07/26/2026
Happy Sunday, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts!
Life has still been keeping me pretty busy lately, but I did manage to make some progress at the hobby desk this week. Sometimes that’s all you can ask for.
The biggest surprise came from an unexpected burst of inspiration. I was watching the latest YouTube video from Junk Drawer Studios, where Betsy was showing off some of the stuff in her craft room. A HUGE thank you to Betsy for the inspiration! It’s funny how seeing someone else’s creative space can spark ideas you never would have had otherwise. You can watch the video here:
After the video ended, I found myself looking around my own hobby space. Sitting on a shelf was a pile of those inexpensive Dollar Tree “Jenga” blocks that I’d bought months ago and never used.
I dumped them out on the table and started experimenting.
A few minutes later, it clicked.
Why not turn them into simple corners and wall dividers for my Ultimate Dungeon Terrain?
A little glue, a few coats of rattle-can primer, and some quick dry brushing later, I had a set of modular corners that fit perfectly with my UDT. They were fast, cheap, and honestly turned out better than I expected. Once those were finished, I decided they needed matching doors too. Those are still on the workbench, but they should be wrapped up this week.
It may not sound like much, but I think this was exactly the spark I needed to shake off my hobby slump.
With that momentum going, I finally finished painting the Norse warrior that had been sitting half-finished on my desk, got the bases completed for the Deathbringer miniatures I printed last week, and even managed to print another Plague Doctor. Best of all, I actually got all of the supports removed without breaking him this time! Anyone who regularly prints resin miniatures knows that can feel like a victory all by itself.
Unfortunately, there was a bit of bad news, too.
After nearly three years of faithful service, my Elegoo Mars 3 appears to have died. Everything points to the LCD screen, and replacing it would cost around $150. At that price, it’s hard not to look at the new Mars 5, which is only about $189.
The problem is… I don’t need it.
I still have my Elegoo Saturn 3, and these days I’m not printing nearly as many miniatures as I used to. All of my terrain printing is done on my Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro, so losing the Mars 3 doesn’t really slow that side of the hobby down.
For now, I’m going to hold off and see if I actually miss having a second resin printer before spending the money.
Sometimes the best hobby purchase is the one you don’t make.
Hopefully this week I’ll have those UDT doors finished and maybe even keep this momentum going. It’s nice to feel excited about building things again.
Keep on gaming!
2026 Goals Progress
- Minis Painted: 225/150 – COMPLETED
- Large Models / Terrain: 33/ 6 – COMPLETE
- YouTube Videos:17/ 24
- Game Reviews: 6 / 4 – COMPLETED
- Games Played (TTRPG + Board Games): 0 / 4
- Thursday Drop-Ins Created: 6 / 12
- New TTRPG Systems Tried: 0 / 3
- Shadowdark Mini-Campaign Sessions: 0 / 3
- Shadowdark Release on DriveThruRPG: 2/1 – COMPLETE