I have not had much energy in terms of the hobby lately. Part of it is that school has started again for both the boy and me. I have been getting prepared for classes and Daddy's Taxi Service is already racking up the miles. But even when I get to sit down at my hobby work bench at night, I just stare at things on the table.
I might have said this before, but I think a big part of the issue is that I cannot make my projects simple. For example, I keep trying to add more and more details onto my little pre-dreadnought ships. I spend a lot of time fussing over how to build a better model. The same goes with painting figures. I should, but I can't be satisfied with table top ready figures. One of the main reasons why I switched from 25/28mm to 15mm was to speed up painting armies. If I look at the 15s that I did 20-25 years ago, they are fairly basic in the level of painting. No shading or highlighting. Now, they are far more detailed, even the rank-and-file troops. I think pumping in a lot energy into detail causes burn out.
I know I sound like a broken record (can people still relate to this metaphor?), but I need to just start gaming with what I have.
Chris -
ReplyDeleteI know the feeling! Over the years, though, I have schooled myself into accepting 'table ready' - adding chrome as the feeling to do so hits me. In the last 5 years or so I've done a heck of a lot of painting (for me). But during that time the thought struck me that it was a form of procrastination. I don't actually like painting at all (I just like the results - more or less).
So... what am I putting off? Surely it not actually the war gaming bit?! Maybe it is. With so many projects, I find myself in something of a Buredan's Ass (donkey) situation: almost fearing to do THIS project, with all the other projects clamouring for attention...
And then there's the write-ups that seem not to want to happen. I'm supposed to be writing up my Shiloh game, but the last couple of days instead knocking together a couple of Rus units for a whole different project.
It really is too bad...
Cheers,
Ion
Maybe I should not compare now with my "golden ages" of wargaming. The first was when I started back in high school in the mid-70s. The second was after I graduated with my first bachelors degree and was working 9 to 5 at various jobs like construction or factory work. I had a lot of time on my hands and it seems like a lot more friends who were gamers. The grass is always greener in the past.
ReplyDeleteWho was it said 'The past is another country...'?
ReplyDeleteYup.
ReplyDelete