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I ask this because we invest so much money, time and effort in our hobby that sometimes I look at another Army or gaming system and say in my head I wish I had that, it looks really cool knowing full well, I don't have the money time or honestly the Inclination to buy another army. I think I would really have to Psyche myself up to start a new army, or alternatively finish one army before collecting another.

Now i come to think about it, even worse than this is when you are 80% through painting an Army and you think I really wish, i had painted them the other colour scheme

Is this just me? or is it some psychological "The Grass is Greener on the other side" type affair?

Its not just you - I have a part-painted 3000 point Tau force and only last week as I was driving to work I thought 'Why don't I paint them green and white instead of brown and blue?'

Luckily, a quick-thinking error check in my brain told me to stop being so silly

Remember, you're only thinking this because you're not finished. As soon as the last model in your army is finished and you look at the whole you'll realise that it looks cool anyway and any lingering thoughts you have about an alternate colour scheme will fade away under the mountain of dread caused by 'do I really want to do all that again?'

This is why I can't do my space marines... I can't confidently settle on a colour scheme.

I've never felt that I picked the wrong army but in my gaming circle there's a long running joke about my inability to stick to one colour scheme for any length of time. I seem to change colour concepts faster than some people change clothes. Fortunately, I've finally settled on something and have about half my army in some stage of completion using it.
Of course the most amusing part about having finally decided on something is that I'm basically using the same colours as what I'd originally picked when I started playing at the tail end of 2nd ed.

It's natural. If for no other reason, people like variety and it isn't fun to feel you are locked in to one style of play or painting. Unlike video games (where it is easy to switch to another army) with Tabletop, switching is a big deal which represents a lot of time and often money.

That said, some ideas for you:

Start more than one army. You might be happier with several small armies instead of one big one. Take your time deciding on which ones are your favorites. Then collect some of each. This can be an expensive route, but perfectly valid. You can take time to do this - a new army every couple of years is fine. Disadvantage: you may never have a huge army of anything. Advantage - you can enjoy smaller games with lots of different playstyles.

If you find you always are into the latest thing and that the feeling passes, why not try this? Challenge a friend to a game and when it is done, switch armies. This gives you a taste of what the other guy gets without you needing to buy more. In this way, you could sample more armies than you could ever afford to buy and paint.

Re: color scheme - I solve this by painting each unit in different colors. I get to try a little of everything. I'd be bored out of my noggin if I had to paint everything the same color (though many do just that). With an Ork Army, it works out very well. I don't see why you couldn't do this for other armies, too - consider them to be an alliance from different worlds or some such if you need fluff to explain it.

Good luck!

I have about 200 Tyranids and about 100 are painted. I hit a unit where the color scheme didn't look good and now I'm second guessing the whole thing.

All the time. Then I paint/buy the other one. Therapy says I'm getting better though.

No, as I have yet to get an army even remotely close to 80% painted. What little painting I do has been weighted heavily towards my orks, where variety is a boon. I'm going to route of Solorg's last suggestion, so if I tire of painting Goff sluggas, I can paint another Death Skull loota or two. When I get the itch to try out something new, I've got a trio of koptas, a burna squad, a second boss, and a complement of nobs that haven't been touched, yet.

Keeps things fresh and it helps me become a better painter, as it gives me experience with the behavior of and interaction between a variety of colors and leaves plenty of room for experimental techniques. Not having the funds to expand your current armies, let alone start a new one, helps keep you focused, as well. If I bail of 40K, the closest thing I'll have is a copy of Risk.

I find it helps not to stick to a single "color scheme" so much as keeping common elements throughout an entire army.

It's just you.

I only play the four armies I actually like the models enough for.

I'm over 80% painted on all of them.

It's a "the grass is greener" thing, I think.

I no longer care that I can't paint as well as a GD winner, so seeing a brilliantly painted version of an army I don't collect or play with anyway is irrelevant. I can appreciate the skills it took, but it's still an overall, 'meh'.

NEVARRRRRRRRRRR@!

No seriously... that is what selling armies is for! As long as your painting isn't terrible you can almost always sell them for at least the value of the models. All you lose out on is your paint and painting time.

Personally, I play orks and nothing else anymore. I have done other armies and usually sold them at the end of the tourney season.

