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Sorry if this is the wrong place to post, but as the title suggest, should I really be in this hobby?

I don't really enjoy the painting side of the hobby, I believe it to be to much of a chore and I don't think i'm particuarly good at it anyway. I really like the fluff and background of the minis, the games and battles are awesome, but without the fully painted armies they can get a bit bland. Price is also an issue and at the moment my family is a top priority. The main problem is that when I get a feeling saying I need to quit because of finances and family, GW always seem to pull out a trick or two which pulls me back to the game and minis, (dark vengence) for example.

This mainly aimed at GW products as others are very hard to get games in. People don't seem to like any other system around my local area, which is a real downer as the other games are really good.

So I put it to you dakkas, to help me decide if I should quit this hobby and start something new or should I stick at it and see what happens in the near future.

If you don't like painting so much, get yourself some Quick Shade and just basecoat 3 colors and dip. Your models will look acceptable for the table and you can probably knock them out in an afternoon.

The spending thing is a different issue. Don't spend more than you can afford.

At the end it's a personal decision.

It seems to me that if you have more time than money you might want to reinvigorate your painting. I'm always slow to start and put off painting but once you get going it comes along quite nicely. You almost certainly have plenty of unpainted models like the rest of us!

The fun for me comes from seeing two painted armies fighting out an epic battle on a nice looking table.

That requires both players to paint their armies. The level of skill does not matter for me. Slapping on three basic colours, maybe some details and a wash, isn't that hard to do, and does not take forever. BUT it will look decent on the table and adds so much to the overall atmosphere.

I'm not the kind of guy who refuses to play against unpainted armies. At least if the guy is willing to paint them at some point.
I simply do not enjoy grey hordes of plastic on the table.
And when I can pick my games I choose the guy with the painted army.

I you aren't willing to paint them EVER, then maybe it's not the hobby for you.
Why? Because if you only enjoy the gaming aspect, look somewhere else. There are plenty of games which are simply better then Warhammer for less money.

If you can paint within the lines and apply the new GW shades, you can produce amazingly easy results.

The advice about more time than money is a good time to get to painting.

Completely agree with Brother Gyoken & NKelsch, with some of the dips/shading around these days you can get some minis painted to a tabletop standard at almost no time at all!

Otherwise, if you like the background, have you considered one of the FFG 40k RPG's? I haven't played them myself, but most people I have heard talk about them say they are a lot of fun. Would solve the whole having a lot of free time issue as well!

Slow and steady.

With practice, your painting will get better. Set some reasonable goals for progress and try to make them. Even if your top priority is family, you still need some "you" time. Having a hobby is perfect for that. Some nights, after The Boy is in bed, I paint while The Wife watches a chick flick. Other nights we watch something together. I still try to get 4 minis a week painted (and mostly keep to that)

As for the expense, don't just go to the local store and buy a whole army. If you pick up 2-4 boxes of stuff a year, you can fit that into almost any budget. Plus you drop hints for birthdays/holidays/other gift occasions. If you are a slow painter, you should be able to keep up with that as well. Once you have the core of your army, you are just getting new options, toys, and the ability to play larger games. These things can wait.

You could always look into bartering with someone you know to paint them for you.

Maybe your great at building terrain, or teaching new players, make deals and stuff like that.

I would say if your not having more fun than stress, find something else. If your struggling with just one aspect I would tell you to adapt and overcome.

Where are you based?

I would have said try other games but it sucks if no one will even try something else.

I've been on the fringes of 40k for years now. I haven't played since 4th ed. I think. I keep up with fluff but that's about it. I can't afford to play but I like to keep up with what's going on. It's really fine with me. I've found new games and got others to play. I like more detailed skirmish games now anyway. A lot less figs to buy and if I wanted, the money saved could be used to pay for them to be painted.

Painting can be taken care of pretty easily depending on the army you have. For instance if you like space marines get the correct color spray paint and some dip / washes and you have a fully painted army really quickly.

If you really don't have the money because your family needs it then I would say you need to put the hobby on hold until you get to a better financial place.

I didn't really care much about painting well until one of my friends got into the hobby who did, and then it became a competitive thing where I started to care more about it and went from slapdash to actually spending hours on single models. You might try getting in on a painting night at a LGS if you want to step up your painting game.

If your interest lies in wargaming but not minatures, why not try board games? There's a TON out there.

You started off by saying this hobby and meaning GW only stuff.

Even though you claim that there is no interest in other games I fail to see it.

Drop the GW games (Do youself the favour) and spread your wings into different games. You WILL find players to game with. It depends on how much work you want to do to play the game.

As there are people who love painting and modeling but dont like playing the games.

There are just as many who love playing the games but dont enjoy painting minatures.

