NAF World Headquarters
General - Spike! Trophy reforged
generaljason - Mar 03, 2011 - 09:23 AM
Post subject: Spike! Trophy reforged
Six months after Spike! 2008 - the first year we hosted it, GW shut down GW Canada's head office, GW Canada's Trolls, and Community services. They liquidated everything they had there, crated it and shipped it out to 2 different warehouses in the States. They amalgamated the US and Canadian offices in GW North America, and GW Canada was no more. The stores still exist, but all game support and ordering is now done through the States.
Somewhere in all that moving they lost the Spike! Magazine Trophy. Myself, my brother, Lycos and even JJ himself made inquires for at least 18 months. Dave has probably about 100 emails that he either wrote or sent, but as hard as he tried the Spike! Trophy could not be found. Hidden in a crate somewhere, possibly next to the Ark of the Covenant.
We never really talked about it publicly because I have no desire to embarrass the parent company that owns the game that I play, and whose name we represent when hosting a BB Major. Also we were hoping for a long time that we could find it and so not have to make it public.
But that ship has sailed. We've cut our losses, accepted that the Spike! Trophy is in fact lost......
But the Spike! Trophy is being reforged. With the gracious help of the NAF the original Spike! Trophy is going to remade to it's original design as humanly possible.
This is were we need your help - especially from the veterans of the NAF who have been around since the beginning when the rings of power were made. 
Simon (Darkson), James (Deathwing), Grum, anybody else from the beginning, we need to pick your brains.
Dave S (Da Scum) from Edmonton - Spike! veteran from the beginning told me that all 4 of the Major trophies were made in the UK. What I need to know is:
01. Who forged these trophies?
02. Does the company still exist?
I don't believe that anybody would throw away moulds regardless of whether the company folded. Even if they were bought out by another company I imagine these same moulds would have been part of inventory. If we can obtain the mould and forge it elsewhere, or forge it at the company that owns the mold - either works for us, that alone would save a grand on production costs.
But anything you guys know would be helpful. If none of you veterans remember anything then fair enough. It's a long shot but I figured it was a question worth asking. Obtaining the original mould would guarantee that the reforged Spike! Trophy would be identical to the original.
Either way we have contacted a custom trophy company from Florida that have already sent us artwork for a redesigned Spike! if this falls through.
Thanks for your time regardless of the outcome, and hope to see you guys at the NAF WC (if I can find 2 more players )
Cheers,
Craig.
Grumbledook - Mar 04, 2011 - 09:20 AM
Post subject: RE: Spike! Trophy reforged
soz no idea who made it, not sure it would have been done from a mould either
I wouldn't worry about getting the same one replicated either, why not get it done by someone else (no idea what the situation is regarding copyright on the design though, prob need GW permission?)
the original spike was by far the best of the four trophies, but I still think a better job could have been done
any chance of posting the artwork, avoiding the horrible looking "blood bowl" trophy while we have the chance for community input is well worth doing
Darkson - Mar 04, 2011 - 10:13 AM
Post subject: RE: Spike! Trophy reforged
I thought (though I freely admit, I may be wrong) that they were all made in-house.
Deathwing - Mar 04, 2011 - 10:20 AM
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Unfortunately, I have no info whatsoever on this, sorry.
Grumbledook - Mar 04, 2011 - 11:16 AM
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don't think they were, the blood bowl may have been
from the appearance I would think the chaos cup and the spike were probably the same company though
when I was at the GW HQplace in toronto they also had some replica of a chaos sword that iirc was made by the same company and delivered with the trophy
maybe its the same place that makes the slayer swords? though tbh those look like a much better quality job than the bb trophies are
GalakStarscraper - Mar 05, 2011 - 07:51 AM
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The manager of the bunker in 2004 had told me that the local bunker had paid for the Chaos Cup forging. So I know it was not made in-house. The best bet would be to find that manager who was in charge in 2003 and 2004 and ask him who they used if you could find him and if he still works for GW.
