My First Competition
As the title suggests, I am entering my first ever painting competition at FMS 2026. Fen Model Show is a yearly miniature exhibition held in Ely UK. Ever since it started in 2022 I have been amazed by all the work that gets showcased online from the show each year. It has been one of those shows I have always wanted to go to being as it is not far from me and isn’t too big an adventure like The Fellowship heading to Mordor! However my physical health has kept me from committing to the journey over the years. Fast forward to late 2025 and my Mrs gets me a magazine called Fantasy Figures International to read during a hospital stay. In it there was a article covering FMS with pages full, showcasing people’s amazing miniature artwork! Something clicked in my head and I knew I wanted to try and go in 2026.
I had a idea stirring for a diorama depicting a scene of remembrance, of reflection. Then after some looking I found the perfect model! This 1/35 scale post-apocalyptic raider model “Vadim” from Master Box fit what I envisioned. His pose has this hardened but thoughtful gaze to it that fits the diorama I am making.
I’m very impressed with this model as it is a lot cheaper than other brands and still has a high level of detail in the sculpt, I recommend checking the company out. I had to tilt his head forward for the framing of my diorama which left a small gap in the back of the jacket hood which I filled with Green stuff plus also a sling and webbing around his rifle, besides that he went together beautifully!
I really wanted to nail the framing of the diorama to clearly show the story I want to tell, I began to start playing around with angles using pieces of slate and the model placing them in various ways. The scene I have in mind is a snowy forest with a stream running through it with our subject looking at a child’s grave. I made a reference marker for the grave and after finding the composition I was looking for I set to work locking it in.
I used Milliput for the ground floor, stacking up slate either side with Milliput smoothed out in between each one. I carved my riverbed through the middle with a branching section going off to the side. This has made the base heavy before even starting any more work to it. But hey at least it can’t be easily knocked over!
Next step was to add rocks, I started adding cork “rocks” around the scene in various piles to add interest and break up the silhouette of the forest floor. This will be followed by other forest foliage at a later step. Most of the paint job will be cover over in fresh snowfall but a lot of the sides of surfaces will still be seen where the snow settles naturally. I also decided to add a bark nugget to the empty corner for another section of forest elevation. I want the piece to feel like a dell in the forest and having the three pieces of elevation makes a sort of viewing angle triangle for the eye to follow down into the scene.
I decided to prime the model at this stage in preparation for when I had downtime of ground texture mud drying. My go to primer has been Colour Forge’s Matt Black but I was waiting on a order at the time. I made the mistake of using Citadel Chaos Black. There is nothing wrong with the quality of the spray but it dries very glossy if you prefer that. But this would turn out to be a problem later for me when painting!
For the model I began by underpainting Ninjon’s Signature Series Pro Acryl Dark Plum and Dark Magenta on various materials before working my way up to the colours I want. I used Pro Acryl Blue on the coat before moving up to a worn leather look, by using the Blue I am hoping it makes the scene feel colder. I started my layering for the trousers with Pro Acryl Camo Green working my way up in smooth layers. Then I glazed Citadel Death Guard Green between the folds of the trousers and raised areas Darkening those areas leaving the raised areas to look more worn from wear.
I will glaze more Death Guard Green in the trouser folds to blend the Magenta shadow colour underneath at a later date.
I wanted his underclothes to have this scavenged military fatigues look so I decided to use Pro Acryl Green with a bit of white mixed in for his jumper. It keeps it in the same family of colours but still different to make it stand out on the model. I blocked in his backpack and pouches on his chest with Pro Acryl Dark and Light Umber to show they are various leather materials, I also used this on his hair/beard. His bedroll is puzzling me at the moment. I envisioned it to be something he may have found at an abandoned camping store so it’s more of a civilian style colour vs military. However I want the grave details to be the main focus point and pop of colour to draw the eye so I will most likely change this bedroll to be more an earthly tone to match the rest of him.
I made a cool brown with AK 3rd Gen paints for his leather coat. And for his gloves I made a reddish brown All these leather components I will weather at a later stage.
I really enjoyed painting his face. I started with Citadel Bugman’s Glow then done a purple wash in the sockets, nose, temples and mouth. Then I layered up with Pro Acryl Dark Tan Flesh, Tan Flesh and Citadel Kislev Flesh, going back and forth to refine the shape of the face. I also painted the eyes at this stage so I could fix if need be. To finish, I used AK Pastel Blue to highlight the cheeks and nose.
I am incredibly proud of my myself for doing this face and I think I have done a good job showing he looks cold/frostbitten in the environment.
So here we are, currently up to date at the time of writing this blog. I decided to carry on with the base as the materials I ordered had arrived. I used Vallejo Diorama FX Earth Texture for the ground, blending all the rocks together. I had ordered Green Stuff World resin Dry Bushes at 1:48 scale and also Resin Teddy Bears at 1:48 Scale. I tried to make my own clay Teddy which failed. I have started gluing the dead bushes into various places, there will be more to show how dense the forest floor it, they will be framed to make the eye follow down to the grave. I made the grave marker out of matchsticks and carved away pieces to make it look more worn down old wood.
I wasn’t quite sure at first how to tell the story that it is a young person’s grave our character is visiting but then I realized I can use a object as simple as a child’s toy sat at the grave marker’s base to show it. The pop of colour I mentioned earlier will the be the Teddy Bear in question, I want it’s colour to be such a stark contrast to the rest of the drab and cold scene of his clothes and environment that it pulls your eye towards it.
I want the subject to be tough to view and invoke emotions of the current climate around the world. But also not also careful not to ground it to a real world scenario. It could be current events or an apocalyptic made up world. It could be his daughter or just a random person he is stopping to pay respects to. I want the viewer to interpret it their own way.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this as it’s my first blog post for this website. By the time you read this there will more posts about this model’s progress and possibly even it’s debut at FMS, if you see it in person I hope you enjoyed it.
Thank you all once again for all your support.
