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Grant Garvin – Templecon Crystal Brush Qualifier

The Road to the Crystal Brush continues…

Always interested in how the miniature artists that have already risen to the top of various conventions around the world feel about their victories and how they arrived at them, we at Cool Mini or Not have been tracking down the qualifying winners and asking them their thoughts.

Today we are talking to Grant Garvin, the Crystal Brush Qualifier who won Best in Show out at Templecon in Rhode Island, asking for his thoughts and wisdom about his part of the Crystal Brush experience so we could share it with you all…

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Cool Mini or Not: Hey there Grant! Congrats on the big win out at Templecon. How did you feel when they announced the victory?

Grant Garvin: I was surprised! There was some top notch competition at TempleCon this year, including some amazing entries for Warmachine and Hordes. I’m modest and highly critical of my own work, so each time I passed the display case all I could focus on were the flaws I could see on the damn thing. The amount of praise and interest it received both before and after I won was overwhelming. I was told that many people had requested the model be brought out of the case specifically to check out the detail work and light sourcing in the cockpit, details which to me felt like I could have taken them a few steps farther. I wanted to have the light from the contol panels also refracting onto the canopy glass, but I didn’t have time to tackle that. I rarely feel like I’m completely satisified with something I paint.

CMoN: What was your winning Templecon entry? Why did that particular miniature rise to the top of your list?

GG: My entry was a modified Imperial Guard Vendetta from Games Workshop. Specifically, it was a Death Korps of Krieg Siege of Vraks Campaign Vendetta. Surprisingly it is one of my first competition Warhammer 40k models, despite painting for quite some time. I hadn’t intended for it to be a serious piece, as it actually began as a camoflauge pattern and color test model before I began work in earnest on my Forgeworld Death Korps of Krieg Armored Company. The Vendetta isn’t an option for the Imperial Armour DKOK list, and it is even highlighted in the fiction as too unreliable for the Vraks campaign after it was unsuccessfully used there. I thought this was wonderfully interesting subject matter for the model; A forgotten Vendetta being used as a auxillary rear-lines transport unit during the campaign, even as the corrosive and hostile environment is slowly turning it to scrap. In my mind, the concept was that they were going to keep flying this thing until it literally fell out of the sky.

CMoN: Much like myself, you sound like you get into the narrative and “fluff” of the games you play as much as you do the artistry of the hobby. What kind of time ratio do you think you keep between painting and playing?

GG: It’s absolutely true that the fluff of a game is what drives me to take that critical first look at it, in addition to nice models, of course. Part of the reason I enjoy painting Forgeworld models is specifically because of the detailed history that those folks put into every work of art they produce. As for a time ratio, lately the painting side of the hobby is far more accessible to me these days, despite being the co-owner of a gaming shop and the ability to find an opponent for something at virtually all hours. It can be difficult to focus enough get a full game in when you are also running the business, and attending to the needs of customers, but I do try to grab a game at least once a week of something. Quick and brutal skirmish games like MERCS and Dark Age have been good for that.

CMoN: Do you have any other examples of your work that you’d like to share with the public? Any minis that you are particularly proud of?

GG: As a Warmachine/Hordes player for many years, I’m proud of my paint job on Drago, the Khador character warjack. It is an incredible sculpt with a great deal of motion, energy, and fearsome character. I hope Privateer Press continues to produce such dynamic sculpts for me to work on for years to come.

CMoN: I’m sure they will; Matt (Wilson) has always had some pretty deep vision concerning the world. How long have you been painting miniatures, competitively or otherwise?

GG: My first painted miniatures were for Battletech when I was a kid of about 9 years old, many years ago. Specifically a Ral Partha Marauder. It was terrible, but I remember being incredibly excited when I figured out how drybrushing worked. That would be about 22 years of painting models. I suppose you could say I’ve been painting on a competitive level for the past six years, although I don’t really paint to compete as a goal. It’s still very much a causal hobby for me, and a relaxing one at that.

CMoN: You’ve mentioned Warhammer 40k, Warmachine/Hordes and now Battletech. What miniature games do you play most often?