The two earliest managers in Chicago who might know where the Chaos Cup trophy was cast and thus if Canada used the same company might know about the Spike forging were:
Tim Huckelbery: TimH@Games-Workshop.com or Tim.Huckelbery@Games-Workshop.com or hivemind@games-workshop.com
Joe Krone: colkrone@yahoo.com
Tim was in charge in 2003 when the trophy was made but Joe took over in 2003 as Bunker manager so was probably around to know the details as he worked for GW from 2000 to 2006. I know Joe is no longer with GW and don't know about Tim. Joe had sent a good-bye email in 2006 with his personal email address which hopefully would still work to contact him and ask if he remembers.
Best I can do to help.
AnthonyTBBF - Mar 05, 2011 - 02:35 PM
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I was working at GW Canada when the first Spike! was held (actually, I ran it). The trophy wasn't cast - it was welded together from lots of piece of metal and finished with some kind of coating (not sure what it was called).
Anyway, I am pretty sure it was made by a metal sculptor in the UK but I could be wrong, beyond that, I have absolutely no idea who made it. GW Canada had absolutely no idea what the BB majors were all about back then so if it was in the warehouse when they moved I highly doubt it made it out alive.
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
AnthonyTBBF - Mar 05, 2011 - 02:37 PM
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Also, I'll mention that the Spike trophy was kind of a piece of junk and started rusting badly after a year, so it's probably a good idea to make a new one
DarkOrk20 - Mar 06, 2011 - 03:05 AM
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If you need or are looking for some donations to help cover the cost of getting it remade all you have to do is ask.
Grumbledook - Mar 06, 2011 - 03:40 AM
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hey Anthony, remember the fun you had trying to find it after JKL and I hid it? ;]
AnthonyTBBF - Mar 06, 2011 - 07:45 AM
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Hahaha - I just remembered 
generaljason - Mar 11, 2011 - 02:59 PM
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Sorry I didn't reply earlier but there was at first no activity of the thread, and then a few, and then it got larger, and with all this World Cup pre-reg that I'd been doing: finding players, setting up paypal and the like, I got swamped and there is a lot to respond to here.
Deathwing wrote:
Unfortunately, I have no info whatsoever on this, sorry.
No worries man. When I talked to Dave about this over the phone he said that this might be a dead end but you never know so I figured I'd ask. You never know what people might remember. Thanks for reading all the blather up above and sounding off. Cheers. But if you are truly sorry and really broken up about it you can buy me a beer at the World Cup. 
Darkson wrote:
I thought (though I freely admit, I may be wrong) that they were all made in-house.
Same goes for you Simon.
Grumbledook wrote:
soz no idea who made it, not sure it would have been done from a mould either
AnthonyTBBF wrote:
I was working at GW Canada when the first Spike! was held (actually, I ran it). The trophy wasn't cast - it was welded together from lots of piece of metal and finished with some kind of coating (not sure what it was called).
Anyway, I am pretty sure it was made by a metal sculptor in the UK but I could be wrong, beyond that, I have absolutely no idea who made it. GW Canada had absolutely no idea what the BB majors were all about back then so if it was in the warehouse when they moved I highly doubt it made it out alive.
Grumbledook wrote:
I wouldn't worry about getting the same one replicated either, why not get it done by someone else (no idea what the situation is regarding copyright on the design though, prob need GW permission?)
the original spike was by far the best of the four trophies, but I still think a better job could have been done
AnthonyTBBF wrote:
Also, I'll mention that the Spike trophy was kind of a piece of junk and started rusting badly after a year, so it's probably a good idea to make a new one
We wanted to get an appropriate replica of the Spike! because we were working under the impression that all 4 were made at the same time and all had a similar bronze/brass finish. If that is not the case then we don't need to make it look exact.
As for the mould or no mould, what Anthony says reaffirms what Jesse (Sallacious) said about it when we had it in our possession back in 2008 - that it wasn't a mould but welded together. I admit that I didn't really give it a good study when it was in our possession back in 2008 because I didn't know it was the last time that I would see it, other than taking this photo:
Or this one back in Spike! 2007 in Calgary:
So that's the end of that mystery - welded not cast.
