Welcome 2022?

by theimperfectmodeller, posted in Uncategorized

Last week I reflected on the year that was 2021.  This week I have turned the spotlight on 2022 and what might be.

At the top of the list and by some distance is my hope and desire to see Covid kicked into touch.  Will it?  The optimist in me says yes, the pessimist says no and the realist which wins the day says we will just have to live with it.  With all the will in the world I cannot see Covid disappearing any time soon and the world cannot carry on doing the lockdown version of the Hokey Cokey.

When it comes to New Year resolutions I really don’t see the point in making them.

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I do see the point in making a realistic modelling “To Do List” though.  Whether it lasts for more than a week of course remains to be seen but having a starting point does have its merits in my book.  As lists go I’m sure mine will evolve naturally over the year just like I expect everyone else’s will.  Some items on the list I will complete, others I will not.  Am I bothered?  Not particulalry.

As things currently stand my modelling list reads as follows:

  • Complete the foot figures for my Footsore Baron’s War army. 

I’m getting bored with this project now but I only have a few to do and I really would like to complete them.  I still have quite a few mounted figures to do but I’m in no rush to get them done and think I will enjoy dipping into them as the mood grabs me

  • Drastically reduce my lead pile.

Like us all I have a pile of lead which needs to be dealt with.  I say dealt with because they are never going to get done.  The aim therefore is to clear stuff out.  I need a purge.  Whether I put stuff on Ebay, give it away or throw it away it has to go.  Just seeing it all is playing with my head and I feel the need for a clean slate.  Well cleaner!

  • Complete my current Dio-Bolical Monday diorama – The Earls Visit.

I’m loving everything about this project so far but it has highlighted a significant problem.  The size of the diorama and the amount of elements to it has completely taken over my modelling area to the point where doing anything else along side is almost impossible.  My aim is to soldier on for the next few weeks to try to get the Baron’s War foot figures done (see above) and one or two other figures I’ve started as well but then I plan to dedicate my time exclusively to the diorama.  The knock on effect is that at some point it will throw my blog posts out.

  • Review My Blog

For a while now I’ve not been happy with my blog.  I’m keen to keep it going but I have grown a little tired of it.  I think the answer is to freshen it, or me, up.  What does that mean?  I haven’t a clue.  Come the time when I concentrate more fully on my diorama my Wednesday and Saturday posts will probably go by the board.  Alternatively for a period there might be  Dio-Bolical Wednesday and a Dio-Bolical Saturday thing going on.  In any event I anticipate some sort of time out.  Come the end of that I’ll probably end up doing what I’m doing now!

  • Sort Out My Working Space

To some extent this will happen naturally when I complete my diorama and reduce my pile of lead.  Not that either will solve the whole problem but it will reduce the size of the task.

  • Model Shows

As things currently stand my aim is to attend Salute in April, my Plymouth Clubs show in June and Telford again in November.  Ideally, unless Covid puts a block on things I’ll attend some others too.

  • Decide Where I Go Next 

All I know for certain is I have no plans to give up painting and modelling.  What is of growing importance is to test myself.  There is so much I can’t do and haven’t tried.  I want to do more freehand for sure so if I can’t think of anything else I’ll start here.

For now that’s it. More modelling ideas will spring to mind for sure as the year begins to unfold.

As to non modelling resolutions I guess much depends on how the year progresses.  Last year wasn’t a great one, neither was the year before.  I’ll keep an open mind for 2022 but based on 2020 and 2021 this is looking favourite …

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TIM

26 thoughts on “Welcome 2022?”

  2. Good luck with all your projects this year TIM, hope it all pans out seamlessly for you, although you won’t be able to attend Salute this year as it will not be on until 2023, as announced on their Facebook page.

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  3. Concerning to do lists: I noticed myself that if I force myself to paint, it really doesn’t come out well and frustrates me. So I just stop or switch the theme/model. I mean it is supposed to be a hobby and not a chore – that’s at least what I think – on the other hand, I have huge gaps in my painting works and take already 3-5 days per model usually because of that. 😀
    Happy new year to you! 🙂

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  4. All the best achieving your resolutions in 2022! I managed to do most of mine for 2021, and I’ve yet to make some for this year. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the completed Earl’s Visit diorama!

