Looking for some inspiration to ignite a return to the hobby

[Plaguelord Baldric]

Due to issues of recent years, I have been unable to focus time and energy into this hobby, and have been doing next to nothing. I am coming to a point where I will have a bit of time on my hands, and am looking for inspiration to ignite a return. Hopefully I will be able to get my hands on the latest DA and CSM codices soon. Until then, I would really like some ideas on what people may like to see built for these armies, be it scratch built, kit bashed, or just a different take on units already available. I am not new to converting, but am a little out of practice and so am looking for some really challenging ideas. Please help an old fella find that spark for a return to the hobby.

 

 

Preferred armies are DA, CSM, and Vanilla Marines, but willing to look at anything that may inspire a creative spark at this point.

[Durus]

Dark Angels Interrogater Chaplain in termie armor for your new Deathwing army.

Seriously though, if you look through the army logs on here or some pieces over on cmon you might find something that inspires you. Maybe read a book or some short stories about your chosen faction to get your imagination going?

What is your favourite part of the hobby; the background, miniatures, painting or the game? Depending on that you might want to approach this differently.

Though the timing is not really perfect (GW seems to bet shutting down Specialist Games) you could also look into a system that needs less miniatures (Inquisitor or Necromunda).

Or even start a non GW game to breathe some fresh air into your hobby life...

[DarkMark]

Fixing the new DA awful plasma to the back of the head speeder would be a great start!

 

Rumours say the vanilla boys are up in autumn so maybe wait for them?

[Dosjetka]

Or even start a non GW game to breathe some fresh air into your hobby life...

Pretty sound advice right there. With the high cost of making a GW army, unless you have regular and disposable income, I would suggest you maybe look elsewhere. There are many (and I mean many) companies out there sprouting from the fertile ground and offering superb models/rules/terrain/etc... Sure, it's not 40k, but I personally really enjoy other games alongside my dose of GW stuff.

 

Of course, this is all just a suggestion so do what you want with it :)

 

EDIT: But then if you really want to get back into 40k and Space Marines, I suggest you take a look around the WIP forum and the Hall of Honour. There are some excellent and highly inspirational threads that are definitely worth a read :)

[Disruptor_fe404]

I agree quite highly with Ludovic on this point. Much as I love our hobby, it's getting more and more expensive, and if I were starting (or restarting) from scratch, I would be hard-pressed to justify anything Games Workshop. In fact, I only started 40k at all because my friend wanted to offload a huge bunch of stuff that he wasn't using.

 

But, should you choose to continue with the hobby (and we all have, clearly!), starting small is always good, as is sticking to getting stuff you actually like to paint/model. Perhaps start with a Kill Team list, then move on to Combat Patrol, and then a 1000-point list. That way, you're staying affordable (and not biting off more than you can chew, time-wise).

 

As for conversions, I humbly submit my own models, links to which can be found in my signature.

[Beachymike123]

i often find novels to be a great source of inspiration - that way you can build up squad by squad as your imagination run wild and each part of the army gets its part of your attention. plus, as has been said, the WIP and Halls of Honour are great places to pick up ideas and tips. 

[Plaguelord Baldric]

Thank you for the replies and ideas, I will definitely check out the WIP and HoH sections for further inspiration.

 

Just as an aside, I have a large range of miniatures to work with from years of collecting, just haven't felt inspired to do anything, and recently haven't had the time. That will change soon, and so I want something to strive for. The ideas provided are a great starting point, thank you. I particularly like the idea of a Killteam, as I feel that is a great way to start creating characters to lead units.

[Aqui]

Thank you for the replies and ideas, I will definitely check out the WIP and HoH sections for further inspiration.

Just as an aside, I have a large range of miniatures to work with from years of collecting, just haven't felt inspired to do anything, and recently haven't had the time. That will change soon, and so I want something to strive for. The ideas provided are a great starting point, thank you. I particularly like the idea of a Killteam, as I feel that is a great way to start creating characters to lead units.