Grumbledook wrote:
from the appearance I would think the chaos cup and the spike were probably the same company though
when I was at the GW HQplace in toronto they also had some replica of a chaos sword that iirc was made by the same company and delivered with the trophy
maybe its the same place that makes the slayer swords? though tbh those look like a much better quality job than the bb trophies are
GalakStarscraper wrote:
The manager of the bunker in 2004 had told me that the local bunker had paid for the Chaos Cup forging. So I know it was not made in-house. The best bet would be to find that manager who was in charge in 2003 and 2004 and ask him who they used if you could find him and if he still works for GW.
The two earliest managers in Chicago who might know where the Chaos Cup trophy was cast and thus if Canada used the same company might know about the Spike forging were:
Tim Huckelbery:
TimH@Games-Workshop.com or
Tim.Huckelbery@Games-Workshop.com or
hivemind@games-workshop.com
Joe Krone:
colkrone@yahoo.com
Tim was in charge in 2003 when the trophy was made but Joe took over in 2003 as Bunker manager so was probably around to know the details as he worked for GW from 2000 to 2006. I know Joe is no longer with GW and don't know about Tim. Joe had sent a good-bye email in 2006 with his personal email address which hopefully would still work to contact him and ask if he remembers.
These are great leads guys. Good eye Jon and thanks Tom for these addresses. If the decision is to find a welder or a sculptor this will help immensely. The only contact we've had as taking this project further is a company out of Florida called Inspired Bronze who could make a custom mould and redesign it.
Grumbledook wrote:
any chance of posting the artwork, avoiding the horrible looking "blood bowl" trophy while we have the chance for community input is well worth doing
For sure. Jesse did the artwork for this trophy:
As well as the coin here:
We also have the original colour scheme of the Spike! Trophy found on this poster on our Spike! tournament homepage (yeah I know it says 2010 - we're in the process of updating it. ):
http://www.spiketournament.com/
But as far as redesign, we'd like to make the trophy bigger if we can. Redesign it around an extra large Bauer hockey glove so even the largest of arms can fit - hollow out the trophy (the original was like this) but fix a bar inside the fist for someone to grip. This way they can hold the trophy up with 2 hands but also they can wear it like a proper gauntlet. What do you guys think of that?
DarkOrk20 wrote:
If you need or are looking for some donations to help cover the cost of getting it remade all you have to do is ask.
The NAF is going to be helping us out but this is not a blank cheque nor would we ever treat it like one. The quote from Inspired Bronze in the U.S. for a metal mould 9-10 IN trophy - far smaller than what I proposed above but more akin to the size of the original, is far off the scale of what we or the NAF is prepared to spend I think.
Any other options like welders or whatnot that can bring the price of getting this redone cheaper we are all ears. But we appreciate your support Thomas.
Sorry about the length but there was a lot of stuff to respond to here. Again any help whether it be a lead to another company, or design suggestions, or financial aid to get the Spike! Trophy reforged is greatly appreciated!
Thanks for your time guys. I'll keep you all posted on any new developments on my front.
Best regards,
Craig.
generaljason - Jun 24, 2012 - 11:45 PM
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After FOUR LONG YEARS OF WAITING, and continued support from the NAF, in particular our president Dave Downes who spent countless hours and emails trying to locate the old trophy once it was lost back in 2009 to no avail, and being committed along with the NAF administration to seeing it replaced if need be, I am proud to announce that the SPIKE! MAGAZINE TROPHY is being REFORGED for Spike! 2012!!
I would like to thank all the users that posted here throughout and added the comments and suggestions. Some gave us insight on where not to look, and some put us in contact within the industry of bronze casting that we wouldn't have known otherwise.
The reforge will be an improved version of the last:
The project has been a very costly venture to do for myself and my clubmates, but we've always felt as NAF does that the Spike! is a NAF Major and needed to get the trophy back.