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  6. Good luck with your resolutions mate, I agree with you that in many ways its best not to get too tied up in “to do’s” and just do what you feel like doing at the time. That’s mostly what I plan on doing this year.

    Cheers Roger.

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  7. I like your idea of a to do list. I have things I want to do in 2022 but I’m not saying any in particular will get done because I want to go wherever the mood takes me. Solving some of the practical problems like having a crowded work area and too many minis that you’ll never paint will be worthwhile and help you continue to enjoy the hobby so I’d say they’re well worth your time. I look forward to seeing what you do with the blog in 2022 as well. You do a great job of mixing things up and I suspect this will be no different.

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    1. I do like to have “some” focus going forward but have no desire to be a slave to it. If something more interesting grabs my attention then off I’ll go (don’t tell my wife that!). Other things are simply practical but will make me feel better when done. 🙂

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  8. Yup, as usual I’m sitting here nodding in agreement. I think we’re all just desperate to put Covid behind us but I don’t think it’s going anywhere – governments around the world are enjoying themselves far too much I reckon – and New Years resolutions are, for me at least, a waste of time. I wrote myself a list of projects I was going to tackle last year and I managed very little with any of them, despite having overall a very productive year. That said your “to-do” list looks very sensible. I’m glad to hear you’re keen to keep blogging (you had me worried for a moment there!) but shaking things up sounds wise if you’re not enjoying things. I’ve always tried to post when I have something to show, rather than forcing myself to generate content because it’s the day I update the blog. I tried doing it the other way round and I felt I was just putting myself under pressure for something that’s supposed to be fun. Anyway, do what works for you, keep enjoying yourself and painting amazing stuff and it’ll all come good in the end. 🙂

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    1. I think one of my problems with the blog is regular posting dates. At the start it was fun but now life has taken over in so many other ways and there is a self imposed pressure to deliver which is getting harder every week due to what else I have going on. Three posts a week is becoming impossible and repetitive so a change is on the cards I think.

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      1. Yeah, I understand, I’ve enjoyed your regular posts but I wouldn’t do it myself for exactly the reason you describe – it risks becoming a chore for you to write and a burden to maintain. I’ve enjoyed reading them a lot but your “real life” must come first. The main thing is you’re not going to disappear on us entirely!

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  9. I think if I had to do regular posts like you do it would be a chore. I do enjoy posting (and I have a few in the queue that have not yet seen the light of day) but only after I finish a project or something major occurs that inspires a post. I tend to make my posts the capstone of a project – but if it’s too big WIP is ok too. If you still enjoy a posting schedule, but you want more free time, just start by doubling the interval in between each and see how that works. If not that, retool it to your likes. I think the strength of your blog is that it details the genius of your work and it’s funny as hell. At the end of each, you leave us wanting more – so frequency is not the key IMO. We’ll talk soon I’m sure.

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  10. My resolutions were futile so far. So I just go with the flow. I am interested to see how you go about improving your painting skills. Freehands is defintily a good area to start in. I recommend colour theory, skintones, special effects (blood, saliva, slime) and paintign eyes as other areas to focus on. Just do one new thing with each miniature. Over time you will improve and feel good about the new skillsets you acquired.

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    1. I don’t tend to get hang up on my plans but it’s nice to have something to focus on from time to time. It also reminds me of what I have spent money on but not done (and probably never will)! The thing with the hobby is that another idea always seems to come along which grabs our interest and demands to be done immediately! Some of the things on your list I’m very happy with already, eyes and faces for example, athough there is always room for improvement. Others like slime and saliva are less likely to fit with what I tend to do. I would like to better understand colour theory more and some special effects may prove useful too. Freehand is something I started in ernest last year when I gravitated to doing heraldry amoung other things. It was great fun and very rewarding but of course there is still plenty of room to do so much more. I tend to put much more effort into my competition pieces and it’s here that I want to really move things on a bit. The main thing is to have fun though. 🙂

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  11. Heavens Dave! I can’t believe you pump out so many posts!! I’m just to lazy to do more than I do and that”s not many Ha HA !! New years resolutions have never been on my list of things to do but this year I’m intent on first finishing the decoupages from ten years ago while the weather is conducive before I get back to the doing the Dio’s I have in mind. I did weaken and started on a small base yesterday which was fun, incentive to hurry up and finish the other stuff!

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