Off weekend

So, I am still kinda filling my hobby goal. I have my first 10 boys almost painted fully, and have most of the basing models on the 35mm bases, but not flocked. I have been a bit distracted by my new big mek. I found 3D print of a model from the old game called Dawn of War. In that game the first tier hq unit was a Big Mek. When I found that 3D plan, I tried to contact a Russian company that originally showed it, but to no avail. I then found the plan for fee and posted in FB that, "if anyone had a 3D printer they could fulfill a dream of mine...." And a friend did, but it was not the best quality, so he actually got a new resin printer that would be able to make it. I gave him a black light and a rare bottle of beer for the model. It took awhile to fit and glue, there are some bad mold lines, and there is a lacking of smooth surfaces, but I am about half way done painting it. So, for goals, I should be pretty good for the month. Next month I may want to focus on vehicles.

The resin was clear, which was surprisingly hard to put a model together. It was also hard to see defect in the print, until I got it primed. There was a printing post(?) on the barrel on the back that made some irregularities in the model. Also, the post and holes for the arms and such were more like suggestions than actual matches. Other than that I have a Big Mek from DoW on my army lists.

As for game played, none in the last week, but I have one planned for this Friday. I'll be playing imperial soup that includes, knights, IG, assassins, and Deathwatch. It should be fun.

Gaming Logistics

I have two things that I still need to work on logistics wise. First is the life balance with the game. This passed weekend, my wife went to go have a much needed spa day. She said, since she was taking a whole day out by herself (and a friend) that I could have a 40k day in the future. I declined this offer, as unlike her spa day, my playing 40k is not just a one time thing, and that I'd rather try to fit 40k into a functional balance than throw things out of balance in my household. I like that idea, and I am still trying to work on it.

The next logistical part is my gaming group. So far there are 4 of us. We've all gotten into and back out of the game a few times. One friend, Jeep, got out, but not really back in. He played a 1k game, that he won, but most of the models in his army were proxies. At the end of that game, we all rolled a die and any matching pairs were to play next time. Jeep matched with Matrix. I sent an email out to the group a few days later trying to set goals for the next game. I asked if we could try our best to play representative of our army on paper. That same day, he requested that I sub for him for his game saying that he was unable to field an army. While happy to play, I also felt bad.

I do not have a fully representative army, but it is really close. Where I lack is models that are hard to come by, like the beg mek with a Kustom Force Feild. They really don't make the model any longer. Or maybe I have a different combi weapon on my nob; a combi skorcha instead of a combi rokkit. What I'm getting at is that I try my best to literally represent my army list. Jeep could not do that and it lead him think he could not play. This is a core problem. I don't mind about playing with unpainted models, but it should be as close as possible to be represented. It takes money and time to play the game, including putting together the miniatures. I felt bad about this, because it is not very inclusive. I want to be inclusive, but where is the line drawn? Am I the one to draw the line? 

Have you ever had problems with players that want to play, but cannot or won't get models or paint them? How did you deal with it?