I know others had posted in the past that they would like to help us and donate to getting this redone. If coaches still want to help us out this would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!! We want your help.
Any member wishing to make a donation to TB to help us with this venture please make a visit to the Spike! Merchandize page found here. All contributions made to that page starting tonight will go directly into getting the Spike! trophy remade:
http://spiketournament.com/?page_id=26
Thanks for all your continued support guys - especially Lycos and Geggster: you guys are awesome.
And I'm just ecstatic over on this side of the globe that we can FINALLY announce that this is getting done! Canada has it's trophy back! Awesome job NAF! September 29th, 2012 will be an exciting day of Blood Bowl because of your efforts!
Best regards,
Craig.
Clan_Skaven - Jun 26, 2012 - 03:05 PM
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Heres the last time I saw it, back in 2006.... (too bad I was not allowed to keep it, I shoulda made a run for it 
)
blammaham - Jun 26, 2012 - 03:16 PM
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I can't wait to see the new version! S.
generaljason - Jun 26, 2012 - 06:00 PM
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Clan_Skaven wrote:
I shoulda made a run for it
)
I wish you had run with it.
zootsuitjeff - Jun 26, 2012 - 06:04 PM
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Can you guys make a cinematic reforging montage and post it on youtube?
Jonny_P - Jun 26, 2012 - 06:25 PM
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Set to a 1975-1978 era Rush song please.
DarkOrk20 - Jun 26, 2012 - 09:46 PM
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I didn't see a way to make a donation on the page that is listed. Is it possible to make a donation button?
Warpstone - Jun 26, 2012 - 10:38 PM
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Jonny_P wrote:
Set to a 1975-1978 era Rush song please.
A passage to Bangkok
Both an early Rush song and what Dwarves think the dugout tunnel is for.
blammaham - Jun 26, 2012 - 10:47 PM
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DarkOrk20 wrote:
I didn't see a way to make a donation on the page that is listed. Is it possible to make a donation button?
I don't think anyone ever concidered that, as the page was set up as our league store. If the models aren't for you the coin is pretty F'n cool and makes a great turn marker or bonus reroll. S.
generaljason - Jun 27, 2012 - 01:38 AM
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zootsuitjeff wrote:
Can you guys make a cinematic reforging montage and post it on youtube?
What do you mean like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkbVo8JZ_bU
And then after like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io1R7Aj_Ls0&feature=related
We were joking about this as well when the entire project came about. But honestly I should beg the director of ops to film some of the artwork stages, the working of the wax mould, and eventually the bronze casting phase of the reforging as it is taking place. I'd love to see that as well - especially making it's way to British Columbia in September and being worn by the 2012 Champion!!
DarkOrk20 wrote:
I didn't see a way to make a donation on the page that is listed. Is it possible to make a donation button?
To be truthful I suggested the Merchandize page for donations because I still wanted to give members kind enough to give us their support something back in return. I didn't occur to me to make a straight donations option, but I can get my brother to work on this straight away with the Trophy logo so it'll stand out. Thanks for pointing this out Tom and thanks for your support. And congrats on winning the Zlurpeebowl last weekend!
generaljason - Jun 27, 2012 - 08:46 PM
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DarkOrk20 wrote:
I didn't see a way to make a donation on the page that is listed. Is it possible to make a donation button?
hey Tom,
Mike set up a page on our site for those wishing to help out with a contribution to Spike! Reforged. It can be found here:
http://spiketournament.com/?page_id=1041
And I guess the word got out somewhere - 2-3 days after announcing this and our Store has already received over $120 in contributions. This is awesome my friends and we in Vancouver thank you for your continued support in improving the NAF Majors worldwide.!
Kilowoggy - Jul 03, 2012 - 01:52 PM
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Got my items I ordered super quick! Thanks again and let us know how the fundraising goes and when it ends!
generaljason - Jul 11, 2012 - 07:09 PM
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Kilowog1 wrote:
Got my items I ordered super quick! Thanks again and let us know how the fundraising goes and when it ends!
