Around two years ago Parker Hobbies was founded on two guiding principles:
1. To stock some of the less popular high quality hobby products here in New Zealand, which we especially enthusiastic miniature painters previously had to bring in from overseas.
2. To assist with and support the growth of the New Zealand miniature painting community, by reporting on events, sponsoring the painting competitions... And organising such events.
In this first 28 months we feel as though we have done pretty well with stocking the lesser available products here in NZ; and regarding the second principle we have now managed to promote, sponsor, and report on more miniature painting, scale modelling, and tabletop gaming competitions than we can recall.
What we haven't done is organise our own painting competition.. So we figure now is the time to get started! Below you should find all the information you need to take part in our free-to-enter online painting competition, if there is anything you are not sure of, please get in touch by emailing info@parkerhobbies.co.nz.
All updates and announcements will be published via our Facebook and Instagram pages, give them a follow if you're interested:
https://www.facebook.com/ParkerHobbies
https://www.instagram.com/parker_hobbies_nz/?hl=en
Categories
We are passionate about painting miniatures because it brings them to life, miniatures can be a portal into history, fantasy, or the grim dark future, and what better way is there to showcase this than through the story telling category of vignette/diorama! While diorama is our favourite expression in the hobby, we understand that not everyone has the time or desire to make one, and would rather pour their time into making a single model as attractive as they can. With this in mind, our online painting competition will have three categories:
1. Fantasy/Sci-fi Diorama
Give us all a glimpse into your imagination by producing a diorama that tells a story. This could be anything fantasy or science fiction, some examples could be a great battle scene from the Warhammer 40,000 universe; some fairies sharing a cup of tea in a mushroom forest; a Liger Zero zoid being fitted a new weapons armament; a Young Anakin Skywalker working on a droid for Watto in Mos Espa on Tatooine, or (SPOILERS) the moment when Éowyn slays the Witch-king of Angmar during Battle of the Pelennor Fields!
2. Historical Diorama
Unlike the Fantasy/Sci-fi Diorama, these dioramas will tell a realistic story inspired by humanity’s history. This could be from any time in our history, some examples could be the Redbull racing team working on Max Verstappen’s car in the F1 in the 21st century, US Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima during World War 2 in the 20th century; Vikings arriving on the shore of England for a raid in the 8th century, or unaware Roman soldiers tracking a path through the Teutoburg Forest in the 1st century.
3. Single figure
Unlike the previous two categories your single figure is not about telling a specific story, rather it is about painting up a single character, whether that be a human, a monster, or a robot to look as good as you can manage. Your character can be from history or fictitious, whatever tickles your fancy. The figure must be full, rather than a bust and mounted on some sort of base or plinth so it can stand on its own.
An example of a very simple historic diorama made by Peter from Parker Hobbies, this depicts a Polish Fighter Pilot climbing into his Hurricane about to take flight during WW2, receiving a comforting pat on the back from his colleague in blue. 1/48 in scale.
Entry requirements
- The entry must be entirely your own work. This means you must have built, cleaned, and painted the model with your own hands. 3D printed models are allowed, but if possible, you must do the clean up work yourself. Assistance with photography from another person is allowed.
- Participants must reside primarily in New Zealand for the duration of the competition.
- As this is being judged and presented online, participants will be required to provide high resolution photos of their work. If you aren’t sure how to take a good photo of your model/diorama, there are plenty of good videos available on Youtube. This video from Emil covers the basics well in just 5 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlkzRE33Lb0
Please keep the editing of your images to a minimum, adjusting the exposure is fine, but adjusting the contrast, saturation, or making amendments in a photoshop-like app is not in the spirit of this competition.
- By entering you agree that the photos you submit may be used by Parker Hobbies Limited on the Parker Hobbies website’s blog, in social media posts and/or videos. Your name will be credited against your entry unless we receive a specific request not to feature your name.
- There is no minimum scale requirements for your entry, but the largest you should enter should be 75mm or 1:24. For dioramas we would suggest using something like 28mm (1:60) or 54mm (1/35) and these would be perfectly adequate to include good detail in your diorama, but you are free to use what scale most excites you.
- Participants may enter two of the three categories, but they may only enter one of the diorama categories.
- Your entry must be started after 1st January 2025 and Partially started models may be used in your diorama. Send a photo of your work in the early stages to info@parkerhobbies.co.nz with a piece of paper in that has the date and your name written on it. This is to show that the project has been created within the date range of the competition. We realise that dioramas can take a long time, if you would like to include partially completed elements that is acceptable. If you are unsure on elements for your diorama are too far along to be entered into the competition, please contact us to discuss sooner than later.
