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Hi.

I'm in kind of a motivational down at the moment regarding Warhammer.
I've tons of unbuild Space Marines in various states, new on sprue; clipped, cleaned and mould lines removed and anything in between. I also have roughly 25 Tactical Marines in a box of Isopropanol alcohol for paint stripping.
I realise now, that the last one was the biggest motivation killer, making me unable to play games at the weekends. I should have done it in batches.

I really want to build my army, but when I get home from work , the thought of the alcohol Marines and the Sternguard squad that I can't get 3mm holes in the shoulder for magnets without breaking the torso apart, quickly kills of the mood. It's just so much easier to play video games or read a book.


So, my question is: how do you motivate yourself?


P.S.: And if someone has a hint how to drill holes in Marine torsos at the shoulder joint, that would be much appreciated.

I know the feeling well. Motivation comes from one of two places, for me.

The first is that I remember this is a journey and not a destination. I'm not a gamer, so this is very important to me. The process of the modelling and painting is everything, so when it's all said and done... it's done.

If this doesn't work, I resort to the second. Which is, reading forums, modelling books and watching YouTube videos like BuyPainted. This plays in part to the first point, in that you see the process from behind-the-scenes and you remember to love that part. It gives you the motivation to try some techniques yourself and see if you yield similar results.

Take it step at a time. Looking up the mountain can de-motivate you. Concentrate on this step, then that one, then the next...

As far as your drilling is concerned, I use one of two techniques for awkward holes. First, is a tiny pilot hole. Just so I have some guidance. Second, if the first isn't possible (drill slips etc..), I use a small soldering iron to pilot a hole. Don't know if this helps?

For drilling holes in shoulders, this is a rather crude technique I've found that works is :

A lot of patience and rather than twisting right the entire time to actually bite more out of the hole, I twist back and forth, that way the bit never bites too much of the plastic and it shears little bits of plastic out at a time without tearing the torso asunder.

The number one thing to do is put away anything you aren't currently working on. That means put it a drawer or a box somewhere out of sight. It helps not looking at a mountain of unpainted plastic when you sit down at your painting desk.

The other thing that can really help is to just take a break from it all. Actively pursue one of you other leisure activities and hobbies for a short period of time to help clear you mind and get yourself refocused. I personally took a nice break for most of the second half of last year after some serious burnout and it was probably the best thing I did. I found new joy in painting models and I felt able to refocus my efforts and I think it's paid off; I feel what I produce now is of much higher quality.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:
The number one thing to do is put away anything you aren't currently working on. That means put it a drawer or a box somewhere out of sight. It helps not looking at a mountain of unpainted plastic when you sit down at your painting desk.

The other thing that can really help is to just take a break from it all. Actively pursue one of you other leisure activities and hobbies for a short period of time to help clear you mind and get yourself refocused. I personally took a nice break for most of the second half of last year after some serious burnout and it was probably the best thing I did. I found new joy in painting models and I felt able to refocus my efforts and I think it's paid off; I feel what I produce now is of much higher quality.

Really good advice here, similar stuff has worked for me. I have found entering a tournament or painting competition is a good motivator. I am not a "tournament game" but I have enjoyed the experience and having an external deadline is one thing that works for me. Another thing that works for me is time budgeting. - for me this partly part of a bigger lifestyle change, and I stopped playing computer games ( kicking a twenty habit!) - also spending less time on dakkadakka and actually painting models. I know that does't directly help with motivation, but having "painting time" as part my weekly routine does mean I actually sit down and do some.

I feel ya ive become long term unwell plus working alday was really killing my free time.
Working with batches is important, take five guys brush them up, model them, then paint, youll feel rewarded by actually having some finished to do more!
Drill out progressively larger holes, this will stop splitting and the pilot hole is easier to get in the correct spot making sure the big hole ends up where you need it.
larger drills can also end up pulling through material once they exit, so try widening your hole instead of using big drill bits, use a fine sharpe knife like a scapel or melt a bigger hole with a fine nail, care not to over do these methods better to fit repeatedly than have to fill a hole that's to large and start from scratch.

