In our Road to LVO series, we’re following several different players and hobbyists as they prepare to play in one of the largest wargaming conventions on the planet. In this article we’re back with Contemptor Kevin as he talks about signing up for hobby classes.
This year’s Road to LVO series is sponsored by Frontline Gaming.
Having made the decision to go to the LVO, get badges, secure a hotel room, a roommate, and plane tickets, it was time to figure out what to do at the LVO. I am not a huge fan of actively playing Warhammer 40K or carrying my army across the continent (indeed, it was one of the reasons I am doing LVO XII instead of the Grand Narrative). So I will have to fill my time in Vegas with other things to do.
I have been to two conventions in 2025 so far: LVO 2025 and Adepticon 2025. I had an absolutely fantastic time at both. However, as I mentioned in my review of the LVO 2025 master class, I overwhelmed myself with the three day, 8+ hour seminar. A lot of time in these classes (especially the longer ones), people will talk and make conversation and try and get to know one another. And that’s absolutely a fantastic thing. People from all walks of life and all stages of the hobby attend these events, and you never know whom you will get to meet at these. But even an extroverted introvert like myself is going to run out of energy, and I absolutely hit a *hard* wall at the LVO. So I was pretty adamant that I was not going to do a masterclass this time around. Additionally, having something to do during all hours of the convention meant that I did not get a chance to relax, unwind, and just explore the convention or do anything else.
For Adepticon 2025, I did a wide variety of painting classes. Indeed, I think I did six or seven different hobby classes. That, my friends, is way too much in the way of hobby classes. While I thoroughly enjoyed many of the classes that I had taken, it also meant that I did not spend as much time hanging out with friends and playing with toys at Adepticon that I would have otherwise liked.
I did not, for example, have the opportunity to go to Ft. Wapple and just hang out and paint some of the many miniatures I acquired. Hanging out with friends (old and new) to just hobby is a wonderful experience – local store Huzzah Hobbies and the Plastic Crack Alliance, for example, have a hobby day the last Sunday of the month. So one of the things I knew I was going to do was get the Hobby Hub Pass.  This way I can relax, hobby, and make new friends.
If you’ve read my previous convention journeys, you’ll notice that I’m particularly partial to the hobby seminars. I’ve taken a lot of seminars since I started in the hobby, and they are almost always a highlight at conventions. I generally try and take different seminars from convention to convention, but there are a few seminars I have taken over the years that always merit a revisit because a different environment can produce different results. Looking over the seminar list for this year, I pretty quickly decided to take Caleb Wissenback’s Day-Long Airbrush Class. I’ve taken many of his previous classes, when he was still working with Games Workshop. Many of the techniques I use in my airbrushing nowadays are ones that he has taught. However, this time he is not doing a GW painting class but his own painting class. And I know he has previously taught classes where students paint a bust without any brushwork. So this class will almost offer a new experience while at the same time refreshing my current airbrush technique base. And since the class is an all day class, that still gives me two days of the convention to do other things.
Looking at shorter classes, another class that jumped out at me was Clay Williams’ Caution! Hazardous Techniques Ahead class. This class is set to focus on painting hazard stripes. I don’t know why, but I’ve long found freehanding Hazard Stripes to be a uniquely difficult challenge.  Furthermore, in all my years of classes, I have never taken one focused on hazard stripes. This one is late Sunday morning to early Sunday afternoon, which will give me an afternoon and evening where I get to do nothing but relax and nap. And likely play Pokemon Go.
However, I also wanted to have something to paint for this year’s LVO. For a few years, I’ve had an Imperial Knight Preceptor sitting in my Pile of Shame. However, I figure that with a couple of months where I’m not going on vacation anywhere, I will have the opportunity to build and paint the Knight Preceptor and bring it with me to the LVO. And as luck would have it, the LVO is offering an after-hours event: a Knight Joust where one plays a single Knight to Death or Glory. I’ve come to enjoy playing 10th Edition 40K, but I still find the experience physically challenging and tiring. A single one-off game with a single model should be enough to be satisfying, giving me a deadline to have a long-simmering centerpiece model completed, and not being absolutely killer on my core. A total win-win, and this *will* be a focus of later Road to LVOs.
So what we have here is a relatively light schedule: this gives me time to actually enjoy the Las Vegas environment of the LVO as well as explore the LVO. I will not be rushing to get to and from a particular classroom like I was at Adepticon, and I will also have time to myself in a way I did not get at the 2025 LVO.
So those are the events I’m choosing to do at the LVO. However, there are a lot of additional hobby events at the LVO that are definitely worth your money. Next time, we will hear from an LVO Hobby Teacher about his experiences at the LVO, teaching classes, and the LVO painting competitions. And also apparently the Warhammer Open painting competitions that Rob hasn’t won (yet)!
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