- Send photos of your completed entry to Info@parkerhobbies.co.nz by midday on Sunday, July 6th, 2025.
An example of a single figure entry, painted by Peter from Parker Hobbies, this is an Aeldari Wraithseer from the popular table top game, Warhammer 40,000. 28mm in scale.
Awards and prizes
While there are only three categories, we have plenty of awards up for grabs designed to attract as wide of a group of miniature artists as we can. Whether you are a scale modeller, a figure painter, or someone who paints to support their tabletop gaming, this competition is for you. Prize support have been sponsored by Parker Hobbies and Scale75, ensuring that every award recipient will receive some cool hobby products or vouchers for their efforts. Below are a list of the awards.
- Best Fantasy/Sci-fi Diorama
- Runner up Fantasy/Sci-fi Diorama
- Best Historical Diorama
- Runner up Historical Diorama
- Best Single Figure
- Runner up Single Figure
- Storyteller award (For the most compelling story through diorama as selected by the Parker Hobbies team)
- Best Newcomer award (Highest scoring entry submitted by someone who has been actively painting for less than 2 years)
- Junior award (Highest scoring entry submitted by someone aged 15 and under on 1st May 2025)
- Overall People’s Choice award (to be voted on by the public via the Parker Hobbies Facebook page)
Judging
We are aiming to have 3 judges for this competition, if all goes to plan the judging panel will include one scale modeller, one tabletop miniature painter, and one fine artist, each with good experience in their field, and with a different perspective on miniature painting and modelling as an artform.
If you are curious about how judging for a miniature painting competition works, this video from Roman Lappat, a world class judge and miniature painter, gives a great insight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwmK0fZMUiw
Each of the judges will be making their decisions based on the judging criteria below, with a maximum score of 100. The 3 scorecards will be combined and divided by 3 to get your overall score, the highest scoring entry will with the category.
Single Figure Judging Criteria
Application of paint - 25
Is the paint smooth where it should be smooth, and rough where it should be rough? Are the transitions between colours and shadows smooth?
Use of light, shadows, contrast - 25
Does the use of contrast bring the model to life? Has light and shadow placement been deliberate and effective?
Models base and harmony with the model - 20
Is the base interesting? Does the base compliment the model? Does the model integrate seamlessly with the base?
Colour selection - 10
Is there harmony between the colours used? Does the saturation of the colours make sense on the model?
Model construction and surface preparation - 10
Have mould lines been removed, gaps filled, and rough patches sanded?
Something extra - 10
Is there something excellent about this model that is hard to put into words? Is there something especially creative? Was a brave decision made?
Diorama Judging Criteria
Storytelling - 20
Does the diorama clearly convey an interesting story? Has there been creative decisions made to achieve this?
Diorama base and harmony with the models - 20
Is the base interesting? Does the base compliment the models? Are the models integrated seamlessly with the base?
Note: Unlike a traditional diorama category, participants will NOT be judged down if their figures are on their smaller gaming bases / not attached to the diorama base. However it is expected that the diorama base will have the holes cut to fit the smaller gaming bases as seamlessly as possible. This decision has been made as we realise that gamers may want their figures to be used for the diorama as well as their gaming, and we don’t want to dissuade such people from entering.
Application of paint - 15
Is the paint on the models smooth where it should be smooth, and rough where it should be rough? Are the transitions between colours and shadows smooth?
Use of light, shadows, contrast - 15
Does the use of contrast bring the model to life? Has light and shadow placement been deliberate and effective?
Composition - 10
Are the elements of the diorama positioned in such a way that they facilitate the story telling? Has the space been used efficiently?
Model construction and surface preparation - 10
Have mould lines been removed, gaps filled, and rough patches sanded?
Something extra - 10
Is there something excellent about this model that is hard to put into words? Is there something especially creative? Was a brave decision made?
Final comments
We have made the decision to make this competition online-only, reason being that we have awesome customers all over New Zealand and would love for as many as possible to join in. With it being an online-only event, we are all relying on the honesty of participants to abide by the guidelines set out above. This is our first painting competition (hopefully not our last), and we want it to be as rewarding for participants as possible. Once again, if you would like to share any feedback, or have any doubts, please email us at info@parkerhobbies.co.nz.