The State of the Tau Expeditionary Forces, part two.
I've been working on my Tau army for quite some time. I'm now into the hardest part of it. I've got enough of an army finished that I can play in tournaments with it and have some different options available as well. I've also been looking at the changes in the new edition of Warhammer 40k, and I've been thinking about what I want to do with my other armies. Finally, life outside 40k has gotten very busy for me as well. Basically, I've got a lot of things distracting me from completing my Tau, and I need to get back on track to pull it off. This article will be partially about how I'm going to complete my Tau, and it will be partly about various ways to keep yourself motivated or get back in the game if you have lost your motivation. Hopefully it will help you finish off some of those "someday" projects that you started so long ago, and at the same time, get me organized and productive.

First let's look at each of the obstacles in my way, then I'll tell you how I plan to deal with them and then I'll catalog what I have left to do.

Obstacle 1: The army is mostly done
Given that I have more than 2000pts of army completed and tournament-ready, I not only can play it, but I even have a number of different options so that I can play it in different ways. I can play a standard Crisis-Heavy list with lots of Fireknife suits (Plasma Rifle/Missile Pod, very effective long range, solid against light-medium vehicles and heavy infantry.) I can also play a Mobile Infantry-Style list with lots of Broadsides and FireWarriors (though I have to beef up my FireWarriors with extra suits at the moment) Finally, I can play a very, very different theme with lots of Deathrain Crisis Suits (Twin-linked Missile Pod. Effective at extreme range, highly effective against all but the heaviest vehicles and the heaviest infantry. A very long-range disengagement style list.) With that much variety, there's a certain feeling of just being able to play effectively or even creatively with what I've already got. It's hard to get motivated when it's so easy to just pick up and play. It was much easier when I didn't have so much painted. If I wanted to play, I had to get stuff finished.

Obstacle 2: Ooh, Shiny things!
With the changes in the new edition of 40k, there's a lot of speculation about how old armies might work and that makes me think about my other armies more. When I hear people say that Dark Eldar are basically hamstrung in this edition, due to their poor resilience and their usual reliance on hacking through enemy armies with a few elite squads and not getting shot back since they could get into new combats, it really makes me want to break out my Kabal and show them how it can be done. When I read the Water armies article and discussion about how Grey Knights and Deathwing can be played in this very unusual and interesting way, it makes me want to get out my Deathwing and see what I can do. When I look at the Outflanking rule and realize that not only can Genestealers do that, but that it completely reshuffles how my old idea of the Ninja 'Nids could work, it makes me want to warm up the spawning pools. I like variety and challenge in my armies, and there is something that draws me to each of them. When I'm being pulled in so many directions, it's hard to focus on finishing my Tau. When the Tau were still new to me, I didn't know how they worked. I got to think about them, to understand conventional Tau wisdom and I also got to challenge it and experiment. Now that I have a pretty good handle on them, it's less exciting, and I can feel the pull of the other armies more easily.

Obstacle 3: Real Life
I have a number of different things in my non-40k life that are infringing on the time I spend painting and modeling. While these are generally good things, they are still interfering with me getting my Tau finished. There will always be real life interruptions, I've just got to schedule or find a little time here and there. It's finding that time and being able to take advantage of it that's hard.

Solution 1: Mostly Done
Since the fact that the army is mostly complete is getting in the way of me completing it, I need to concentrate on what's _not_ complete. I have a bunch of FireWarriors that are just a couple of steps away from being fully painted and assembled. I have several Piranhas that have not yet met glue or brush and the same goes for a couple of Sniper Drone Teams. Basically, I need to not only concentrate on these incomplete models, I have to plan an army around them. If I need more than 3 squads of FireWarriors, I'll have to get these painted up. If I want more than 3 Piranha, I have to finish the ones still in the box. If I want to have more than just 3 Sniper Drones and an Observer, I need to get those together and put some paint on them. Even better, planning an army, especially around some unusual units, really gets my creative juices going and helps me get motivated to get stuff done.

Solution 2: Ooh, Shiny Things!
The best way I've found to handle the Greener Pastures Syndrome (The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, right?) is to not allow myself to play Army X (fill in your own blank) until I completely finish Army Y. Even more effective is the resolution to not play _any_ army except the one that I'm currently working on. If nothing else, I'll get it finished just so that I can move on and do something else!

Solution 3: Real Life
Real life always happens. Somebody is always sick, the trash always needs to be taken out, bills always need to be paid and businesses always need attention. There are two tricks that I've found that work well for dealing with real life. The first is scheduling. Plan a time that you usually have available to get your stuff done. Some people find that right after work is a good time. Other people find getting up 15 minutes early is effective. Ultimately, it comes down to what works for you. The thing that works best for me is a window around lunchtime on Tuesdays. The second trick relates to the first, especially if you have only a small amount of time that you can schedule: be prepared. Have everything as ready to go as you can, so that don't waste a minute on trying to find things or prepping your painting area or whatever. In addition, when you have everything ready to go, you may find a few minutes here or there and you'll be able to put them to good use. For example, I have all my current Tau stuff (the models I'm working on right now) in my army case, along with paints, brushes, a paper towel and a small water dish to rinse off my brushes. To get ready, I just need to add water to the dish and pull my models, brushes and paints out from the same case. It's maybe 1 minute to get set up. Also, it means that I have everything I need with me. If I go to the store and can't get in a game right away, I can use the time to paint or assemble some stuff. (Glue and hobby knife and snips are also in the case.

Okay, What's left to be done?
FireWarriors: 36 of them need to have Gold and Red details done (very little to do) and then they need to be assembled and based. This will be the work of probably two weeks.
Assemble and Paint 3 Piranhas. This will be 1-2 weeks of work.
Assemble and Paint 2 Sniper Drone Teams. This will probably be only one week's work.

So, that puts me at 4-5 weeks to completely finish my Tau. So, middle to end of November should see them done. Having a goal in mind really helps get me motivated as well, so there it is.

Final Notes
The next step for me is to finish off the FireWarriors. This article has been helpful for me in terms of getting me reorganized and refocused. Hopefully it has been helpful for you in terms of helping you find ways to get your projects done. One final note: Once you set a goal, tell someone about it. The knowledge that they are expecting you to reach your goal can "guilt" you into working on it even when you don't really want to, and that makes a big difference. That's also part of why I'm doing this article!

If you enjoyed this, email me and let me know

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