Local hobby shop challenges painters to show off their skills

By John Watson Local Journalism initiative Reporter

The time has come once again for miniature painters in Strathmore to test their mettle and put their skills on display during a winter painting contest at Hob’s Hobbies. 

“There’s $450 worth of prizes on the table. $250 for first place, $150 for second and $50 for a youth prize which will be claimed. This is in store credit, (which) generally turns into more models,” said John Hilton-O’Brien, owner of Hob’s Hobbies. The contest accepted entries throughout Dec. 2021 and Jan. 2022. 

The idea behind hosting the painting contests, which he tries to hold at least once per year, is to encourage the community to paint their models and develop their skills.

“The hobby of Warhammer involves these fantastic models and people will often spend hours and hours detailing their models and painting them just right,” said Hilton-O’Brien of the game that uses miniature figurines, which the owners paint themselves, to play across a Warhammer gameboard. 

“It’s a beautiful part of the hobby and when you see a couple of Warhammer armies playing, they’re often gorgeously painted. We want to encourage that.”

Strathmore’s contest has about a dozen entries from hobbyists across the community. These range from newcomers to seasoned veterans. 

Similar contests take place all over the world. Hilton-O’Brien explained these contests sometimes even barter international recognition.

“We’ve got a little local contest like ours where you’ll get a dozen entries, all the way up to an international painting contest like the Golden Demon award which, prizes include a trip to England,” said Hilton-O’Brien.

The majority of folks who enter the local contest also use their models on the tabletop during games of Warhammer 40,000 or Warhammer, Age of Sigmar.

According to Hilton-O’Brien, to the hobbyists, there is a source of pride in putting down their often beautifully painted collections on the table to do battle.

Depending on the model, as well as the skill and techniques of the painter, a typical project can take anywhere from hours to weeks to complete.

“It really depends on the methods you take to it. Somebody who is painting a model for a painting contest may take a couple of weeks on a single model. On the other hand, when you’re painting an army, all you really need is three colours on it for it to be ready for a tournament,” said Hilton-O’Brien.

“You can actually do an army in a couple of days’ worth of work. It’s very rapid to do if you know what you’re doing.”

Bearing that in mind, many tournaments, including those hosted at Hob’s Hobbies, have awards for best painted armies, which further encourage participants to strive to paint their models to the best of their abilities.

“There’s a sense of mastery that comes with painting something and making it look right and that leads to a real sense of satisfaction with it,” he said.

The models are not judged locally, as there was a fear of the event turning into a popularity contest. Instead, photographs of the contestants’ work are being sent to a community in Australia to be evaluated.