I know it’s nearly Easter, and that I should have posted this in early January, but life got in the way. I can’t help myself and wait until next Christmas, so I thought I might as well release this now 😊 .
In the past couple of years, whenever time allowed it, I made customised gifts for my loved ones: doll houses for my nieces, a vignette for my brother, and this time it was a surprise for my gaming friend. Since he is a long-time fan of Runequest and his favourite monsters are the broos, the choice was obvious.
In my previous post I briefly talked about the difficulties with following schedules in my hobbies and this time I have another perfect example of how strict plans have to be abandoned sometimes. When it comes to miniature painting, I always face a huge scheduling conflict. Should I work on the army I started painting for a wargame, or rather paint the minis that are needed for the RPG campaign I run, or maybe paint these miniatures that are not really needed, but look too much fun to skip?
In my professional life, I do my best to be logical and organised, I have detailed plans and schedules. However, when it comes to my hobbies, it’s a bit different: I still make a reasonable effort to be logical and organised… but I have to be careful to find the right balance, because if I overdo it, it just kills the fun. Therefore my hobby plans are a bit fuzzier, and I allow plenty of room for changes, unscheduled activities and impulse buys, which is what this post is about.
When I visited Dark Sphere in Shepherd’s Bush, I didn’t have the slightest intention to buy anything, but I run into a pile of new stuff with ancient battles, Roman legions and Gauls… I really did my best to resist, but the Roman legions are my long-time favourites, it was a complete starter set with a rulebook, and even the price tag showed a reassuringly low number, so I’ve bought a box of SPQR Starter set. I also purchased a box of Legionaries with swords and slings as ranged units are a must have, a Scorpion team, as artillery is useful too and the Gaul Heroes, as they also deserve a bit of a boost.
Being an uncle is entertaining – you bring presents, you know all the cool stuff, and you are a lot more fun than the rest of the adults.
Since we live in the UK and my nieces (6 and 8 years old) are in Hungary, I can see them only twice a year, so I try to make every visit special and memorable. Instead of just heaping them with random gifts, I always buy something that improves their creativity or their skills. To give a few examples, we have made gypsum mermaids and butterflies and we have painted them together. I showed them how to mix colours, I explained them colour theory, and I taught them techniques like edge highlighting, drybrushing and extreme highlighting. They are always curious and receptive, and the most rewarding thing in this process is that I can see that they use what they learnt earlier.
When I first saw Games Workshop’s Nighthaunts, I knew I had to build this army. I just loved the creepy and dramatic design of these miniatures, the clever usage of hollow structures and the mist-like shapes that give them a real ethereal look. It is design at its best!
When the two technical paints (Hexwraith Flame and Nighthaunt Gloom) were released, it became even more difficult to resist them: these guys developed special paints for the Nighthaunts! The reviews were all positive and I also found a bunch of amazing photos online. All you need is a white basecoat, a layer of these technical paints, and a bit of drybrushing or layering.
Since I also needed some ghosts for my RPG campaign and I have not seen any decent ghost miniatures anywhere else, I gave in and bought a set of Spirit Hosts.
The kit was a bit more difficult to build than I thought it would be, but it was worth it. I got a bit stuck after applying the white basecoat: Should I give them a grim look with Hexwraith Flame’s dark blue, or a more mystical look with Nighthaunt Gloom’s vibrant green? In the end, I decided to do a colour test, try my glazes, shades, and other technical paints, and pick the one that works the best.
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