I agree Modelwarrior, a theme or backstory can help one decide what to paint and what to build. A five minute drive from my home will take me to an early medieval (OK Dark Age) church whose first priest was a guy called Ughtred! Five minutes in the opposite direction and I can be in a churchyard littered with Templar grave markers, usually in England we are tripping over the history which can help set the scene for our little armies.