Have you seen my mojo?

We all do it, lose our will or motivation, lose momentum or simply get distracted by something else.

Aylsham show 2015

So what can you do when you've lost your "mojo" and have that absurd combination of wanting painted models but not having the determination to actually paint them? For some this might be the painting, for others the building or it could be the daunting overwhelming of it all! Here's a few ideas . . .

1. Try something completely different!

• Are you getting fed up of brown World War II infantry? Paint something sci-fi or brightly coloured.
• Sick of all those eyes or similarly difficult piece? Try painting a vehicle or a building.
• Reduced to tears gluing together hundreds of tiny arms, legs and guns? Why not something with a (single piece) fully cast miniature.

2. Google it! (Other search engines are available.)

• As obvious as it sounds, go to whichever browser you like and do a search on the item(s) you want to work on, it just might throw up some inspirational results.

3. Lights, camera, action!

• Go turn on the TV and see if you can find (preferably) a film, documentary or program relating to your subject matter. 

4. Just a little?

• This often works for me, I just decide that I'm going to build/paint one thing or even half of it. Maybe do some basing or repair a broken item. Just go for something that's going to take five or ten minutes, for me this is easy and -often- triggers an enthusiastic surge.

5. Speak to your friends.

• This is another one I find very effective. I can talk to others about their works in progress and see what they are doing (or have done) and often this will spur me into action, particularly with mass infantry.
• Often friends will provide positive motivation if they think/realise you're struggling with getting anything done.

6. Get out!

• This can be easier said than done, but go and visit a place of inspiration.
• Historical gamers can find these in many forms, museums or military collections being prime examples.
• Sci-fi inspiration can be a little trickier to find out in the real world, maybe try locating a technology or eco centre that allows visitors.
• Fantasy players and painters might look to old local architecture for inspiration or s visit into the wild countryside (if you have any nearby.)

Bolt Action - WW2 miniatures gaming for the modern gamer

This was a game I noticed upon visiting Aftermath I saw all the superbly painted 28mm soldiers and after sitting in a game for a while decided it looked like something I could get into.

Soviet T34/76 from Warlord games

I promptly visited www.warlordgames.com and saw a wide range of great looking armies and after some reading and research decided that the Mother Russia would be the nation for me! I soon got myself some very reasonably priced plastic Russian infantry (less than £1 each) and my collection began! I now have 3 box sets (120 men) and many, many other soldiers from various sources.

The game and it's mechanics are simple at their core, you can move (6" normally) and shoot your enemy, hitting them on a 3 and each hit causing a wound on a 4. These rolls are of course affected by a variety of modifiers which are applied depending on each situation. Each nation has a set of national traits which might be the ability to move and fire without penalty or maybe never fail a morale test when charging an enemy, there are many to choose from, for my Russians it includes a FREE squad of conscripts and the ability to retake failed morale tests that are triggered by heavy casualties, as well as slightly improved artillery strikes.

One of the great things about the game is it's relative simplicity, generally speaking all the infantry are the same with very little in the way of "stats" your regular soldier hits targets on a 3, gets wounded (from hits) on a 4 and has a morale of 9 - that's it - all the stats the standard infantryman has! A game can be played out using nothing but squads of infantry like these, but of course you can have more.

Other troop types will typically include inexperienced or Veteran who are as you would imagine lower and higher quality compared to regular. Inexperienced soldiers have less morale, are wounded slightly easier and are less accurate when firing. Veteran infantry whilst not being any more accurate have better morale and can be hard to kill.

Then of course once you've got your infantry there are support elements (tanks) like HQ units, weapons teams and vehicles (did I mention tanks?) HQ units will typically be an officer who provides morale boosts to nearby infantry, medics and air/artillery observers who will call in off table support (sometimes on his own side!) Weapons teams are often quite fun with snipers, machine gun crews, flame throwers, mortar teams and a variety of field guns.

Did I mention tanks?
These are a hugely popular support item, with countless makes, models and variants available from the smallest scout cars to the mightiest super heavy monsters. Everyone has their favourite and most loved (or feared) tank, for me it's the cheap and cheerful Soviet T34/76 a good all rounder, a jack of all trades. The game can be played using just tanks, armoured platoons for you treadheads out there and comes with it's own supplement Tank War for those that want to recreate armoured engagements (but you can get by without the book if you like).

Another fantastic feature of the game is random activation, each unit of infantry, HQ, support and vehicle gets it's own order die. These are placed in a bag (or cup) and drawn blindly to see who goes next, this adds greatly to the game, you've got to be careful where you move your squad because the next move could be yours or that enemy squad who are waiting to blast 'em!

There'll be more to come, but for now visit www.boltaction.com to learn more ;)