Halloween Events at the local Games Workshop

Here in Games Workshop Deer Grove in Palatine we celebrated Halloween with tons of candy and little fun events that are still putting a smile on my face. Although we didn't have any carved pumpkins the spirit was definitely there and that's what mattered to us as a community. Also, the turnout was pretty good, which added to the atmosphere. Here are some of the fun events that happened throughout the day:



#1 - Bobbin' for Paint: Since bobbing for apples is now illegal in many states, we decided to do it without apples. Instead we added a little Games Workshop twist to it. We used paints! Everyone had a primed "demo" Space Marine and was given a brush at random (some were fine detail, some were dry brushes). Then we each grabbed 3 paints at random and had 15 minutes to paint our models. Now, I first decided to grab 3 paints and wait for everyone else to go through.. I closed my eyes and grabbed two paint pots. What do you think I got?
Tin Bitz aaaaaaaaand... Chainmail. Yes, I am for real. Two metallic paints? Good thing someone was willing to trade me a dry brush.. Then I closed my eyes again... and got.... Yes.. yes. You guessed it already, didn't you? Bolt Gun Metal!!! What was I supposed to do? Three metallic colors.. on power armour? Well, I had experience with Ork Trukkz so I quickly started to dry brush Tin Bitz over the model, which actually gave me an advantage because it allowed for a very fast and okay looking base coat. Then a medium dry brushed coat of Bolt Gun over pretty much the whole model and some Chainmail to highlight the details. I guess I was going for a Plague Marine with a very, very... veeeery rust armor.  Then it hit me! I had a brownish color (Tin Bitz) and realized that if I water it down it would be a nice wash which would bring all the colors together. A minute later and my shiny Devlan Mud was all over the model.. Not only that but it also dried pretty fast, so I could go over some of the details with more Bolt Gun and Chainmail..

And guess what? My crappy, rusty demo Marine won! For my achievement I received a cool red Games Workshop metal bottle thingy with a key chain. My painted model I gave to a younger Ultramarines player who wanted to have an "award-winning model" in his army. I told him that if he fielded it against me as a Captain or a Sergeant I would allow him to get the Feel No Pain USR. ;P

#2 40k and Fantasy-themed "Zombie Survival" Games - They were a lot of fun, although I missed the 40k one because I was playing my friend Vince for his Planetstrike Campaign. More about my second defense against a Blood Angels army and how cunning won me the game even when my army was dying left and right like dogs later..

#3 Balloon Animals and Swords - Alright, alright. I know it's pretty childish and not very GW-related.. but Paul's wife was making tons of balloon animals and swords throughout the day. Balloons are always fun, no matter that age you are. ;P

#4 Costumes - My friend John dressed up as Elan from The Order of the Stick, someone dressed up in Scottish garb (kilt and what not), two kids were Ultramarines with Iron Man masks painted blue..I wore my Russian black GP5 gas mask (like the one in the picture, but the lenses are tinted black). On top I wore an old commissar hat from the German Democratic Republic. I guess I was going for a Death Korps of Krieg commissar or something and I think it looked pretty darn cool. I was even rewarded "Space Wolf: The Second Omnibus" for my costume. Now I only need to find the first Omnibus..



#5 CANDY AND PIZZA - The pinnacle of American culture.. ;P Tons of candy for everyone!