Something’s gone wrong - the entries in the Wi/Hammerhead Painting Competition weren’t supposed to be this good! When we first teamed up with the organisers of the Hammerhead Wargames Show back in 2018, we collectively decided we wanted to run a painting comp in which anyone coming to the show could just pull their best-painted mini(s) off the shelf/from under their bed, bring them along and have a chance of winning. Little did we know that there are so few opportunities for talented figure painters to display their works of art that our Hammerhead competition would soon come to attract some of the best brush-wielders in the UK. Within just a few short years we have (accidentally) attracted the sort of talent I naively thought wouldn’t be the least bit interested in taking part in our modest event. However, beyond Games Workshop’s Golden Demon, and Salute in London, there are very few live painting competitions. I’d like to say we are a victim of our own success, but we are actually a victim of our participants' success. Obviously, we wouldn’t say to entrants “Sorry sir/madam you can’t enter that model, it’s far too good!” Instead, we embrace our evolution and hope you all enjoy ogling the ridiculously good talent on display at the event or in the follow-up coverage online and in the magazine (see Wi436). Now, because this is my column, I’m going to wrap up by showing you some of my favourites from the 2024 Wi/Hammerhead Painting Competition, not all of these were award winners, but they are all marvellous nonetheless and help to underline the ‘problem’ we have with the exceptional quality of the entries.
