Lost and Found: How Hobby Burnout Happens, Part 1

I've been thinking a lot about the Warhammer 40,000 hobby lately, and I think I'd like to share some of those thoughts with whomever is kind enough to have a read here at A Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy.

Now, I've had something of a love/hate relationship with Warhammer 40,000 for quite a while. I started the hobby nearly 12 years ago, and when I got into the game it was awesome! It was affordable, the local community was huge and full of good people who were excited just to play the game, collect and paint the models! I got into the game with a Space Marine Tactical Squad, a Rhino and a Space Marine Captain with a Power Sword right after my very first demo game at Ga mes Workshop Great Lakes Crossing. From the moment of my first beginner game I knew I was hooked. Every time I got paid from my McJob I'd get a new box of something and after a few months I was swimming in Space Marines.

Life was awesome (hobby life, that is). I collected Space Marines exclusively for longer than I can remember... it must have been at least 5 years. It was the only time in my hobby career that I remember having multiple painted armies (all of them were Ultramarines... but I had 3 or 4 distinct "themed" armies.) It was also the only time I recally being so passionately into the hobby.

But soon it all came crashing down because I started collecting other armies.

A new Tau rulebook came out and I thought they were frakkin' awesome! I bought up a bunch of Tau, painted them, got them on the table and started playing games. And I got totally spanked on the battlefield. Why? Because they didn't play like Space Marines. So I started to add things to my collection to make them MORE like Space Marines. "Fire Warriors are Toughness 3 and 4+ armor? Pfft. I'll take minimum troops and lots of Crisis Suits! Then they'll be the equivalent of Space Marines! Yeah!"

Soon I had about 2,500 points of Tau and I was totally depressed. I had won probably... 3 out of dozens of games. I started to lose faith in my army and my skills as a player. Because I started to lose so often, I started to avoid playing games. Because I didn't play games very often, I found little point in painting my armies. Because I had no interest in painting, I lost the inclination to buy and collect and soon.... my hobby was dead.

And it died for a stupid reason. It died because I had already found my army and my chosen play style, and was trying to force a different army with a different play style to be just like Space Marines... and when I think about how ridiculous it all was I sort of want to kick myself for causing my own hobby burnout.

My point here is that for some people it is sometimes better to focus on a single army and project rather than multiple different armies and multiple different projects. What starts as a simple exlporation into the varied aspects of the Warhammer 40,000 hobby can quickly end in flames and frustration.

Right now I have been super focused on building and painting my Eldar army and I'm making more progress at a greater rate at a higher quality than I ever have before in my hobby. If any of you reading this are experiencing this type of frustration, maybe do yourself a favor and take step back, get back to your original hobby roots and stop yourself from being so busy inside the hobby. Play a few games or, if you're more interested in the hobby side of the hobby, paint or convert something.

Calm down with your hobby. You might be glad that you did.

Still Alive!

Just a quick note to let you all know that I'm still alive and kicking, and that I plan to make a real post soon.

Work, parenting and painting this awesome Avatar of Khaine have been consuming all of my time lately.

Please stand by for my next full, real post!

Here are a few work in progress pics.

Unit a Week - Eldar Guardians

The completed squad! ...I'm sure they won't live long on the battlefield

Welcome to the first of what will become many posts for the Unit a Week! In these posts I will be going over exactly what steps I've taken to paint different models in my collection as they become battle ready! In this way I hope that I can help others in their efforts to paint and collect their own models.

Now, anybody who knows me knows that I like to keep my paint plans simple. I struggled a bit with this, because all Eldar models are so beautifully detailed, but I was able to finally reconcile the detailed models with a simple painting process.

To begin with I primed the models white. A lot of thought was given to this, because I wanted the Guardians to look like they were a bit dirty and battle worn. My first inclination was to prime black, but in the end I went with white because I wanted the models to really pop on the tabletop, and white primer usually means a brighter end result.

My test model, after applying Scorpion Green to the helmet and gun.

For step 2 I waited until the primer was totally dry (about an hour) and washed the entire model with straight Nuln Oil. This was my first go at the Citadel Shades, and I have to say that they do what they're told  way better than the old washes. They ran where they were supposed to, they didn't pool on flat surfaces as badly as the old washes and they seemed to just...flow better I guess.

Onward to step 3 - Dry brushing. I dry brushed the entire model lightly with Skull White, picking out edges where possible. In this stage I allowed myself to be a bit sloppy because I hadn't don't much with the models yet. Had I done this step later I would have had to use a smaller brush and it would have taken forever. But never mind that, just load up your largest dry brush and have at it.
Step 4 was to base coat the helmets, guns and other wraithbone bits. For the helmets I wanted a nice green color, so I immediately went to Gnarlock Green. For the gun and other wraithbone bits I simply went with good ole Chaos Black.

