What's in Store for 2012?

Happy New Ye ... Crap.  I'm a little late on that, aren't I?  Oh well.

Normally this is the time of year that folks are speaking of resolutions...vowing to to more of 'X', or less of 'Y'.  In the hobby world, that tends to mean we like to vow that we're going to get that long-sought after and dreamt-of project done, no matter the cost.  Personally, I think that's the worst thing we can do to ourselves and the longevity of our hobby.  I wrote and article on how to avoid hobby burn-out, check it out and see what I mean.

So, what do I do, if I don't make hobby resolutions?  

Well, I tend to set goals.  No, those aren't the same as resolutions.  Why not?  As I said earlier, resolutions tend to set us up for disappointment at times, and can be discouraging more often than not.  Remembered that famous, "I'm going to drop X pounds this year!" resolution?  While some of us may be able to keep with them, my point is made.  Goals, however, are set with achievability in mind, with realistic aims and expectations.

For instance, last year I had one simple goal for myself...to avoid hobby burn-out and be more productive than I was the year before.  See?  A little ambiguous as to what the actual end numbers were, and more of a challenge than a vow.  

So what do I have in mind for this year?

Grey Knights

Yeah...gotta get that army done for Adepticon.  The conversions are done, the models are primed, and I've even gotten some practice games in with them already.  Must finish the painting!  Also, I'll lump in a painted example of my Inquisitorial Stormtroopers from a few posts back as they are loosely form the same codex, especially considering I feel a little called out in the comments from that post.

Painting Competition Pieces

Last year I painted up one piece and entered the 40k single fig at Golden Demon.  My only goal with that figure was to make it off the table and into the case.  I did that and I was thrilled.  This year?  I want to enter both Crystal Brush and Golden Demon, and I want to do it with multiple entries.  How many?  I'm not going to set that, as that begins to put the pressure on, and as Chris Borer so excellently pointed out in the comments of a previous post, we do this for fun, so I want to have fun doing it!  I will say that I want to enter more pieces than last year, and with that being more than one, I should be fine.  Yes, expect some concepting posts on these entries soon.

Don't Buy Too Much Crap!

Or in other words, try and avoid the "Ooooh, Shiny!" Syndrome as much as possible.  That's going to be a little rough for me this year with a rumored, new Tau Codex in the wind.  While I did recently come into a large amount of Tau kits as part of a trade, you know they are going to come out with more.  I won't even get into the Forge World Heresy-Era kits...

Keep the Blog Going

That's it, simple and to the point.  Keep up with the goal of at least one post a week, and enjoy the blog for what it is.

That's it!  Will I get more than that done?  I don't know, but if I get those things done, I will be very happy and have that sense of accomplishment we all crave when we work hard at something.  

What are your goals for this year?

- Tim