Hi Everyone,
As many of you know it is the week of Thanksgiving here in the USA and I thought it would be a good time to take a minute and discuss some hobby-related things I am thankful for. Through the course of the year it’s easy to get caught up in the rush of life and the stream of (semi-constant) releases and lose sight of the big picture. It’s also easy to get mired in the things that you dislike and frustrate you about the hobby, and while being thankful doesn’t mean that you lose sight of those things, you do try to keep them in perspective. I would encourage everyone to reflect on the things they are thankful for this week regardless of whether you are in the US or not.
1. The Community
One of the things I am very grateful for is the community I have through this hobby, both locally and in the broader sense. Our local group has been going through some changes, during the pandemic some toxic things emerged about a local store so a group of people banded together to create their own gaming club. Now this was largely due to the influence of single person, but by teaming up we’ve created a unique group that supports people of almost every gaming system. While the group isn’t perfect it provides a great opportunity for narrative, competitive or even just social events.
2. The Gladiator Reaper
Okay so I am not grateful for the mini per se, I have one and just painted it up, but I think it’s emblematic of the progress GW has made as a company. The first 40k model I ever built was a metal 4th ed Hive Tyrant. As I was new the hobby I thought any old superglue would work and didn’t look for one that specifically worked with metal. Thus I spent many frustrating hours slowly gluing it to my hands and not to itself (I never got around to gluing the toes on because I was so traumatized). Flash forward to this summer when I was in a rush to build my new tank. The kit is very well designed and assembled more smoothly then any other vehicle I have built. I was even able to develop a way to swap out the main weapons without magnets. While I don’t appreciate some of their practices GW has made incredible strides in the design and assembly of their kits
3. The opportunity to Grow
One of the great things about tabletop games is that they provide you with multiple ways to watch yourself grow. I have an old marine librarian that was one of the first marine models I painted, it’s very wonky, the paint was chunky, he has two left hands as I wanted to give him a bolt pistol but only had left-handed options. But he reminds me of how much I have grown as a painter over the course of almost 15 years in the hobby. While getting better as a painter can be annoying (you end up with a lot of models that you need to repaint as you grow ever more dissatisfied with them) keeping some old minis around can let you see how you’ve grown. Many times you don’t know how far you’ve gone until you stop, turn back, and see where you started. In the same vein the ability to track one’s competitive performance also works in a similar manner. Sometimes I will stumble on an old army list, or tournament packet and reflect on the ways I have improved or how these events have helped me grow as a player or even in my own personal confidence.
I could go on a bit longer about the things I am thankful for (especially the new narrative rules for 40k and AoS) but I don’t want to bore anyone. Rather I would encourage you again to take a moment and reflect on the things you are thankful for, both 40k and non-4ok related. there is a lot out there when you starting thinking about it.
And remember, Frontline Gaming sells gaming products at a discount, every day in their webcart!
