{"id":2734,"date":"2021-07-18T18:58:57","date_gmt":"2021-07-18T23:58:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seth-swanson.com\/first-world-nerd-problems\/"},"modified":"2021-07-18T18:58:57","modified_gmt":"2021-07-18T23:58:57","slug":"first-world-nerd-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sswanson-001-site2.gtempurl.com\/index.php\/2021\/07\/18\/first-world-nerd-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"First World Nerd Problems"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A year and a half ago, before the pandemic had gotten it\u2019s teeth into us in North America, my wife and I got interested in painting minis. I think it started off with a Valentine\u2019s Day special event at one of the game stores that we frequent. A little down payment and you got a couple minis to paint (a succubus and an incubus because it was Valentine\u2019s Day) and you got to use the hosts paint brushes and paints. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

I kinda sucked at it, but then I\u2019ve never just started off good at something by default. Still, that was the first taste that got us into signing up for a beginners painting class where the fine folk at The Brushlicker\u2019s Society taught us the basics of painting minis. For a more modest price you got all the stuff you\u2019d need to start painting store bought minis. They assured us that we\u2019d only really need ten different colors or so\u2026 and for someone who knows color theory better than I do and how to mix paints that might be true. My experience\u2026 turned out differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
This is maybe half of my paints. Maybe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The class was fun\u2026but I had other stuff to do that kept me busy. Going out, writing, doing things with friends. You know, just living life! Then COVID-19 came along and screwed all that up. It took me a couple weeks of twiddling my thumbs in my basement, playing video games while unable to write (see my last post) before I remembered I had a new thing that I could be doing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
One of my first efforts. Not good\u2026but not too bad either.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Turns out, painting minis is a great way to pass a night when you\u2019ve got no where to go, nothing to do, and you\u2019ve already watched Letterkenny through 3 times. Here\u2019s where my first world problem really comes into play though. You see, it turns out I don\u2019t paint minis very fast. If I\u2019m really focusing I can finish maybe one a night. However, it\u2019s really easy to buy six or eight at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First world nerd problems: too many minis and not enough time to paint them. Unfortunately, retail therapy was one of the ways that I managed stress during the lockdown. It made for a fun night, buy some minis, paint one, rinse and repeat. Never mind that every time I did this my collection of unpainted minis was growing week by week. Of course, no problem is so bad that it couldn\u2019t get worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
I still like this guy. He\u2019s going to show up in a campaign sometime.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

About November, I\u2019m doing some googling, running some math, and cruising Amazon. I found out that with an entry level 3D printer I could print <\/em>minis for literally pennies instead of $5 a pack. It just made sense<\/em>! I\u2019d save so much money<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hahahahahaha. No. No I wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well\u2026 You can print a mini for pennies. Once you have the machine, that is. And the resin. And isopropyl alcohol. And nitrile gloves. And more resin. And figure out what in the hell you\u2019re doing. So\u2026six months in I can print minis for pennies\u2026 also a lot more stuff! But if you think you\u2019re going to get a 3D printer and save a lot of money \u2026 Just \u2026 Just no. No you\u2019re not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you will get, is the ability to create some pretty frickin\u2019 sweet things that you\u2019re not going to find in a Wizkids box or on offer at your local game store. (Still, support your local game store. They\u2019re the best place for nerds and they need you to buy your nerd shit there and not on Amazon. I will fight you!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Her I\u2019m proud of. I might have gotten a bit better over the last year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Yet\u2026 this all leads back to my original problem except worse. <\/em>When you can print your own minis, the only limit to how many unpainted minis you have is \u2026 well you don\u2019t have a limit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Someone, please send help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
I have a problem.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Oh well\u2026 at least I always have something to paint now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Warforged Pirate Captain! Gyar!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Like I said. First world nerd problems. So, what do you guys say? Anyone want some minis? I have a few extras. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A year and a half ago, before the pandemic had gotten it\u2019s teeth into us in North America, my wife and I got interested in painting minis. I think it started off with a Valentine\u2019s Day special event at one of the game stores that we frequent. A little down payment and you got a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2729,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[21,43,53,64],"class_list":["post-2734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nerdy-stuff","tag-3d-printing","tag-hobbies","tag-mini-painting","tag-pandemic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sswanson-001-site2.gtempurl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sswanson-001-site2.gtempurl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sswanson-001-site2.gtempurl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sswanson-001-site2.gtempurl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sswanson-001-site2.gtempurl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/sswanson-001-site2.gtempurl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sswanson-001-site2.gtempurl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sswanson-001-site2.gtempurl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sswanson-001-site2.gtempurl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sswanson-001-site2.gtempurl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}