This week for Throwback Thursday chat we asked the question “What is your best-painted model that is still in your collection?” Well, that turned into some tough reflection for everyone. It turns out it is harder to pick your single best model than we thought.

So there was a lot of back and forth between everyone. Conversation started shifting to the models that may not have actually been the best painted but had memories attached. Some discussion was had around wanting to pick a model because it was the best conversion even if it didn’t have the best paint finish. In the end, everyone came to the agreement that it was just to hard to pick the best single model they have painted. Instead, it was decided, maybe each person could pick the best three from back in the day. With that task ahead of everyone this week it was Fairy’s turn to share what his best three were.

Fairy’s Best 3

The challenge of choosing my favourite 3 miniatures from my own collection was not as straight forward as one might first think. Going back to look at old miniatures from my gaming history I remembered them as somehow larger than life as the memories I have attached to them are fond memories.

Upon picking up these miniatures again, I was initially struck with how much my painting has developed over the years. I was not sure I wanted to show off my old miniatures. But, it’s more than just the paint job or conversion. It is the stories around them that bought them to life.

I had a large hoard to choose from but eventually narrowed my shortlist to three miniatures that meant something to me. Two of which are big character models but the third was a humble line trooper as I want to reflect gaming being more than just kick-arse characters.

Tough Decisions

First up is my Slann Mage Priest. Originally, I painted my Lizardman army in 2003 but I upgraded my Slann to the new metal sculpt as I loved the model. This mini was the centrepiece to a super competitive Lizardman army that did very well during Warhammer 7th edition. This was also the Army I took to the 2009 Australian Masters and placed 6th. All in all, this was one of my tournament playing highlights of my gaming career.

Next up is the humble Space Wolf Long Fang. I painted this guy way back, around 1995. To get him required a 3-hour train trip to Sydney to visit, at the time, the only Games Workshop store in Australia. I had purchased myself my first 2nd edition 40k army. I was set for years of awesome gaming. Incidentally, that trip to the Sydney Games Workshop store involved a chance meeting with, the also teenage, Fury and his mate who were having a game in the store. What a small world!

Favourite Miniature Paint Job

The Final mini in the trio is my converted Black Orc Warlord riding a Wyvern. It’s no secret that 7th edition Warhammer was one of my favourite editions of any of GW’s gaming systems. No surprises that 2 of my 3 minis are from that era then. The Orcs were not in the same tier as the Lizards but my god were they fun to use! Again, this was a big tournament force for me. This warboss headed up a pretty strong Orc list. I did pretty well with the Orcs over the years and in 2009 landed the Irresistible Force best Orc general in Australia. Stoked!

The model itself was converted from the Gorbad Iron Claw miniature riding a boar. The challenge had been removing him from the boar as they were one piece! After essentially drilling thousands of holes I had freed him from the boar and mounted him on a great wyvern model with the best Black Orc head ever! As such this mini is my favourite that I currently own.

Old School Paint Off update

We also promised a check-in this week on our classic Space Marine Terminator Captain paint off. There was much discussion on how this one could be judged. We have decided not to show any progress pics until the end. At the end of this month, pictures of the three completed miniatures will go up. We will then run a poll for readers to vote on the winner. After the winner is decided we will show all the progress on how that got there.

Check back next week on Throwback Thursday for Sparky’s best 3 and be sure to follow on Instagram for all the sneaky pics that don’t make it to the blog.

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