How To Stay Motivated Until You Get A Codex

By Juan Lopez | January 18th, 2018 | Categories: Editorials, Hobby Rants, Warhammer 40k

Are you finding it hard to stay motivated in 40k while you wait on your codex? Come take a look at some different ways to keep your motivation going strong!

I know what it’s like to lose all motivation when it comes to your army, not picking up a model or brush in weeks, and finding that motivation again once a codex drops. But, how do you stay motivated while you wait on your codex? Let’s talk about some different things you can do while you wait.

Dope Forge World Minis

That’s right, buy a dope Forge World mini that you’ve been eyeballing for a while, just haven’t pulled the trigger on. Having an awesome looking mini to paint is going to be motivation in itself to finish and be able to put on the table as soon as your codex drops.

Paint Detachment Allies

Looking for detachment allies to paint is another great way to keep your motivation to paint going. It’s also possibly going to provide you with minis you normally wouldn’t paint and help grow your overall skill level. Plus, when your codex does finally drop, it might just end up working out to be a pretty killer list. So why not expand your army just a touch, try out your painting skills on minis you normally wouldn’t paint, and open your options for future lists?

Local 6 Week Leagues

A local six to eight week league is a great way to try out new lists, and become more familiar with the rules you do currently have for your army before your codex drops and you’re learning all the new/updated rules. Afterall, Warhammer isn’t just about building and painting miniatures, it’s also playing pew pew with the minis you’ve been working so hard to finish. Being a part of a six-week league is going to provide a perfect excuse for you to get out of the house, hit the FLGS, and meet new people.

Repaint Old Minis/Pimp Out Your Current Minis

We all have those minis that we painted a while ago, you know before we actually knew how to thin paints. Waiting for a codex is a perfect time to grab those buster minis and put a new paint job on them to bring them back to life. Or, if you’re one of the lucky few that has nothing but greatly painted minis, why not take them up to the next level and perfect your edge highlighting, taking them to above tabletop standard. Bring that flesh to life and give it a more realistic look, or throw in some OSL and bring the mini to life!

New Painting Techniques

Speaking of flesh and OSL, one great way to stay motivated is learning new painting techniques. There’s a ton of tutorial videos out there to help teach you new ways to paint you may not have considered before, Next Level Painting alone can keep you entertained for a while. OSL, pigment, flesh, flames, and chipping are all great places to start learning if you haven’t already.

Or maybe you’re ready to take it up a notch and pick up and airbrush. Airbrushing can be a lot of fun, make transitions a lot smoother, but no matter what there’s always something to learn when it comes to technique. If you’re new to airbrushing practice writing your name in cursive to practice control and aiming the paint until you’re finally comfortable enough to put paint on a mini. Airbrushing is a lot of fun once you get the hang of it, and you’ll be surprised at how much better your miniatures will look when you learn how to pull off the perfect transition.

This is just a couple examples of how to keep your motivation going while you wait for your codex to drop. What do you do to stay motivated? We’d love to hear your ideas.