If you like the background and the game but NOT modelling and painting minatures , why not simply play a game that doesnt rely on tons of nice looking minatures to carry the game play?

GW plc has a load of Specialist Games FREE to download rules , either 6mm massed battle games or 28mm skirmish games.

(Or try smaller games of 40k , 40k in 40 minuites , Kill team etc.)

And then there are the 100+ other current wargames /board games to try that are not made by GW plc...

I find that the painting side is boring, but I love the modeling side, I recently bought a massive bag of bits, and needless to say I find assembling models fun now, and not a chore.

You can always buy a commissioned army. It's expensive, but if you're really keen to play 40k, that might be worth the effort.

Also, you can go electronic and play DOW, DOW2, and SM. Otherwise there's board games, and a whole lot of alternatives that both involve GW and those that don't.

I'd get a can of coloured spray paint like the Army Painter sprays in the most prevelant colour in your army. Spray it that. Pick out the other colours that are on there. Slap on some Army Painter quick shade or a wash from GW or Vallejo. Glue some flock on the base and then matte seal and you're done.

I bet you could find a relatively local group of gamers for other games. Considering how small the UK really is and how well developed its trains and transit systems are, I know you could pull it off.

 frozenwastes wrote:
Considering how small the UK really is and how well developed its trains and transit systems are, I know you could pull it off.

Yes it's small, not so sure about the second bit.

Honestly, I think the paint or not issue is really a sidebar. I'm an "only-play-painted" kind of guy, but even I realize that if you like the fluff and the game itself, there are plenty of folks for whom that is enough. You like the game enough to admit that GW pulls you back in frequently so it's clear that you like participating in the GW hobby. Thus you can not-paint, learn a fast painting method, or hire someone else to paint, but that's not really the most important thing.

The important thing is the financial matter. That's something that we can't answer for you. You have to sit down and see how much you are spending on GW and how tight your family's finances actually are. If spending $ on GW is becoming a hardship on your family then it's time to get out or cut back.

I suspect that if you have some modicum of self-control there is some way that you can continue on in the hobby in a more moderate and restrained capacity. If you have several armies in the works, it's probably time to focus in on one.

The last issue, which you alluded to, but did not state is the question of "other hobbies". Assuming you only have finances for one hobby, is there another hobby that you want to get into?

What is this painting takes no time at all crap? Maybe if you're experienced at and really love doing it. Painting 10 infantry models to a TT standard would take me at least 5 hours to do.

If you don't like painting and non painters are ostracized in your area you can either just play with friends, suck it up and paint (Which you may or may not hate), or sell your stuff off.

 Howard A Treesong wrote:

 frozenwastes wrote:
Considering how small the UK really is and how well developed its trains and transit systems are,

Yes it's small, not so sure about the second bit.

Add "compared to the United States (and to a lesser degree Canada)" to my statement then.


.

Step 1: Grey Primer
-wait for primer to dry-
Step 2: Dip you brush in white paint
Step 3: Wipe of vast majority of the paint
Step 4: Brush you models with the dried white brush feriously (called dry brushing)
Step 5: take a GW shade of your armies color and quickly do a once over of the whole model

Let it dry and poof you have an painted army it your army's color that has fake shading.

As said before, the painting seems boring and rubbish at first, but you'll get better. You just have to get them primed, pick up a brush and you're on a roll! I've jumped from circular eyes from splodging on paint and failing basecoating to being able to produce models to a standard that I am satisfied with and looks cool.

One need not play 40K in order to play 40K.

I know what you mean. I love the models and background, but can't stand the rules.

I mainly play the RPGs now and wish I could find people with which to play the specialist games.

The first step in recovery is admitting we have a problem

Gimli, maybe you could get your family involved in your hobby a bit...kids are perfect for drafting into the paint brigade...briefly...

I go through phases of hobby burn-out but in those times I'll rediscover my love for video games or writing.

You don't have to paint your models. It's courteous in certain circles/circumstances to have a painted army but in the end, none of that matters one jot to you.

I've loved the 40K universe since I was 12 years old and in that time I've learned to focus on what I love to do withing that framework - which is painting - the gaming and modelling is a little bonus on top.

 BlueDagger wrote:
Step 1: Grey Primer
-wait for primer to dry-
Step 2: Dip you brush in white paint
Step 3: Wipe of vast majority of the paint
Step 4: Brush you models with the dried white brush feriously (called dry brushing)
Step 5: take a GW shade of your armies color and quickly do a once over of the whole model

Let it dry and poof you have an painted army it your army's color that has fake shading.

That's called grayscale washing and its a great and easy way to get great looking results. Here's a link to a tutorial pdf showing the technique in action. The trick is letting the wash dry fully before applying the next coat..

Grayscale Washing Tutorial PDF dowlnoad