GG: Obviously Warmachine and Hordes are a big part of my usual rotation of games, and I enjoy them immensely in every way. I also play Warhammer 40k from a very casual perspective, and enjoy it as an fun “Beer & Pretzels” pick up game every so often, preferably with a well-crafted scenario or campaign driving the game. One of my recent interests is the squad-based skirmish game MERCS, which is an incredibly elegant game that I think is going to have a bright future, especially if they can cook up a nice set of campaign rules for it. It has rules that make a disturbing amount of sense, paired with some really nice models that I’m currently working on as a side project to my Adepticon entry. Finally, I have to admit to having a great deal of affection for Battlefleet Gothic. I still think it is among the best products Games Workshop has ever released, and I don’t think a miniature line exists out there in which I like virtually every piece scultped for it like BFG. We run a very active seasonal league at the shop with a number of players, which I think surprised my GW sales rep!

CMoN: Do you have a method you follow as for how you paint a show model, or anything else for that matter?

GG: For me, it is all about the story behind what I am painting. I want every model I paint to have an elaborate history that I can illustrate to the viewer. This unfortunately makes me a rather slow and sometimes infrequent painter. I need to feel that what I’m painting has enough creative energy behind it to get my excited about working on it. I’m not the type that has ever been able to crank out a fully painted army in a week, and I really envy those who can!

CMoN: Don’t worry, those of us that can paint quickly look at your amazing works and still marvel; the envy goes both ways, to be sure. Do you have a favorite model you have ever painted, and for what reason?

GG: This is really difficult to say. Almost every model I’ve touched a brush to has something unique about it that makes it special in some way. I have to admit to being very fond of my Widowmaker Marksman for Warmachine, even though I don’t consider it to be some of my best work. The model has a lot of class and style, and was wonderful to paint from start to finish. Cassius, also from Privateer Press, was incredibly fun to work on. From a strict modelling standpoint, the details, modifications, and additions of my Death Korps of Krieg from Forge World have been an amazing long term project for me.

CMoN: How excited are you to be headed out to Chicago in April for the Crystal Brush?

GG: Incredibly excited! I’m trying to just have fun with my latest entry instead of getting stressed out about what level of competition I’m facing. I’m also looking forward to checking out Adepticon for the first time. Thanks for giving me this opportunity.

CMoN: One last thing. Do you have any mysterious hints or foreshadowing that you can give us about what you are entering for the Crystal Brush finals at Adepticon?

GG: Hmm. Well, the model I’m working on is being entered due to popular demand from the folks at The Temple Games, the shop that I co-own. They saw me put a lot of love into just getting it together, and want to see it finished. I have to admit that I’ve been intimidated to by it, and it’s been tough for me get it painted due to it being an absolutely incredible piece of work deserving of an equally as awesome paint job. As for hints, lets just say that it is another battle-worn veteran of the Siege of Vraks campaign.

In closing, I have a slightly amusing and somewhat horrifying story regarding my Vendetta that won the qualifier. After the awards ceremony on Sunday, the model remained on display for a few more hours until pack-up for the convention began. I took it from the case, and headed down to one of the rooms where the terrain tables from the minis gaming rooms was being collected to start helping with the process of getting everything packed and ready to leave the venue on Monday morning. I placed the model on a table in the far corner of the room that was being used for food and other small items ready to be safely packed up, thinking it would be perfectly safe while we wrapped terrain tables. About three minutes later, somebody brought in a number of heavy plywood terrain tables, and not knowing where to put them, leaned the entire bundle against the folding table which the Vendetta was perched on. The weight of course caused the table to violently flip immediately, catapulting the poor Vendetta on an actual flight which ended abruptly when it hit the wall and exploded into bits. I could do nothing but laugh.

Thankfully, the damage was minimal, and the pieces only came apart at the seams. I’m happy to report the rusty Krieg Vendetta is back to showcase-status and looking as poorly maintained as usual. 🙂

CMoN: Oh man…what a heartbreak! Sometimes you have to just shrug and laugh at the memories such a terrible moment will become. At least it happened AFTER the judging and not before! Either way, we’re very glad that the bird made it home okay and that you are making good use out of her. Thanks again for your time and we will be looking forward to seeing you…and this latest mysterious Krieg entry…at Adepticon in April!