Like most hobby events the Age of Sigmar - Call to Glory, had both gaming, as well as hobby awards up for grabs. Now when you get a field of close to 200 players, then the competition for some of these hobby focused awards can be pretty intense.
And that was certainly the case this year’s Call to Glory held as part of CanCon in Canberra 26-28 January.
So, let’s take a look at some of the awesome armies that were on display across the weekend.
The Best Painted Army award was decided during the first few rounds and three judges were invited to come and select their winner.
If you didn’t know, Cancon hosts Australia’s premier display painting event the Crimson Brush.
So when Call to Glory Tournament organizer Jason Harris, needed some people to fill those roles he was able to invite some painters who know how to look for the best in technique.
Will Brightley, @will_paints and Seige Studio painter, was in Australia on a painting tutorial tour and was judging at Crimson Brush. Trent Dennison, @bigdenopaints and organizer of Crimson brush, as well as Andrew Long, @hobbycrusaider, Australian Golden Demon Judge and organiser of ArcOpen Painting Challenge.
So suffice to say that the team who were there to judge the best painted army were well qualified to know what was needed to make that choice.
A gallery of Call to Glory Armies - display boards elevate the presentation during the parade of armies and voting for Coolest Army.
Here’s some of the judges thoughts about what they saw when touring the tables in search of the best AOS armies at Call to Glory.
Several of the armies were contenders. Among us, we agreed that there were a selection of armies, where extra attention had been applied that helped create an overall theme of the army. The choice of colours that allowed units to stand out but remain cohesive, as well as the application of a range of higher level painting skills.
Among the best of the runners up included Dave Kerr’s Ogor Mawtribes. Dave had converted Blood Bowl Ogres for his core units. But it was the smoothness of his blending - particularly on the orange armour - the cleanness of the large areas of skin across most of the models in the army, together with some great basing and faction terrain pieces. It looked like a cohesive force upon first impressions. And the technical quality, consistency and skills displayed certainly helped it be among those we considered.
Lorenzo Casadei Della Chiesa brought along an amazing display for his Gloomspite Gitz. The quality of construction as well as the painting of the background really supported and added to the overall appearance of the army.
There were so many similar models to paint - hoards of Goblins is a challenge when trying to deliver a consistency in painting. Although there were others in the group that had more technical prowess or were riddled with conversions it was the consistent level of painting that made Lorenzo’s Gloomspite Gitz really stand out - Oh and his mushrooms, OSL and other extra details on his characters really helped them to stand out and demonstrate some refined painting technique.
There wasn’t an award for the biggest display, but Tim Barklay’s Fairies army was Epic in both it’s size, scale and extent of conversions. This was paired with a great overall technique for the painting that ensured this army deserved to be recognised. The painting judges felt it deserved to be commended for its impact and WOW.
Tim was however able to secure gold in the other major hobby award, as his army secured the most votes to win the Coolest Army Award. Contenders for Coolest army were chosen by the Tournament Organisers and then put on display to be judged by the other players at Call to Glory. So congratulations to Tim for presenting such an awesome and unique army.
Securing the runner-up spot in the search for the Best Painted was Bradley Baker's Sons of Behemat force, featuring four Mega-Gargants. The judges recognized the army's qualities, with Bradley's adept use of the vast gargantuan canvases clinching him second place.
Notably, the smooth application of paint to large skin areas and the variety in texture effects on cloth and other materials showcased the army's distinctive qualities. Additionally, the well-executed display, featuring models seamlessly integrated into the board, heightened the overall impact and contributed to its well-deserved runner-up position.
So we finally get onto the winning army in the Best Painted Category. Will, Trent and Andrew all agreed that the Seraphon Force of Thomas Oliver was the standout army presented at Call to Glory.
It looked spectacular from a distance. As you might expect there was a very dynamic and staged look to the army thanks to an integrated background and base board. Serassic Park was emblazoned across the front of the display base.
But once the judges starting to look at the units and individual models it was clear that the painting skill, refined technique and attention to detail really came to the fore.
Thomas had created an amazingly cohesive army that had seen the highest level of painting skill applied across any of the other forces on display.
The techniques applied in painting this army were at another level. Highlights that popped, smooth transitions and blends, freehand patterns and designs… Thomas certainly had ticked a load of boxes in demonstrating his painting skill.
If you are looking to see what a display army brought to a table top event looks like then you’ll be hard pressed to find a better example anywhere.
Congratulations to Thomas for presenting the Best Painted Army, and also to everyone who put in the time and effort to present an awesome army at Call to Glory in Canberra as part of CanCon in 2024.
ArcOfSigmar is coming to ArcFest at Sandown Racecourse 27-28 April. Arc40k has been a massive celebration of hobby throughout the years. Hopefully, armies like these seen at Call to Glory will grace the tables of our first Warhammer Age of Sigmar event. If you’re ready to take up the ArcOfSigmar challenge then head over and grab a Ticket - they are on sale now - click HERE to grab one!
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