Armies on Parade Singapore 2018
I’ve never had to state Armies on Parade: Singapore before, or to divide up my Armies on Parade posts into actual subsections ! In 2018 though, we have THREE Armies on Parade for Singapore! WHAT? Yes, this year, not only did Warhammer Open a new store in Tiong Bahru, but we were amazingly lucky and managed to hold an Armies on Parade event in last week’s Gamestart!
So how were the entries in each place?
Gamestart
Even though Gamestart was on Sunday, which means it was after the other two Armies On Parade events in Singapore, I feel like I have to mention it first. There were only five boards, but all of them were pretty amazing.
The first one I need to share is the amaazing Stormcast and Nighthaunt one! A joint effort by Russ and Zach lau, it’s beautifully done, with the stormcast cavalry riding out to do battle with the Black Coach. It’s also got oodles and oodles of detail, like the multiple duels being fought on the castle parapets. And look at the castle walls!
Unfortunately I think the board suffers from the same issue I had last year: composition. Last year I had a lot of great stuff, but there was so much of it that I think it confused the viewer. Russ’ board doesn’t necessarily have too much, but the high castle walls pose a similar challenge. With how it’s placed, the viewer and only see half of the board at one time. The Stormcasts were great, but I don’t know how many people noticed them back there. It really is a shame.
It really doesn’t help that some other issues arose that meant that meant that Russ only managed to get the Bronze, which I’m really sad about. He and Zach deserved much better. But hey I’m sure this board turned a lot of heads on Sunday.
Another thing that I’m really sad about is Richard’s army. It’s not that it’s not beautiful; it’s wonderfully painted, and won Richard the AOP gold in Gamestart. Unfortunately however, Richard was playing in the AOS tourney on Sunday, which meant that after the judging in the morning, he packed up his stuff to play, which left an empty board on the table for the rest of the day. I’m not sure how many people actually got to see his army in all its glory.
Here it is in a box though! And man that Carnosaur is nice.
Since we mentioned first and third place, who took home the silver? Well, in second place was Zackary Ong’s Karadron Overlords. Using a lot of cotton wool, he managed to represent having his airships and endrinriggers floating above the clouds. I think the white clouds, with the glowing lava and the muted gray of the rocks really provided some strong contrast which helped his model pop on the board.
I’m also pretty amazed that his board looks so good, considering it’s a repurposed board from a few years back. It really fits so well! In fact, we have at least three repeated boards from previous years, and I don’t think I would’ve even noticed if the board owners hadn’t pointed them out to me, lol. It goes to show that creative enough modellers can get anything to look good and unrecognizable from its previous form.
Moving on to Nick Wong’s Tyranids board! With all the crazy prep for Gamestart, and STGCC before that, it’s too bad that he didn’t have the time to complete a board on his own. Plus, he wasn’t even able to compete in Gamestart’s Armies on Parade. 🙁 In spite of all that, he was still able to throw together some models to show off this pretty cool board for the people in Suntec on Sunday. I think it’s pretty cool that he did all this work just to get passers by interested in Warhammer, and to inspire the people there to maybe try painting and building something of their own.
Which honestly is the reason why I moved my display from Red House to Gamestart too. While I had already displayed my army on Saturday and thus wasn’t in the running on Sunday, I wanted to come down and show my support to Nick, Gamersaurus and Warhammer for all the good work that they’ve been doing. Plus, I always like getting more people interested in Warhammer!
I’ll put more pictures of my display when they’re ready. Unfortunately, AOP and Gamestart was right smack in the middle of peak work for me IRL. It’s only because I’ve been slowly painting these over the year that I actually managed to coast into the finish line. If any of these were left to the last minute I would never have been able to show them off this year!
Red House
On to Red House! The elder of the two Warhammer stores, 2018 saw Red House’s third Armies on Parade. The number of boards in Red House may have dropped slightly this year, as many regular participants were busy with Gamestart, and some moving to display at Tiong Bahru. What I’m impressed with in Red House (and Tiong Bahru as well) though are how many people who are just getting into the hobby, and excited to try something new.
