Cold North Open 2025
Ropecon’s widely known miniature painting competition returns yet again! The competition has undergone many changes over the years. In 2024 an updated name, look and format. In the competition relaunched with a new name and format change, with an open format where the number of entries and awards given out per category is not limited.
Like last year, the registration to the contest is done online ahead of the contest. Registration is done on the website pienoismallit.net as a collaboration with the site. Entering online helps everything go smoothly on the contest day and helps the competition organizers assess the need for space. It is however also possible to enter your entries at the competition area in Hall 5B until Saturday afternoon if need be. The award ceremony and collection of your entries is done on Sunday.
As in previous years, the contest is judged by a panel of judges consisting of painters with awards from both national and international competitions. In addition an award is given out to the People’s Choice, voted by all convention visitors. More information on voting practices will be updated closer to the convention.
We welcome painters of all skill levels to register and showcase their works at the constantly growing and developing competition at Ropecon. There are special categoriy for beginners and less experienced painters as well and it is a wonderful opportunity to take the first steps toward competitive painting, so please join in, one and all!
The Show of Force army parade organized by Warhead will also be held once again in the miniature gallery area. Snow force showcases large miniature armies on impressive dioramas.
Schedule
The pre-registration is open on pienoismallit.net and will be open until entry submissions are closed.
- Competition entries can be submitted between Friday July 25th 3.00pm – Saturday July 25th 3.00pm.
- Entries can be collected back on Sunday July 26th 12.00pm – 4.00pm.
- You can ask the judges for feedback on your entries on Sunday July 27th during a time slot dedicated for this.
- The award ceremony is on Sunday July 27th in the afternoon.
You will find the schedule and locations also in the Ropecon program guide.
Rules
Cold North Open 2025 is held using the open format, in which the amount of entries and awards is not limited. This format takes into consideration the overall quality of entries in the category and the competition, all pieces deemed worthy of prizes are awarded rather than just the best three in each category.
Contestants may enter each category with one or more pieces. These pieces together form the contestant’s display for that category. A display doesn’t necessarily have to be a cohesive combination of models, as each piece in the display is judged individually. Every contestant will mark their own display from other contestants’ works using small sticks available at the contest area. As a loose guideline you should keep your displays between 1-5 pieces each, due to the restricted space of the contest area.
A contestant may have one display in each main category (1.-6.), not including the special categories (7.-9.), the restrictions of which you can find under the details for those categories.
Contestants can participate in the contest with a miniature they have painted themselves. The miniature can be anything as long as it counts as a miniature and follows the restrictions of the category to which it is submitted. Fantasy, sci-fi, historical or modern, anything goes. Your entry doesn’t have to be painted exclusively for this competition – any piece is eligible as long as it hasn’t been placed in previous Ropecon painting competitions. In accordance with the Ropecon rules, entries cannot showcase any symbols which do not align with Ropecon’s values, or which incite hatred against marginalized groups of people without specific permission from the organizers of the event.
If you aren’t sure what category your miniature should be entered into, please contact us at coldtonessociety(at)gmail.com. The judges reserve the right to change the category of an entry if it appears to be entered into the wrong category. The competition is organized by the Finnish display painters open association Cold Tones Society in collaboration with Ropecon. All the crucial information concerning the Cold Open competition will be available on Ropecon’s official channels, however, additional information and news on the competition will also be available on Cold society’s website https://coldtonessociety.com/ and social media instagram.com/coldtonessociety
Please note that Ropecon does not take responsibility for any damaged or stolen entries. Our volunteers do their very best to ensure the safety of all entries and they monitor the display area carefully. The organizers reserve the right to decide the suitability of the contest entries, categories, and other aspects of the competition for example in unclear cases and disputes. The decisions of the judges regarding awards are final and have no room for negotiations.
By entering the contest you agree to the possibility that your entry may be photographed and the placings, photographs of the entries and the name of the artist provided during registration may be published on Ropecon or Cold Tones Society’s websites or social media.
Awards
Contestants are awarded commendations and bronze, silver and gold trophies. A contestant may only receive one award per category – either for the single best entry in their display or for their whole display if all of the pieces entered are deemed to be on the same level by the judges.
Additional awards include:
- The Best of Theme award /New Worlds)
- The People’s Choice award (general voting)
- The Best of Show award.
Like previous years, commendations will be given out to pieces with commendable merits to mark all the finalist pieces that made it past the first cut. Winning pieces will be picked from within these commended entries. The commended entry cards will be placed with the pieces on the showroom table by Sunday morning. If your piece has a commended entry card next to it on Sunday, please come to the award ceremony!
Categories
Main Categories:
1. Small Figure
2. Large Figure
3. Vehicle
4. Group
5. Bust
6. Diorama
Special categories:
7. Beginner
8. Sculpt
9. Junior
10. Speedpaint
11. Theme category : Trench Crusade
Judging
The contest has a panel of judges, who evaluate all the entries. The panel of judges consists of experienced painters with several awards from both national and international competitions. Contestants have the possibility of asking the judges for feedback on their entries during a dedicated time slot on Sunday. The panel of judges in 2025 consists of:
Kalle Lähteenmäki
instagram.com/paintingbaron
Antti Vuento
instagram.com/vuentominis
Erkka Marttio
instagram.com/marttio_miniatureart
https://erkkamarttio.com
Aappo Danschu
instagram.com/dnschminiatures
Additionally the Trench Crusade -category includes the judges:
James Sherriff (Trench Crusade Lead Sculptor)
instagram.com/brass0_0monkey
Tuomas Pirinen (Trench Crusade Lead Designer)
instagram.com/sonatanocturne
Judging criteria
The judges will select the winners with mutual decision based on critical visual inspection and discussion. Each submitted contest work will be judged as a separate entity, so mastering only one area of the workpiece does not guarantee victory. Any specific painting style is not expected or consciously preferred. The judging can never be fully objective in and of itself, but the judges will do their best to evaluate the contest works from as many points of view and as fairly as possible, striving to disregard their own preferences. The judges will at the very least take the following details into consideration:
Paint application and technique: each part of the work has been painted meticulously and purposefully from every side and there is no texture visible in disturbing amounts in the layers of the paint itself. There is no noticeable carelessness in various painted sections’ outlines in the miniature.
Meticulous miniature and base assembly: The paintwork has been prepared with care. Traces of mold lines and printing supports among other surface defects that do not belong to the miniature or the base in and of itself are not visible. Possible conversions have been made in high quality, so that it is difficult to distinguish them from the original miniature.
Arrangement and composition of elements: the arrangement of the physical parts of the work have clear purpose, and thought has been put into them. The miniature and the elements of the base function as a clear entity and compliment each other, guiding the viewer’s eyes to the centerpiece of the work.
Artistic expression, storytelling, originality: the colors of the work are harmonious and further help to convey a distinct theme, emotion or story. Thought has clearly been put into the choice and composition of colours and it supports the entity of the work together with the miniature and other parts of the base. The work one way or another conveys a new or otherwise original idea.
Presentation and finishing touches: The presentation of the figure is done with care. The whole work is polished with care, not just the main object. For example the surfaces of the plinth are even, clean and painted or varnished neatly. In other words the signs of the work process have been cleaned up or covered up carefully, which offers a polished, finalized look. The judges will do their best to appraise the presentation to see if coarser or rougher brush strokes and paint finish is a conscious stylistic choice or not. In this part of the judging, the category does not play the central part, but can tip the scales in favor of the more stylishly finished presentation.