If you’ve been in the hobby for any time, you probably have some piles of shame, but we have something better to call them.
With COVID, we’ve all had a little more time to spend on hobbying, but we’d be lying if we said we still didn’t have those minis hanging in some dark corner, unloved and sad. We’ve promised those minis we’d paint and build them, but for some of us it still just hasn’t happened.
Think about the sad life those models must-have. They see their brethren get painted in nice new coats of color while they sit all gray. The existential dread sinks in deeper and deeper on them every day. You are their savior!
Sometimes changing how you think about a situation is all you need to get motivated. When you change the idea of your shame pile to a future success story, you’re already one step closer to actually working on it (you still do have to pick up the brush though…)
Rebranding Your Piles of Shame to Piles of Future Success
While changing your mindset is all and good, sometimes you just need that little bit of motivation! So let’s take a look at some easy ways to get you moving in the hobby again. These won’t all be about just painting either. Because sometimes picking up the brushes seems a little too much, so we’ll give you some other ideas as well.
Even though we said it won’t all be about painting, the best one to start with is Squidmar’s list of inspiring painters!
Squidmar’s Favorite Painters Will Leave You Inspired!
Inspiration can be hard to come by at times when hobbying (as we’ve been talking about so duh…). These are Squidmar’s favorite painters who inspire him to paint every day, hopefully, they do the same for you!
Making Textured Miniature Bases With Gamers Grass!
Maybe you don’t feel like painting quite yet, but why not start with a smaller project and make some amazing bases for your army! This tutorial uses the bits from Gamers Grass, but you can use your favorite basing materials to follow along with this tutorial.
Build Your Own Light Halo: How To Tutorial
Need more light? Check out this step-by-step tutorial on how to build a light halo for your hobby desk so you can officially say goodbye to shadows! Because maybe the shadows have been the real reason you haven’t been painting… maybe. But sometimes getting stuff set up really gets those hobby juices flowing.
Transfer Your Citadel Paints to Dropper Bottles: Decant
Learn how to transfer your Citadel Paints to Dropper Bottles and keep them going strong. If you don’t have the strength yet for a brush, sometimes doing something like this is a good first step. And if you’re not painting anyway, might as well keep the paints going strong.
Weapon Glow Tutorial for Airbrush Beginners!
If you’ve recently acquired an airbrush and need something cool to do with it, this tutorial is really easy and a great intro to get into using the airbrush for something a little different. Especially if you have a few minis laying around you can test on.
Upgrade Your Hobby: Magnetize Your Movement Trays!
If you don’t feel like working on the minis quite yet this tutorial is a great way to keep your precious minis safe for really cheap!
Magnetize Your Adeptus Titanicus Command Terminals
If you play Adeptus Titanicus, this is a great little hobby project that won’t take long and will make your games that much more fun!
Basing with 3D Printing is Faster: eBay Miniature Rescues
In a strange way, this adds to your pile of future success but also helps motivate you to finish it. In this tutorial, eBay Miniature Rescue shows how making parts for random minis you have sitting around can turn them awesome and get you inspired again!
Hopefully, these get you back to hobbying and helped you change your mindset on your pile is looking a little more positive!
What helps get you motivated? Has your pile grown or shrunk over the past year?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, and make sure you enter the latest monthly giveaway for FREE today! You can also support us on Patreon and get ad-free access to the site, plus a ton of minis that helps support some of the best creators out there!
About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