For example, we have Marcus’ Underworld Battle. An up and coming young blood, we have Nighthaunts fighting Stormcasts, with Slambo thrown into the mix for some extra chaos.
The Nighthaunts are actually pretty well painted, and I like the basing and blood effects. Considering this is Marcus’ first foray into Armies on Parade, I think his entry next year will be something I’m looking forward to.
Next, we have Leopold’s Dancing in the Snow. A very interesting composition, I appreciate the attempt at a very limited colour palette. With white/grey and silver being the primary colours, the green and lighting effects really pop off the piece. I think many people must have also thought so, because Leopold won a bronze with this effort!
We delve into AOS’ Destruction Alliance next, with Yuen Fai’s Moonclan Grots! The red on the squigs are really striking, and with all the crazy goblins, it really looks like a Party Time! I’m looking forwards to some Nightvault additions to this army.
I’m saving the best Age of Sigmar board for last, because I was pretty blown away by Kit’s entry. Waiting for the Cows to come Home is a diorama featuring some really well painted Tzeentch Demons and Idoneth Deepkin, but I think what takes it to the next level is the effort put into the board.
That Lord of Change is a great, multi coloured monstrosity, and the sharks and Idoneth fishies are definitely really well painted. Still, what I’m really impressed with is the use of resin for the water, as well as the rocks. And the shipwreck had some really good verdigris going on in there too. The composition is also pretty good, with lot of verticality on his board. Kit really did do a lot of work for his Silver.
What’s even more insane is the fact that Kit did TWO AOP boards! Yes, one AOS one and one 40k. His other entry was a trio of leman russ tanks, a Primaris Repulsor, and a Baneblade. He also has a lot of height in his 40k board, which is think really helps in drawing the eye and getting attention from passers by. The little cave/grotto is also a nice touch. Some other bits that I really appreciated were the use of various foliage and flock, and things like the built in sandbags. Those small flourishes really elevated both of Kit’s entries from just a board display into an actual diorama.
For some reason there were also a lot of Baneblades on display in Red House. I mean, other than Kit, there were two more boards featuring Baneblades! One being Alex Guo’s… which while not actually part of the competition, as a really nice addition…
…and also Marlo’s Autumn, which features a lot of muted greys and browns.
If I’m not wrong, last year David Quah showed off his Last Chancers, and this time we have a continuation of the story where they’re facing off The Walking Dead. That’s a lot of minis…
Another army featuring a huge load of models is Garric Leong’s Reich of Chaos.
One more thing I just noticed. Aside from Baneblades, Red House also has a lot of Knights! For example we have Marc Kochli’s D’ Cocifraschli. Did I get that right? Regardless, those are pretty nice models, especially for youngbloods.
Following the theme of red knights, we have Fabian Kewo’s The Call to Battle. It’s a bit monochromatic, but I guess that’s thematic for a Mars planet. And hey, it has a board!
Last, but definitely not least, is Leopold’s second display! I’m super impressed by all these people who have the energy to complete multiple boards. Sir Frederick’s Hunting Party is shows some Primaris Marines facing off against a huge battalion of Ad Mech. While Leopold’s other army won, personally, I actually prefer this board. It has a lot of things going on it, but I think that’s part if its charm. There’s also a lot of stuff that was reused and repurposed, which as an Ork Mek and converter I totally approve of. For example, the girders were from some of Leopold’s toys as a kid! And look at all the converted Ad Mech cavalry!
There’s also a lot of hidden gems and stories to be told if you look for it, like this hidden autodoc behind some ruins, and the rusted rhino.
Tiong Bahru
And now the third AOP in Singapore! This store had a lot of newcomers to the hobby, which I think is great. And while some of the displays are bit unpolished, skill is something that you can pick up. What all the displays here had was oodles of creativity and ideas!
