my suggestion is getting some shading and depth to the sword, looks a bit too bright for me personally (might be the photo tho), although i can see source lighting so that might be affect your were going for
I think this looks great. very nice colour scheme but I do agree with di_n_o about a bit more contrast needed on the sword. i was at GD, how did you get on?
Thanks for the comments guys . Unfortunately I didn't even make the first cut, which was a little disappointing and why I'm now keen to get criticism wherever I can in order to improve for next year!