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I thought I would share this for all of those in a similar boat.

I started back in the hobby 13 months ago after an opportunistic trip to Nottingham and a crazy idea to buy something from GW headquarters. Marching halfway across the city to get said item told me that maybe I really did like this hobby and maybe I should take it up again. It's been a little rocky due to RL and finding the balance has been tough. Plus, this year I have a dissertation to complete while working in my final year of training before applying in 2 weeks for a big and hopefully final job change. So busy is not the word....

But painting makes me feel calmer and I need that. One day I will truly pursue playing games or at least do some solo games (at least I'd win). The pipe idea might be to do some Webcam games with some of my Dakka friends, but that is fraught with complexity and I'm not there yet.

So until then I paint and I really enjoy it. I only managed to paint 14 minis, but I hope to manage a few more in 2016 now I have a better idea about techniques and have sorted myself out a little workspace in the house.

Januine (a very supportive friend who's quality of work is incredibly good and you should check out his work here on Dakka) realised he had a backlog so he posted up his list of "To Dos" and is crossing off as he goes. His productivity is far higher than mine and he is making good progress. I started to think about my "To Do" list and that it must be quite a bit bigger....

(As a background I stopped painting at least ten years ago, but still have models from when I started back in 1997 and then during my first resurgence in 2006)

...... and it was bigger, a lot bigger!!!!!

I couldn't type the full list on here because it was huge and maintaining would have been a nightmare. I also got to wondering whether I should be a bit more tactical and I produced a Numbers spreadsheet that will tell me how far through my collection I am and also graph for me how I do each year. I want to see how productive I am and to tell myself when I may be able to sneak an extra model in .

So here it is:





They are screenshots and yes, it does show that I had 600 unpainted minis at the start of 2016 along with 310 pieces of terrain of some description that either needs painting, edging (Space Hulk tiles) or basing (MEdge suppression tokens).

Counting from 1st Jan 2016, I have so far completed 9 models which is better than last year's rate, but I would take 42.86 years to complete all of these minis (not terrain) if I painted 14 each year. That ain't gonna fly, so I am going to look at a ten year plan of 60 models/year or 5/month, which happens to be the maximum number of models you can enter into Paradigm's painting challenges. So that's the goal.

So far we are at 9/600 minis and 0/310 terrain, I will post as I do more with pics of progress. Please don't feel you need to comment, this is more of an effort to keep myself motivated, but if you want to, please feel free, the more the merrier .

So off we go, 9/600 done, 51 more needed by the end of 2016, which is 5.1 every 4 weeks from now. Wish me luck

These are the first 9 minis painted this year. The Dark Eldar warrior is included in the count because he is painted even if he isn't based:
January 2016




March 2016

So no extra minis done, but got 6 SH door edges done today (did a base too, but not varnished so I don't count as done yet).

I'll post a pic when the 8 planned bases and doors done.

Current count is:
Minis - 9/600 (EDC - 17.35years (April 2033))
Terrain - 6/310 (EDC - 13.45years (May 2029))

Spreadsheet is an interesting idea. I keep thinking of making a list, if for no other reason then to track when I purchased, built, primed, started painting, and finished everything. Because graphs and data manipulation is fun!

I’d be afraid to calculate my end date. I know I have enough stuff built and primed to last me until sometime in 2017 at the rate I work.

My target goal is 52 minis a year. One a week. Seems reasonable.

Nevelon data manipulation truly is fun. Just make sure you do the painting too so you don't end up like me!

I think your target is great. My problem is that weekly targets are very unrealistic for me due to the variability of my RL. But as long as there is a goal that's all that matters!

love the spreadsheet. I could never even begin to build one for myself as the mountain of shame is uncountable . Well done on the painting. Keep up the good fight .

 TP^DC Deputy Manager wrote:
Nevelon data manipulation truly is fun. Just make sure you do the painting too so you don't end up like me!

I think your target is great. My problem is that weekly targets are very unrealistic for me due to the variability of my RL. But as long as there is a goal that's all that matters!

Oh, I don’t actually do one a week. More like two one week, a couple of weeks off, then a mad dash at the end of the month that misses the goal by a few days. But it averages out to 1/week. I also count tanks as 4 and bikes as 2. Because they take so much more effort to get off the paint bench. Most of that is just baleful staring, but still.

I also do quarterly update to check my progress. If I’m ahead of schedule, I need to be sure to procrastinate enough to get behind again.

It's like talking to myself

 TP^DC Deputy Manager wrote:
It's like talking to myself

As long as you don't answer yourself or argue with yourself your fine
No he's not he's nuttier than a fruitcake
Who asked you .
He did!
No I didn't.
Yes you did you lying sack of......

