What's on the table - June 2016 UPDATE

Updates to the original list:

• Privateer Press Hordes Titan Gladiator and Cannoneer - minimal progress, working on skin tones
• Privateer Press Hordes Satyr Shadowhorn - minimal progress, base coat of skin
• Oathsworn Miniatures Burrows and Badgers - Mouse Knight, Ferret Rogue - no progress Fox Brigand - minimal progress, base coat of fur and jerkin
• Renedra picket fencing - completed
• Cromwell 1/76th Pz IV H - no progress
• Airfix 1/76th Cromwell Mk IV - significant progress, assembled and base coat applied
• Airfix 1/76th Pak 40 - completed, pic with SHQ SS PAK crewmen below
• Airfix 1/76th Opel Blitz - good progress, assembled and primed

Additional items I worked on:

• Revell 1/144th Hawker Hurricane - good progress, assembled
• Revell 1/144th Bf-109E - good progress, assembled
• Revell 1/76th Sherman Firefly - significant progress, assembled and base coat applied

All in all June was a mixed bag of a month on the hobby front. On the personal front it was a month I'm pleased to see the back of. Early in the month we lost a much loved family member. And in the most extreme case of "cutting off your nose to spite your face" in history, the UK voted to leave the EU with a period of uncertainty now guaranteed. It certainly put my hobby angst into perspective. 

Money, Space and Time

After many years of partaking in and thinking about the hobby, for me it's now more obvious than ever that there are three main factors that govern all - money, time and space. Let me ramble about this for awhile.

Money. Wargaming is a great hobby in that there's something for all pockets. As with all things quality does cost but there really is something for all. I'm in a fortunate situation where I have a reasonable amount of disposable income. 

Space. A hobby that involves collecting (as wargaming does) will require space to store the collection. Wargaming is very flexible in this regard as there are so many scales to choose from and also you can choose to game at skirmish right through to grand battle. Because of my eclectic and diverse interests I'm reaching the point where I have to do something about the storage situation.

Time. The key factor for any activity. Additionally, how much time you spend on an activity dictates how proficient you become and the wargaming hobby is no exception to this. The experience and proficiency you gain often then saves you time. I spend 11 hours or so out of the house each day so my hobby time is restricted. 

Although from a financial point of view I have few restrictions the other two factors do restrict my purchases. I don't have endless hours to spend assembling and painting and I don't have the space to store everything that I'd like to collect.  

As I look to add to my collection I look at items that are of a decent quality as I can't be wasting my most precious resource (time) on something that doesn't grab me. Gaming forms a small proportion of my hobby, so I have to really enjoy the kit I'm building or the figure I'm painting. Just being able to put something on the table isn't what it's all about for me. I prefer figures to have more realistic proportions which means that many ranges just don't appeal to me. 

Having said all the above I still try to get a value for money out of my purchases.  For quite some time now I probably spend as much researching as I do hobbying to try to ensure that what I buy is right for me and enhances my collection. And then I need to find a place to store the new item... 

What's on the table - June 2016

• Privateer Press Hordes Titan Gladiator and Cannoneer (bought 2014)
• Privateer Press Hordes Satyr Shadowhorn (bought 2015)
• Oathsworn Miniatures Burrows and Badgers - Mouse Knight, Ferret Rogue and Fox Brigand (bought 2016)
• Renedra picket fencing (bought 2014)
• Cromwell 1/76th Pz IV H (bought 2014)
• Airfix 1/76th Cromwell Mk IV (bought 2014)
• Airfix 1/76th Pak 40 and Opel Blitz (bought 2015

This is what's currently sitting there in various degrees of completion at the moment. How much gets done depends on all those usual factors like work and normal life. Springwatch has started and then the Euros football starts next week so that;s already cut my hobby time down

I find it good to have some targets to help focus and I've being using a spreadsheet to track my collection for a number of years. Any new item gets logged and I track it through from purchase to completion. I'm currently working on completing all my 2014 buys while balancing it out with some newer bits. Once I get the 2014 bits done, the plan is to finish something within 18 months of buying it. I have got some bits pre 2014, but with those it's more a case of not wanting to part with them than really being motivated enough to get on with them!