"Nail Gems" Topic

I once visited a store where a guy was showing the person at the counter the figure he was converting for a role-playing game. One of the few details he had to go on was that the character had "bright eyes." The guy's approach to creating this was to drill into the back of the head to the eyes and mount little jewels in the eyes.

Grelber

I've seen a number of YouTube Channel owners use such bits and bobs for terrain. They also use hemisphere shaped pearls on the surface of lava and acid pools, to represent bubbles.

You are correct, Bill, that these can be used for treasure piles in a dungeon, as well, as this has been done repeatedly on YouTube terrain-making channels. It is best to look at their shapes, as these can lend themselves to various uses, as described above, for the hemisphere shapes. They can be used to add surface details to space ships, as well. They are really quite useful!

Thanks for sharing that these are available at Dollar/Pound stores. They are really a good find for modelers and war gamers.

It was such an idea as these that put me onto using make-up brushes for dry-brushing: inexpensive, broad bristle designs which are truly suited for dry-brushing larger terrain pieces -- and did I mention they are very affordably priced?… Cheers!

I've used the small hexagonal "jewels" as rivets on VSF vehicles. You do have to paint over them. Unless you like shiny and sparkling vehicles.

"the character had "bright eyes.""

I would have just glued an astronaut in his arms, but that's just me.

Oval ones, add wire legs for bugs.

Multi faceted ones for micro flying saucers, robot heads, buggy wheels, turrets. Grenades.

For fancy dungion tiles/bases.

Maybe crush orange red and yellow and mix with glue for fire/lava effects.

Or other colours for magic and water effects.

The crushed pieces may need smoothing in a container of fine sand to regain their transparency.

Use for snow and ice crystals.

Give a chicky babe mini a huge stone on her finger. If anyone asks, just say your taking Beyonce's advice.

Trade with kids for more useful fairy garden components, such as stone walls and dead fairies. Up the gems value by saying they are real.

Or just try your luck at a jewelers/pawnbrokers.

Spray them black and sneak them into Christmas stockings.