1. I'm in a lot of pain. That's pretty straight forward. I can't get comfortable, and I can't paint for long periods of time. It's killing my progress.
2. I'm re-painting old minis. I hate doing that. I really should have stripped them all and started over. But I didn't. So now I'm finding my Tin Bitz goes all streaky when brushed over my old Boltgun Metal. I'm having to clean moud line, then as I start re-painting, I find more mould lines to clean. It's frustrating.
3. I have stated to those in my gaming circle many time: Orcs are my favorite army to play. They are however, my least favorite army to paint. It's made worse by the fact that I own over 8000 points of 40k Orks AND 10000 points of Fantasy Orcs. It's too much stuff. It's intimidating. Plus, I'll admit it: I don't like playing the bad guys. I like being the hero. I've been a Dungeon Master all my life. I get tired of always running the monsters. So it's a nice change of pace to consider myself the hero of the story. And while I do certainly have a soft spot in my heart (some would say my head) for all things Green, I'm slowly coming to the realization that I, a lot of the time, approach this game wrong.
I have railed for years about how this is a hobby, and not a competition. I have argued until I was blue in the face that tournaments and Warhammer don't mix, because of the terrible rule 'structure' (if you can even call it that). But more and more, I realize I'm in the minority. As tabletop wargaming grows, it is becoming more and more competitive. I'm becoming the old dinosaur. I'm still harkening back to the early days, when it was more of a role-playing game than a competitive battle of plastic soldiers.
I have been singing the praises of Warmachine for quite a while now. But they are some of the most competitive (some would say cheap, cheesy or beardy) gamers out there. So I'm really starting to sound like a hypocrite, praising a very competitive game while not playing the game competitively.
Now I'm not saying that Orcs and Goblins, or 40k Orks, can't be competitive. I've won with them, even against some top tier armies. What I am saying, is that my attitude is wrong. I'm not invested in the army. I play Orcs and I don't give a crap, I'm just there for a good time. It's part of why I have so much fun with them. But part of that comes from my old DMing habits. While being the DM, I was playing the bad guys in a co-operative game. They were SUPPOSED to die. And what I need to get through my head is that this is not a co-operative game, and it hasn't been one for a very long time. Plus, I don't need to 'put on a show' for the benefit of the other guy at the table. I'm not running a game for him, I'm playing a game against him.
Where am I going with this? I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm all WAAAAAGH'ed out. And I think I have been for a long time. Let's face it, I've had my Orcs and Goblins for 10 years and they've never been fully painted. And for a guy claiming to be all about the hobby, that's pretty sad.
So here are my resolutions: Firstly, I'm going to make a compromise, and army that isn't as much fun to play, but is much more fun to play. Like my Dwarfs or Elves. And I'm going to try to take that same, 'who cares if they die' attitude into every game. In other words, I'm going to stop treating my army like it's an encounter being thrown against 'the party' (in this case my opponent, and treat them like we are at war (albeit a small, plastic-y tabletop war). In war there are sacrifices. I had fun and success with my Orcs because I wasn't afraid to lose them. I can't say the same of my Eldar, where I've been afraid of losing so much as a single model.
Secondly, I will still try to do 78 models by month's end. To keep Walls motivated. Plus, I'll get more stuff painted, which is never a bad thing.
And third, I shall meet these Orks of his, on the field of battle, with my 40k Orks, in a battle of suprem-WAAAAAAAGH-cy (once everything is painted of course). I'm actually really hope this whole thing inspires Walls to start collecting Orks full-time. They are a good mix of the randomness of his Daemons and the everything and then some of his Guard. I think it's a good fit. And maybe, this will be a passing of the torch. Time will tell.
So in conclusion, I am going to stop screaming at a wall, and join the rest of the group. I will be more competitive. Who knows, maybe one day I'll try tournaments again. And for those of you who are thinking "Well it's about time", remember, you brought this on yourself!
Oh, and if you didn't notice, I snuck in some pictures of my Orks.
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