Bel Air Games is very happy to announce our newest staff member, the talented Mike Melody who’s joining us as a Retail Associate with the specialty of Miniatures Gaming Leader. Mike has been active in the model building and miniature wargaming scene for the last 20 years. He has competed in the Games Workshop Golden Demon painting contest and regularly tackles commissioned work on models and units for dollars or anything shiny.
Mike started building models as a wee lad of 10. His handlers enrolled him in a Mail Order Modelling Club to distract him from dismantling the furniture and kitchen appliances.
His fate was sealed as a miniature gamer when a friend took him to a local hobby shop. Mike said, “There was this huge wall of Games Workshop blister packs, hundreds of models. I stared at that wall for about an hour before I finally picked out a miniature (a Space Marine with a flame thrower) and bought it.”
His early passion translated into a career move when he joined the Games Workshop retail team as a ”redshirt”, a GW term for sales associates. In a five year stint he quickly worked his way up to managing his own Games Workshop store and crew of belligerent misfits.
One of Mike’s favorite gaming moments occurred during that time period.
“We were running the 40k Horus Heresy storyline and had reached the Battle of Terra. The ground battle was playing out pretty much as expected. We had a smaller, separate table set up for Horus’ battle barge to stage the final conflict. Horus managed to crushed Sanguinius before the Emperor swooped in and laid him low at last. It was awesome. Without prompting, the scenario played out exactly the way the fiction had been written,” said Melody.
At Bel Air Games Mike will begin by supporting events for Warmachine, Hordes, Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40k and expand into other miniatures games as players express interest. His early plans include a Warhammer 40K “Summer Storyline Campaign” beginning in June 2014 and finishing in August and also a possible Warma/Hordes Escalation League if there is sufficient player interest.
We’re pleased and proud to have someone with Mike’s extensive experience and dazzling skills on the Bel Air Games team and hope you’ll join us for some truly legendary miniatures gaming.
Examples of Mike’s impressive modelling and painting work can be seen on his Facebook page.
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