Monday 2 June 2014

Special Give-Away Competition

I've previously mentioned that I was working on a special (mainly because it's my first ever) give-away competition to reward the long suffering followers of this blog. After a great deal of thought I've finally managed to work out the details. So to put it simply:

The winner of this special give-away competition will receive a model of a 13th century style mounted medieval knight miniature painted in the follower's own personal coat of arms. 

To win this prize all you have to do is be a public follower of this blog and leave a comment below, even if it's something like, "Hi my blog is 'Garry's Blog' and I like winning free stuff, regards Garry." No tricky questions to answer (like how do you actually produce 'Ubique'), it really is as simple as that. 
Image for reference only. Unless the winner's real name is actually
Peter of Dreux then they won't be getting anything looking like this.
The winner will however win a model painted and finished to the same standard.
I have to admit that the idea for this comp isn't entirely original. The initial idea for all this came about having a chat, during a demo, to the makers of a new'ish medieval tournament game Crossed Lances at a recent show. They have started to introduce, in conjunction with Curteys Miniatures and  Battle Flag, branded sets of figures for their game and mentioned in passing that they'd eventually like to produce individual transfers for their customers (it is also mentioned somewhere in the rulebook). I thought I could use this idea to make and paint a unique figure for one of followers of my blog. I'd like to point out that I have no personal connection to the Crossed Lances game or to the creators of the game, two nice and very knowledgeable gents called Peter Bradford and Martin Knight. So if they happen to enter and win there has been no sneaky deals or tricks behind the scenes, honest.

I'm currently working on a similar project for my dad which I know is destined to go straight into his display cabinet. So even if you don't play medieval games or use different size figures then I still hope you will take part, even if the model will simply end up in a display cabinet or given away as a gift to a member of your family.

Now then the all important Terms & Conditions which I recommend you actually read in full because (most of) it will be relevant: 
  • This competition is free to enter. 
  • One entry per follower. 
  • Entries (i.e. comments below) must be in before 1st July 2014. 
  • This competition is open to all followers of the blog, so whether you've been following since the start (blimey, way back in late 2008) or from just a few minutes before midnight on 30th June 2014 GMT all are welcome to take part.
  • The winning entry will be chosen at random by myself or by a glamorous assistant (if I can find one). 
  • I will paint for the winner a single 13th century style mounted medieval knight miniature. Either a plastic or medal 28mm sized model will be used, depending on what I think is suitable for the winner's heraldry but probably a plastic FireForge model (see model above). 
  • The model will painted especially for you and finished to my own usual standard i.e. one I'd be happy to display online as one of my own collection (again see model above). It won't be a rushed job so it might take a while to complete (so don't moan if you have't received it within a few days of the close of the comp). 
  • I will be painting the model by hand, by this I mean I won't be using transfers for any of the heraldry details. 
  • The heraldry will be displayed on the shield and on the horses barding but, unless it is a very simple design, not of the figure's surcoat. I will produce a model based on a similar format to that seen on the Great Seal of Edward I. 
  • I will finish the base to my normal standard (painted sand, tufts and grass) if required. If you'd prefer an unfinished base and would rather it left blank in order that you can match your own models, no problem (less work for me). 
  • The model will be varnished to a matte finish. If you prefer high gloss, again no problem, just let me know.
  • The prize cannot be exchanged for a cash equivalent (which I think would be quite rude and probably get you blocked if you even asked, cheeky bugger). 
  • As I realise that not everyone is not fortunate to live in the Black Country, or even the English Midlands (I know blimey, you poor souls, you only get to drink stuff like Fosters, Carling or Stella) so if you win and you don't happen to live in this blessed region, don't worry, I will post the prize internationally and it still won't cost you a penny (nor a nickel, peso or euro). 
  • If you play fantasy games you may, if you wish, have a fantasy style heraldry pattern such as a half ogre/half flying trout combo etc. but the figure used will be still be a 13th century style model. 
  • There is one special rule - if a lady wins then the I'll throw in an extra prize mainly because I like ladies and they generally smell nicer than blokes. I'd prefer to call this positive discrimination, rather than being sexist. After a few unpleasant experiences at some shows and in a number of GW and independent hobby shops (such as walking into a solid 'wall of stink') I'd like to encourage more women to share in our hobby if only to encourage better general hygiene levels. 
  • Speaking of poor hygiene, my nephew young Barry is not allowed to enter. 
  • I will announce the winner in the first week of July (the best month the year - obviously). 
  • The winner, and only the winner, will need to provide me with some of their personal details e.g. only the obvious and nothing too personal (I don't really need to know your inside leg measurement or your mother's maiden name for example) but surname (unless they want a fantasy scheme), email and postal address spring immediately to mind. Only enough information so I can paint the figure with a suitable heraldic design, keep you informed of the stages of progress and finally, of course, know exactly where to send the model to. This information will not be passed on to anyone else nor will it be sold to an annoying marketing company.
  • If you leave a comment and enter the comp then you agree to the above Terms & Conditions. 
Now to deal with the potentially tricky/fun part: The vast majority of people do not have a personal or family coat of arms. You may have an image printed out from one of those commercial companies that will sell you the history of your family name and a rather nice picture of your family heraldry. I've seen at least three totally different images presented for my own family name, so I personally suspect they simply make a lot of these things up (apologies if you already have one of these). If in any doubt about that statement, enter your own surname into Google Images and see how many different results you get. 

