The IDES of SOTEK 1 voting and discussion thread!

Ok so in case somebody wants to read my opinion about the models, here it is.

First of all: I like all of them, and it was hard for me to vote for two. Here are my thoughts:


@Killer Angel with a young tenehuain
I don't know the model, this is the first time I see it. That makes it pretty unique. The colors are vibrant, the metal parts look very good and I like the (freehand??) triangular shapes on it. Not sure why the skin looks so "wrinkly", might be the material? I assume that one is metal.
I am not a huge fan of the skin color but that's personal preference so that doesn't count much for me.
What I don't like that much is the base, It may be intended but it looks very plain, and the black base rim has a strong contrast that distracts a bit from the model (although of course that's probably to fit the army style and/or personal preference).
The details are well done (not a small feat, the model is tiny and not as detailed as modern ones). Not quite as good as the ones I voted for though.


@Canas with an old blood stepping through a portal
I LOVE the model and how it is really cut in the right places to look like it is coming though the portal.
Now... this is a painting contest, and while the model is by no means painted badly I think that the details are not quite as numerous and crisp as on the models I voted for. The skin looks a bit too glossy for my taste, although that might be the pictures. I like the concept so much, I almost voted for it anyway. The base has grass (fun fact: I don't mind the black base rim here) and the bronze of the portal also looks nice and worn.


@Teve Torbes with a skink priest
This one is nicely detailed and I can see that a lot of work went into those highlights. The colors and style (no pupils in the eyes for example) would make it fit nicely into my own army in fact. The base is rather plain (GW crackle paste I guess) but looks nice except one thing: Those holes of the slit in the base. Those ruin the base a bit for me which is a pity. A tuft of grass or a skull or rock would have made it a lot better.
Nothing bad to say about the Skink itself. I am not a big fan of the model (although I like Skinks) but as far as I can tell it was painted nicely. On par with the ones I voted for. I just didn't have more votes.


@Croco Guard with the skull helmed skink priest
This one is an incredibly cute looking model. That skull helmet that is way too big makes it look that way I guess.
I like that the Skink is two colored with the bright belly, and he has a pupil (giving him a facial impression, I'd say he looks curious and alert).
The details are well done (resin doesn't allow making them much better and the model is tiny. One tends to forget that when looking at those big pictures) and I also like the jungle base. I feel like the highlights on the skin could be a tad better but that's pretty much my only critique. Again, this is a tiny model so I am pretty sure I couldn't do it that well. Once again I feel bad for not voting for it.



And here are the ones I voted for:


@GrDemon with a saurus old blood
This one has the bonus of being a model I haven't seen all that often yet. Although to me its head looks more like that of a Kroxigor than an Oldblood, don't know why. Just the art style of that sculptor I guess.
I am not actually sure how big it is in real life, but it is very detailed and all the details were painted and highlighted. The eyes have pupils, the teeth and toenails and gold parts were all painted precisely, and even all the small gold details on the weapon and armor were highlighted.
The red parts look dirty and worn and dented, and the whole model has a lot of depth because of the highlights on the scales and very nice shading.
The base is jungle, with just the right colors to make it stand out against the colors of the model.
Great job!


@Hojdar with the mad slaan
Bright colors are hard to do. Those pastel colors are really hard to achieve and the model is full of them. There are very fine details on it, such as those tiny dots around the eyes, the eyes themselves, all the gold parts, the leaves and little creatures on the palanquin, and the freehand markings on the blue tympanums on both sides. I also like the orange to blue contrast on the back, great use of complementary colors. The shading is done very subtle and making the stone of the palanquin rather plain draws the eye even more to the colorful frog in the middle.
If I had to criticise anything on the model it would be the Skink adviser, I don't like his skin color that much. But that is personal preference.
The Vortex on the base is a nice idea (I have seen it before for Kroak models, but it fits the Mad Slann well), and the base itself has grass and earth, so the black rim isn't too close to something really bright.
Really nicely done!


I am glad I don't have to vote which one of those two is better.

So yeah that's it from me and I hope we will see more nice entries like those in upcoming contests, because they are all very inspiring. I also hope I wasn't too negative about any of them since I really like them and want to provide constructive critique.
Good job, y'all!