78 replies to this topic

[hugdctr]

Hi there. So is there anyplace on this site where it tells us nubes all about reapercon?

[Dr.Bedlam]

Uh, yeah. I guess this thread would be it.

Reapercon is held in the Reaper facility, which consists of the factory in Denton with the Asylum hobby shop up front. It has been described as "More of a family reunion than a con," which I can vouch for. It's smaller and more intimate than most gaming conventions, and tends to be intensely focused more on minis and minis games, particularly Reaper stuff, than on the spread of the gaming hobby; don't show up expecting to find a Magic game, if you know what I mean. On the other hand, it's remarkably family friendly, and more chicks show up than at any other con I've ever seen, although most of them seem to be married, and with kids in tow -- another oddity you don't see at too many gaming cons. Kids, that is, although married women tend to be spread pretty thin at gaming cons, too.

It's still a hoot, assuming you're into miniatures, particularly Reaper miniatures, and Reaper games. There are some games going on as well, as well as the popular Metal Exchange, in which you can swap your old minis for new from the Reaper boneyard (although I'd check the sticky about metal exchange in the Reapercon forum). I have it on good authority that ReaperBryan will be modeling his Slave Leia costume this year, and I was planning on bringing coloring books for the kiddies.

Anyone got anything to add?

[Inarah]

There are a number of threads which discuss it, what to expect, what to bring, etc. You can start here with the last one: http://www.reapermin...ing-for-a-noob/ Or just start reading the old threads in the Reapercon section of the forum.

It's a small casual weekend where a bunch of people sit around in Reaper's break room talking about minis, painting minis, sculpting minis and gaming minis, take classes or do those activities. Everything happens in 2-3 large rooms. If you are a real painting geek it could be the most exciting weekend of the year. If not, it could be the most boring weekend of your year.

You should also be able to Google some photos from past years, to see what it looks like.

[Heisler]

That's probably a bit simplistic even for ReaperCon. The convention runs Thur - Sun, May 19th - 22nd. There is a warlord tournament, a dungeon crawl (uses the Warlord rules) and sometimes playtest sessions for other Reaper games as well as ongoing demonstrations of Warlord and other Reaper games. Classes for painting and sculpting are pretty much non-stop although class space is limited so I would suggest pre-registering if you can. There will be tickets available for all the classes at the door but those won't last to long. Yes, the break room is usually full of people painting and discussing miniatures, upstairs you can find painting instructors and sculptors working on projects when they are not teaching. In the past there have been RPG events taking place through out the weekend as well, although I have not heard much about that this year so far. Typical convention size is usually around 100+. The painting competition is not to be missed either as an entrant or just looking, there will be some fabulous stuff in there.

Yes, there are lots of other threads talking about it, but in the end if you enjoy painting and playing with miniatures its a good con to go to.

Edited by Heisler, 23 March 2011 - 02:22 PM.

[Wren]

Just to add a little to what Heisler said.

I think he meant to say that the painters and sculptors are upstairs working (and talking to con-goers!) when we are NOT teaching a class.

Also I think there have been two or three threads discussing RPGs in this forum, including one about a Pathfinder game. So I'm pretty sure some RPG gaming is on for the weekend already. I think the forum defaults to only showing you the last 30 or 60 days of posts, but if you click on the red bar at the bottom just above the search box you can set it to show you older messages to learn more about the event.

One of the things that's very cool about the painting competition is that all the entries are on open shelves rather than behind glass, so you can get a really good look at them. Also it is not the type of competition where only the top three entries in a category win something. Entries are judged against a set standard, and as many gold, silver, bronze medals and certificates of merit are awarded as are earned. So you can enter at any level and come back another year and enter to see if you've improved up to the next level. And you can enter minis made by any company, not just Reaper. Even stuff like big resin garage kits of horror movies or anime characters or whatever.

