A Lack of Motivation

Here's to some hobby self-reflection time.

I managed to finish Le Flaumberge, but most of my other projects are stalling. I've reached a point where I must admit that collecting any more stuff is very counterproductive. I'll be putting my 18th century and Napoleonic figures up for sale in a little while, as soon as I can get a set of batteries for my digital camera (making photos by phone is a pain in the bum and not very rewarding). So if you search my blog for GNW, SYW and Napoleonic figs in 1/72 and find something to your liking, please drop me an email at randomncreativeblog at gmail dot com, there is a 99% they are for sale and available. 

If I consider my scratch-building modelling projects, they are sort of the same. I have a very much unfinished 1/600 scale Derfflinger, an HMS Inflexible (late 19th century ironclad), the Revell 1/1200 restoration project which includes two Bismarcks, an Iowa and an Enterprise - all in all, lots to do, but no motivation to do any. I have sat at my hobby desk for a while and started a pair of 1/2000 scale Moltke-class BCs - again, unfinished. 

In times of crisis such as this, the usual method is to sit back and gather some steam before moving on. This is what I'm currently doing: reading some entertaining, but not too heavy novels, and playing computer games. I have the rules mentioned in the previous post more or less designed, and on a whim I took one of my earlier fantasy settings off the Dusty Ole Shelf for a re-visit. It had some childish and some good ideas, would put it at about Raymond E. Feist level of seriousness. The wargaming rules I've produced reflect this, as one of them is a fantasy booklet.

Anyway, I've joined a bunch of Facebook ship modelling groups, and now I'd like to build something bigger, but not as intimidating as the Derfflinger. My choice thus fell on the sailing frigate SMS Novara, the one which circumnavigated the world, in her pre-1862, pure sailing state. Thanks to these FB groups I managed to find suitable plans and reference material. The original hull was only 50.3 meters long, so an 1/200 scale version should be about 25cm. I prefer waterline versions because I like to experiment with representing the sea around the ship. Perhaps, before I start rigging, I should practice some, for which I've got an old wooden hull bought at the flea market, the hull itself is as ahistorical as it can get, but still a nice basis for such things.