In 1987, I went to Choate.  I was atypical for most of that student body in that I did my work without a lot of prompting.  That meant that during the mandatory study hours in the evening in the dorms, I was usually free to do other things.  Like paint.  I painted a lot.  I did other things too,  but I painted a lot.

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I had also found a new hobby store in PA where we lived at the time,  and they had a sale.  A glorious sale on Ral Partha miniatures.  Something like 50% off.  In one of my purchases, I had found a listing of units that were part of something called the Ral Partha Chaos Wars.  So, I bought all sorts of blister packs that were linked to the Chaos Wars.

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I remember justifying it to my parents by claiming 'but these are 50% off' and my mother saying 'you are still spending $X.'  A lesson on finances that sticks with me, although, like then, I still ignore it.

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Much like that finance lesson, Choate did not stick and I returned to Kentucky for the remainder of high school.  Henry Clay specifically.  Side note, Henry Clay's mascot was a Blue Devil.  Later I would attend Duke (yeah, yeah, a KY boy attending Duke in the early 90s.  It did happen).  Duke's mascot is also a Blue Devil.  The Mad Devil had begun to gestate.  

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This is the window where I did more washes, did more dry brushing and generally tried to do a better job of making my highlights less harsh.  I think it was during this window that I also learned about black lining and how it can help with shadows and transitions between features of the miniature (skin/clothing; belt/clothing; different clothing; etc.).