Hi Everyone,


I can't really call myself a beginner, but this quite fits in here.

The question is quite simple: how can you motivate yourself to get busy with SBG?
Not wargaming in general, specifically SBG.

Just so you know why:
For over a year now, I have been promising to get back with Lotr & to this wonderful community, but I never really got around to actually do it.

40k responsabilities, the fact that half of my collection is ruined and I can't field a proper army,.. It all had it's effect.


So, please, I know myself, and I know that, if I don't motivate myself, I'll keep postponing everything SBG...

So any tips, or advice, would be very helpful.


Thanks in advance,
R

_________________
We must forgive our enemies...
But not before they are hanged

perhaps just spend some time looking at other peoples armies and think 'i want my army to be like that'

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'Though my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior'
-John Newton

Hmm... Forgotten how fast this community was

_________________
We must forgive our enemies...
But not before they are hanged

I set small goals with deadlines on them. Usually, my goal is to paint one warband and one hero each month. I also try to participate in the monthly hobby challenges here at the OR, which gives me a random hero to paint to break things up. Also, start a WIP thread or hobby blog and update it frequently (weekly?). This will motivate you to do something so that you have something to post and positive feedback from others will make you want to push yourself even further.

Example: This month, my goal is to paint one warband of Moria Goblins and a Shaman. I am also painting Treebeard with Merry and Pippin for the Hobbit painting challenge.

That's how I keep myself motivated!

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Respectfully,
Jonathan

Do what is right, love mercy, and walk humbly

Battle Companies

I have the same problem, my Haradrim and Easterlings get no attention and gather dust while I paint up the Ogre Kingdoms... Best is to wait till the Hobbit releases, methinks. That's what I'm gonna do!

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I'm the good and the bad; you must be the ugly
I'd mess up your face but your momma did it for me!

Play regular games. If I know I have a game coming up with a particular army it encourages me to paint up something new.

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Visit my blog: whoistheodoreus.blogspot.co.uk

I would say- just get cracking? I bet if you do one you will rediscover your love for it?

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I can't spell

Clear a safe area to use as a workspace - set aside some time each day. I find space and time to be an issue for me - complicated life - but from what you can see here, some of the guys are great painters and can match quality and quantity too.

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Published ebooks:
Instrument of the Empire
A Note of Defiance
Phantom Ships, Ghost Flotilla
More to come!

Like many, my schedule is tight so any free time I have I allocate that to playing strategic board games and miniatures hobby/playing. Motivations for SBG: (1) have a regularly scheduled SBG game on a monthly basis, (2)actively participate in a group of SBG gamers -- painting party for 1 or 2 hours, terrain making...., (3) focus... focus... focus on what you need/want to accomplish -- 1 warband or a terrain per month is reasonable, (4) be in a positive environment -- positive gamers with positive attitude and have fun.

Best Wishes,

Callan

Well, first of all thank you guys for all the comments!

Just giving a bit of more background of myself, so you can kinda see in what of a position I am:

1. I started playing Lotr when I was seven... My collection is therefor filled with lots of broken/unpainted models. Fixing them would take weeks.

2. Every time I'm off to buy some lotr, I get frustrated because of all the prices... Where are the times of BGiME and €17.50 for 24 models!

3. I do have a space for my hobby... But nowadays it's filled full of 40k stuff. I do also have quite a few responsabilities in that area.

4. I really don't think my painting is that good... More of: bad. I ones tried a WIP thread... But eh, that quickly dried out.


Well, anyway, I'll try to get back into it and eh.. Get crakin'

R

_________________
We must forgive our enemies...
But not before they are hanged

Good luck!

What kind of "responsibility" do you have to fordykay?

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"... Telchar wrought it in the deeps of time."
-On Andùril, The Lord of the Rings

Mainly being there for casual games... And organising tournaments, events etc.

_________________
We must forgive our enemies...
But not before they are hanged

Find a DVD you want to watch and just do some serious modelling with the television in the background.

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http://www.middle-earth-marauders.blogspot.co.uk/
Tabletop Gaming in London. New members welcome.

Likewise I have a backlog of unpainted models and find that when life gets busy its the time consuming parts of my hobby that suffer.

Honestly there is no simple answer because different things motivate different people. Some can sit down and set objectives or goals they want to hit or allocate set times during the day to paint. Others might try and find that spare bit of time in between other tasks to sit down and get the brush out. You could even try doing group painting sessions (I found this really useful, bunch of us painting with lotr on in the background)
Personally I see a lot of productivity whenever that next tournament is looming, this really isn;t the best way of doing things but it is probably why my uruk-hai have got moving. Looming deadlines can focus the mind lol.
Whatever works will be the way you motivate yourself.

Btw, don't beat your self up over painting skill, I've been in the hobby for over a decade and while I can tell that my painting has gotten better, I'm still never happy with it. Like playing an instrument it comes down to practice as natural talent only goes so far. Keep trying and don't give up. The eavy metal team put an obscene amount of hours into their work to get them to that standard.

This is it for me. Whenever I set up a game and want to try a different army (one that isn't totally painted) I always go on a crazy painting blitz and do a bunch of work. I also try really hard to keep it a hobby, if I don't feel like painting or modeling I don't. I don't want to turn it into some sort of chore that I have to do. Having said that, I find that the more I do, the more excited I am to do more. Finishing figures motivates me like nothing else. So, sometimes I *force* myself to start because I know I'll enjoy it.

My motivation is similar. I got my Gondor army and liked the story of Denethor's special rule, which prompted me to get the army done and host a big game (I have to host everything and ref with my crowd).

Now some new terrain just arrived, some "chieftain huts" from gale force nine, so now I want to host a game with an ambush of woses+Gondor against Harad...and that will get me painting Harad.

The story is everything for me.

If I remember correctly, there is an English saying, "You are your worse critic..." It's admirable enough for me that you take the time to paint your figures. I have seen other players put unpainted figures on the gaming table plenty of time -- I cringed, but understood their time constraints.

Regards,

Callan

I have 3 things to say about this:

1) Show up at your "pick-up" games with some LOTR figures and play a game. Even if you have to lend figures to your pick-up opponent. Play and you'll remember why liked it.

2) Fix up your figures. You can replace broken spars with metal wire.

3) If you can afford 40k figure then you can afford LOTR.

Oh and watch the movies. Any one of the fight scenes will get that LOTR monkey on your back right quick.