There are usually tours of the facility, so if you've ever wondered how the miniatures go from green to blister pack, it's a great way to find out. Heisler was too modest to mention, but he runs an auction on Sunday afternoons for special swag and product that is a lot of fun to attend even if you don't bid on stuff. The payment is in Reaper Bucks, which are earned for participation in Con events or by trading in the proof of purchase gizmos off Reaper packaging.

Sonic food is usually available for purchase right at the Con if you're having too much fun to run out to get something else.

[hugdctr]

Coool!! this sounds lile a blast! how many people usually show so like 100, 200?? You guys gave me some great posts.
Thanks

[Midnight Lurker]

Heisler was too modest to mention, but he runs an auction on Sunday afternoons...

And he puts on one heck of a show too! Even if you have no intention of bidding on anything you really should try to be there. Although it was never actually confirmed, there was, amongst a selected few of us, expectations of Heisler doing something with a little dash of "special spice" for this year. At one point I distinctly remember someone whispering the word "thong"...



Jen

[ixminis]

Yup, the artists and sculptors are upstairs for the con attendee's convenience. Do you want to ask for a few pieces of advice from all not currently teaching a class?

Then head upstairs!

[Maltique]

one thing to add! not all of the chicks are married! <wink>

[Dr.Bedlam]

Well, yeah, but I am. If I hit on the chicks, married or otherwise, my wife will hit me.

So I just pester them for painting tips.

[Reaperbryan]

I have it on good authority that ReaperBryan will be modeling his Slave Leia costume this year

LIES

[psyberwolfe1]

I have it on good authority that ReaperBryan will be modeling his Slave Leia costume this year

LIES

Hardly! Enough hot wings and you'll be dancing in that sexy little number sooner rather than later.

[Wren]

What about award ceremony Leia? Then you could keep your dignity and still amuse us. ;->

[MamaGeek]

Where can one find the rules of the ReaperCon painting contest(s)?

[Heisler]

I had mentioned to Anne that those seemed to be missing, guess the rules are still missing. However, here is a quick rundown

There are three categories; Painter, Open, Armor & Ordnance.
Painter - These are judged primarily on the painting skills only, the base is not considered beyond how it enhances the miniature. Conversions on miniatures in this category are not taken into account.
Armor & Ordnance - Same as painter
Open - Anything goes, the entry will be judged on everything from the base on up. If you are doing dioramas or vignettes or something with a really complex and cool base this is where it goes.

You may enter as many miniatures as you like in each category.

Round 1 of the judging is the judges getting together and discussing which piece they will judge, in other words which piece is truly reflecting your best work. So if you have five minis in Painter then the judges will pick one of those to make their decision on. The same process will happen in each of the other categories. So at most in the main competition you will have your best three pieces judged one from each category, or from each category you entered.

Round 2 of the judging is each individual judge scoring your entry from 0-4. There is no discussion amongst the judges at this point. They will each make their own decision. There should be 5 judges involved along with 1-2 alternates. Alternates are used when a judge has pieces in the competition, an alternate will step in to take their place in this instance so somebody is not judging their own work (this also applies in Round 1).

Round 3 judges hand in their score sheets and some poor soul gets to add up the numbers. For each entry with a score the high and low score is tossed and the 3 remaining are added together. Depending on that score you may get nothing awarded, a certificate of merit, bronze, silver or gold medal. Not even the judges know what the final score is for each entry until the awards ceremony.

After all of this excitement other awards will be figured out. I imagine that Jim will be judging the Darksword pieces for his awards and prizes.

Anne will, most likely, be making the decision on the best Reaper pieces and awarding Sophie trophies for those

Ed will, most likely, be making the decision on the platinum awards

A piece is only entered once and is then considered for all possible awards and prizes.

All the work on a piece must be your own (a cast resin base that you painted is okay)
Only the artist can enter their pieces
Miniatures that won awards at other conventions (other than at ReaperCon) can be entered
Entries can be shown in WIPS and even completed states prior to the show

That's most of the basics. I'll let Anne finish it off as soon as she notices this thread.

Edited by Heisler, 23 March 2011 - 02:26 PM.