilities and strengths and I am not a professional photographer. Some of the pictures use a very harsh flash because it allowed for super sharp enlargements of detail, something I thought painters here would be interested in. I didn't know which entries would win the Crystal Brush competition, and as it turns out I missed the third-place winner. I have got pictures of the first and second place winners. So to begin with, here is this year's first place entry, "Apocalypse", a diorama by Michal Pisarski. And this is the second place winner, "The Name of the Wind", a diorama by Sergio Calvo. My pictures of this are not so good, I'm afraid.

I took pictures of many of the Crystal Brush entries at Adepticon earlier this month. The photos are not always the greatest quality, sorry, but since so many didn't make it onto the official site I figured this is better than not seeing them. There are so many beautiful paint jobs and assemblages! There's an entire album on Photobucket here (mild nudity in one photo). Here are just a few: ETA: Swapped out one picture because of nudity.

Just putting this out there as I forgot about it until it was too late last year. For those who want to give a competition a shot, Battle Cry will be held in April (at the Manchester, CT Battlestandard I assume, but they did open an Auburn, MA location last year). There are several different categories, detail in the link. There is a fee to enter $10 first fig, $5 each additional entry. Best in Show qualifies for the Crystal Brush. I may just go to look at the entries. They haven't released the actual date yet, I just wanted to put it out there so if someone wanted to paint something for the competition, they would have time.

Once again the CMPA (Colorado Miniature Painting Alliance) will be hosting the Painting Conference and Competition at Genghis Con XXXV. Genghis Con takes place February 13th - 16th 2014 at the Red Lion Hotel in Aurora CO (I-225 and Parker Rd). Genghis Con is run by the Denver Gamers Association (DGA) (their website is currently showing Tacticon, the Labor Day convention). Their website is here: http://www.denvergamers.org/ or you can find them on Facebook. The CMPA is currently getting its list of classes ready for the registration book the current list of classes from the notes handed out last Saturday include the following (there are typically multiple slots for most of these, except the more advanced classes like OSL and NMM): Setting the Scene; Advanced Basing Flesh and Faces Faking the Forge; Shaded Metallics OSL Basing for Beginners NMM Unit Painting Vignettes and Dioramas Mini Photography Basics for Beginners Blending Freehand Airbrush Demo Glazing Leveling Up (This is a preliminary list and is still subject to change) The current line up of instructors is: Michael Proctor Rhonda Bender (yes, Wren) Phil Esterle (although absent from the Reaper forums, still painting) http://www.fingolfin.net/ Lyn Stahl Torin Reed Plus a few to be named later. Normally Lili Troy also instructs but her hands will be full with a 1 year old at that point. We are also missing Jen Kaufman who has decided to take a break. The painting competition is a trophy format (1st, 2nd & 3rd) with multiple categories. Currently Dark Sword miniatures is confirmed for a $200 manufacturer award (nested in as part of the regular competition). I would expect to see at least one other manufacturer jump in as well. We are also a Crystal Brush qualifier event. I'll fill things in as more information is confirmed. Also if you are in the Denver area, please feel free to attend our regular 2nd Saturday painting get together. Currently meeting at Dark Matter Games (Mississippi and Wadsworth).