On my travels wandering around many old medieval churches, often in tiny villages in the middle of nowhere, one thing I've noticed is that the coat of arms of the great medieval families are normally very simple/geometric patterns. For instance the Beauchamp, Mortimer, de Clare, de Vere, Hastings, Woodville families etc. all had very simple, and the important bit, easily identifiable coat of arms. Is this an attempt at a cop out of painting complex heraldry, again no. If the lucky winner wants me to use one of these commercial available images as a design reference that's no problem. If the winner doesn't have a particular design in mind then I'm quite prepared to research it for them and come up with a few suggestions. 

Free feel to advertise this comp/give-away on your own blogs. It would be jolly nice of you and it would of course be greatly appreciated. However you will still only get one entry as I like to think of my online blogging empire, my own Ubiquetopia, as an loosely democracy-based benevolent dictatorship rather than some kind of banana republic with crazy multiple voting options. As stated above - one entry per follower. You will of course be technically decreasing your odds of winning by promoting the competition but you will also be acting 'nice' and being 'nice' is good thing.

There may (note the use of the word 'may') be a runners up prize but which will depend on the number of entries (it's my blog = my rules. It's my 'loosely democracy-based benevolent dictatorship' remember). This runner up prize will be triggered after a reasonable number of entries (I know, it's almost like a Kickstarter style comp), I'm thinking once around twenty/thirty entries but I'm going to be flexible with this. If only two people enter for instance then I'm not going to be particularly inclined to paint another prize but if all the blog followers enter (200+) I may even produce several runner-up prizes (my dictatorial benevolence knows no bounds).

In the near future I will also be running a similar competition/give away type thingy to promote the new medieval skirmish game Lion Rampant which is being released be Osprey Publishing but that competition will have slightly different T&C's, entry conditions and very likely a far broader scope for potential contestants, with use of various social media with multiple entries allowed for and you won't need to be a follower of this particular blog. 

So this personal coat-of-arms comp/give-away is more of a reward scheme for followers of this blog (and this competition, in my opinion, has a better prize because it will be a personalised, unique model for the winner) plus you'll have a potentially far better chance of winning. 

Now hopefully you will have realised that I won't be making a penny from all this, quite the opposite in fact. So why, you may reasonably ask, do it at all? Well the answer is simple. I've had an awful lot of enjoyment and entertainment from all the other blogs that I follow and read so I'd like to give something back to the online community and 'pay it forward'. This may all sound a bit Hollywood/soap opera spiel (or "a load of old cobblers" as my granddad would have said) but I think the users of the Bloggosphere (all the other online blogger systems such as Wordpress and the like, not just Blogspot, are included in this) are quite special in their approach and spirit. Online forums and YouTube, although very useful at times, can often deteriorate into an aggressive bun fight or echo the antics of an unruly schoolyard. Bloggers always seem to be universally positive (apart from the occasional rants) and very generous in their comments and advice, plus they always seem to be giving goodies away. So if you can't beat them, join them.

