Hobby Discipline

We've all heard the terms hobby wobble and hobby butterflies and we've all probably suffered from those very things every now and then. As I find myself daydreaming up lists and purchases for new armies while I'm still working on finishing several other projects I figured I would take a look at the idea of hobby discipline and what that means.

There's nothing wrong with thinking up a side project or a future army while working on something else. At the moment I'm trying to finally finish up my all demon Maggotkin of Nurgle army that I painted up to 1,000 points back when the book came out. As I drybrush Plaguebearers I'm already thinking about future projects. A 1,000 point Beasts of Chaos army, more Nighthaunt, the second half of my Daughters of Khaine army, or maybe even paint up some of those Stormcast I've had sitting around for awhile. All of these sound like fun projects, and are definitely something I would like to tackle at some point. However, I currently have at least three more units to paint for my Nurgle stuff after I finish the Plaguebearers, the rest of my Warcry stuff (terrain and Furies), as well as a bunch of terrain I've been slowly accumulating over the years. I run the danger of going off on a hobby tangent before I even finish my Nurgle stuff, which is why that army has been sitting half finished for awhile in the first place.

This is where some hobby discipline comes into play. It's easy to go out and pick up those new units and have them ready to go, truth be told I may still get one or two things and paint up test models. Those are good fodder for my painting tutorials at least and break up painting the same scheme over and over. There's a saying I've seen in a few places which I definitely think is true for a lot of us hobbyists over a certain age. When you're younger you don't have the money to buy the games and models you want, but you have all the time you need to paint them and play games. When you're older you can finally buy what you want, but now you have none of the free time. While I certainly understand that doesn't apply to everyone, I do think it rings true for a lot us.

In boxes I currently have a full Stormcast Vanguard army, half a Deathrattle army, various other Stormcast stuff, a small Steel Legion force, some left over Tomb Kings, and various odds and ends. Built and waiting to be primed I have even more. This hobby backlog is also a common occurrence for our hobby community. I could go out and get that Beasts of Chaos army or the mortal Maggotkin I'm thinking of, but it would just add to the pile while I finish what I'm currently working on.

Am I going to paint up that Stormcast Vanguard army or am I going to trade some of those boxes around for something different? Am I just going to go pick up something new? The looming number of unopened boxes casts a tall shadow over my painting desk (metaphorically of course. I keep that stuff in a closet out of sight). I think the answer may come in tackling smaller projects while you have larger ongoing projects on your desk. Warcry and Underworlds are both good options for scratching hobby itches. They're much smaller, self contained projects, that could potentially lead into something larger if you really like it, but can also just stay at the size they're at. This lets you be a hobby butterfly without falling down a rabbit hole. A lot of it comes from knowing your pace. If you're a fast painter then this may not be a problem for you as you can keep up with it. It's when your accumulation outpaces your output that you start to get a bit of that hobby guilt. As I've mentioned in other articles, deadlines are always a good motivator for sticking with a project.

What are your thoughts on this? How do you stick to a project to see it finished, or do you go where your painting whims take you? Do you think hobby discipline is needed or not? How large is your box pile?

Anyway, I'm probably off to my local Games Workshop to look at some of those Beasts of Chaos I was talking about...

Until next time,

Tyler M.