Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Has anyone else experienced sudden and acute anxiety when an army is nearly completed?

Very annoying experience.

I wonder if I have any pharmacological options available?

Also, ever pick a pair of armies to paint (so you could play them against each other) only to later realize that you really picked the wrong first two armies?

I have been putting together some Middle-earth armies (not for LotR FBS or War of the Ring, but for a different system). I started with Rohan and Misty Mountain Orcs/Goblins.

I just now realized that these are probably a bad choice, since 1) The Goblins drastically outnumber the Rohirrim with even points, and 2) the Goblins/Orcs are typically "impetuous" troops (liable to advance without waiting for orders), but only against foot. Meaning that they are going to be particularly tough opponents against the Rohirrim unless some of the Rohirrim dismount (losing their larger advantage against the Goblins).

Oh, well! Almost finished anyway. I guess I have no choice but to play and see what happens.

MB

No.

But then, I don't understand what these forums mean by 'finished army'. I have somewhere in the vicinity or 4,000 points of chaos in varying forms, plus a handful of Eldar, Orks and Tyranids, and I will simply keep adding more things to them.

I'm not really familiar with the armies you mention, but it sounds like an interesting first couple of battles at least.

No I love the satisfaction of finishing an army and seeing it all laid out and ready for the gaming table.

"Finished army"? What is this that you speak of, these two words together are unfamiliar to me?
As someone whose "pile o' shame" fills almost a full bedroom (pics in my gallery), I do not think I'll ever understand what you're talking about.
But, I can suggest two possible remedies: Alcohol (I'm a fan of MacAllan and Glenmorangie), or....wait for it...BUY MORE MODELS!

I have two armies that will never be finished, but I like variety, so I tend to buy a 1k army (or starter box for other systems) every once in a while to paint and game with that I have no intentions of ever adding to once they are done.

It's a well known fact that when you finish your last unpainted model you die. What you were feeling was the icy grip of death. Either paint slower, or buy more models.

Ah yes, Completion Anxiety...

... an acute feeling of dread and loss when realizing ones hobby project is nearly complete.

Symptoms?

Dry mouth, empty paint pots, frazzled brushes, rheumy eyes, sleep deprivation, oversleeping, overeating, overbasing, undereating, sense of paranoia, inability to express feelings, low self esteem, exuberantly high self esteem, mediocre self esteem, unusual cravings, higher than average daily post count on Dakka, lower than average daily post count on Dakka, posting "What's Next" threads ad infinitum, gaining +30 rep in Swap Shop in one week, losing 30 rep in Swap Shop a week later, kleptomania, painting unusual objects, objectifying paint unusually, sudden flooding of YouTube with in depth unit reviews featuring all your painted minis coupled with an on-screen meltdown when you come to that one unpainted unit (may or may not be Charlie Sheen-esque).

Pharmacological Remedies?

See; George Carlin. Cross reference; Hippy Dippy Weatherman.

Other Remedies?

New projects.

Warnings?

Do not begin a new project until the old one is finished. A very fatal condition can occur known as Unfinished Army Syndrome, wherein a hobbyist may become permanently unable to finish a project. Subsequently the Hobbyist may become buried under a mountain of primed units, from which there is seldom any escape.

I've never 'finished' an army. My DE are over 10k and still growing.

Whats this LotR game called?

The only time I have ever had a completely finished army was back in 40k 3rd edition when I had 1500pts of painted Salamanders and no money to buy new stuff. That lasted about 3 months, then my brother gave me a Predator which never got painted.

Since then I've tried. Oh man I've tried. But I've also had money, and I suffer from shiny model syndrome. My pile o shame isn't as bad as Tannhausers (holy gak), but it's there, and won't go away.

I Think the reason I wont be able to breath right before I "finish" my army would be because I've died of old age .

But in all seriousness, I do get anxious sometimes when finishing larger projects. It's something about seeing all that effort culminating into that final product that just gives me the shivers. Its not bad just well.. kinda like "so close, whats going to go wrong right before I finish this?"

Finished? There is no finished. You may complete your current batch, but there's always another batch that requires painting or another project to start. Best thing to do is sit back, admire your efforts and put them on display and game with them while you start on your next project.

 JamesY wrote:
No I love the satisfaction of finishing an army and seeing it all laid out and ready for the gaming table.

Me too! It's a great feeling.. doesn't happen too often to me though unfortunately !

I find the difficult part of army building is trying to not paint all of the stuff that you really want to do first, and then leave the bits you are ambivalent about until last. Can make the final few steps over the finishing line a lot more painful!

 Dakkamite wrote:
Whats this LotR game called?

We do not yet have a title for the rules (we have two sets of rules we typically use, and a third set which we did just as an experiment, but they seem dead otherwise).

• The first set of rules is based upon a regular "large scale" mass combat system called DBMM, from WRG, WRITTEN BY Phil Barker, but with portions of the smallegicr scale game Hoards of the Things (HotT) thrown in, and additional elements of older rules added back in. It is an "element based game" (where two to four figures are mounted on each base, rather than individually based figures), but unlike HotT or DBMM, it uses "Units" of elements, and has a complete morale system and special characteristics for the troops (like variable armor level, and special weapons). This is my favorite set, because it allows for the easy creation of "magical" creatures, or "heroes" without the need for special rules. The nice thing about our rules is that, unlike Phil Barker's, ours are in plain English, with male bullet points, and written in the active voice, rather than the passive, which leads to all manner of confusion in Phil's rules.

