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As I sit here typing this, I have a full 2500 High Elves army, a full 2500 Dark Elves army, and about 750 in Orcs that are all in various stages of being painted. Not a single unit is 100% complete.

So how do YOU deal with such chaos? How can I get organized to where I will start seeing results?

I'm much the same as you, but I've found a solution that seems to be working for me. I put together a 500pt list out of the models I have, and get them painted. I then switch to another army and do the same. I then add 250pt increments, switching armies as I get bored of one or another. It's hardly a speedy process, but I seem to be making progress.

Yeah, I have SM, DE and Dwarfs, all waiting for my attention. The thing is, I have so little time after working 2 jobs and trying to work for myself part time that they continue to wait for paint.
I am working my way through them, unit by unit, and have them all stood to attention in the factory line waiting. It's never gonna be a quick thing to do, and the worst thing you can do is rush it! I always tell myself that I won't get any new models until I have finished painting the ones I have - but I never listen!

For whatever reason, I seem to love horde armies. I also hate painting...

Tons of 40k, Tyranids and IG waiting for some attention. For fantasy I have a crapton of skaven that still need arms...

*sigh* I need more hours in the day.

although i am not a very good painter... i have been trying to paint my IG hoarde army lately. I mass produce them. put on lord of the rings or some other 3 hour movie, then prime 3 guys, then paint all their boots, then all their pads, then all their guns and so on. it usually takes the whole 3 hours to do all 3. these guys do not look great, but look good enough for a hoarde where individual detail is not as important(to me). for my space mareeens, i just paint one every once in a while and have been making slow progress...

I've kind of fallen into a routine of only working on three models at a time - basically, I never have more than three on the go at once. All the others are still in boxes on their sprues, out of sight, out of mind.

Doing it this way helps me to forget about the 20 odd other models I have waiting for paint. But, if you really need advice on how to avoid the situation that you are in, I would advise not buying so many - if I was in your boat I would be seriously depressed XD

I buy a box or two, paint, then buy some more when I'm done with that.

If I had tons, I'd go at it a squad at a time, a color at a time across the whole squad.

one problem for me is that batch painting assembly line style gets very boring very fast.

It all gets pretty boring for me after awhile. I absolutely cannot get either cloth or skin to work properly on my Guardsmen and they have a lot of em... So when I sit down to paint a 10 man squad I want to die about halfway through.

Sometimes you just gotta suck it up, set a goal for yourself, and make it happen.

Why did you buy so many models if you can't paint them because there are so many? There really aren't any magical ways to get both a fast and pretty result.

You also can't expect your first models to be perfect. You need practice to get good results. I've spent 100s of hours painting, and I'm still pretty crap. I'm getting faster though.

Hehe I know how you feel. I have the same with my Beastmen.... So many damned Gors , I normaly do ten at a time, it helps that I runa basic collor scheeme thou

My technique is fine. Been painting for 11 years now and have done some commission work.

I buy models when the mood hits me for a new army. Hence the orcs. The dark elves are my wife's and the high elves are mine.

It's just a matter of motivation I guess.

Yea im in the same boat as you mate. The bad thing is my painting skill keeps improving so when I go to finish off a model it looks wierd in some parts because of the different paint style.

I usually focus on one unit at a time and then divide the unit up. Say if there were 16 in the unit, I would do four at a time. Start with block colours on each including the base and then move onto highlighting after. I usually finish up the base last with whatever else I'm using like static grass, and then spray varnish them, and move onto the next lot of four.

It can get tedious but if you focus on one batch at a time, it can quickly get through the numbers.

Patience, my friend... Plain and simple. That being said, I am probably one of the most patient people I know, and even I've grown tired of painting at some points.

The trick honestly is to just not overwhelm yourself. Set yourself some short term painting goals, and accomplish them one at a time. I had a habit of buying a lot all at once, assembling them all at once, and then priming/painting. Building models was a lot more fun for me than painting, partly because I'm a tad bit meticulous when it comes to minor details.

Once I started feeling the burn out of painting, I just took a break. Wait a day or two, and then tackle another few models. But to prevent the burn out, paint only for a couple of hours (or just one hour) a day. Then skip a day. Basically, if you find yourself getting bored with it, just walk away for a bit, and come back to it later. I know it's daunting when you've got so many models to paint, and it looks like nothing is getting accomplished, but just remember... Patience is key.

Good luck!

i recommend movies! lotr, star wars, harry potter, or any movie that you like alot, but dont have to watch to know what is going on. This way you can paint, and still listen to something you like(i guess radio would work...but i am usually bored by radio). This seems to really speed the process for me.

Assembly line it, it can be boreing, I recommend having a friend over to paint as well, or playing your favorite music, something else besides the paint while you are doing it.

WOW! I thing most of use are in the same boat but I also find my self to be a good painter also (passing up lots of offers to do commission work) and have the problem of forcing me self to paint to bit of a lower standard to allowing me to get more models painted.
My process for painting a full army (while still playing with it) is to get the entire army primed and base coated with at least 3 colors, then start fully painted the units that stand out the most in my army. The said part is I have still yet to get a army 100% painted because I will decide to start another army or change my mind about what units I want to run.

I recommend you set a goal for a week. For example say ill paint 10 orcs before the week ends. Then next week youll do the same but for your other army. It always good to switch it around it makes it less stressful.

I'm not buying anything new until I've painted everything I own. It's easier to paint a squad of Marines on your desk when there isn't a company and a half of Imperial Guard sitting around, waiting for paint. Having too much stuff just gets intimidating, and nothing ever gets painted. I know - I've been there!

I became ill and couldn't work for a few months. In that time I cranked out probably 250 minis. I don't reccomend or endorse this method, but it did give me a great excuse for having stockpiled (hoarded?) so many minis over the years!

When I'm in a slump I paint at work during my lunch break. When i am at home I have other distractions and it's easy to blow things off. When i am at work, I look forward to painting because for that 1 hour I get to NOT be at "work" anymore even though I'm still at my desk. I've gotten so much stuff done there, projects that had stalled to a complete stop because I was sick of looking at a particular until or whatnot... took it to work, it was all I had, so I finished it.

The point isn't painting at work, it's changing your perspective about painting. At home, painting is work sometimes. At work, painting is always 100% awesome, It's perspective.

J'santai Khan wrote:I became ill and couldn't work for a few months. In that time I cranked out probably 250 minis. I don't reccomend or endorse this method, but it did give me a great excuse for having stockpiled (hoarded?) so many minis over the years!

A few months ago, my dad just painted some minis he bought on his honeymoon - 30 years ago! A pile of unpainted minis can quickly become a hoard!

Just pain them simple and add wash. Paint them unit wise aswell. Book in a time to paint ( preferaby whit ur friends) then you cant wiggle out. U cant just paint when you feel like it, painting an army (or 3) requiers serious comitment.

That reminds me. I should do some painting now!

Brother SRM wrote:I'm not buying anything new until I've painted everything I own. It's easier to paint a squad of Marines on your desk when there isn't a company and a half of Imperial Guard sitting around, waiting for paint. Having too much stuff just gets intimidating, and nothing ever gets painted. I know - I've been there!

QFT, I still have about 30 marines to paint, but everytime i start one...i look over at my guardsman and say "they need it more" because there are 60 of them and 5 tanks to paint... . luckily i like painting, so i just do it every nite after work and have been making progress lately