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.

Being absolutely enamored with 40k (GW's atrocious rules and business model aside) I find it really difficult to focus my purchases, especially whenever I read fluff involving an army that isn't the one I'm trying to work on. Tau being the main distraction right now as For The Emperor made me remember how much I really enjoyed reading their fluff in the codex. So how does everyone else keep focused on building one army at a time, or do you?

A limited hobby budget helps a lot here.

I keep myself restricted to a primary (Ultramarines) and secondary (Eldar) army. That way if I get tired of painting blue, I can swap around. I also try to keep my vow of painting more then I buy, so the pile of shame is shrinking, rather then growing.

I will often hear the call of other armies, and want to pick them up and get started with them. But honestly, it would be a massive investment of both time and money to start something new at this point, I can let the urges pass without acting on them. There is a lot of cool stuff out there, you can’t do it all.

I don't bother. I save up for individual models I think are cool.

Staying focussed is a good idea. Nevelon said it. I'd stay with one or two armies and follow their updates like formations, new warscrolls (rules), and new models/units (mostly repacked these days).

I buy blocks of 2-4K points and I (almost) never buy individual models.

I enjoy thinking about what I would do with a few box sets, the conversions I would do, etc. Actually doing the conversions and painting is very time consuming (and expensive), so in the way I kind of prefer 'hobby daydreaming' than actually starting a new project!

So yea, feel free to think about other stuff, but when you do get hobby time try to use that time to work with what you already have. You'll get best value for money if you are working with things you have already got!

For me it's coming up with my own fluff. 40k provides a nice framework, but none of the armies tempt me because they won't be "mine". I could never play something like Ultramarines.

I have plans for allies down the road. Starting with CSM, then adding in Deamon allies and eventually traitor IG. All based on a "Mad Max" mechanised theme with lots of vehicles. They raid outposts on wasteland world dotted with mining colonies. Deamons are attracted to the carnage and reckless sorcery use and 'come along for the ride'. IG either join the warband after being defeated in battle or go rogue, forming secret pacts to steal vehicles and head out into the wastes to become bandits - eventually throwing their lot in with the chaos.

So I'm not worried about getting bored of the same thing since I want to play lists with a lot of variety. If I start getting bored, I think of how I can add to my story and make notes, eventually to be written up properly.

Also, I know starting a whole new project will ultimately bring me less satisfaction than adding to what I already have. If things get really desperate - time to watch Mad Max again.

 Steinwand wrote:
Being absolutely enamored with 40k (GW's atrocious rules and business model aside) I find it really difficult to focus my purchases, especially whenever I read fluff involving an army that isn't the one I'm trying to work on. Tau being the main distraction right now as For The Emperor made me remember how much I really enjoyed reading their fluff in the codex. So how does everyone else keep focused on building one army at a time, or do you?

I fail utterly at this. i own all but three of the factions in 40K. I play different armies weekly. I am just so in love with the models that it's a ton of fun for me to experiment. it's like a massive Chem lab to play in or lego blocks to hang out with. I like "figuring it out".

So yeah. No damn focus whatsoever when it comes to playing.

 Furyou Miko wrote:
I don't bother. I save up for individual models I think are cool.

Agreed but with lots of different systems...........

Jancoran wrote:

I fail utterly at this. i own all but three of the factions in 40K. I play different armies weekly. I am just so in love with the models that it's a ton of fun for me to experiment. it's like a massive Chem lab to play in or lego blocks to hang out with. I like "figuring it out".

So yeah. No damn focus whatsoever when it comes to playing.

Glad I'm not the only one, although I'm not quite that bad..... yet.

Nerazim wrote: For me it's coming up with my own fluff. 40k provides a nice framework, but none of the armies tempt me because they won't be "mine". I could never play something like Ultramarines.

I have plans for allies down the road. Starting with CSM, then adding in Deamon allies and eventually traitor IG. All based on a "Mad Max" mechanised theme with lots of vehicles. They raid outposts on wasteland world dotted with mining colonies. Deamons are attracted to the carnage and reckless sorcery use and 'come along for the ride'. IG either join the warband after being defeated in battle or go rogue, forming secret pacts to steal vehicles and head out into the wastes to become bandits - eventually throwing their lot in with the chaos.

So I'm not worried about getting bored of the same thing since I want to play lists with a lot of variety. If I start getting bored, I think of how I can add to my story and make notes, eventually to be written up properly.

Also, I know starting a whole new project will ultimately bring me less satisfaction than adding to what I already have. If things get really desperate - time to watch Mad Max again.

I'm actually doing something very similar, except I'm doing AdMech instead of Daemons to go for a Dark Mechanicum setup. I was actually planning to paint my Guardsmen to look like Warboys because I couldn't think of a better way to make them look "Chaos-y."

