Life and all it’s trials and tribulations

I am a fraid to say that this year’s resolutions are a repeat of last year’s. Of which I barely achieved any. The big plan to print and paint a 2000 pt proxy Tau army stalled. The reason? I hate batch painting and the unit I started last Summer is still on my bench. I will try a new approach, paint one figure at a time. Maybe this approach will work?

I still have this malaise and it is really hard to get motivated. I use my journal to chivvy me up and it is satisfying to tick off little tasks at the end of the day. It’s not helped by my taking blood pressure medication making me really fatigued. Apparently this will change as my body becomes acclimatised. Adding to this is the fact that I have nothing to look forwards to. Each day is a repeat of the last. I do remind myself that, unlike a lot of people at the moment, I am warm, fed and have a roof over my head. Also not helping are my biopsy results coming back positive.

Youth is wasted on the young.

BUT I did start, and finish, a few projects which had been started and then shelved years ago (in some cases). And I aim to keep on going with this. It is quite satifying taking boxes of bits and putting them together and freeing up some space.

I have been a little more diciplined regarding painting what I print before I start a new project. But there are several boxes of half started projects and I plan to tackle them this year.

My PC is under utilised, mostly being used as a home cinema setup and for gaming. Despite me saying, “No gaming here!”. The biggest time sink at the moment is Star Wars Outlaws.

One big project I would like to attempt is to get an overview of my Lead Mountain. Just so I know exactly what I have. I think I will start with my Orks, figure out what I need and sell any surplus.

Maybe.

I can’t honestly say that 2023 was amazing. Firstly dealing with the side effects of medication and the my Wife’s life changing announcement.

2024 looks like more of the same, a hostile uncommunicative environment.

The last half of 2023 wasn’t very productive. Any little pleasures that I used to have were stripped away. I barely picked up a paintbrush.

What I did manage to do was to get a new laser tube and have started cutting and designing again.

There are four big projects that I would like to bring to completion if only to get boxes of odds and sods out of the way.

Bloodbowl – everything is printed. It just needs assembly, painting and most importantly storage.

Heroquest – this need the characters and furniture painting. This one is almost there.

Then I have two big modular terrain projects.

The ruined city, all made apart from a few pieces which need laser cut tiles. And obviously painting.

Modular trenches. This has been made with pink insulation foam. It is about three quarters done. I have been laser cutting walkways and wall retainers. There are still some more tiles to make but before I do I need storage. A trip to Ikea beckons.

There has, understandably, been no product of the year for me.

I’ll sign off and wish all three of you a Happier, Healthier and more Productive 2024.