Titanium Dropship 2014 - 15mm sci fi painting competition

What's this all about? Exactly what it says on the lid. A 15mm. Sci fi. Painting. Competition. Together with the rest of the Dropship crew we wanted to kick off 2014 with a very loud supersonic band! So we contacted a few manufacturers and begged them to offer prizes, found a couple of talented painters to act as judges and here we are: looking forward to make this a major event in any 15mm sci fi gamer calendar!

 

Blower Tank - Miniature by Khurasan Miniatures, painting by Dwartist

Right, but practically?

• The competition will run from January 15 till February 15 (midnight UTC).  
• Send up to 3 pictures of each entry to titaniumdropship@gmail.com. Be sure to include:
• The pictures: although this isn't a photography competition, good quality pictures will help judges give you the recognition you deserve. If there's doubt that a given default is due to the picture or the painting, we'll have to assume it's the painting. Also, please give them a cool and practical name like "153th Drop Infantry Squad - Picture 1/3.jpg", not "img354878541210568794641.jpg"; and make them jpeg and decent sized (Godlilock sized: not too small so that no detail can be seen, nor too big so that the mailbox can't swallow them). No photoshopping or any fancy effect: plain raw pics.
• Your real name and complete address (if you win something, we have to send it to you)
• The nickname you want to be referred by on the Dropship when we talk about your entry 
• Optionally, a blog/site/profile, you'd like us to link to when presenting your entry
• Entries have to fit one of the following three categories:
• Squad Leader: a matching group of 4 to 12 miniatures. They don't have to be a squad in the military sense of the term: irregular units and assorted group of heroes might fit the bill too. We will be looking for a certain sense of unity among the group though, no throwing 4 random figures together and call it a group. Power armour up to 30ish mm high, cavalry and bikers fall into this bag too.

"Alien Legion" Squad - Miniatures by Khurasan Miniatures, painting by Steve Dean

• Vehicle Commander: a single vehicle, anything from car to dropship sized will find a home to. Mechs, Gear and giant robots are obviously welcome here. Miniatures presented in this category have to be playable unit: if your giant dropship is only useful as a terrain or objective enter it in...

VTOL - Miniature by Ground Zero Game, painting by Robin Fitton

• Combat Engineer: a single terrain piece or building ranging from 10x10 to 20x20 cm (that's between 4x4 and 8x8 inches for those of you still measuring shit with their body parts) or a group of scatter terrain/objectives amounting to the same surface.

Table by Robbin Fitton - And no, it wouldn't be a valid entry for this competition!

We realize not matter how detailed the guidelines we write, they will be some holes left: miniatures fitting in two categories, and miniatures fitting in none. When in doubt contact us: we'll figure out where you land and make sure you and everyone else is treated fairly.

• Only one entry per category and per person (yes, that means you can send three entries, one in each category)
•  Miniatures from any manufacturer are welcome. In fact scratchbuilt items, repurposed toys and even miniatures from other scales (GW Tau drones, Infinity remotes or smaller scale space ships used as grav drones or vehicles are a fairly common sight on 15mm tables) are all welcome. The jury will be looking out for the "15mm-ness" and "scifiness" of the entries though. Your Infinity remote might make a perfect giant robot and fit nicely on any 15mm table without causing a single eyebrow to raise, but in the context of this competition, you'll have to go the extra mile to make it "15mm-ish": we don't want someone grabbing a random mini from another scale, calling it 15mm and winning, our goal it to promote 15mm gaming! Along the same line: your Arab village or pine trees forest might certainly be said to be on an alien word and thus sci fi, but again unless you go the extra mile (sci fi accessories on your buildings, alien colours on your vegetation) you're entry will be dismissed as "unscifi"

Nice, but what's there to win? Beyond recognition and fame you mean? We'll go over the details various prizes in the course of the following weeks, but we have enough sponsors to offer a significant prize to the three best entries in each category! The prizes are miniatures (obviously), including in some cases yet to be released items, but also (rule)books. Sponsors include (in no particular order): ClearHorizon Miniatures, Ground Zero Games, Darkest  Star Games, ZombieSmith, Mad Mecha Guy, Brigade Models, Two Hours Wargames, Critical Mass Games, Black Hat Miniatures, Gruntz, The Ion Age, 15mm.co.uk, Assault Publishing and Eureka Miniatures (the later being conditioned by the number of participants in one category).

I'm not into 15mm sci fi, can I still participate? By all mean! For one, there is no reliable test of your involvement in 15mm sci fi. And for two, the goal of this competition (and of Dropship Horizon as a whole) is precisely to promote our hobby to the larger gaming community. So whatever your background and motivation go and buy a couple of 15mm sci fi miniatures, paint them and send us pictures. If you're at loss on where to start, and without prejudice to any of or other sponsors (or any other manufacturer for that matter): have a look at Ground Zero Games, he has a impressive assortment of infantry, vehicles, buildings and both a record and a reputation of sending stuff at FTL speed, including across the Pond, so you're sure to get them in time to participate! Stop wasting time. Go. Buy. And. Paint. 15mm. Sci fi. Minis.

"Legal Disclaimer"

• This is my first time organizing such a thing, so their will be unforeseen problems showing up. I'll do my very best to sort them out rapidly and to keep this fair and fun for everyone involved. By participating to this competition you agree to remain civil, to use common sense and to be sportsmanlike.
• By submitting an entry, you allow Dropship Horizon and its sponsors to use the pictures you provide, with due credit of course.
• All decisions of the organisation or judges will be final.
• That's all I have for now, but then again I'm no GW patent lawyer so I may add things as problems come up!

Stay tuned for more!