Miniature Painting Competition — Official Rules

PAX East 2026 | Voodoo Ranger Beer Bar | March 26–29

Eligibility

• Open to all PAX East 2026 attendees. No experience required.
• Competitors must be present at the Voodoo Ranger beer bar to participate.
• Participants must be of legal drinking age or accompanied by a guardian to access the bar area.
• Bear Cavalry Paints and Voodoo Ranger staff are not eligible to win prizes.

How to Enter

• Visit the Bear Cavalry Paints paint-and-take station at the Voodoo Ranger bar.
• Select a miniature from the available stock — all minis are provided free of charge.
• Paint your miniature at a station using the Bear Cavalry Paints provided.
• Submit your completed mini to the IKEA display case before 4:00 PM. Each entry will be required to submit their name, email, and a phone number to be reached at so they can be notified of their selection.
• One submission per person per day. Same person may enter on multiple days.

Models & Materials

• Only miniatures painted at the event during that day's session are eligible.
• All miniatures are provided by Bear Cavalry Paints — no personal minis permitted.
• All paints and brushes are provided at the station. No personal paints or tools permitted.
• No basing materials or mold line removal tools are available. Judging accounts for this.
• Competitors have 1–2 hours to complete their entry within the paint-and-take session.

Daily Competition Format (March 27–29)

Each day produces two winners drawn from all submissions placed in the display cases.

Submissions accepted Until 4:00 PM . Place completed mini in display case. Judging begins — Bear Cavalry staff review all entries.

4:00–4:45 PM

Pass 1: Bear Cavalry staff walk the cases together. Minis that do not clear the minimum bar are marked and set aside. Target: 15–20 survivors.

4:45–5:30 PM

Pass 2: Bear Cavalry staff score surviving minis independently using the judging rubric below. Highest combined score wins.

5:45 PM

Wild Card entry (regardless of judging) drawn live from the full submission pool in front of the crowd.

6:00 PM Winners announced. Daily Judging Winner and Daily Wild Card both revealed. Winners of each daily and Wild Card prize receive $10 in store credit.

Judging Criteria

Two criteria only. All other factors (basing, mold lines, mini complexity) are excluded — materials and tools for these are not available at the event. Judging is based solely on what competitors can control.

Judges Look For:

Painting Skill 70% (Neatness, shading, highlighting, blending relative to the time available)

Creativity 30% (Original color choices, unexpected combinations, personal flair on a stock mini)

How Winners Are Determined

Daily (March 27–29) — Two Winners Per Day

• Judged Winner: using the above criteria, Bear Cavalry staff will select that day's winner and at least two alternates. The alternates will be contacted in case the winner is not able to compete on Sunday.
• Wild Card Winner: One entry drawn at random from the full daily submission pool at 5:45 PM. Every entry is eligible regardless of judging outcome.

Sunday Final (March 30, 3:00 PM)

• Finalists: The three daily Judged plus Bear Cavalry staff as a permanent competitor. 7 Total. Bear Cavalry staff is not eligible for store credit.
• Competitors enter the Chaos Auction with 50 chips each. Chips are used to bid on sabotages against opponents. Only the top 3 at the end of the competition will take home their remaining chips. Spend wisely!
• Competition runs 2 hours. Four sabotages are deployed via the auction.
• Voodoo Ranger judges the six final entries blind — no visibility into the sabotages or process.

Sabotage System

Auction Chips

Every Sunday finalist receives 50 chips at the start of the auction. Each chip is worth $1 in Bear Cavalry store credit. Unspent chips are redeemed after the event. This creates genuine strategic tension: spend chips aggressively to sabotage opponents, or play conservatively and bank the credit. The crowd watches competitors make real decisions with real stakes.

The Final Four Sabotages

Selected for maximum fun, impact, hilarity, and shareability. Deployed across the 2-hour final.

Sabotage Descriptions

The Critic: A bar patron gives unsolicited advice for 10 minutes. The competitor must visibly engage and appear to follow it.

Wrong Hand: Competitor paints with their non-dominant hand only for a 20-minute segment.

Wash Everything: Opponent picks a wash color. Competitor must apply it over their entire mini, no matter what they've done so far.

The Muppet: Competitor's hands go behind their back. A volunteer's arms come from behind and paint while the competitor narrates. The volunteer cannot see the mini.

Sunday Judging

Voodoo Ranger staff uses the same two-criteria rubric (Painting Skill 70%, Creativity 30%) on a 1–3 scale per criterion. They score all six entries independently, having been briefed on the rubric in advance. Highest total score wins. Judges' decision is final.

Prize Summary

Award Prize Sunday

1st Place: Custom Boston Bruins-colored co-branded hockey jersey + remaining Bear Cavalry store credit + Bear Cav/Voodoo Ranger shirt + trophy

Sunday 2nd Place: Remaining Bear Cavalry store credit + Bear Cav/Voodoo Ranger shirt

Sunday 3rd Place: Remaining Bear Cavalry store credit + Bear Cav/Voodoo Ranger shirt

All Sunday Finalists:Bear Cav/Voodoo Ranger shirt

Daily judged Winner (x3) $10 Bear Cavalry store credit

Daily Wild Card (x3) $10 Bear Cavalry store credit

General Rules

• All entries must be painted at the event during that day's session. No pre-painted minis accepted.
• Competitors must use only the paints and brushes provided at the station.
• Submitted minis become display property for the duration of PAX East. They will be returned after the Sunday final.
• Bear Cavalry Paints reserves the right to photograph all entries for promotional use.
• By submitting an entry, participants consent to photography and social media use of their work.
• Judges' and organizers' decisions are final in all matters.

Bear Cavalry Paints | PAX East 2026
Questions? email team@bearcavalrypaints.com