It's mostly what play style I want to use the most. For instance, if I want to be competitive, I buy the very best that Tyranids have to offer. By the time I build, paint and use a couple of those, I'm off to another thing. I don't actually finish building the list competitive and still only have the three Flyrants and a single Mawloc, but I make efforts when the mood hits. Same goes for Necrons. I went on a spree for Necrons until the fluff bug bit again and I went back to my Astral Claws. And then the 30k bug bit and I worked on Ultramarines. Right now I'm actually on hiatus while I work on Infinity and Magic. No structure required on what you want to do, as long as you don't bankrupt yourself every time you switch tracks.

For me, you need at least one army fully painted. Then set it up somewhere you can see it and let that motivate you for the rest.

Despite everything, there's just an unspoken majesty of a whole painted army sitting there, and it shows you the goal you're after.

Never buy more than you'll paint and a strict Fun budget.

Make a budget that you must adhere to. I've been working off one since 6th and it has curbed the need for new armies.

If you only have so much money for all of your hobbies every month, you start to think twice about starting up a new force.

 Steinwand wrote:

Jancoran wrote:

I fail utterly at this. i own all but three of the factions in 40K. I play different armies weekly. I am just so in love with the models that it's a ton of fun for me to experiment. it's like a massive Chem lab to play in or lego blocks to hang out with. I like "figuring it out".

So yeah. No damn focus whatsoever when it comes to playing.

Glad I'm not the only one, although I'm not quite that bad..... yet.

Nerazim wrote: For me it's coming up with my own fluff. 40k provides a nice framework, but none of the armies tempt me because they won't be "mine". I could never play something like Ultramarines.

I have plans for allies down the road. Starting with CSM, then adding in Deamon allies and eventually traitor IG. All based on a "Mad Max" mechanised theme with lots of vehicles. They raid outposts on wasteland world dotted with mining colonies. Deamons are attracted to the carnage and reckless sorcery use and 'come along for the ride'. IG either join the warband after being defeated in battle or go rogue, forming secret pacts to steal vehicles and head out into the wastes to become bandits - eventually throwing their lot in with the chaos.

So I'm not worried about getting bored of the same thing since I want to play lists with a lot of variety. If I start getting bored, I think of how I can add to my story and make notes, eventually to be written up properly.

Also, I know starting a whole new project will ultimately bring me less satisfaction than adding to what I already have. If things get really desperate - time to watch Mad Max again.

I'm actually doing something very similar, except I'm doing AdMech instead of Daemons to go for a Dark Mechanicum setup. I was actually planning to paint my Guardsmen to look like Warboys because I couldn't think of a better way to make them look "Chaos-y."

Invision a DEEP, WIDE shelf filled with models. Now envision 10 of them...
Much that belongs here is not here because, well.. its all over my garage... Just the Tau... Wait... You don't HAVE to imagine!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9llxCAjHJ4

The other thing is, if you are able to afford the rules, you can just hobby butterfly and still get to use all your models every game thanks to unbound!

Jancoran wrote:
Invision a DEEP, WIDE shelf filled with models. Now envision 10 of them...
Much that belongs here is not here because, well.. its all over my garage... Just the Tau... Wait... You don't HAVE to imagine!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9llxCAjHJ4

And I thought aiming for 1500 points of stuff for each of my 3 armies was going to be a lot. The needs of a small-town meta appear to have nothing on what I can only assume to be a fairly healthy tabletop gaming scene.

Escalation Leagues help

Everytime I think of getting into a new army I think "Ok so with £200 I can get an 1850 army or I could add that £200 to my Orks and get a squiggoth/Stompa/more battlewagons/Flyer Formation etc."

It also really helps that the only armies I'd want to start other than my Orks are D-99/normal Elysians and Eldar Corsairs which are both Forgeworld which my local GW manager bans outside of Apocalypse LOW units.

self control and setting goals. Work on 1-2 armies at a time (I'm totally following that one ), go in chunks, and plan ahead. money is also a factor that is great at limiting the purchase of "off shoots"

 Nevelon wrote:
A limited hobby budget helps a lot here.

This has been huge for me. I set myself a limit on how much I can spend on non essentials. Its my fun money budget. Its for 40k, movies, video games, everything I don't need. I also have recently implemented a rule that I cannot buy any 40k if I have a project un-built. So even thought right now I have budget, until my baneblade, heldrake conversion, and a few other models are completed, I cant purchase any new models.

 Steinwand wrote:
Being absolutely enamored with 40k (GW's atrocious rules and business model aside) I find it really difficult to focus my purchases, especially whenever I read fluff involving an army that isn't the one I'm trying to work on. Tau being the main distraction right now as For The Emperor made me remember how much I really enjoyed reading their fluff in the codex. So how does everyone else keep focused on building one army at a time, or do you?

Ignore the stuff and play what you like