Well, that still means 'Best Historical', congrats!
Too bad for ending just short of the podium, but perhaps this was not the right competition to join, with its emphasis on fantasy.
Personally those fantasy pieces don't rock my boat at all. I haven't seen them in the flesh, but only the first place piece strikes me as particularly well painted.
Ah well, competitions, we shouldn't take them too seriously.
Your samurai is a magnificent piece of work, whatever this result.
Adrian