The entire squad, Scorpion Green'd and ready for gems to be painted.

For step 4 I layered Scorpion Green over the Gnarlock Green and it ended up drying really nicely. I also though it would look cool to layer Gnarlock Green and then Scorpion green down the length of the "barrel" of the Guardians' Shuriken catapults.

Step 5 was to Over brush the Shuriken catapults and other wraithbone bits with Shadow Grey.

After some white highlights.

For Step 6 I highlighted all over the armor of the model with Skull White. This was important, because I wanted the model to look bright and white, but also battle worn. I think it went well.


Step 7 was to work on the gems. Nothing too fancy here. Just a simple base coat of Blood Red with a thin swoosh of Mecharius Solar Orange along the bottom of the gems, and a small dot of white at the top of the gem. If I had any, I would have added a dot of gloss varnish to each gem, but a.) I didn't have any and b.) they're Guardians... I'm not that worried about it. Gems: easy.

Gems are really fun to paint, and can add depth and brilliance to your models

And then... the base. I decided to use a Texture Paint on the base, followed by a blue wash. After the wash dried I over brushed the base with Shadow Grey and again lightly with Skull White. Then I painted the rim of the base with Shadow Grey. Finally, I put some blobs of PVA glue on the bases, dipped them in snow flock, blew off the excess and left them to dry.

The whole squad, completed and ready for the photoshop treatment.

Done.

These Guardians really didn't take too long to complete, and I think they look cool. I'm a fan of what I call "cheating at painting", and I try to get the most out of every step I take painting a model.
I hope this was helpful to anyone who might be looking for a bit of painting inspiration. With a variation I could see this as a a decent paint plan for White Scars Space Marines or the like.
That's about all for this post. Thanks a bunch for reading!

-Matt-

Guardians play a game. It's called "shoot you from a distance, and run if you get too close".
Thanks to the Fleet of Foot rule they're really good at it.

Guardian Squad - Ready!

So, I just finished these little bastards tonight, neatly one week after stripping the old, caked on paint job that was on them before this. This is officially my first Unit-a-Week that I've completed...! Hooray! I'll post a tutorial of the exact steps I took from beginning to end tomorrow, and THAT will be the "real" post for these guys... But I wanted to share them before I pass out.

Catch ya tomorrow!

-Matt-

My Triumphant Return!

So... I've returned to the Warhammer 40,000 hobby after an extended hiatus.

Oh, and I've started blogging again. But more on that later. Or maybe not. We'll see.

Anyway, earlier this year I decided that I was going to put together a small Blood Angels army. Nothing huge, just 750 points of red death. I completed a 10-man Assault Squad as well as a totally awesome Land Speeder. Everything was going well and then... I got burned out.

....just like my hobby. *sniffle*

And I'm not talking your average garden variety hobby burnout. I'm talking a Games Workshop hobby burnout so deep and severe that I began cleaning out my subterranean hobby lair, putting all of my models on Ebay and the like to sell, and started to consider myself a guy who didn't participate in that hobby anymore.

Where hobbies go to die.

It was bad. I even started collecting and playing Warmachine/Hordes to fill the void. It's actually a pretty damned fun game system. I'm going to keep up with that, and it will be represented here in the blog. I sold nearly all of my Warhammer 40,000 models and accessories. Space Marines, Tau, Orks, Chaos Marines, Daemons and Necrons were all sold. I even sold my tape measure, carry cases, dice, templates and my 6th edition rule book. I was out. Done. Finished. Kaput. Also, I was several other phrases for the word done that I don't even know.

...and also nerdy. Very nerdy. And depressed, angry, tired and done. ...so really, just regularly nerdy...?

But then something happened - Games Workshop went ahead and updated the Tau Empire with new models, new rules and created a new release buzz that was so huge and far reaching into the worldwide hobby community that I began to feel the effects. I became curious after seeing a picture of the new Tau Riptide on a Google+ community that I'm a part of. I... had to know what it did in the game. I had to know the effect it was having on 6th edition Warhammer 40,000, and I had to know all of the associated rules for it. I hit the internet and had all of my answers within the hour. Then I had to see it in action for myself, so I took a long lunch break at work and headed up to my local hobby store. And there it was - a Riptide in all it's painted (sloppily) glory, destroying some poor bastard's Orks. It was a thing of beauty. I thought it would be awesome to start a new Tau army.

