Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Holding my feet to the fire

Greetings and welcome to a glimpse of the chaotic and swirling mind of an ADD painter. No really, I have completion issues as I am sure that you will all see. The trouble is that like some crazy Pokemon trainer with a nervous tick, I do feel like I have to paint them all, yet just as I am about to complete a project something shiny distracts me, and I'm off to paint a new and exciting figure. There are a number of reasons (excuses) for my painting condition, which I will now divulge to the world at large, eliciting sympathy and outrage as you all see fit.

First, I am a gaming addict. Yes, my name is Joel, and I have a gaming problem. From the console or computer to the gaming table (heck, even dumb car games if I'm honest- slug bug!) I absolutely love gaming, strategy, and a healthy dose of competition. I run the geek-gamer-gamut growing up on board games like Chess, Risk, Monopoly but graduating to Axis and Allies, Diplomacy (amazing game!), Settlers of Catan, Munchkin, and just about anything by Avalon Hill or Rio Grande Games. I am an avid roleplayer, willing to try just about any system, though truth be known my favorite settings are 7th Sea and Legend of the Five Rings (both by AEG). Finally, I am a wargamer that absolutely loves the hobby side of the industry which has inspired the creation of this gaming and painting blog.

Second, I do love painting, modeling, building terrain, and making my toy soldiers come to life. The problem is that I have so many concepts, ideas, or themes that I would love to paint or see on the gaming table that it is difficult to stick with one and see it through to the end. Case in point would be my Orc and Goblin army for Warhammer Fantasy. This is the first army that I owned (almost 10 years now), and still the largest to date... and most of the figures are grey plastic, or each unit is painted in such different schemes that the army looks terrible when fielded on the table. Hopefully this issue has been fixed (for the orcs and goblins at least) as I have decided to redo the army as pirate orcs! Still, this is only one force of many... and what is worse is when I begin dreaming of paint schemes to do for other armies... that I don't yet own. It is a dangerous malady to be struck with.

Third, I have trouble saying no to a new game. What can I say, I am an absolute sucker for dice, figures, and measuring tapes. It takes absolutely no pressure to bend my arm to start a new system, and even a rumor of interested gamers sends me straight to my computer, scouring the web and drooling over figures that I will soon own to feed my addiction. Sadly, this also means that I have piles of armies that rarely see the gaming table except for once a year when we dust them off for nostalgia' sake. You think that after all of these years I would learn... but no!

I mentioned that I have completion issues, and because of this a dizzying array of figures will be displayed on this site (though with your help, I hope to complete them). Again in full disclosure these are the game systems and armies that I am currently collecting:

Warhammer Fantasy:
Orcs and Goblins
Wood Elves
Bretonnians
Empire

Warhammer 40k:
Black Templars
Orks (Evil Sunz - Cult of Speed)
Pre Heresy Emperor's Children

Lord of the Rings
Isengard

Dystopian Wars
Federated States of America
Empire of the Blazing Sun

Flames of War
Late War Germans - 21st Panzer Division

Warmachine
Khador

Hordes
Circle of Orboros

Infinity
Caledonians

Mordheim
Pirates
Orc and Goblin Pirates
Witch Hunters

So now you all know a little more about me and the challenges that I face. Hopefully through this blog I will begin to complete the many forces that I own, that I grow in my skills and abilities as a painter, and that perhaps other gamers afflicted with completion issues like me will become motivated to finish their own forces!

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