40K: 8th Edition Hobby Prep Time
With 8th Edition on the way there is a war brewing between your resources, your time, and your hobby projects. Let’s tame the beasts!
As the arrival of 8th Edition looms on the horizon I’ve been slowly ramping up my hobby efforts. But it hasn’t been easy! I’ve got more than a few hobby projects running in the background at pretty much all times. I’m building models one day, then finishing up a few different models the next – I’m actually pretty scatter brained when it comes to getting my hobby projects done. 40k is also one of the many, many things that eats up my hobby time. Plus, there is this other thing called “real life” I think we all have to deal with occasionally…
But the excitement of 8th has hit me pretty hard – especially with all the reveals GW has been doing the past week (with more on the way). I’ve started to back-burner quite a few projects for other systems and dust off 40k specific ones. I didn’t realize that I had so many…and it started to get overwhelming! So I decided to stop what I was doing, change my approach, and get serious about finishing! This is how I’m conquering my “beasts” of the hobby!
I’d like to introduce you to a friend of mine. This is the “Management Triangle” or as I was taught it, the Iron Triangle of Management. It’s a pretty simple concept that showcases the “triple constraints” of working on a project. This applies to real world projects as well as ones involving your hobby time because, as it turns out, a project is still a project.
Basically, what this illustrates is as one side grows (or shrinks) that impacts the quality of the end goal. If you have unlimited time and money, you can have an unlimited scope with the most amazing quality. But we don’t have unlimited time or money. That means we’re going to have to make some sacrifices with either the scope or the quality. And that’s the first lesson: limit yourself.
Boundaries Aren’t Bad
As I started to pull out my Tyranids, the army I’m deciding to work on for 8th (for now), I started to get really overwhelmed. I have at least half a dozen projects that are unfinished with them and I was unsure where to start. Plus, with the actual release date of 8th up in the air, I wasn’t sure when I’d need to be done. That’s when it hit me: Just set some boundaries for yourself and work within those.
Synapses firing!
I’m picking June early as my end date, so now I had a time frame. What about costs? Well, I already have all the models and projects started so that’s a “sunk cost” – I don’t need to spend any more money on that, it’s already been spent. Whew, that’s a relief – so that’s 2 of the 3 figured out. Now comes the big one – the dreaded scope of the project(s). How much do I want to accomplish vs how much can I accomplish and still get the quality I want. That was the real conundrum I was facing. So I made a list.
List Making 101
Lists are lifesavers in my world. Not army lists mind you, but “To-Do” lists. I like them because I can see what I need to do or get done. It helps me personally to visualize the goals or next steps and do them. It’s one of those “1000 mile journey starts with a single step” things – it’s cheesy but true. So I made a list of all the projects I wanted to do for my Nids. It started as a mental check list but I wrote it down. Then I prioritized them in order of importance. But then I re-organized them in order of ease. Then I swapped that out again and put them in order of “fun” to complete. My point is you figure out what way works best for you!
Just pick the hill you want to die on and go from there, right?
Now that I had a list, written down, I could see my scope. From there I broke them down in terms of details. I won’t get into all the nitty-gritty but I thought about things like time to completion, best ROI (return on investment), and importance. Okay…I thought about doing all that and realized this was being coming too much like a “work” project and not a “hobby” project. Plus I was wasting all this time making charts and doing math and not doing the actual work of, you know, “hobbying” my models! That’s my next lesson: just start working.
Sometimes You Just Have To Start “Doing”
Lists are great – but the point of lists is not to make them and walk away. They are there to help you get organized. Once you’re organized stop agonizing on where to start and just START! I’ve been putting off working my Tyranid Aegis Defense Lines for months – one of the many projects I just sort of stopped. Well, with the new edition coming I figured these would be a good place to start!
Yes, I had a lot of extra Carnifex backs laying around. I have a problem.
The funny part is they are almost finished – I had done a bunch of the work (ie building them). I just needed to base them and paint them. This was one project that was probably 80% finished and I just stopped working on it. So that’s what I’m doing now. I’m going to complete this project and mark them off my list. That’s my final lesson: complete projects, one at a time; celebrate your wins.
Reward Yourself
Once these Tyranid aegis defense lines are done, I’m going to take a break and do something else for a bit. Maybe I’ll do some reading, writing, or play a video game for a bit. After that, I’ll check my list and tackle the next one. It’s really that simple.
Here’s the thing – I already have a massive Tyranid force ready to go for 8th. I don’t need to finish any of these projects (which is one reason they haven’t gotten completed). But looking forward to 8th has been good kick in the butt to get moving on these things. Maybe you’re like me and you already have an army (or 5) ready to go. Or maybe you’re in a mad-dash to get your first finished for 8th. The truth is that this is a hobby and there will always be other projects. So do yourself a favor:
- Set limits/boundries
- Make a List
- Start Working
- Complete a project, one at a time
- Celebrate your wins
You can do it! Shia can help.
What project(s) are you working on for 8th? What tips do you have to get it complete?
