I’m definitely in time-crunch stress mode.

Historicon is in two weeks, NoVA is in eight weeks.  Of those eight weeks, I’m on the road for somewhere between four to six weeks for work (and, ever so briefly, vacation).  Effectively: the lead in I have for Historicon is the same as the lead in I have for NoVA.

For the Historicon painting contest, I’ll just have to enter what I entered in the Capital Palette last year (which was, more or less, the plan).

For the NoVA GT, as with last year, my Khornate Daemons are my shortest-path to having a GT ready army.  I’ve got a few models that I need to paint for it, but it should be (just barely) doable with the time I have.

For the Captial Palette: I think I just need to accept that I can’t enter anything this year.  This is hugely disappointing.

As I look back over what I’ve painted since last August… the past year has been hugely productive in terms of quantity of models painted, but that’s come at the cost of quality: frankly, nothing I’ve done is worth competing.  Doing a Saga warband based on a stupid whim in less than a week, for example, is definitely an accomplishment,  but it’s not going to result in any winners.

The plan had been to work on some models specifically for the competition (which worked out pretty well last time), but I just don’t see when the heck I’d be able to do it.  Sure, I could work on something instead of finishing my army for the GT, but comparing the cost of the GT (already paid) to the cost of the painting competition (not yet paid), the decision is clear.

I might get lucky and find time, but it’s not likely.  Better just make peace with it now than add even more stress trying to do the impossible and then seal it with a heavy coat of disappointment when it’s for naught.