Steve Firth - Hall of Fame
Steve Firth cut a wide swathe across the early history of Arc. Hopefully, we’re able to do justice to the significance of his contribution and reveal to everyone why he was among the first inductees to our Hall of Fame in 2012 for his ten year involvement with the event both as a player and organiser.
He’s credited as having won the event in 1999! Being crowned the overall Champion is to be a part of a very elite group of people and Steve Firth was the second person to join that group, winning Arc in 1999.
He also finished 2nd, 5th and 10th overall in the following 5 years. As well as being a top 5 sporting player twice, top 5 best general as well as securing the Player’s Choice award in it’s second year of being awarded… In the first 5 years of Arc Steve was a powerhouse of a Player - awesome to play and a presenter of some awesomely themed and presented 40K armies. He’s got quite the resume in his playing career at Arcanacon.
It’s not surprising then, that he understood what Arc was all about. But in donning the Fez and adding his experience to WATT and the Arc organizing team - that is by far his longest lasting contribution to the event.
Play tester, and mission designer, Steve was rarely in the background - as he helped and played… before ultimately finding he was needed to organise and help out more than play.
Steve Firth loved to be innovative. Pushing the limits of theme in each and every army he built, painted and played at Arc.
Who names their army Mad King Ludwig's Dark Eldar Navy? The guy that wins Players Choice that’s who! Or who would model Fez out of greenstuff onto every model in their army…and then bring that army as the bye buster so that the event has even numbers of players - no one missed put on a game thanks to Steve.
In my mind and what I saw him bring to Arc, Steve was all about the theme - he embraced the theme, immersed himself and his opponents in the theme of his army.
I remember facing off against his Chaos Khorne force in one early edition of Arcannacon. It was hot, we were sweaty, it was the top floor of the science block - but the moment he placed his custom made Skull dice tower on the table top I knew this person had bought their A game for getting really into their theme… he certainly set a standard that many veterans try to achieve and maintain to this day.
So, there it was, a sea of Red Traitor Marines lined up on the opposite side of the bright green battle field. But this skull, with a spout and what looked like a funnel sticking out of the top of it’s head. The spout and funnel were red. The Skull was bone, and there were trails of red marking the path of blood falling all over the skull.
He scooped up some dice, poured them into the funnel and bam… dice rolled onto the table top. Damn that was some great hit rolling - too many six’s for my liking.
And his Skull dice tower wasn’t the only Skull Steve would create for Arc40k… the collection of perpetual trophies, recognising the winners of each and every Arc event were the brainchild of Steve Firth.
These trophies spawned and gave substance to the design of every future Arc40k logo. Including the latest incarnation designed to be used in logos for every aspect of the event - Overall Champion, Play for Fun, Paint your Army, Don’t be that Guy, and Forged for Fun.
So Skulls for the… Steve 'God of Skulls' Firth! Arc40k is some what skulker thanks to him.
Some of the Awards Steve Firth grabbed as a player before joining the organizing team.