So anyway thanks for reading down to this bit, thanks for entering (if you do) and good luck.

77 comments:

  1. Wow, what a wonderful and generous prize. I love it. Please count me in. I'll post up a link on my blog soon, as another way to pay-it-forward!

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    1. Thanks Derek, you are officially Entry No.1 on my little spreadsheet.

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  2. When you talk about beer, then never mention Stella! We have much better as that! And as the drawing is for july (best month ever as you say, it's my birthday month), I would like to join in!
    Great idea!

    Greetings
    Peter

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    1. Thank you Peter, July is the best month, the fact it is also my birthday month isn't a coincidence. Regarding beer, any region that produces a Trappist beer like Achel is fine with me. I promise not to mention that Leuven brew ever again if you don't ;)

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    2. You are a great "connaisseur". I live about 10 kilometers from Achel. Now and then we go there to drink a fresh one. My birthday is on the 20th, and yours?
      Made a link on my blog to this post, just to give you some promotion for this unique idea!
      http://www.peterscave.blogspot.be/2014/06/figz-2014.html

      Greetings
      Peter

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    3. Thanks for the post Peter. My birthday is on the 11th which I share with Robert the Bruce and Yul Brynner, which is probably my only (pretty random) claim to fame.

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    4. On that day the Flemish people won the Battle of the Golden Spurs against the French army. The year was 1302. Maybe that's your connection to the Belgian beer! ;-)

      Greetings
      Peter

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    5. Thanks Peter that's interesting. As bizarre as it may sound the local football club I support, Walsall FC, has a Flemish supporters club - the Flemish Saddlers. They attend at least one home game a season. Walsall FC are a relatively small club, in the third level of the English league right in the middle of country so it's quite strange to sit next to a group of Flemish fans being more passionate than the locals!

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  3. The idea of a quality painted figure in your own personal coat-of-arms is very appealing, so please count me in on your very generous offer.

    Cheers,
    Pat.

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    1. Thank you Pat, your name is in the proverbial hat.

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  4. What an absolutely superb post and astonishing giveaway; I would love to enter!

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    1. Thank you Michael, you have been entered (in a good, wholesome competition sense, of course)

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  5. Amazing prize,thanks for offering it!
    Cheers
    Alan

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    1. Cheers Alan, your name is on the official spread sheet.

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  6. Great prize. Sign me up please!!!!
    Cheers
    PD

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  7. Hi, my name is Olly and I am a leadaholic. Wait, wrong meeting, I'm from Dead Lead Project, and would love to win to be able to include a tiny me in my Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire Project!

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    1. Don't worry Olly you're among friends here. A Game of Thrones theme would be interesting.

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  8. What a fantastic idea!!!! Please count me in!!!

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    1. He really smells but acts like a lady, count me in too!

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    2. Thanks Fran you're in. Fortunately for Ray, being a stinker doesn't disqualify him from the comp but unfortunately for Ray acting like a lady doesn't enable him to qualify for the extra special prize (that one is for proper ladies only).

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  9. Matt,

    Don't listen to the others, they're simply flattering you to ingratiate themselves and try to gain an advantage. Look into my eyes, just my eyes . . . . .

    I should be proud to own such an exquisite piece and I know my family's artwork so that's an advantage. Although I don't live in or come from the Black Country (thank God), I have passed through it many times and retained my virginity. My personal hygiene is unquestionable (except on bank holiday weekends) and I know what women smell like.

    So, I should like to be counted in for the competition and, when I win, just get the figure dropped off in the Melville and I'll pick it up when I call in for a pint.

    Thanks in anticipation . . . .

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    1. Thank you Gary (although your sneaky Jedi mind tricks will not work on me).

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  10. Please put me in for this, though I am worried what my coat of arms may actually look like ;-)

    Ian

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    1. Don't worry Ian, I've already checked and found a very striking red/white chevron/ermine combo for your surname. Unless of course you actually want to go the comedy/fantasy route.

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  11. Free stuff? I'm in! Great idea for a giveaway, I shall shamelessly plug it on my blog in hopes of ingratiating myself to the judging panel ;-) Cheers, Paul.

