This weekend at Warhammer Fest, hobbyists from around the world competed in the most competitive and prestigious painting competition in the world, Golden Demon.
This legendary contest has been held for over 35 years, and this weekend saw more richly deserved winners in various categories. We’ve covered the Gold, Silver, and Bronze for every category, but there can only be one Slayer Sword winner.
Bask in luminous glory of the “King of the Lumineth” by Albert Moreto Font.
Albert Moreto Font is no stranger to Golden Demon, having placed multiple times in the past, and even winning the supremely sought-after Slayer Sword in 2006 when he was just 18.
His winning piece for Golden Demon at Warhammer Fest 2023 is a truly stunning miniature, converted from a variety of kits from the Lumineth Realm-Lords, the Aeldari, and even classic High Elf miniatures from Warhammer Fantasy.
Every element of the miniature was expertly rendered with a keen eye for different textures, creating a composition that has multiple well-balanced focal points that draw the eye without being overwhelming.
Warhammer Community caught up with a breathless Albert moments after he stepped off stage with his sword..
Warhammer Community: Congratulations on winning the Slayer Sword at Golden Demon 2023! How do you feel?
Albert Moreto Font: I’m very, very happy, obviously. I am very emotional. I have been entering Golden Demon since 2001, so it’s 22 years since I entered the Youngbloods. Then I won my first Slayer Sword in 2006, and now it’s 17 years since that moment that I’ve won my second!
WarCom: What made you enter this miniature? What’s the story behind it?
Albert: So, in the last two or three years I’ve been painting lots of dwarfs and lots of greenskins, and feeling kind of typecast by those themes, so I wanted to spice things up a bit and do something new. Basically, dwarfs, greenskins, and elves are the three classic fantasy races. Elves are my favourite, but I’ve not done many in practice. After the last Golden Demon in 2022, I decided to do an aelf, a Lumineth, as my next entry. I was inspired by Martin Footitt’s entry in Golden Demon 2005, a High Elf on a staircase. It was very elegant, very beautiful. So I thought I should do something similar – not a copy, of course, but I wanted to do something with a scenic base that had elegant archways. Something new and different for me.
WarCom: Is there one part of your entry that you’re particularly proud of?
Albert: Oddly enough, the base. I am really proud of it, the platform that the Lumineth is standing on. It’s handmade, and making it look like it’s been sculpted to the machining standard of modern miniatures with perfect shapes, it’s quite difficult, so I was quite proud of how it turned out.
WarCom: Were there any parts that you found particularly challenging?
Albert: So, this miniature is a very complex conversion. It has parts from the Lumineth Realm-lords range, of course, but also from the Aeldari range – the skirt is from an Aeldari Warlock. It also has metal bits from the old Warhammer Fantasy range, like the dragon on the helmet.
With all these bits involved, it was almost impossible to paint the model in sub-assemblies, because I had to do the conversion first and resculpt certain parts. This meant I had to paint it all assembled, and some parts were quite difficult to reach. That was the biggest challenge, but somehow I was able to pull it off.
WarCom: How long did it take to produce the model from start to finish?
Albert: I started in late November 2022, so it’s about four or five months of work. I couldn’t tell you the exact count in hours, but it’s in the hundreds for sure!
WarCom: You were up against some particularly stiff competition – were there any entries you particularly loved?
Albert: There was one particular standout to me – the winner of the Gold in Warhammer 40,000 Single Miniature, a Nurgle Plague Marine by Maxime Penaud. It was fully scratch built with an incredible paint job – that was my favourite from the show.
WarCom: Now you have two Slayer Swords, do you have any advice for people looking to enter Golden Demon next year?
Albert: I would suggest, and as cliche as it may sound, pick something you really like. If you’re going to be spending a crazy amount of time on an entry, you might as well have fun while doing it. Otherwise there is no way you’ll keep your painting up to the standard you need to win a Golden Demon. Choosing the project is very important, and choosing something you like is key I think.
Albert is the second Slayer Sword winner of 2023 – check out the incredible winner of the US Gold Demon by Neil Hollis. There’s nothing like seeing the best of the best in person at Golden Demon to get inspired – find out what previous winners have had to say about entering this prestigious competion, and sign up for the Warhammer Community newsletter so you can find out when your next chance to enter is.
