B
een back to making miniatures again. Writing the wargame has me excited about the prospect of actually being able to use my tiny creations, and I'm a bit re-energized to get my hands dirty. I spent several hours over the last couple days making a little minefield terrain that my religious fanatic nun-warriors can run across and get blown to bits on. In general, I find the construction part fun and engaging, and the painting part a bit intimidating. When something is spray-painted black, and steps over into being a unified object instead of a mish-mash of component parts, there's a delightful rush -- an instantaneous transfer over into something different and exciting. The act of painting, however, is long and involved, with many coats of paint, and the finish line starts to feel far away again. There are a lot of mini-stages in painting where you're sure you've fucked up, and it's never going to look good.
But I persevered, and am extremely happy with the result. A last-minute inclusion of a miniature tree to the scene really tied it all together, and I've been spending a lot of time just looking at this little creation that I made. I do the same thing with drawings that I feel turned out well, just looking and appreciating. The problem is -- one set piece does not a complete game table make. I'm gonna have to get revved up over and over again for a while before I can really craft the battlefields that I'd like to, but I think I'll get there eventually. This piece was a big confidence-builder, and I finally have a good, dedicated space to work on them in. Unfortunately (well, really it's very fortunate) the weather is starting to turn nice, and a million projects around the house will be calling for my attention. Winter's a really good time for mini-building. I'll have to scratch and claw to get a couple hours in, especially once the Baby arrives, but such is life. Man, do I ever have a lot of hobbies...