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    1. Yes Paul genuine free stuff and shameless plugs are always appreciated although the judging panel is incorruptible (well..almost incorruptible).

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  12. Great paintwork and a fantastic idea! Although non-armgerous, count me in!

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    1. Edwin even though you are non-armgerous (I had to look that up), you're in.

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  13. Please count me in, and if it sways it all, my family crest is really quite simple...

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    1. Thanks Tim, the simpler the better. I'm just hoping that someone with Burgundian nobility doesn't win.

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  14. Great idea, please count me in

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  15. Greate competition !

    Please count me in I would love to get a personal Knight in some medieval Swedish CoA.

    Best regards Michael

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    1. Thanks Michael, I'm clueless about Swedish heraldry so that should be interesting!

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  16. An excellent and very generous prize you're offering Mr P! How could I not enter now? Plus I have the added advantage (???!!) of being just down the road to cut down on the postage! :D

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    1. Righto Nick, good luck as that would certainly save me some cash.

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  17. Replies
    1. Thanks Thorsteinn (hope I've spelt that correctly). You're signed up.

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  18. No problem Andrew, likewise I can resist anything apart from temptation.

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  19. This is such a lovely give away and having one of your figures would be a treat. Please include me.

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    1. Thank you Anne and you're definitely now on the list. Plus you're in with a chance of the extra special prize seeing as you're a lady ;)

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  20. This does sound like fun. My Dad has a picture that his father painted of our family's supposed coat of arms. I've got to admit that it doesn't look all that convincing but it's the nearest we've got to actually finding out anything in any detail.

    I'll certainly let you know more if you get in touch Mat:

    darrell.hindley@googlemail.com

    Cheers,
    Darrell.

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    1. Thank you Darrell, I'll probably need all the help I can get. Good luck in the comp.

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  21. Please sign me up. That's a real fantastic idea - even though I have given up trying to paint medieval heraldry years ago. ;-)

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  22. Fantastic idea, sign me up!

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  23. Matt,

    Forgot to sat in my earlier post, please sign me up too.

    Darrell.

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    1. No problem Darrell, you're already on the list.

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  24. Hi

    A free Knight is always a good thing! Sign me up

    Clem

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    1. Thanks Clem, you're sign up and on the list.

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  25. I thought I had already signed up for this one. If not sign me up. Would you consider doin Knights of Malta - my wife's side as we're all peasants on mine.

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    1. No problem Pat, you're sign up. I'll paint whatever the winner wants. Maltese crosses would be relatively easy to paint I imagine.

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  26. What a great prize. I'd be happy to add an example of your work to my humble collection. Please sign me up.

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    1. Thanks Robert your name is in the hat, so to speak.

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  27. Blimey, that's a nice unique comp you have going there. Count me in - although I have no heraldry to speak of. Maybe Knights of Ni?

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    1. Thanks Ste, No heraldry - no problem. I'll paint whatever you want if you win.

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  28. I'd like my arms on a Fireforge man at arms but I suspect that my grandfather climbed the highest up the social ladder as a sergeant in the RASC. I only made corporal myself
    :0(

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    1. Righto Nobby, you could always have RASC regimental belt colours overlaid with a chevron if you win.

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  29. Please consider me as a last minute entry into your prize drawing.

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  30. Please add my name as a last minute entry into your prize drawing.
    Thank you,
    Jon

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    1. Jonathan you name is on my list - but only once ;)

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  31. I'd like to enter if it's not to late 'cause who can so no to a free knight?

    Thanks

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    1. Jmilesr - you're in. Everyone loves free stuff, especially knights, i know I do.

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  32. Only just seen this - sign me up please kind Sir!
    I have a family Coat of Arms from Ireland which I would love to see on a model

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    1. Paul, you sneaked in under the wire. You're on the list.

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  33. Sign me up please kind Sir!

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    1. Well done Paul, you're officially the last to enter - but you still only get one entry ;)

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  34. Great idea for a contest. Very sad I missed it.

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    1. Don't forget Craig, there will be another chance to win a similar prize in a few weeks time on this blog.

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