Introducing the West Coast Warlords Painting League!!!

After writing about the Lords of Chaos Painting League (February update coming soon), I have gotten some requests from various people and groups about joining. I have found the league to be a good way to keep dedicated to the hobby, and enjoy some friendly competition. We are all gamers, and we all enjoy winning. So, after careful consideration, our group has decided to start the West Coast Warlords Painting League. If you are interested, feel free to join the group here!

Don't be this guy

The format for this is very simple. Post a picture of the model/s you'll be working on in the March Challenge post by Monday, 3/23 at 11:59pm PST. The model/s may be primed, but must otherwise be unpainted (unbuilt model/s are ok). Using either a piece of paper or mobile device include the following in your picture:

• Name
• Date and Time
• Model/s to be Completed

At the end of the month, all completed models will go up for a vote (democracy, yay!). The top models, as voted on by the members of the group, will receive points based on their finishing place for the month. In the result of a tie, the points are shared. Remember, this is a friendly competitive event, so no need to flip any tables. The number of points earned is determined by the number of painters for the month. So, if there were seven painters, it would look something like this:

• 1st 7 points
• 2nd 6 points
• 3rd 5 points
• 4th 4 points
• 5th 3 points
• 6th 2 points
• 7th 1 points

At the end of the month, each winner or winners will be featured on the blog. At the end of the year, the painter with the most points will win the Golden Brush (more on that later). 

Anyone and everyone is free to join! The whole point of this is to give painters some additional motivation in the war against grey plastic. Immature or bullying behavior will mean immediate disqualification. Everything in life is what you make of it. Let's make the WCW fun! If you are still interested in signing up, you can join here.

Until next time! 

Tools for the Wishy-Washy Wargamer

Hi, my name is Joe and I'm a wishy-washy wargamer. I have a bunch of boxes in my closet filled with grey plastic sprues. A graveyard where weird army ideas go to die. I will dream up an idea for a really cool hobby project, only to have a new vision only a couple weeks later. Early on, this prevented me from building any large collections of one specific force. When allies came around, this got a bit easier. But, it also became more expensive. So here I am, treading water in a sea of grey plastic. 

Our hobby is an interesting mix of creativity and impulse purchasing. Hell, Games Workshop's business model is based on our desire for shiny new toys on a weekly basis! Unless you have carls upon carls to spend on models, how do you manage this? How do you show self control in a swirling sea of pewter and plastic? Luckily, we have some help. Here are a couple resources I've used in the past that have helped me seize control of my hobby.

Independent Characters Hobby Progress Challenge

The mother of them all. The knight in shinning armor in the battle against grey plastic. Committing to this challenge is a great way to keep your focus on one specific project. Let all the internet know that you are going to paint a squad or model over thirty days. Accountability and support are so important when working on a large project. The forum members at the ICs are there to offer both, in spades. Submissions for February are due on the 15th, so make sure to get your commitment in soon!

1HourANight Facebook Group

A take on the #rudgietime/#tuttletime method. Spend one hour a night focused on the hobby. That can be modeling, sculpting, painting, etc. Post your pictures and get great feedback from an active community. Feedback can be a difficult thing to receive, but every gamer knows where you are coming from. Once you get rid of that fear, you will see that you can really produce some beautiful minis in a short amount of time. I also advocate the hour a night method as an almost meditative activity. Allowing yourself to be fully consumed by the hobby you love should leave you feeling relaxed and confident in your abilities. 

Blogs, Gaming Groups, Friends and Significant Others

If either of those options make you feel uncomfortable, then I'd suggest reaching out to your friends and family. Tell people what you are working on, and talk about it! My wife is a huge help when it comes to this. I'll tell her about one of my projects, and she'll ask me what I'm doing or how it's coming along. If your friends know you are working on a neuron army but see you painting something else, they'll ask how your death robots are coming along. Pallet cleansers A little motivation goes a long way. The blog has also been a big help here.

I had written in a previous post that I was going to do my Raven Guard on 32mm bases. Being the impatient guy I am, I immediately based them on their snug 25mm rounds. Once I finally received my 32s in the mail, I was stuck on what to do. Should I rebase the marines, or just leave them as is. Remembering my written commitment to 32mm bases really helped here. Like runes etched in stone, I was bound to upgrade. So I went from this...

To this!

And you know what? I was happy! Probably why I originally made up my mind on the larger bases. Commitments in your wargaming hobby are important. Don't overburden yourself, but make sure to set high goals. And, most importantly, be proud of your work! 

Until next time!

Lords of Chaos Painting League (January Winner)

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

Almost three years ago my wife and I moved from Fresno to the Bay Area. It was a really bittersweet moment for me. Living near San Francisco had always been a dream of mine. But, leaving my gaming buddies behind was one of the harder things I've had to do. Sure, we still keep in touch. But, we don't get to see each other or play nearly as often as we used to or I'd like. So, last year we started a Facebook group called the Lords of Chaos. Originally, it was going to be a Warhammer Fantasy league. That didn't work, so it continued as a way for us to share gaming stories and photos of our minis. Even though we were scattered across California, it was a way we could all keep in touch.

Fast forward to this year, Mark had the excellent idea to start a hobby progress competition amongst our group. We all jumped on board and started the Lords of Chaos Painting League. Rules are simple; post a picture of your unit/mini and then get it painted within the month. Then, everyone votes on their favorite model (you can't vote for your own, Joel). Winner for the month gets four points, second gets three points, third gets two points, and fourth gets one. We just finished our first month, and Scott took home the win with Lokhir Fellhart (pictured above). Here are the standings as of now.

Scott 

1st, (4pts)

Joe

2nd, (3pts)

Joel

3rd, (2pts)

Mark

4th, (1pt)

This has already been a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to the way this pans out over the rest of the year. The competitive aspect drives you to push your own skills, but the fact that it is just a group of really close friends keeps everything light. If you have gaming buddies you don't normally see, try it out! If there are two things that gamers love its painted miniatures and beating their friends. Watch out Scott, I'm coming for you!

Until next time!