 Theophony wrote:

 TP^DC Deputy Manager wrote:
It's like talking to myself

As long as you don't answer yourself or argue with yourself your fine
No he's not he's nuttier than a fruitcake
Who asked you .
He did!
No I didn't.
Yes you did you lying sack of......

LOL!!!!

I came for the hobby and stayed for the comedy

I should confess to finishing another two door edges and 7 more door bases. Nice feeling to have met a target (even if really easy). Will varnish in the morning and post some picks

Such lists, whilst daunting, are a great tool for me for motivation. I find breaking it into smaller factions helps a lot which you have already done. If you can look and say "I have xx minis to do and then my xx are done" it can really drive you to get them painted. I guess ultimately I am saying stick in there and just keep ploughing or plodding on. Piece by piece, chunk by chunk you can get it done. Best of luck.

Absolutely Thraxas. I decided that I didn't know what my goal was and wanted to quantify it as a way to force me to stop buying (too many) more minis. In order to win the war(hammer 40K) you need to first know your opponent. This way any wish list I create I can ignore until I am xx minis above my target for the year.

I've got it setup up to tell me how many I do each year more as a point of interest about skill level and hobby time (the latter as a life observation about whether my children's age is inversely proportional to my hobby productivity ).

I do love a good spreadsheet! You've inspired me sir!

EDC

Should I be renaming this thread Spreadsheeting Hobbyists Anonymous?

Welcome EDC. If you guys post a similar thread I'd love to sub, so let me know

Well, I do love me some spreadsheets. Interested in doing one for all of us?

Well I'm happy to share what I made using Apple Numbers (with my stuff deleted out obviously). The main issue (and why I haven't offered so far) is maintaining all of the formulas. I wouldn't be able to maintain everyone's unfortunately (you know because it's a huge task ). It's not too tricky, but adding in a row the wrong way will cause it to sum up incorrectly. You probably need to have a fair knowledge of spreadsheets to use it.

Benefits (IMHO) of what I've made is:
You just need to alter how many of each mini you've painted in each year not total overall.
It is set up to 2019, but wouldn't be too (ahem) hard to add extra years
The graph on the 2nd sheet automatically alters as you increase your finished number of minis, helping you see how close to completing each army you are (or at least minis you own for each army)
I have a separate "terrain" section so I don't forget there are some brain saving items I can go to on a bad month, but still be productive.

PM me if you are interested and I'll send you a link to mine so you can see what it does (you obviously won't be able to edit mine to see if it's adaptable to your uses).


Automatically Appended Next Post:
And here we go, the 8 finished doors.


I'm not gonna update my EDCs and progress every post, probably every month at most. Great to get a target completed though

first off, beautiful
second off, subbed
third off, someone worse than me!!

no seriously it's a cool idea, I've thought bout listing all my stuff, slightly more orderly than I have now, but I decided not to because I'm not 100% sure I want to know.

 Guildenstern wrote:
first off, beautiful
second off, subbed
third off, someone worse than me!!

no seriously it's a cool idea, I've thought bout listing all my stuff, slightly more orderly than I have now, but I decided not to because I'm not 100% sure I want to know.

Darn! I thought you and I would be on par after seeing your hobby room

Despite the mess I leave behind, I just like order. I feel so much more motivate pad now than I did before this.

I've used JP1138's Hobby Motivator to concoct this now, it's a way to stem the purchases, but to also allow hope of the odd addition here and there. You get hobby credit for everything you do in a month, but based on the huge spreadsheet above I needed another condition. Not only did I need to have the funds allocated to buy minis I had to stop myself buying until I achieved my target for the month. Luckily, other than the 30th anniversary space marine mini and the 25th anniversary one I found on eBay, I have no plans for urgent purchases.

Hey. Added another completed batch to the list. Ten space hulk tiles edged:


My lack of completed minis has pushed the EDC back to March 2034, but the terrain will be completed by July 2019. Need to focus on Anrakyr and the Hunter now. Need to complete 4 models after those two to be on target. Need to get a move on with those then!

Darn, I put a snug remark about buying no new models until 2034 here, then I read your strategy above...
I get occasional bouts of "I'll never finish any of this lot, off to eBay!... But they're so pretty... I'll find time..."

They ARE so pretty. I figure I bought them for a reason. A lack of organisation shouldn't be a reason that I shouldn't get the pleasure of painting them......


.....in theory


Let's hope it works

OK, I did a lot of data entry on my own numbers. Not quite as bad as yours.

But in the spirit of sharing a little data analysis, so you have at least one more data point to compare to:

In the time documented by my blog, I’ve painted 109 minis. From the first to last finished piece, 918 days have elapsed. Working out to 8.42 days/mini.
There are 78 things primed and waiting for paint, at that rate it will take 657 days of work.