I started with 500 points for two of my armies and worked up from there. Whenever I feel similar to yourself, I usually read background on the army (or their "Parent" Chapter/Legion) I'm working on, or regarding my DIY's write a story about them. Once I have a "feel" for them, I usually find that painting and converting becomes quite easy again

[Dark Bjoern]

Maybe you will find some Inspiration here: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/276338-my-dark-angels-wips/ A "little" conversion for my Deathwing.

[Plaguelord Baldric]

 

Maybe you will find some Inspiration here: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/276338-my-dark-angels-wips/ A "little" conversion for my Deathwing.

 

 

Very inspiring work. :)

 

@ Aquilanus: Thanks for those ideas.

[IamJacksUserName]

Here are two threads from the WIP sections that I follow closely and I think would be good to inspire you back into the hobby.

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/275772-dark-mechanicus-project-something-binary-this-way-comes/

And

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/248599-blackadders-warlord-wip/

Hope this helps get you into the Building and converting spirit.

[Hyaenidae]

Badab War.... um.... anything.

The whole conflict is rife with creative stories, campaigns, heroes and villans. The FW books are a insanely cool source of info on the war, I would highly suggest saving up the money for them. Here's one of my Astral Claws for your interest...

Failing that, Horus Heresy is pretty awesome too.

[S.k.i.t.t.l.e]

i often find novels to be a great source of inspiration - that way you can build up squad by squad as your imagination run wild and each part of the army gets its part of your attention. plus, as has been said, the WIP and Halls of Honour are great places to pick up ideas and tips. 

I have to agree with this... Working my way through the Horus Heresy novels and I'm waaaay more interested in Chaos now than I was. Not sure I'll do HH era though when I get to it, but the inspiration was there all the same. :)

[Teetengee]

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/250365-death-guard-warband-showcase/

This inspired me to join the forum and start posting some of my own models too, in the hopes for feedback and possibly inspiring others.

He is also behind the dark mechanicus blog IamJacksUserName mentioned.

I would start there. (I also humbly sumbit my models for your viewing (pleasure?) as linked to in my sig.)

[WookieeGunner]

I would take a look at the current starter set, Dark Vengeance.  It is Chaso vs. DA's and there are a lot of nice examples on here.

[facmanpob]

My advice would be this.....Don't buy anything new!

 

If you are struggling for motivation to paint what you already own, buying anything else is just flushing money down the toilet. Personally, I would shut myself off from codexes and army lists and that sort of thing, and just read the fluff. Find a character that you really like, and paint him. Take as long as you like over him, and just paint for the fun of sitting down and doing something relaxing. Once you get back into the habit of sitting down and painting regularly, you will find your motivation coming back to you.

 

.....or you won't, at which point sell everything on ebay!

[Subtle Discord]

I humbly offer my work as a seed inspiration and example of what can happen when you get back into the hobby. I just started out wanting to build a new army the way I always wanted to when I first got playing Warhammer 40,000; lots of conversions and custom work to really make it my own. Once I took what I could do, it mixed with the inspiration found in many amazing WIP threads and the encouragement I got from showing my work, and I found I started to get almost too many good ideas. Granted, I've taken it a bit further than many would; But I'm a bit eccentric... in a good way... usually.

 

All that said, it's not the scope that matters as much as the direction. Find an army or a niche of lore that really speaks to you and look deep. You want to try to find a real reason to identify with the force, and envision what tenants and strategies they would employ. Consider how the force would operate, and how can you reflect that in the build and paint of the project. Once you have a frame work and a central core idea flesh it out with the extras that compliment the army; basing scheme, markings, weathering ideas, specific kit, etc..

 

Find your cornerstone in something you really want to see become a reality, and you can't go wrong. It can all start with just thinking, "What can I do with what I have on hand to really make this squad/tank/character really unique?"

[Plaguelord Baldric]

Thank you for all your replies. I now have a solid list of ideas for how to bolster the inspiration. I have even returned to working on an old project, the Khorne dread linked in my sig.

 

Cheers,

PLB.