• The second set of rules is a fantasy variant of a game that was supposed to have been published by "The Foundry" back in 2006/07 called Ancient Conquest (AC), written by Frank Chadwick. AC is similar to most of Frank Chadwick's other miniatures' rules in that each "unit" is given an order from the closest commander in the line-of-command, and the units behavior is restricted based upon that command. They are not a bad set of rules, but they suffer from complications the first don't due to the less restrictive command system, and more clearly delineated reactions to specific cases (such as in which direction a unit may move - one interpretation is that the unit may move ONLY DIRECTLY in the direction in which its order arrow points). The game also suffers from not having easy to implement magic rules, or rules for heroes.

• The "third" option was a fantasy variant for Fields of Glory. Their only real selling point is the speed with which they may be taught, and the rather clear-cut outcomes that produce a very clean table (the other rules tend to produce battle-lines that are much more chaotic and confused after the units are stuck-in).

And, I have miniatures for all Late-3rd Age Middle-earth Armies:

• Gondor
• Harad (with Far-Harad Allies)
• Khand (although I am using Turks instead of the GW miniatures, which I am using to supplement my Easterlings)
• Mordor (technically two armies, Mordor and Minas Mogul)
• Easterlngs (which use the GW miniatures, GW Khandirim, and Fireforge Mongols).
• Rohirrim
• Dale / Erebor
• Lórien (non-GW Elves)
• Mirkwood Silvan Elves (non-GW Elves)
• Moria
• Hithaeglir Goblins (Gundabad - again, using Thunderbolt Mountain Miniatures for these instead of GWs)

And I have miniatures for various 1st Age, 2nd Age, and Mid-3rd Age (but no Early-3rd Age yet) Armies:

• Edain (1st Age)
• Easterlings (1st Age)
• Sindarin (1st Age).

• Númenórean (late-2nd Age)
• Eregion (2nd Age)

• Wainriders (mid-3rd Age)
• Balchoth (mid-3rd Age)
• Angmar (mid-3rd Age)
• Post-Dúnedain Rhudaur (mid-3rd Age)

But by "finishing" I just mean "finishing the figures for a specific army list that will allow a basic game."

Typically about 800 points of figures for any army (roughly 120 - 500 figures, depending upon the army. The Rohirrim are closer to the former, the Haradrim or Moria Goblins closer to the latter).

MB

BeAfraid wrote:
Has anyone else experienced sudden and acute anxiety when an army is nearly completed?

Nah I find it quite satisfying to complete an army (for now, it can always be expanded to). But then I've always got a few projects on the go so I can just skip onto the next army.

There's such a thing as a finished army??

You should have seen my Epic collection in the mid 90s, I had almost the entire Imperium waiting in my cupboard. Then the Titan Legions supplement came out and I wanted two more Warhounds and three Reavers.

Then they cocked it all up with the ridiculous Epic Armageddon and its crappy rules. They always maintained this was the best ruleset they ever devised, but they killed interest stone dead and it's never recovered.

As far as I know Epic was one of the most popular games until that time; I'd still be collecting/playing it now if they hadn't buggered it up.

 NoPoet wrote:
There's such a thing as a finished army??

You should have seen my Epic collection in the mid 90s, I had almost the entire Imperium waiting in my cupboard. Then the Titan Legions supplement came out and I wanted two more Warhounds and three Reavers.

Then they cocked it all up with the ridiculous Epic Armageddon and its crappy rules. They always maintained this was the best ruleset they ever devised, but they killed interest stone dead and it's never recovered.

As far as I know Epic was one of the most popular games until that time; I'd still be collecting/playing it now if they hadn't buggered it up.

The first minis I replaced after the wife stole everything were Epic Minis.

I still use them, but I have them based for another game system. I think I have an entire Battallion (using a WWII Russian TOE) of IG (around 1100 IG Miniatures, with some pretty cool conversions to create a howitzer battery, mortar batteries (2 or 3), and command groups with communications towers and tents). But I use them with either Dirtside II or Striker/Striker II.

Epic, the original, wasn't a bad system, but I wanted more Grav Tanks.

MB

 darkcloak wrote:
Ah yes, Completion Anxiety...

... an acute feeling of dread and loss when realizing ones hobby project is nearly complete.

Symptoms?

Dry mouth, empty paint pots, frazzled brushes, rheumy eyes, sleep deprivation, oversleeping, overeating, overbasing, undereating, sense of paranoia, inability to express feelings, low self esteem, exuberantly high self esteem, mediocre self esteem, unusual cravings, higher than average daily post count on Dakka, lower than average daily post count on Dakka, posting "What's Next" threads ad infinitum, gaining +30 rep in Swap Shop in one week, losing 30 rep in Swap Shop a week later, kleptomania, painting unusual objects, objectifying paint unusually, sudden flooding of YouTube with in depth unit reviews featuring all your painted minis coupled with an on-screen meltdown when you come to that one unpainted unit (may or may not be Charlie Sheen-esque).

Pharmacological Remedies?

See; George Carlin. Cross reference; Hippy Dippy Weatherman.

Other Remedies?

New projects.

Warnings?

Do not begin a new project until the old one is finished. A very fatal condition can occur known as Unfinished Army Syndrome, wherein a hobbyist may become permanently unable to finish a project. Subsequently the Hobbyist may become buried under a mountain of primed units, from which there is seldom any escape.

Have an exalt, that was thoroughly entertaining.

As for anxiety about finishing a project, I can't say I've ever experienced it. I've had fully painted armies a few times in my hobby career (at only 5 or 6 years it's substantially shorter than most posters on here), and each time it's been very gratifying to have them all done.

This was very cute

I think I would have to quit my day job to really finish one army. Or, maybe in 5 years it will get done!

Hell my Chaos Army is about 35,000 points and I don't ever think it'll ever get finished.

They can pry my paintbrush out of my cold, dead hands...

I don't seriously think anyone is "coming for" your paintbrush...

But it is a habit that I will die with (painting miniatures). Assuming I die that is. There has been some argument about that among my friends concerning my durability in the face of things that should have killed me.

MB