A HOBBY is defined as an activity done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure.
It is often productive, but for most people, rarely leads to anything more than time well spent.
However, for Marcus Tan, what started as a fascination with a video game transformed into a hobby and ultimately into a carrer.
Marcus, 28, is no stranger in the boardgame community for his contribution and participation.
His passion for tabletop games and his love for the community drove him to go further and share his hobby with others.
Currently, he is managing what could be one of the biggest licensed Games Workshop hobby shops in the region, at Sunway Velocity.
How did you end up being the store manager at Warhammer Sunway Velocity?
“It all started about 12 years ago with video games. There was a Warhammer 40k PC strategy game called Dawn of War. My friends and I were earnest about the game. We played in tournaments.
“Folks on the LowYat.net forums would organise tournaments, and we would join them. We went all over KL to compete in these games.
“However, although we loved the game, we were not familiar with the lore behind it, the Warhammer 40k world.
“So we looked into it, we did research, and we found that there is more to Warhammer 40k, a lot more to it.
“[One day], someone walked by with a box of Space Marines. When I saw the box, I immediately jumped up and asked him where [he got] those miniatures.
“And that was my first encounter with the hobby of miniature wargaming and miniature painting.”
How did you feel when you first picked up the hobby?
“Back then Games Workshop was an entirely different company.
“They did not have support in Malaysia, and the hobby – specifically the miniatures and paint – were expensive.
“The games were relatively more complicated as well.
“Today, it is a different story.
“The hobby has become far more accessible with online communities, official game shops, apps, and starter kits.
“When I first started to paint, I didn’t have anyone to teach me.
“It was horrible. I actually still have my first model.
“But I have repainted it since, for Armies on Parade (an annual international contest showcasing miniatures).
“I didn’t win, but I did get featured in the Warhammer Community page.”
What attracted you to paint miniatures?
“I’ve always loved working with my hands. I’m a very tactile person, and video games never gave me the same satisfaction as tabletop gaming does.
Compared to video games, I’m playing with another person face to face, not someone remotely.
“It is a very social experience.
“You can go out for drinks, continue talking about the games, make friends, and meet each other again.
“It is a very human experience.
“Playing with someone online is excellent, but it doesn’t give you the same satisfaction as playing with someone face to face.
“As a Games Workshop employee, I am into all aspects of the hobby. Personally, I am more inclined towards the painting side of it.
“I feel it gives me a more significant challenge compared to gaming.”
What drives you to continue painting miniatures?
“I like challenging myself. Painting the fine details on a miniature, getting the effects I want, and the free-hand painting, is challenging.
“The theory behind each painting technique may sound easy, but pulling it off is almost always more difficult than it looks.
“Now I am at the point where I know how I want a miniature to look like and how to make it look the way I want.
“However, actually doing it is the hard part. For example, drawing diamonds is theoretically straightforward, right? It is just a square that you tilt onto one of its points.
“But, drawing many small diamonds into a quilt-like pattern, keeping your hand steady and colouring each one, is a whole different thing.”
Where do you get your inspiration?
“I get ideas from looking at other painters’ works online, for example on Pinterest.
“However, my best source of ideas is from my friends.
“They would come out with ridiculous ideas that they would never do.
“But, then they’ll say: ‘Hey Marcus, why don’t you do this?’
“For example, I wanted to do a display for my front window, a small battle scene.
“Then one of my friends, a fellow Warhammer Store manager said: ‘Why don’t you build
the Petronas Twin Towers?’
“I thought it was too big. It was ridiculous.
“Then my boss came over and said: ‘I’ll support you’.
So they sat down and calculated all the pieces I’d need to do the project, and they said it is doable.
So I said: ‘I’ll do it’.
“Now, it stands in my storefront.”