...if they could do this, I might actually start the army. 

But then I remembered that I hate the Tau. They have a lame back story, and they have vertical slits in their faces that closely resemble female genitalia. ....and no amount of badassery is going to win out over "I have a vagina for a nose" with me.

Seriously! Slaanesh daemons would literally fuck their faces! How can you not see it!?

I was discouraged again. Then I heard rumors that the Eldar are being released soon... and I thought to myself... "I've been trying like hell to sell some Eldar that are in my basement... maybe I should just keep them!" And keep them I did. I took those Guardians and a War Walkers that have been lurking in my basement forever and assembled them. I even traded some old Warmachine 'jacks for even more Eldar. And in recent days, to solidify the fact that I really am well and truly devoted to collecting and finishing a new Eldar army, I purchased the Avatar of Khaine model from Forge World - the one with the spear. I've always wanted to paint that model since my very first days working for Games Workshop (longer ago that I care to remember) and I really look forward to it.

Stargate: Iyanden

And that whole tirade brings us to now. This past week I've been working on a unit of 10 Eldar Guardians with a Scatter Blaster. I've been experimenting with a highlighting technique that I picked up from one of my fellow painters. It's quick and dirty and effective, and I love the way it looks so far. I'm going to keep doing it for the whole rest of the army.

They're a work in progress. Shut up.

I also just celebrated my birthday, so I've got a bit of extra $$$ in my pocket. Add to that the fact that I've been trying like hell to sell off the last vestiges of my Chaos Space Marines army and I'd have to say that I'm ready to make some damned purchases.

This perfectly conveys my hobby spending habits.

I wonder what I should buy first? I'd be open to any suggestions for a starting Eldar army.

Also, taking a cue from my friend Jay over at Jay's Workshop, I think that I'm going to start posting a Unit-Per-Week, along with some of my thoughts about Wargaming, Warhammer 40,000, painting, modelling, thoughts about the 40k universe and background, rules concerns, and even some stuff about my Warmachine/Hordes experiences because to date I've had nothing but positive things to say about WarmaHordes.

Anyhow, I'll be sure to post here again soon.

~Matt~

The Red Thirst

I've been painting for a few days now, and rather than get sick of it - like what has happened with every other project I've started since taking off the Power Armor - I'm hungry for it. I'm very motivated to paint now, and I'm moving forward quickly with my Blood Angels project. I think, perhaps, it's because I find it challenging to paint white and red. Or perhaps it's the rich background found in the Blood Angels codex, but I'm totally hooked by these new Space Marines. I officially have the Red Thirst, and I don't forsee it going away any time soon.

Hobby, My Old Nemesis. We Meet Again.

I'm back into the wargaming and painting hobby. For exactly how long that will be is a matter of conjecture, but so far I'm feeling pretty positive about it so far. I've recently started three awesome wargaming projects, all of which promise to be pretty awesome.

The first is an Ork army for Warhammer 40,000. The whole thing clocks in at exactly 1,500 points right now, and is going to be as much fun to paint as it is to play. The two games I've played with the army so far, against Tau and against Space Wolves (both losses...oh well), have been some of the most enjoyable games I've ever played during my 40k career. Getting into the mindset of an Ork is so fun to me. No matter that the enemy is fortified, in an elevated position and possessed of heavy firepower! We're going to run over there - sometimes across open ground - and we WILL be stompin' you! I have a great paint plan all set for the Orks, which will yield quick results, while still maintaining a fairly high level of quality. They'll look great on the table, and I'll be including a step-by-step painting guide for those who would care to check it out.

The second project is a small Legion of Everblight force for Hordes. I have already painted Lylyth, Herald of Everblight, and I think she turned out very well so I'm going to run with it. The whole army only comes to about 15 points, but I think I'm going to really enjoy that. Like everything else, I'll be including step-by-step painting guides for those guys too.

The third project was kind of an after thought. I was casually milling about my bitz box the other night, and I uncovered a LOT of Space Marines - a lot of which are already fully assembled, and some of them in sealed boxes. I have all the makings of a respectable Blood Angels army, including several named characters that I forgot about purchasing long ago. This will be a project that I'm putting significant time and effort into. I'm going to be converting some awesome Sternguard and Vanguard Veterans, and I'm doing a lot of kit bashing. It should be a lot of fun.

I'm feeling pretty movitated as I type this. I look forward to going home tonight, and working on my first Blood Angels test model. White Primer, Mechrite Red, Red Ink, here I come.

Stay tuned, and I may actually have some content in the future.