Thanks for the suggestions so far, guys!

First thing I'm doing after work today is putting away everything I'm not building right now and will try your suggestions for the drilling in torsos.

My trick is to do something else (hobby related or not) and only give yourself those options. I was getting sucked into the grind on my last batch of smurfs and was avoiding painting. So, I put them away and cracked out the last of the hobbit set to finish off (so much brown).

I am actually enjoying painting these little dwarfs, and once I get sick of them or finish, SMs will be a bloody joy to paint

Character is how I find myself motivated, doing a vast amount of troops is daunting and in all honesty fairly boring. So I like to think of the character of the Marine, Gaurdian ect that I am building, I find reading the Black Libary books help with this as it allows you to get into the mind of what you are building, give your troops names think of a back story can be stupid and small but something that gives you a spark of inspiration that makes you want to see your character come to life.

Simply a name can be all you need, put it on the base edge when you complete it in a nice fine black pen, maybe do a slight conversion to make them appear different to each other I find really helps with this. It gives you motivation as you feel a connection to this model and want to see it finished. Obviously with a large army this would be really hard so you can narrow it down to just the Sgt. or even just the Commander that alone will give your army a personality and makes you want to see them in the battlefield.

It is also good to have your models in a number of seperate stages, Some that need cleaning up and building, some that need priming, some that need a base coat, some that need layering and washing and some which just need touching up and have them in seperate boxes so you can't see them but can easily find them. Then when you get home you can decide what you feel like doing that day as you can clean and watch tv or wash and watch tv or youtube allowing you to take your mind of putting all your effort into it and if you just fancy focusing you can do base coats, layering and touch ups.

It really helps me to do things like this as there is always something to do whatever the mood, and if you fancy writing a little story instead you can do that and get into things like Batreps so you can apply your short stories to the batrep to give character to the report, it's a hobby make it your own and enjoy it. It does not need to feel like work, it needs to be played even if it's not on the field and just in your head!

Hope some of this is helpful to you.

Also maybe make a Blog, you don't have to be the best painter or modeler in the world but it allows you to look back and see how you have progressed and also helps when people give you a nice compliment or tips. It is really motivating to want to get your next show model out to show your internet buddies! I will happily look at any Blog you make.

Edit:-

And on drilling start with a small drill bit and turn it right untill you get some purchase and check the hole is lined up, then just slowly go left and right to just nibble your way in so you don't twist the plastic. After that go to a bigger drill bit and repeat and then do the final drill bit that you need for the hole size you need. This way you don't damage the outer details by doing it all in one big chunck.

Set obtainable goals. I try to do one guy a week. I used to try for 4, but kept missing that, so I lowered my expectations.

Sit down at your workbench a little every day. If you put down even one layer of paint on a model every day, eventually it will get done.

Intersperse fun projects with tedious ones. Fun kits can be used as rewards for slogging though boring ones.

Read the fluff, your codex, battle reports, or other material. Envision your army doing these things. 40k has a very strong lore behind it. Some units are better in the stories then they are on the table (like assault marines), and other units play very well on the tabletop (like drop pods). Find the hook that made you buy the unit in the first place and hold on to it. Picture your assault marines jumping across the battlefield, carving a bloody swath though the foes of mankind. Think of all the tactics and dirty tricks you can pull by drop podding units behind enemy lines. I only play with WYSWYG painted models; the desire to get something onto the field can be a powerful motivator to getting it painted.

I haven't read what people have replied so if I'm repeating I'm sorry and ignore me . That being said, I create a reasonable schedule. I don't always stick to it, but i try my best, and always do more than without a schedule. Create a nice atmosphere, which usually means some music or an audio book just to switch it up. Keep a clean workspace with only the model(s) you are working on visible, and as little other distractions as possible. Also i always meditate for at least 30 minutes before every session,..... well OK, maybe not the last one

I vary it by doing the thing I like only. So I may paint two weapons from a squad. And if I feel like touching up on a vehicle the next day, I'd hop to that. I guess don't limit yourself to have to finish something. That'll make it more a chore than entertainment.