No thank you Steve for visiting our merchandise page and helping us along with that. The purchases have been slowly trucking along but have been steady. We will be fundraising throughout the summer up until Spike! 2012 at the end of September. Those still interested in helping us out in this way we still have plenty of Spike! Magazine product still available:
http://spiketournament.com/?page_id=26
DarkOrk20 wrote:
I didn't see a way to make a donation on the page that is listed. Is it possible to make a donation button?
Thank you to Tom (Galakstarscraper) and Impact Miniatures for their donation to the cause! Much appreciated! And to the other Tom (DarkOrk20) all I can say is WOW!!! Thank you SO MUCH for your incredibly generous donation! You rock!!! Everything that I've heard from Jonny and Bryan about you is untrue. Definitely going above and beyond. You have some pitchers coming your way if you ever make your way out to British Columbia. Good stuff!
For anybody that would like to help us out in this way you can make a donation here:
http://spiketournament.com/?page_id=1041
We are just over 10% of our goal so any help that we can get from the global Blood Bowl community at large is greatly appreciated!
When I have some in progress pictures from Inspired Bronze I'll be sure to post them here. Again thanks so much to those that have helped us out so far! Incredible.
Best regards,
Craig.
generaljason - Aug 02, 2012 - 07:51 AM
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These are pictures of the clay sculpt that will be made into a mould and then cast into bronze. Looking amazing so far!
Anybody wishing to help us in this venture please visit one of these two links. One is our merchandize page, the other is a donation page:
http://spiketournament.com/?page_id=26
http://spiketournament.com/?page_id=1041
Thanks gents. Hope you enjoy the pics. I'm stoked and eagerly waiting for the end of September to roll around.
Craig.
generaljason - Aug 14, 2012 - 03:40 PM
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Steve (Kilowog1) from Both Down put this up on their site:
http://bothdown.com/help-a-blood-bowl-brother-out/
As well as they've added the story to their facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/BothDown
Awesome! Thank you Steve!
Gj.
blammaham - Aug 15, 2012 - 10:43 PM
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Thanks for the support Both Down! S.
generaljason - Aug 18, 2012 - 09:28 AM
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Here's some pictures of the mold stage:
Gj.
generaljason - Aug 18, 2012 - 09:29 AM
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Here's some pictures of the wax pouring stage of the reforge:
Gj.
generaljason - Aug 18, 2012 - 09:32 AM
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Here's the last of the pictures that Inspired Bronze sent me so far. This is the Wax Chasing stage, the final stage in making the mould:
Next stage is bronze and that'll take about 4 weeks. Looking crazy so far.
Gj.
Kilowoggy - Aug 18, 2012 - 11:39 AM
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That is an amazing amount of pics they took
Clan_Skaven - Aug 18, 2012 - 11:55 AM
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Awesome!!!! 
, (I want one how much?) 
generaljason - Aug 20, 2012 - 04:26 PM
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Kilowog1 wrote:
That is an amazing amount of pics they took
Yeah I should probably go back and edit some of the duplicates but I just posted what they sent. But yeah I asked for them early on, before we even went to the clay sculpt and artwork phase, that we wanted as much photographic evidence of the whole process as possible. They've been great with that. I wanted to see it as I imagined others might as well.
They said the casting into bronze phase would take about 4 weeks. They started this already so there should be plenty of time. They'll be issuing a press release on their site once they have pictures of this. Stoked!
Clan_Skaven wrote:
An arm and a leg believe me. But those guys do some crazy sculpts.
For anyone wanting to help us out please visit one of these 2 pages. One is our store, the other is for donations.
http://spiketournament.com/?page_id=26
http://spiketournament.com/?page_id=1041
Cheers,
Gj.
