Hortus Astartes Naming Competition (CLOSED)

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED - A HUGE THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO ENTERED 👏👏👏

All heroes have a name, and it's their name that over time elevates them above the mortal herd. For over a standard year now this proud Astartes has tirelessly stood guard over my garden. I know not what penance he undertakes in the Emperor's, I don't even know his name, but it will soon be revealed.

And it will be revealed, or rather created by the winner of this Hortus Astartes Naming competition. It is up to you to reveal his name, and donate £5 to the German Shepherd Dog Welfare Fund via the entry form below before the closing date to win. You may enter as many times as you like. Names should be in-keeping with the 40K universe, but I'm fine with amusing ones, don't get too carried away though - it needs to be something I can post in public without being arrested!

Before we get started I'd like to thank Fantastic Books Publishing, Frontier Developments, Artwork of Warhammer 40,000, and GSD Welfare Fund for their support putting this competition together.

The winning name will be judged by the mysteriously exiled Terran Lord, who's garden is protected by the Emperor's order. His word on this matter will be final. The selected name will be set in a plaque (probably wooden in material, and detail to be decided once the armoured warrior's name is known) this will be affixed to the noble Astartes, and a copy sent to the winner. 

Not only do entrants aid the noble task of rescuing vulnerable German Shepherds from all over the mainland UK, the money allows the caring of, rehabilitation, and re-homing of these majestic animals (beasts of such honourable bearing that even the mighty Russ would be impressed). 

Over the past year I've become more involved with the charity, with raising funds and building up our online presence. I'm also now a committee member, and we're currently the busiest we have been since our creation in 1975. With over 100 dogs in our care, and a commitment to not have the dogs put down just because they can't be re-homed, our resources are stretched, and need your help to ensure that we never have to turn a dog away. 

Discover more of our mission here - http://www.gsdwelfarefund.co.uk/

A Bounty of Prizes

Thanks to the incredible generosity of Fantastic Books Publishing, Frontier Developments (where I work in the interests of transparency, but this competition is nothing to do them!), and my compulsive hoarding, we have a wonderful range of prizes both 40K related and also wider science fiction. They will be randomly drawn after the competition finishes (there are some exceptions to this as noted below).  Also please note that there are a few items that are pre-owned or as new as they've come from my collection - these are marked individually. 

Throughout the competition's duration there will be opportunities to win free e-books, and occasional secret, and as yet unannounced prizes - Like, Comment, and Follow to make sure you stay up to date!

See the list of additional prizes below:

Meet Wellington

Meet Wellington (aka Wellie, aka Little Dog), the reason we are all here today. Early last I decided that I wanted to bring a dog into my life. With the lockdown the price of puppies had sky rocketed and I remembered a news article of more and more dogs being abandoned as the lockdown eased. I liked the idea of taking on a rescue and a friend put me in touch with the GSD Welfare Fund. There I met Debbie, the charity's chairman and suggested an older dog and had one that she thought would fit, and she wasn't wrong!

He's 9 or 10 years old - we're not sure because no records were kept for him, or the other dogs rescued from the compound. When I first met him he was very nervous, although he still let me walk him on a lead. On that first visit I knew that I wanted to make sure that his latter years would be better than the preceding ones.

Wellington's still quite nervous, but it's a far cry from him hiding from me and having accidents indoors when he first moved. His confidence built up slowly and he slowly became more trusting. Sadly his earlier trauma has left its mark. He's very reactive to other dogs - especially of the same breed. This isn't a surprise as you see the scars from having to fight. 

It's amazing to me how great he is with people. He won't let people stroke him straight away, but he is calming as he socialises more. His scars aren't just physical, he experiences terrible nightmares and will often wake up and dash into my bedroom to make sure I'm still. In some ways our roles are reversed as I'm more his bodyguard with having to go first through most doors, and he'll hide behind me when we have visitors.

And with all that, he's probably improved my life as much as I have his. He's a fantastic companion, and filled a gap that for a long time didn't realise I had. And so I feel that I must do what I can for others of his kind that are mistreated and abused, and maybe when they find their forever home, they'll bring some love with them to.

Carving a Space Marine

The chainsaw carving was done by the talented Arnie the Roadside Carver. He's in the bottom right of the montage above, and I'm the hairy one on the left next to the trunk.

Originally I thought of having a life size bear as a centre piece of the garden, but while bears are cool - you don't often see a life sized (almost) 40K Space Marine staring at you as you stroll past somebody's house. My original thought was to have Russ carved, but that would have been a tad ambitious - next time maybe!

The design was based upon one of the McFarlane poseable marines and Arnie kept me updated with photos all throughout the project and made some suggestions (like the burnt wood) that improved the piece considerably. If you visit his website you can really appreciate his versatility and skill. My marine is clearly the best carving he's ever done though!

A squad of Red Devils
seeking heresy

Competition Rules

There must be fairness in all things, and the corrupted taint of chaos shall not sully our noble purpose. Breaking the compact of these rules shall condemn the offender as an outcast, and sent far from civilised society. Their name will be struck from history and they are to be forever marked as as heretic and chaos spawn until the day their rotten soul is claimed by the ruinous powers.

Note that entry into the competition will be considered as agreement to comply with these rules.

• The competition closes May 22nd midnight GMT - any entries after this time will not be considered
• The marine's name will be selected by Michael Brookes. If there are no suitable names then another round of entries will be invited
• Obscene and/or offensive terms will invalidate any associated entry at any stage 
• We're having run raising money for a charity close to my heart, so lets keep things in the spirit intended
• Entries must be submitted through the provided form, any other method (unless already agreed) will be organised
•  Name and background entries remain copyrighted to the respective owner, but permission is granted to use in connection with the competition

This competition is not officially connected to, endorsed, or sponsored by Games Workshop, Frontier Developments, or Fantastic Book Publishing. All works, trademarks and distinctive art and words remain copyright and trademarks of their respective owners.

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED - A HUGE THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO ENTERED 👏👏👏