Bailey
A Fixture
So I had an interesting weekend... but I'll get to that in a minute, first a little background. I was attending the NOVA Open show in the DC area. It's primarily a gaming convention but for the past two years they've also been running a painting competition called the Capital Palette. They've teamed up with some great sponsors including Secret Weapon Miniatures and Grex Airbrushes, so even though its a relatively new show they've got some very nice prizes. They've also worked with Cool Mini to make it a Crystal Brush qualifying event, so best in show gets a free trip to Adepticon to enter into the Crystal Brush painting competition in Chicago. They also organized a bunch of painting seminars, I took one on airbrushing and another on weathering with pigments and I wish I'd signed up for more. All in all, it was a really great show and I hope to attend again next year. However, the weekend had one unfortunate incident...
It's a multi-day show, so I dropped off my figures on Saturday but final judging and awards weren't until Sunday. All figures are displayed in a number of locked cabinets and display cases, so you'd think things would be pretty secure. Unfortunately, because the show is at a hotel, they are not the only event going on. There was a wedding Saturday evening and one of the guests got a little out of hand. Around 12:40 am, according to the incident report, a group of people were either trying to calm a guest down or escort him out. As they were passing by the display area he broke free and tore down one of the NOVA Open banners. They restrained him but he broke free again and this time attempted to knock over one of the cases. While he did not tip it over completely, he did slam it into a column hard enough to knock out a chunk of cement and damage a number of the figures, five of which were mine. Below you can see some of the damage although the pictures don't show everything. There are also numerous chips and cracks, the bond between the rider and the horse was broken, the gladiator's right left is split and the aquilifer is barely attached to the base. I also had another two figures damaged... but you get the idea.
To make a long story short, security got involved, a police report was filed, and I've been told the family will compensate me for the damages... though saying they will and actually following through are two different things.
Despite all that, the day did end well. I picked up gold medals in two of the categories and my goalie figure won best in show. I thought the NOVA staff were very helpful in dealing with the whole incident and are still offering whatever help they can in dealing with the family. It's also helping them make the argument to the hotel that they need a more secure area to store the figures next year.
I think most of us know that alcohol and miniatures don't mix. But throw in an angry wedding guest and you've really got a problem!
It's a multi-day show, so I dropped off my figures on Saturday but final judging and awards weren't until Sunday. All figures are displayed in a number of locked cabinets and display cases, so you'd think things would be pretty secure. Unfortunately, because the show is at a hotel, they are not the only event going on. There was a wedding Saturday evening and one of the guests got a little out of hand. Around 12:40 am, according to the incident report, a group of people were either trying to calm a guest down or escort him out. As they were passing by the display area he broke free and tore down one of the NOVA Open banners. They restrained him but he broke free again and this time attempted to knock over one of the cases. While he did not tip it over completely, he did slam it into a column hard enough to knock out a chunk of cement and damage a number of the figures, five of which were mine. Below you can see some of the damage although the pictures don't show everything. There are also numerous chips and cracks, the bond between the rider and the horse was broken, the gladiator's right left is split and the aquilifer is barely attached to the base. I also had another two figures damaged... but you get the idea.
To make a long story short, security got involved, a police report was filed, and I've been told the family will compensate me for the damages... though saying they will and actually following through are two different things.
Despite all that, the day did end well. I picked up gold medals in two of the categories and my goalie figure won best in show. I thought the NOVA staff were very helpful in dealing with the whole incident and are still offering whatever help they can in dealing with the family. It's also helping them make the argument to the hotel that they need a more secure area to store the figures next year.
I think most of us know that alcohol and miniatures don't mix. But throw in an angry wedding guest and you've really got a problem!
, make sure you get adequately compensated I can see $2,500 worth of write off just in those three photo's, make sure you hit them hard and don't settle for a pittance. Failing that a name and address of the culprit would suffice!
... he'll probably cough up before you get to equating the decapitated Lancer
That's my past seeping through again.
