Two weeks without a post - I think that's the longest I've gone all year! Truth be told, I hit a bad slump in the aftermath of Wargames Among the Warplanes and I just had so much trouble even just sitting down at my hobby bench. Or I'd get there, get set up, and realize I'd been staring blankly at my miniatures for 15 minutes while paint dried on my palette. I'm not 100% sure what caused it, but I just didn't get the buoyed enjoyment/urge to hobby after this WATW that I'm used to having after a convention or show.
I've spent a lot of that time thinking about what I'm missing, what might be bringing me down, and trying to figure out a way forward without going "Why sure, I'll buy a big bunch of miniatures for another new time period - that's sure to inspire me!"
Ultimately I had to remind myself that I'm painting for *me* - not for attention on social media, not for the purpose of putting on games for others (which has been a bit of a crapshoot this year, to be honest), but for my relaxation and peace of mind first and foremost.
After that it was putting my butt on the stool and saying, "I'm going to sit and paint. Even if I only do one thing, that's something I wouldn't have gotten done otherwise. I'm just going to paint the hair on my Dracula's America figures and see how I feel once I've done that."
And I've got some stuff done.
First up, a group of five "African Militia" from The Assault Group - I had painted these in the immediate aftermath of Wargames Among the Warplanes, with a vague idea towards playing some Zona Alfa with the setting shifted from Eastern Europe to Central Africa. I don't remember exactly why I bought like five packs of TAG Modern Africa figures earlier this year, but I've got 'em and these were a fast, easy paint up - basically one session of painting plus a night to flock the bases.
Secondly, I finished* my initial six figures for Dracula's America - the beginnings of a campaign posse!
OK, so not finished-finished, I need to do another coat of brown on the rim of the bases and flock them, but the painting figures part is finished! Most of these are from Northstar's official Dracula's America line, but I did include a Crow Warrior Woman from Clearco Miniatures, complete with elk-tooth dress, to mix things up a little. I'm really pleased with how they've turned out.
What else, what else...
A buddy of mine loaned me a stack of rulebook from Rattrap Productions, covering their ".45 Adventures" pulp crimefighting skirmish and some of its supplements and spin-offs. The rulebooks are a little rough and could use another editorial pass or two (and this is apparently the first edition, not the current version) but I'm interested in giving them a try.
The downside is they're making me go, "Oh, I should buy some 1920s Gangsters and rewatch 'The Untouchables!'"
I'll be doing a solo playtest this week, and on Saturday I have another friend coming into town to give it a go - he'll be playing the Green Hornet and Kato, I'll be some modern-ish gangsters using the figures I painted earlier this year for Fistful of Lead.
So that's everything going on here. Time to update the tracker... Oh hey! I'm at 150 figures painted this year! Cool!
Figures Acquired in 2025: 167
Figures Painted in 2025: 150
Great stuff! Love Dracula's America natives!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteLoving the Dracula's America gubbins and 1920's gangster shenanigans sounds awesome! I'm currently re-reading a bunch of Doc Savage adventures which while set in the 30's are rather fun.
ReplyDeleteAs for the whole pressure of social media and whatnot, its been a big headache for me too at various points where I'm feel guilty that I'm not posting enough of what people want to see and then force myself to paint something that I didn't enjoy just to get engagement.
It has kind of resulted in me being stuck this whole year and all attempts have ground to a halt which is frustrating.
Remembering the hobby is about my own enjoyment and relaxation is so important and sadly so easy to forget!
Best of luck with your assorted projects and enjoy what you do!
Thank you! It's actually a bit of a surprise that I don't already have classic gangsters in my collection. And I absolutely feel that. "I need to paint cool stuff and post it so people acknowledge my existence" has been a subconscious thing this year and it's just not been healthy. Plus struggling to get games that aren't Games Workshop going and having people approach my demo table who are preemptively disinterested because it's not Space Marines.
DeleteMy brain has definitely been a soup of "I'm not good enough" and "if I want to game with others I need to play games I don't really like" which hasn't been great.
Best of luck to you as well!
I have found having a regular time to paint helps with keeping me moving. Also, if you start to zone out, maybe put on some gaming podcasts or YouTube Channels to listen to while you paint. I really like The Crusty Colonel, Graham's Wargame Vault, and The Fantasy Skirmisher. I don't necessarily watch them, glancing over only occasionally, but follow what is going on by listening while I paint.
ReplyDeleteI usually have either the Yarkshire Reet Big Wargames Podcast or the Cast Dice podcast going while I paint.
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