Warhammer Fest Europe

Hi all!

Last weekend was Warhammer Fest Europe in Düsseldorf, a great opportunity for plenty of hobbyists from Europe and beyond to gather and share about the Warhammer hobby.

I worked all weekend at the Citadel studio area, with the whole Plaguebone army on display.

It has been a bit of a logistical nightmare. I had to empty my cabinets, pack them all up in multiple boxes so they could fit some bigger plastic crates.

Then all this has been palletted and wrapped in plastic, put on trucks for a few days on the roads to Düsseldorf (crossing a sea and 3 countries).

I decided to break the barrier of the cabinet, for people to really get to see the Sons of Kortharis in the flesh. This allowed me to pass models hand to hand, directly showing and explaining painting technics.
It seems to have been a great attraction, litterally non-stop talking from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon. I had lost my voice by Saturday 4pm ! XD
Everybody have been very respectful, only one model got broken, and it was during the set up. Well done everybody!

The most asked question was probably how I made my bases. For those of you who asked and want to see a complete tutorial, clic on the picture below:

The venue was fantastic: the Maritim Hotel within the complex of the airport.
A great hall hosting the sales area, Golden demon and various activities from Warhammer Champions to video games licensing. Above this, a wide balcony welcomed the various departments forming the Design Studio.

I did a seminar about designing Mortarion, sharing many secrets behind the genesis of this iconic character.

(just a hint of the kind of pictures shown at the seminar...)

It is a complex exercise that requires a lot of preparation, but it is really worth it in my opinion, considering the reactions I could read on faces, and the comments of people staying behind.

It has been a fantastic experience. The questions and conversations following the presentation were great. I was delighted to hear how curious and enthusiastic those 400 hobbyists were.

I think the conversation about the female representations in our miniatures was one of my favourites. It was cool to see how passionate and engaging most of you were. Especially the ladies! Thanks to everyone who jumped in (even spontaneously!). It has been a great conversation, which I hope made you realize how badass our female warriors are. Girls rule !

But the main highlight of the weekend for me was meeting loads of happy hobbyists, some well known and some new friends, be it during the day or at night in the bar:

Colleagues from GW, fellow bloggers, painters, gamers, dear friends, brother... All united in the love of games and toy soldiers!

 

(Est Radieux en force !!!! )

I forgot to take one with the amazing Chris Keil! Man, if you read this, we need to take one next time.

It was great to see you and Cagn catch up. Mutual fans!

Icing on the cake, my Order of the Twisted Tree managed to place on the highest step of the Open category. I had prepared a display base for them (a gift from Mike Anderson, ex-colleague, thanks a lot if you read those lines!), and designed a plaque to go on it:

Like my Eldar army last year, this trophy means a lot for me as it awards miniatures I converted and painted for gaming purposes.
Some say that you need to paint to 'Eavy Metal style and standards to place in Golden Demon. It is not true, and my warband proves it. Creativity, atmosphere and narrative play an important part in the competition, as Pawel Makush's Slayer Sword winning entry proves:

Congratulations to all of the winners, and a big thank you to our mighty judges Christian Hardy, Simon Adams and Max Faleij for your hard work.

To finish this article, here is a video of the Open competition award ceremony, captured by my little brother Babou "Le Pratique":

Thanks for reading, and see you all next year at any Warhammer Fest!