I’ll start with the one that I’m personally the most impressed with. Imran’s Mission Extraction was a wonderfully detailed mini-board. While there were only a handful of models on the board, the diorama itself blew me away. Look at the tiles! Look at the leaves! He even has friggin planter boxes for his bushes!
And look at how the diorama lends itself to such a nice shot! I mean, I can almost believe it isn’t miniature board. And that’s saying something. It’s really too bad he didn’t win anything this year. But with a bit of polishing up, if he competes, Imran’s board next year would totally be a serious contender for a medal.
I’ll continue with some of the smaller boards before moving on to the big armies. We also have some more cool ideas with Joseph’s Raven Guard lookout, which features flickering fires…
…And Brandon’s Drukhari. This is also another personal favourite of mine from Warhammer Tiong Bahru. While understated, the diorama is actually pretty well made. I really like the pillars, which give it a bit of verticality and draws the eye. The chains are also a very nice touch, and the black and sand of the board does make his models pop a bit more. Another one to watch out for.
We also have Sriram’s Revenge of the Bees…
And Wen Min’s Expedition into a Maiden World. Now this was another interesting idea. I appreciate the attempt at using found objects as terrain. That has been a long standing tradition for miniature painters and modellers. Unfortunately, Eldar terrain is extremely finicky. It’s got so much need for clean lines and minimalism that doing it well is extremely difficult. In addition, one thing about found objects and terrain is the need to transform the silhouette such that the original object is unrecognizable. It’s easy for Orks and any other races where sticking more bits and greeblies, and a lot of grunging up goes a long way. It’s a lot harder for Eldar, Tau, and anything with smooth lines.
Still, this was a very solid attempt, and I see the potential in here. With some more practice this could be really interesting. The models are really well painted too.
On to the big boards! In third place is Paul Speedlee’s Wedding on Halloween Night (or Project Hantu, lol). His minis are very smooth, and his choice of green was a good one. Very eye catching. Unfortunately, I don’t know if the relative simplicity of the board cost him.
In second place is Harry’s Skaven BBQ Party. Everything was pretty well done, and I like the use of LOTR terrain for Age of Sigmar Armies on Parade, lol. All the big models were also quite eye-catching. I really like this Skaven boss for example.
And in first place is Yoga’s Reclaiming Ghyran! The models were well done, with the palette selection on both the models as well as the board drawing the eye very nicely.
Wrap Up
In summary, these are the winners in all three Armies on Parade in Singapore:
Gamestart:
1st: Richard’s Empire
2nd: Zack Ong’s Karadron Overlords
3rd: Russ and Zach Lau’s Stormcast and Night haunts.
Red House:
1st: My Orks (The Mad Mekz)
2nd: Kit’s Tzeentch and Idoneth Deepkin
3rd: Leopold’s Stormcast
and Tiong Bahru:
1st: Yoga’s Stormcast
2nd: Harry’s Skaven
3rd: Paul’s Night Haunt
Whaaat. I just realized they’re all Age of Sigmar! WTF! I’m the only one holding the 40k flag! (I predict a lot more 40k boards reclaiming their honour next year, lol)
In summary, I’m kind of in two minds about this year’s Armies on Parade. On one hand, it’s really too bad that some of the old hands didn’t have time to show off what they could do this year, with all the clashing of time for events. On the other hand, maybe it’s a good problem to have. I think the number of events this year really showed off Warhammer Age of Sigmar and 40k to a lot of people, and I was really impressed at seeing all the new player step up and put their own spin on their boards.
Kinda amazing, when you think about it. Just a few years ago even one official Armies on Parade would have been tough. Just goes to show how much our community has progressed, and it’s thanks to the people at the Warhammer stores, Gamersaurus stores, and everyone else maintaining the community that allow us to have the vibrant group that we have now.
Well, here’s to hoping that we’ll see many more interesting boards next year!
