It is I, Dr.D here on the eve of Adepticon to do my last report before the big 4 days of gaming. I have been working on my projects as much as possible given my increasingly hectic life schedule to get everything done for the big event, and now it is time to talk about it.

It comes with the good, bad, and the realistic.

As always, I will post my Pile of Potential list to show off the progress, but you might notice that it has not changed much in a good direction. The models that I have completed for the sake of the event are not done in my eyes so I will not reward myself for a half-finished paintjob with the dopamine-fueled green box. The list has also managed to get bigger since I finally got the last batch of Shatterpoint models.

AMAZING PROGRESS SEEN HERE

As always, a quick reminder that if you are reading this you should read the first and second posts about this whole process for Adepticon since it gives more context, but I think it should be fine to just start here if you are just not in the mood to read all of that. Let’s just preface this by saying that I do a lot of painting. Like I paint a LOT. Whenever I find myself in situations where I am struggling I know that it is not a fault of my character or my work ethic. When I begin to feel like this I know that it is a fault of my boundaries and knowing how big my plate really is. I knew that this issue might come up at the start, but my initial progress felt promising. I know that I did my best, and I learned quiet a bit of where the limits are in regards to how much I can get done.

As a hobbyist it is vital to learn where this exhaustion boundary is so that you do not suffer the dreaded burnout.

Honestly, if I have any advice for hobbyists out there it is this. If you are actively working on stuff as much as you can and you are proud of what you get out of it, then that is all you can ask from yourself. If you find something frustrating about the hobbying process I think it is for sure worth stopping to think about how to improve it for the future. Mindfulness of the things that bother you is the best way to start targeting ways to improve your life in all kinds of ways.

Enough philosophizing though!

Anyway, the categories will go as follows.

• Infinity (Finished)
• Marvel Crisis Protocol
• The Worthy
• Bushido (Finished)
• Helping Jesse (Shatterpoint)

Infinity Plans

Let’s start with the good news. I have managed to get paint on everything that is going to Adepticon for the Infinity events. Seeing as how I am the host of Arachne: An Infinity Podcast, I figured it would be smart to make sure that was under control before anything else in this home stretch. Only snag is I needed a few more bases since I ran out of them unexpectedly. Currently, they are ordered and I am just waiting on them in the mail. Thankfully, all I need to do to finish those up is prime them and slap some simple paint jobs on them before gluing the model into place. My favorite part of pre-molded bases is that you can get a TON of great looks out of them with some simple drybrushing.

When it comes to what I call my hobo-level paint jobs for the event I have to admit that some of them do not look very cash money, but I got the job done. At this point I am just triaging my time to get everything at least baseline done before the event.

The huge advantage of a pre-molded base is that after I am finished painting the models I can go back in and add all of the really fun additions like saw grass, snow, and water to make it look like so many different things. Someone else could take the same pre-molded base and create something TOTALLY different. I think it is a really cool creative outlet that doesn’t require a ton of effort. I do love basing!

The only issue with these pre-molded bases is that they do not have the line of sight (LoS) nubs along the edges. I am someone who never wants anyone to doubt my intentions so I knew I needed to remedy this. The best part of being me is I can spend away my personal insecurities! I adore the idea of the translucent LoF rings from Warsenal so when I started this project I made sure I had a backstock of them so I could just keep growing the army.

Overall, I am very happy with the models that are done and I think the army can really stand out with the super narrative icy swamp bases.

The added benefit of the translucent rings is that they have holes for a magnet on the bottom. The hole works perfectly with the magnets Warsenal sell so it makes something like a magnetic sheet just incredibly useful. It really helps with clean up and storage for hiding the things you love from the people who are disappointed in you. The bases will be magnetized, slapped on the tray, and put in the traveling case.

The little added effects I did, like the muzzle flashes, blend right in and people don’t even notice it until I mention it most of the time since it seems so natural. I had some in my little bits box sitting around from an older project and I am really happy that I tried them out on some of the Infinity models. I was worried the scale would be a little off, but they work like a dream.

I consider this category finished……sorta. I will FINISH finish them on my own time after Adepticon.

LET’S GO USA! USA! USA! USA!

Marvel Crisis Protocol

I just have to put simple basecoats on Toad and Gwenpoole. I admit a level of lethargy with trying to get everything painted so I am not putting as much time into it as I could have. These are just some of those models that need to get done so that we can do the event. Hopefully, I can slap some paint on them this weekend. If not, then I have to pray that I can depend on someone else bringing one of their Toads or a Gwenpoole for me to use.

Sorry, I really needed to reuse that one. I love it so much.

The Worthy

This was the part of the entire planning process that I knew was going to take the longest. I admit a certain level of exhaustion when it comes to getting this project done. I know this is not going to be a winning piece, and I have decided that it is more of an endurance exercise than anything else right now. The base being finished before I started putting models onto it feels like the right choice.

One of the most important parts that I had not considered was making sure I constantly knew which direction the light was coming from. If I messed this up the models would not look like they were in the same place. I think it would be pretty forgiving in a lot of ways, but better safe than sorry. Another aspect I had not properly considered is that a few of the models are not going to be facing the viewer from the front angle. It does not bother me, but I can imagine the judges are going to say that it should be more directly facing the viewer. My thinking was it would create an interesting angle no matter what direction you looked at it, but it was something that occurred to me.

It will be done for Adepticon and I am excited for you guys to see it there. I don’t want to reveal the finished product!

Bushido

I am happy to inform you that this is all well under control. Nothing has managed to ruin this part of my Adepticon planning.

Helping Jesse (Shatterpoint)

Here lays the main crux of the issues for the upcoming event. Jesse sent me the entire wave of new releases from AMG and wanted a few of them for his lists at Adepticon. Lets just say that 2-3 weeks is not a lot of time to get this much painting done at my usual level, and this is combined with the fact that I still had my own things to pain. My worst fears are confirmed as I will only be putting basecoats on models since Adepticon is literally on the other side of this next weekend.

This is where I think I learned my biggest lesson. I have noticed that most of my frustration is that I am spending time working on something that is not my own stuff. If I find myself in this situation again I need to have stronger boundaries and make sure I am better at eyeballing how much time I will have for each model.

I try to be constructive in situations that frustrate me so that I can avoid these situations in the future. I continue to reach the conclusion that painting entire armies for other people is not in my own self-interest for a variety of reasons.

Conclusions

Overall, I can’t say that I am “happy” with where I am in the entire process, but it was progress. It has for sure taught me a few lessons that I will make sure I learn over the next year for the next Adepticon. I am proud of myself for all of the work I continue to manage to get done. It has reached the point that when I go to bed much later than I wanted to and stare at the roof thinking about the rest of the stuff that needs to get painted I get excited at the thought of no more expectations. I do believe everything will be finished in time and everyone should be happy enough with the results.

I know that after this I will be taking a break to paint more recreationally and enjoy the simple things in life like a night of video games or going to the gym.

I hope you guys manage to meet your own goals for any of your own upcoming events. My hope is these articles can provide a cautionary tale of how to handle the stress. Of course you can always find me on EVERY episode of Arachne: An Infinity Podcast where we talk about all kinds of stuff that I hope everyone can enjoy. NOT just Infinity players. If you would like to support the network and ME specifically, please sign up to the Patreon at the Digital Nomad tier since it helps me afford the things I want to review or replace broken stuff that always loves to shows its ugly head.

Keep it popping and talk to you soon!