Round 1 - Dwarf Gang vs. Musketeer Saxons

[cheetor]

Please note that when I say "presentation", I'm not talking about having a scenic background vs. not having a scenic background, I'm talking about the seam running up the center of the backdrop and the visible barcode and exposed edges, plus the foreground dwarf figure being out of focus in the Dwarf entry. I think it's the attention to the little details that makes all the difference.

I agree 100%.  Scenic backgrounds can be great, but they can also ruin an otherwise good entry IMO.  I tend to take it on a case by case basis.

The problems with the seam etc in the Dwarfs were what cost it my vote at least.

[Froggy the Great]

From a painting standpoint, what got my vote was the basing on the dwarves.  I think that the dwarves are cleanly painted, love the blends on the reds, and the whites - even on the out-of-focus foreground dwarf - are quite good.  Red and white are very hard to do well.

While the presentation on the Saxons was much better and makes for a stronger vignette, I feel that they suffer from very abrupt highlighting - the paint could have been thinner, and the transitions could have been much less abrupt particularly on the banner and shields.

[Centaur_Seducer]

A really tough choise this one.
I did head n' tail on this one and my vote went to the saxons

[Svennn]

Dwarves all the way for me. The Saxons are very nice but I like the dwarves more

As I tend to look at the actual miniatures I will admit I did not notice the seam until it was pointed out. For me anyway its not a photography competition - each to their own.