The Witching Season or Lack of Posts

As far as posts are concerned, October basically did not exist.  The only post I was able to make the entire month was an update stating that I was away with the flu.  Though I was sick for almost another week and a half after that post, I cannot blame my hobby inactivity entirely on being sick (though I can say, I have never been that sick before!).  See, October just happens to be the month when adults are allowed to dress up and get crazy without society looking down upon them.  And let me tell you, we take full advantage of that around here and take our Halloween very seriously.

Once I was feeling a bit better, I started on working on costumes for three different Halloween parties.  The first took place a week before that spookiest of nights and the theme was definitely pirates.  *Switching on pirate speak*  Below be a photo of your captain and me scurvy crew ere we boarded our prize and drank all the rum.

Me and me crew.  That be me beside the pretty lass on the left.

Though me crew came away from the nights festivities with nary a win for best scurvy group, we did manage to pillage away a best couple award.  It was a good night and party, made even better by the fact that we were allowed to discharge black powder pistols all evening without being harassed by the local militia.

Captain Warden and his lass.

Just a few short days after the pirate invasion came party number two.  I scrambled to come up with something scary this time, but I wanted a costume with a bit of a fantasy feel as well.  I thought about something Lord of the Rings related like a Wraith or a goblin, but time was ticking and I was running out of options.  Finally I settled on something completely make-believe and became a.....wait for it...a Dark Lord.  While not completely original, it did look pretty good, especially at night with the lights down low.  The only problem was that several people asked me if I was "that Star Wars guy".

The Dark Lord and his Stunning Simplicity.

Since the Dark Lord was actually host of the party, that same Dark Lord was not eligible for a costume win.  However, my thirst for human souls and winning trophies would not go unquenched for the evening.  Though I could not win my own costume contest, there were no rules preventing me from winning every game of Beer Pong that the Dark Lord played.  And what Dark Lord does not enjoy a game of Beer Pong with a comely partner/prisoner?  By the way, Beer Pong was another reason for my absence.  I spent a good portion of the preceding weeks working on a fantasy themed table.  Sadly, I was unable to complete it by this night so I spent the hours before building a quick replacement table.  The main table is now complete and I'll post photos in the near future.

The Dark Lord uses his special power to ensure the win for he and his teammate.

October 31st came just three short days later and with it, party number three.  Instead of painting miniatures, I found myself cutting plywood and building and painting a viking shield.  It was a fun project though.  I found several references online about authentic viking shields and tried to replicate most of what I read.  The size is correct along with the grip I built on the back.  The boss however is a replica and the edging around the shield itself is painted to look like leather or iron.  It was an eye opening exercise, by the way.  Just the weight of my replica shield was substantial.  I cannot imagine what a fully functional shield must feel like to carry and fight with.

 

The work paid off.  I was able to take home the best male costume award for the evening.  A bottle of wine was waiting for the winner but perhaps a horn of mead would have been more appropriate.

Well, The Witching Season is now over and it's time to get back normal.  As I sat and painted miniatures for a while today, I couldn't help but smile as I realized that although we may grow up to become responsible adults, the desire to dress up and play make believe never truly goes away.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween.  Now back to the normal hobby stuff......