An epiphany (from the ancient Greek ἐπιφάνεια, epiphaneia, “manifestation, striking appearance”) is an experience of sudden and striking realization
Long time, no blog post (…or podcast, although that is soon to be rectified) – but life does get in the way sometimes. That, in a way, is what this blog post is all about.
So…this here epiphany of mine…
In the two previous blog posts about this, I spoke about changing armies too often, the problems that caused, and what I’d decided to TRY and do about it. The central tenants of it still hold true, i.e. I want to play an army that suits my playstyle and is straightforward, and has models I like / enjoy painting. However, the two armies I chose (Marines and tank heavy guard…TWO armies, to keep a bit of variety lurking to stimulate my hobby needs) are no longer “in the frame”. The OTHER big reason to stop “chasing the new shiny” – financial expediency – came into play, when I had to sell a few models to cover a big unexpected bill! **
(** i.e. I was in the **** money wise and needed cash fast!!)
So, for money reasons, time to reassess.
- It’s still true that I need / want to suit my playstyle
- It’s still true that I need as straightforward an army as possible, and that can be eased by playing more often and becoming more familiar with it
- I want something I enjoy painting / hobbying with.
…but I need to, for now, spend as little as possible.
I have access to a large Blood Angels collection that was my son’s pride and joy. He still plays occasionally, but is certainly not as into the hobby side of things as he used to be. So, I get some no-nonsense Space Marines, but with great fluff / background and unique models. Sort of as originally planned, but in retrospect more so I’d say. There’s a few bits of it to finish off painting-wise, but for the most part it’s done. So, there’s my army to play regularly with and keep learning about (with a few bits of hobbying required thrown in). Certainly very straightforward, and not much money spent as I “had” it already!
I also have in my possession a VERY nicely painted Tyranid Army. I’m no 40K genius, but it doesn’t take much of one to know that they’re behind the curve a bit (!!) unless you load up on flying Hive Tyrants. That rules playing that regularly out, as I don’t want to have to invest a great deal, forgetting the fact I’d have a helluva job on my hands matching my friend Lewis Clarke’s paint job on them. So…as I have a lot of the guard / AM infantry I made a start on as well as a couple of the vehicles, an interesting side project / modelling project to go alongside the Blood Angels would be Genestealer Cult. I love the background and there’s some great rules.
So, in conclusion, it’s all worked out in the end…and actually for the better. Notably, it did so once I’d thought about ALL factors that were ultimately bubbling under my thought process about all this; Playstyle that suits me / models I like, not following whatever the new hotness is (and thus avoiding half-started projects and wasted cash / time), BUT most importantly taken my financial circumstances into account as well.
My lad’s Blood Angels were there to be used, and ticked my boxes style, cash & hobby wise. I also had a lovely painted army (Tyranids) that together with some models (AM / Guard) I’d collected recently could form another I was interested in (Genestealer Cult) without having to spend lots of cash. Win win!
If my hobby roving eye is ever peering over the fence from where it currently resides with the above, my lad’s first love of Chaos marines and the (appropriately) chaotic nature of the collection lurks in boxes requiring some hobby love…as does his Eldar (that’s nearly all done but just needs playing with.
Gamers will always be enthusiastic about new releases in their hobby, and I’ve always enjoyed variety in my interests…but there’s more appropriate motivation behind all of it now. That motivation (playstyle, models / fluff I like, budgetary constraints…along with having most of the models to hand already) should lead to playing more often and in a focussed way. Getting to know your army is a way of getting better at the game. Getting better at the game, feeds into the hobby enthusiasm.
Onwards!
40K Bitesize 