Counting unbuilt stuff is a little harder, as often boxes get shuffled together for other projects. And sometimes old stuff from the depths of time resurfaces and demands paint. If I count all that stuff, I’ll be with you until your 2034 projected date. And a chunk of that would be cataloging all the things that need work.

Nice work of the tiles. How long does it take you to edge them? Do you use paint? It seems like if you sat down with an extra wide sharpie you could just bang them out. Assuming the fumes didn’t overcome you...

Ah Nevelon! It is cool to know someone else is in a similar boat. I found it amazing to quantify what I had to do, plan what to do next and work out a reasonable way to let me buy more minis if the urge allows. Welcome aboard. Please come back and keep those of us subbed up to date.

Regarding the tiles - "You are a winner!!!" Sharpie was the way to go. Bought a pack with silver, black, gold, red and another colour I forget of medium nibs. It took an hour or so to do the ten, because the tongue on the tiles creates an angle the medium nib can't get in to. It's a great learning process actually. I'm sure I won't need to buy more than the pens I've got, but if I do (or for anyone else going to go down this road) - Buy a fine black pen for the tiles for the tight angles (and a medium for the long edges if you can justify the cost) and then a medium/thick silver for the doors. I would also make sure you buy oil-based paint pens, from what I read online these will help seal the edge better than the water-based ones.

Well I've completed quite a few things recently, but haven't posted, which I need to correct. However I have also just found 50........yes, 50 more minis

These are 28mm Doctor Who figures made by Harlequin miniatures. They were bought for me to paint up for my brother as an attempt to try to have something in common, but he wasn't interested so I shelved them. Of course I am a fan of both hobbies and now have 50 more minis to paint There are 4 more Cybermen somewhere but can't seem to lay my hands in them.

I never got the original game (Doctor Who: Invasion Earth) and can't seem to find the set anywhere so have no ides what the rules were. I have found a fan-made (VERY GOOD) bulkiest called Doctor Who Miniature Game 2 (DWMG:2 - Version 2 of their rule set basically) which is well thought through and seems really interesting.

Also of interest is that I bought the minis at the time of Harlequin's closing down of the range, but they were bought up by a few companies and now they are still on sale (some of them) from BlackTreeDesigns. If I get these painted up and am doing well for targets I amy get more.

The details are not overly crisp and look akin to the hobbit minis that GW produced. It adds to their appeal tbh. Maybe it's the Britishness of them and the fact that they look reminiscent of the budget available for Classic Doctor Who. Think I'll start with the Dalek Patrol set because I want to paint up the Heavy Weapons Dalek. What a Dalek! -
"How do we try to make Daleks more scarey?"
"Oh I know, let's stick a great big cannon on it"

The joke is that they made Daleks more scary in the same story when they made them able to hover!!!!!!

Anyway, so it means the target has increased *groan*.

Total now 656 (I also got the Imperaial Space Marine 2016 and Crimson Fists Banner bearer from the 25th Anniversary).

Targets in my signature readjusted. Will try to update the rest of this soon.

Ten more minis and I'm going to start listening for the seals breaking!

Seals?

Need pics of these Dr Who minis now!

If you're looking for more at any point, Heresy Miniatures do all the newer Doctors bar Caladi and a fair range of companions (also Sontarons and some Not-Firefly stuff as well), and Crooked Dice have good not-UNIT troops

http://heresyminiatures.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2

http://www.crooked-dice.co.uk/wp/product-category/02-heroes-and-allies/

Not that you need more minis...

Ask and ye shall receive.

Really wish my brother and I had got on more. I'd have loved to have done this for him. He just didn't seem to like me. But there you go.

Have seen the Heresy Miniatures and they are very good, will likely get the Doctors at least. But then there is the new Doctor Who Warlord game on the horizon.....

I'm also going to buy these for the bases I think. I don't want to be buying resin again and have no strong desire to spend hours making special themed bases. I figure hexagons for the Daleks, bricks for UNIT, maybe sand and tri-hexagon for Gallifrey and cobblestone for Doctors and companions. The others will get some combinations and I may stretch to sand and clear resin for the Sea Devils, because, well, you know, they are SEA Devils. Would be rude not to

Nice! I look forward to seeing these painted up! Any idea which era/style Dalek scheme you're going for?

We'll have to get a theme that will make them fit soon then.

Re the Daleks I'm going to follow the original pack for the Heavy weapon and 6 others and have them beige and gold Imperial from Remembrance, if for no other reason than I have the Doctor with Dalek Jammer too. May decide to do one of each though. We'll see.