I do this regularly, good thing for lots of disposable income, and a forgiving wife.

Its good to see that a number of other Dakkanauts have the same thing. I am quite highly motivated as a Painter as I enjoy this aspect, and it is something I can do on my own. Where as the Gaming aspect is the social side which i also enjoy is often difficult to achieve due to work and being away.

I have a fogiving wife and a good disposable income, but occassionally she gets on her "Little Space Men" rant thing and I usually respond with something along the lines of "Well, its no more a waste of time than you watching those Crappy TV shows like "Dawsons Crack", "Ugly Betty" or "Sexy in the City" at least with my stuff at the end of it i have something tangible.

Shame on you for getting to the 80% finished stage! It is far more psychologically healthy, rational, and normal to never get beyond 50% completion before experiencing existential nausea, which is brought on by the recognition that one will never reach 60% due to spending more time watching YouTube videos on how to paint minis, and reading 40K forums and blogs, than actually painting minis.

The only known cure is to buy a *load* of new pro-painting supplies -- weathering powders and make-your-own-washes supplies -- and then realize that what's *REALLY* important is having a truly unique look to each mini, and deciding to heavily convert each one before you paint another single mini. Cue the purchase of a pile of green stuff, milliput, ProCreate, bone-saws and Colour Shapers that never get used.

Lol, Ouch...Ian i can feel your bitterness and pain. I actually do all of the things you listed above, watching you tube video's etc. I bought all the tools too, the difference is i do actually use them, this isn't be being holier than thou, its because my wife will slap me silly if i didn't use them .

I am getting better at GS and converting and even painting. Wait till i get home and update my P&M Blog, I have been working on my highlighting and have discovered a variety of techniques. Plus I have discovered Gundam Markers, 0.5mm ultrafine black markers which are amazing at increasing the level of detail on models.

I think I need to have a little break from it and come back refreshed ready to do the last 20% (and my Thunderhawk Gunship!)

No. But I have gotten about 25% through putting together an army (twice) and bought another one.

My son now has my partially put together Space Marines.
I have about 180 points of a 1750 Necron army fully built/painted.
I have about 1200 points of Space Wolves mech put together and one guy painted and I just ordered some Orks.

Edit: I started in september. My solution for not having a forgiving wife is to let her buy whatever she wants so she feels guilty blowing money while I secretly blow ten times more on little space men.

I've got a Guard army of Catachans, Cadians, and Steel Legion. It's like painting three armies, and if I'm bored with one regiment, I can just move on to the next one.

I've had a lot of false starts with armies, but I usually just sold those off for more Guard.

I got tired of painting endless grey, so I've started giving each platoon and squadron a unique scheme. My Vets wear feathered hats and puffy shirts and will deploy from a hot-rod red Valkyrie.

I was exaggerating a *bit* for dramatic effect -- I think I've used everything I've bought, at least once!

I have to get 1750 pts' worth of Dark Angels painted by this weekend, anyway, for the UKGT. Tournaments are a good incentive for me to get stuff painted (as is the annual Bolter & Chainsword painting challenge). Friendly games are a good incentive for me to get stuff at least assembled. So, I am gradually getting there... but I do still have 3 unfinished armies, and 1 unstarted.

mwnciboo wrote:I ask this because we invest so much money, time and effort in our hobby that sometimes I look at another Army or gaming system and say in my head I wish I had that, it looks really cool knowing full well, I don't have the money time or honestly the Inclination to buy another army. I think I would really have to Psyche myself up to start a new army, or alternatively finish one army before collecting another.

Now i come to think about it, even worse than this is when you are 80% through painting an Army and you think I really wish, i had painted them the other colour scheme

Is this just me? or is it some psychological "The Grass is Greener on the other side" type affair?

i've invested money but not necessarily time and effort twice into armies that i later regretted. i bought 2000pts+ of nids and eldar at the heyday of my 3rd edition playing days (separately) and the armies went straight from the box they were shipped to me to the closet and then to ebay a few months later. luckily, that was back in the days of 35% retail internet discounts so i didn't actually lose more than a few bucks total on the two mistakes. now that i'm back into 40k, i tend to over analyze a future army purchase more than anything... i guess age mellowed (or chickened lol) me out.

Not so much regretting armies I bought. I regret armies I've sold.