Editorial: Beating Back Hobby Lethargy

Today’s Terrible Tuesday article isn’t very glamorous; I guess I’ll leave all the hot topics to the others, but I’m just not feeling that productive.  It’s bound to happen from time to time… so how do you fight the hobby apathy?

So hello again boys and girls, Unicorns and children of all ages.  It’s Brent here again, let loose from Strictly Average to practice my own brand of Gonzo Journalism all across the Blogosphere.

I just don’t much feel like it.

That’s the definition of apathy, and Lord knows I’ve been feeling it lately.  Let’s take a quick look around Chez Brent, shall we?

I need a better system.  I’ve got assorted shelves cluttered with half-finished projects.  I worry if I put it away I’ll forget to finish it.

Eventually I’ll get around to boxing the stuff up, or fitting it in foam, or slotting it in carry cases… where it sits.

Ah, the glorious paint station!  I can’t be bothered to keep mine clean; I’ve got work to do.

And this is where I’m sitting, typing away, surrounded by clutter and just wondering when I’ll get off my butt and clean up.

I’m probably luckier than most, since I have a room in the house I can clutter up with assorted hobby junk without anyone getting upset about it, but as I look around I have to ask myself some questions:

1)  How much is too much?
2)  Will I actually paint all these tiny plastic soldiers?
3)  Will I actually game with the stuff if I do?

And the fourth question, which ultimately brings us full circle to this article…

4)  Does anyone else ever feel this way?

The last is a question I leave for you, so drop a comment; until then, let me apply some honesty and see where it gets me.

So, in order, 1) when you end up on a TV show, 2) nope, and 3) not enough.

Are your answers similar?

Moving on, I was only half joking with the answer to question 1, because I’ve recently begun to wonder if we wargamers don’t share certain obsessive compulsive character traits like the folks in Hoarders.

If you haven’t seen it I recommend watching an episode or two, if only to widen your understanding of the pitfalls we flawed people can think ourselves into.

Want to know what the definition of hoarding is?

You’ll get a kick out of this – and maybe this whole mad article will begin to make some sense.

Hoarding is the excessive collection of items, along with the inability to discard them.

So here’s the next question I’d like you to answer… have you known a hobbyist like this?  Anyone who has gone to extreme lengths – and what does that mean, exactly?

My bet is we’ve all known some folks who skirt the edge of hobby obsession!

Personally, I’m always fairly motivated to paint (today is the odd exception), and I always have a project I’m interested in working on.  In fact, that’s one of the ways I fight painter’s block.

(Writers have writer’s block; painter’s have painter’s block.  Now you’ve got a term for it.)

I work in cycles, drifting back and forth between several armies or game systems before finally settling on something to finish in a mad rush of marathon painting!  It’s actually one of the reasons I like tournaments: I refuse to bring unpainted armies to a tournament of any real size, so I use it as motivation to finish projects.

Be careful of the link; there’s a reason the Horror-Champ is protecting Bjorn’s modesty.  I haven’t gotten around to correcting a… problem.

Here are a few examples.  Above are a few miniatures for my Brotherhood army, a Counts-As Spaces Wolves army.  The Dreadnought is Bjorn the Fell-Claw, for example.  Below is another marine army…

…in a completely different painting style.  This is a more clean look, so drifting between the two styles keeps me interested.

As an aside, I’m calling the Storm Raven kit-bash above the ‘Gun Shy‘ – since I’ve been wary of dropping pictures on an unsuspecting public after the roasting I took over the original version.

And here’s my last recommendation:

It doesn’t hurt to try another game system!  I’ve only recently discovered War Machine Mark II, but it’s been a breath of fresh air for a world weary… or rather, GW weary… Strictly Average wargamer.

Painting these models has been nice, since not only don’t I need very many for an army, but they’re also very different from Citadel sculpts.

It seems like a vacation!

Okay folks, I’m done.  In fact, taking the time out to write this article has me ready to paint again!  And, naturally, my wife has chosen this moment to insist I spend some time with her.  She’s about to start a movie.

Please tell me it isn’t a bad romance.

There are a few questions to answer, if you’ve a mind.  How do you fight the hobby apathy?  Have you known a few obsessive hobbyists?  Are you one yourself, maybe?


So thoughts?  Comments?  Hugs and gropings?

Author: Brent