10 hours of straight painting and 3 hours of sleep - Armies on Parade 2018

Welcome Imperial Citizens, Armies on Parade just ended world wide. Like many I participated and put my skills to the test against fellow hobbyist.
I had been thinking about this event for awhile now because last year I procrastinated and waited to the last minute to try and scrap together an army and board. However this year.....I sorta did the same thing. I finished my board 30 minutes before heading to the store. Proceeding that however was a full 10 hour painting session to finish my knight Castellan. I was in the zone and had it not been from pain in my knees and lower back I wouldn't have known how much time truly passed.

For the board I wanted to go with something simple, yet effective. Last year I spent a lot of time modeling the board which should have been spent on the models. The key to this board was to match my existing bases because I used three models which were finished already and are shining examples of my skills. The only problem with that, was I forgot my painting recipe for my bases. PRO TIP, WRITE YOUR PAINT RECIPES DOWN.

 After toying with random bases I got something almost identical. I aimed to do something a little extra on my board so I did research on water effects and gave it a go on my board. For my first real time using it, I would say it was almost perfect. After the water cured for a day and a half I noticed some cuts in the material. They weren't really distracting but the perfectionist in my noticed them. I would really like to make more water bases/terrain pieces in the future.

Looking at the categories for this year I aimed to get best painted and Monsters and Machines. I love painting big models. Partially because my eyesight is horrible and partially because I am talented at it. I chose to go with two Knight Lances. One lance would be my custom made House. And the other would be a Mechanicus House. This forced me to finish my Knight Castigator which had  been half built for maybe three years now.

This year was a smaller showing but my old GW just got a new manager. It was fun to meet him and all the players there. It was a completely new crowd from my days of playing 5th edition there. Below is a gallery of the entries.

I ended up winning Best Painted and getting Silver for Best Armies on Parade. First place was a fully converted plague marine army from Nurgle's Garden, The Knights of Isha. Third place was a giant Black Templar army.

Overall I am happy with the results. It was great to push myself in the hobby and spend a day with like minded individuals. How did you all do in Armies on Parade? Will you be entering next year? Drop a comment below. Thanks for coming by, and as always, the Emperor protects - Kuyo