Jonny_P - Aug 20, 2012 - 06:35 PM
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If it's cool with you GJ, I'll be mentioning an excerpt and this thread in the next NAF Newsletter. Good stuff.
blammaham - Aug 20, 2012 - 07:42 PM
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Here is the amazing thing, I think it looks 100% better than the original Spike. The old one was squat, shorter and fatter than the miniature, the scales were chunks of welded on metal that looked like, well chunks of welded on metal. The scales are being sculpted onto the gauntlet and look so much more professional. I can't be more proud of the fact that our club has pulled this project off. The size and cost have made this a huge project for us and seeing it come together like this is awesome! I couldn't be more happy with the way it is turning out and I'm so excited for the Spike! This year! Registration is open get in for you chance to be the historic first winner of this fantastic trophy! S.
generaljason - Aug 21, 2012 - 01:32 AM
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Jonny_P wrote:
If it's cool with you GJ, I'll be mentioning an excerpt and this thread in the next NAF Newsletter. Good stuff.
That would be absolutely cool. Thanks Jonny!
Feel free to use a shrunk down version of this picture if you have space (as well as photoshop the background out 
):
Cheers,
Gj.
generaljason - Sep 18, 2012 - 03:58 PM
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Hot of the presses. The reforged Spike! Magazine trophy:
Way better than I expected. And I must say that I'm relieved that they finished early. We should have this in our hands by the end of the week.
Enjoy. And thanks for all your continued support guys - it's been great.
For anybody else still wanting to give us a hand, please visit either our Store or the Spike! Reforged page on our website:
http://spiketournament.com/?page_id=26
http://spiketournament.com/?page_id=1041
Cheers,
Gj.
Grumbledook - Sep 18, 2012 - 04:18 PM
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wow looks fantastic and better than the original
I may have to come over and hide this one as well ;]
blammaham - Sep 18, 2012 - 08:02 PM
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You'll have to pry it out of our cold dead hands! S.
generaljason - Sep 19, 2012 - 06:06 AM
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Grumbledook wrote:
wow looks fantastic and better than the original
I may have to come over and hide this one as well ;]
Thanks Jon. I hope you guys do have a chance to come one year. I think I'd just sit down and cry if this one were ever lost though, so needless to say when you do get over here IGMEOY.
Darkson - Sep 19, 2012 - 09:02 AM
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Hot damn! That is some kind of f'ing cool! 
generaljason - Sep 20, 2012 - 05:31 AM
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Thanks Simon. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. The patina and black base just looks so bad ass. It's about 4 inches taller than the original, and the artist correctly achieved the aspect ratio of the Spike! Trophy model.
Also, since the base of the trophy was going to be hollow anyway (the fist is solid), we got them to add a handle near the wrist so the winner can wear it and hoist it up when they get to do their victory lap. I can't wait to see that.
generaljason - Oct 17, 2012 - 11:57 AM
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and here's Kaare wearing it:
Thanks for your support guys. It was awesome to see that this year and we couldn't have done it without NAF.
generaljason - Oct 17, 2012 - 12:07 PM
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And these past champions that won the event when the trophy was not around thank you as well! Here's them finally getting to hoist it for old times sake.
Spike 2009 Champion - Atropabelladonna:
Spike! 2010 Champion - Warpstone:
Spike! 2011 Champion - Darkangeldave:
Cheers dudes. The reemergence of the award that weekend brought back that additional buzz that we had back in 2008, but this year it was even bigger!
generaljason - Oct 17, 2012 - 12:09 PM
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Hey guys,
As promised we will be selling the dice that we have left over from Spike! 2012 on our Store page on the Spike! tournament website. This is our last fundraiser for reforging the Spike! Magazine Trophy. http://spiketournament.com/?page_id=26
The dice set is 5 dice that we gave away to all the participants at Spike! this year. Included is a set of our debut official Thunderbowl Block dice in the traditional TB colours of Block with Silver. These are limited edition in the sense that we will never revisit this colour scheme again.
Also included is a pair of Spike! 2012 D6s. Also limited edition.
Our Store Page can be found here:
http://spiketournament.com/?page_id=26
Thanks for your support.
Gj.