This month, for the first time ever, I've hit a milestone that I never thought I'd hit. As of April I have painted more models than I have bought or assembled, for the year.
It says a lot about our hobby that some people will find this remarkable, because it took so long. Others will find it remarkable because it actually happened. The variety of personalities and priorities that fit within the "wargaming hobby" is one of the things that I love about it.
I like to game, first and foremost. I'm a gamer. All other things are secondary to that. I also like to assemble models, minus the cleaning part. I've assembled many armies for my friends over the years as well as the commission work I do for the local painting service from time to time.
The painting has always been my least favorite part. I've thrown some paint at my Warhammer empire from time to time. I have a few units painted. I've got two painted armies for Lord of the Rings. That's where I really started to paint.
Over the last couple of years I've come to appreciate my responsibility for the look of the game. I've always liked painted models, but was ok with the game if they weren't. Partly, this blog has changed my viewpoint. When I post pictures of unpainted models I can see just how poorly they show. It hurts my pride and makes me want to do better.
The same goes for terrain. I have a lot of terrain, most of it unpainted. It's another thing that has bothered me more the last year or two and that I'm working to change.
The point of all of this is that I'm not just thinking about changing my style, I'm actually doing it. Gaming is still my priority but the painting is catching up. I'm pretty happy about that.
I'm not sure if I should congratulate you or worry about you. The one thing the boys hammered into my head is that I should never paint more than I buy, because when I have no more mini's in the lead pile, I will die on that day.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about posting your work on blogger. I've only been at it for a year and when I look back at my older pics, I cringe. But you are documenting a journey here and it's an honest record of your progression
There's no chance I'll run out of models to paint any time soon. I'm pretty sure there's over 1000 in the pile, and I do keep buying more.
DeleteThe journey's what's important. Learning new things and improving. If I started out really good then I wouldn't feel the sense of accomplishment I do when I learn something new, or when something turns out just the way I envisioned it.
Well done! I'm sure it took lots of work to reach that goal, even though it was a labor of love. Unfortunately, I do not think I will ever hit the same milestone. I'm too much of a collector....
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I'm looking forward to pushing the pendulum back and buying a bunch more stuff, but if I can keep up the painting rate I've achieved, or even half of it, then I'll be very happy.
DeleteFor me paintings a big part of the hobby, for some reason I actually enjoy it. But I'm looking forward to the day when I don't have to paint at all and I can just concentrate on gaming only.
ReplyDeleteI'm envious of you Ray. I'm starting to get that way, to the point where I can sit and just enjoy the process and not be thinking about how long it's going to take.
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