Every year, the B&C undertakes a forum-wide painting challenge called E Tenebrae Lux (Latin for "Light From Shadow"). It's not a painting competition in the traditional sense - there is no judging or scoring and no formal prizes are awarded (except bragging rights). Instead, it is designed as a way to motivate members to get some of those miniatures out of the boxes and off the shelves, and painted for play or display. Anyone who's been in this hobby for even the briefest time can attest that we tend to accumulate a backlog of projects that often go unfinished. ETL is the fire that's lit under our butts to get it done!
The contest runs from May 1st to August 1st this year. Participants make a formal "Vow" before their peers on the forum, to complete a specified number of units of their choice during this time period. When the vow is entered, the models can be assembled and primed but must be unpainted. Painting may begin after the vow is made. If a vow is completed, the points value of the models is recorded and awarded to the forum sub-section that the painter is representing (based on the faction that is being painted). A participant must select a specific faction and can only make vows for/from that faction.
The sub-forum that has the most points at the end of the challenge is awarded the title "Primus Inter Pares" (First Among Equals) for the year, and other recognition is granted to the member from each faction who completed the most points (Faction Champion) and other extraordinary vows.
Participants may make up to five total vows, each of no more than 3,000 points total. However, there is one catch: You only receive credit if all of your vows are completed. This retains emphasis on completion rather than over-reaching, and helps to keep painters focused on doing their best work rather than rushing for the sake of points.
The goal is to get one's army painted, and it could not come at a better time for me! Having recently embarked upon a Dark Angels army, I was astonished to discover that I have accumulated some 3,500 points of miniatures over the last two months. Points-wise, I've painted approximately 20% of that total already. For my first ETL vow, I will be painting an 8-man Deathwing Knights squad and a 5-man Deathwing Command squad, for a total of just over 700 points.
As I'm currently taking the summer off from work, I expect that I should be done with this vow within 3 weeks, at most. If I complete this vow before the deadline, my next vow will be a full Ravenwing Attack Squadron (six bikes, Attack Bike and Land Speeder) and my custom-built Interrogator-Chaplain on a bike.
Posting about the ETL here has a two-fold purpose: First, it helps to hold me accountable for my progress and results, but also I hope that it motivates some of you to either participate in the ETL yourself (B&C is a great place for 40K hobbyists!) or simply to just pull out some models, pick up a brush and paint some of the things that have been sitting around for far too long!
I look forward to sharing my progress on these vows with you (and hopefully to showcase my custom Ravenwing characters such as the aforementioned Chaplain, a biker Librarian, and Master Sammael on his Land Speeder, Sableclaw!
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