Abandonment Issues

Or, How I finally gave up and finally embraced the only game I want to play currently

It may sound a bit overly dramatic, but I am essentially done with Warhammer 40000. Well, not really, but I am done with the modern 10th edition of 40k: I find it bland. It also feels to me to be solely focused on competitive play, and I just don’t do that. It was a strange and uncomfortable conclusion to find myself within. It has been hard pulling away from a game that I have played for over 25 years, having enjoyed countless hours of gaming with friends within it. The game I loved is not the game I love anymore. Time to move on. 

I am being a bit facetious here since I am transitioning from Warhammer 40k to Warhammer 30k, better known as the Horus Heresy. To a lesser extent, I am abandoning Age of Sigmar for the Old World, but, honestly I barely ever played AoS and never really cared (in spite of the fact that I have two painted armies and a third built ready for paint). 

While I intend to go into it at length in the near future, the short version is, I just like the game more. Period. End of sentence. It is the natural culmination of the 3rd through 7th edition of 40k and the setting itself offers more for me to care about. Additionally, the story has a beginning, middle and ultimate end. Less meandering about.


Quarter Three Results

In July, I completed the last few 40k models that I had started. I finished a few individual Ultramarines models. I wasn’t feeling it, so I began work on some Heresy models I had built early in the summer. I was able to get Samus completed and a ten-man Mk5 assault marine squad for Kera’s Word Bearers. That felt great. Problem was, I had a nearly infinite amount of Heresy models to work on, but none were built, having gotten stuck in the mud with 40k models in the first half of the year. While I got to building, I forced my way through  a couple dozen Tyranid models, having all been in progress since the 2nd quarter of the year. 

That gave me a finished project; I have zero unbuilt or unpainted Tyranids. The endorphin rush was short-lived. 

Good output for a month of painting

For a substantial change of pace, I decided to work on Iron Hands as an ally to my Heresy Ultramarines, instead of simply adding to my grand painted Ultramarines model total. Having a few finished already, it seemed a good place to start working my way back to caring about the hobby.

I started the month of August by building, priming and airbrush base-coating a pile of Iron Hands. I began by painting a five-man squad that I 3D printed; They can be used as a recon squad or better yet, a veteran squad armed with Nemesis Bolters so they can quick-scope the shit out of some Traitors. I tested my paint scheme out on these guys, having failed to record my process for posterity all those years back when I painted the first batch. The first try was a little too green, I settled on a look and got to work. 

Next I worked a ten-man legion tactical squad that I had built and primed a year or two ago, but just finally airbrushed Corvus Black. I know, I know, the paint is named after the Raven Guard Primarch, but, after some wash the Corvus black looks dark, but not flat. Especially since I have been mixing one-part Athonian Camoshade and three-parts Nuln Oil to get a slightly greasy green look to the models. 

Within the same Work-in-Progress bin, I found a ten-man squad of Immortals armed with Volkite Chargers. Despite being far more complicated, the models came together quite easily and I was rather satisfied with the final product.

Not too bad for a month’s results

After working at Ryan over the past few months, I was finally able to unload about 150 dark elf models to augment his Old World army. He sure as shit doesn’t need the redundant pile of basic troops, but, I would rather a friend end up with them for a damn good price, then spend the time 

selling them squad by squad to some strangers. I also added the Fallout Factions game to our hobby shame (it’s over a month later and the plastic wrap is still on it) as well as splitting a Mechanicum box with Connor to keep the bots for myself: he traded the thralls and tank for some bots of his own, I believe.

With the summer ending, I found myself ready, willing and able to work on painting some Heresy, but with the impending weather change, I was going to have to focus on assembling minis and priming them before the weather goes bad. Fuck. Of course as soon as I get myself into the groove I have to divert my attention.

Preparation for winter painting projects was to be the main focus of September. I built the half of the Mechanicum launch box that I kept, while resin spent a few nights in the ultrasonic cleaner. I got the Praevian cleaned and built, and painted him along with the Castellax because I wanted to get use of him in Zone Mortalis games with the wife. I also built and painted a five-man meltagun squad using the resin Iron Hands Mkk3 bodies. 

I spent a few evenings over the summer with Ian helping to finish the first half of the Steel Legion tank project; we managed to complete 18 tanks, including all of his super-heavies. I am sure we will write an article about the year-long marathon some time later. I also gave Ian a pile of Skaven to add to his shame, since he had so generously assaulted my Pile of Awesome with tanks and infantry to add to my fledgling Death Korps of Krieg army. Seemed only right. 

…well that just sucks…

Otherwise, the last month of the quarter was spent huffing plastic cement and super glue. Thank the gods for the non-aerosol based super-glue setter. I built kits for all of the Heresy legions I currently have projects for. I built drop pods and despoilers for Word Bearers. Abaddon and his Justaerin bodyguard, a squad of Reavers and an old resin legion contemptor joined a bunch of new plastic kits, and a half-built Mk4 breacher squad I got from Connor. A command squad to join Lucius and some Kakophoni were built to add to my Emperor’s Children. My Ultramarines were bolstered by a kitbashed Forge Lord to bring the Thallax along, as well as a Primus Medicae and a Vigilator. The Iron Hands grew to almost 5k points and as I am typing I begin work on getting some Salamanders prepped for a ZM force. 

During the third quarter of the year, I got a lot more building done than painting, and traded away more models than I bought. At least I didn’t unabashedly add to my shame while failing to paint models like so many previous articles like this…


Now What?

So, here we are. I finally feel like sitting at and getting some use out of my hobby table, but I was finding my hobby room cluttered. Stressful even. Slightly claustrophobic maybe, as I was surrounded by shit I just didn’t want to deal with anymore. 

Too many 40k projects sitting around. Games that I am no longer interested in were everywhere. So I am making shit disappear. Storage containers are bought. A bunch are filled and left at a storage space. Bye 40k. All my projects for Warhammer 40k are packed up and gone except for my Dark Angels (yeah, I have a cool 5k to paint still, mostly built and primed, and should land me around 14k painted when done) and the Krieg tanks and troops that I got from Ian. I am hoping that the rumors of a full Krieg plastic release will be able to pull me back into 40k. It has the potential to.

My hopes for the 4th quarter of the year and the beginning of 2025 is to paint a few small Heresy armies by focusing on Zone Mortalis forces. It gets a playable chunk done and focuses on infantry, and can easily act as the core of an ally detachment or the beginning of a full army. 

I have models built and primed for Iron Hands,  Emperor’s Children, Sons of Horus and I am building Salamanders now. I also found an Age of Darkness box on eBay and Kera allowed me to get it for my birthday. It will be used to make a Raven Guard ally. I just ordered heads and shoulders for the Mk6 marines and a torso for the dread to help them look the part. 

How much of this will I accomplish by the end of the year? That remains to be seen, check back here around the turn of the year to see what materializes.



Tyson

Obsessive and neurotic collector of little plastic men, novels about the same little plastic men and paints to make the little plastic men pretty. Married to Kera, who puts up with him and pretends that she doesn’t hear him speaking to the little plastic men in between making pew pew noises in the hobby room. Requires adult supervision. A menace to himself but rarely to others. More beard than man

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