Hello fellow Dakkaites,
A couple days ago, I saw an Onion style article entitled "Hopelessly optimistic Warhammer player makes new years resolution to finish painting all his figures." I had a good laugh, as I have made this resolution before and failed miserably, of course, and I shared it with a few friends. (Link spoilered below for those interested).
Anyway, I had the good fortune this Christmas to actually receive everything I asked for from my folks, wife, etc. that was on my gift list. While I was delighted to get a bunch of new kits (a great surprise as my wife is not a fan of my Warhammer hobby and usually refuses to buy me anything gaming related), I had been feeling a little overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work I have ahead. I am not the fastest painter, and I have two young kids and run my own business, so I don't have a ton of time to paint, although I almost always set aside at least 30-60 minutes per day for hobby time/self care (you need it when you have young kids, believe me).
In the end, the article actually inspired me to make a real go of clearing the backlog on my table of shame. I am therefore stating publicly that I will follow the below set of rules, and if anyone who wishes to join me, I would be pleased to have your company. My goal here is to hold myself publicly accountable for fulfilling this challenge. Without further ado...
Until June 30, 2019, or the backlog has been cleared:
1. I will paint only models/terrain that have been in my possession, fully-built and primed, for more than 6 months as of 1/1/19.
2. I will not assemble any new models that are currently on the sprue, unless one of the following conditions is true:
(a) I have completed half or more of the projects listed below,
and the kit I am planning to build is also one that I have had sitting on the shelf for at least 6 months as of 1/1/18 (e.g. the Yncarne); or
(b) the kit I am planning to build is a gift for someone else.
3. I will not purchase any new models until June 30, 2018 or until the backlog has been cleared, unless the models are a gift for someone outside of my immediate family.
4. Exceptions:
(a) in each batch of models I am painting, if the number of models remaining to be painted that are older than 6 months is too small to paint efficiently, 1-3 models that are fully built and primed may be added to the batch if doing so will improve batch painting efficiency. For example, if I only had 4 genestealer cultists remaining to be painted who were >6 months, and another group of cultists that were less than 6 months old but still ready to go, then I could add 2 or 3 more to the group to get to a more ideal number for batch painting.
(b) if my kids ask me to paint or build any of their models, the rules above do not apply.
(c) none of these rules apply to the purchase of
GW rule books, White Dwarf, painting supplies or any other gaming accessories (e.g. Genestealer Cults tactical objectives/stratagem cards, whenever they come out).
5. As I complete each batch of models, I will post a picture here.
My current project is a Dark Eldar Raider, so I will post it when it is done (I am painting it in the classic
GW scheme because I am very partial to it). Within the last month, I have also recently completed 3 other projects that would qualify for this resolution. I painted a set of 3 Hive Guard I got last March, a set of Dark Reapers I got for Christmas in 2017, and a couple of 2nd edition genestealers I had been meaning to repaint since approximately 2013
, which I combined with the 2 genestealer familiars from the Deathwatch Overkill box (had those guys for a few years as well) and the Abominant from Tooth and Claw, which I rationalized adding because I figured doing the familiar on his base at the same time as the other familiars gives me a little extra efficiency. I will hopefully post those guys in a bit as well.
Spoilered below is a list of the various models/terrain I have which are eligible for painting under these rules as of 1/1/19
Whew! That was actually kind of a lot. That should keep my going for a while there. If I succeed in keeping this resolution, I will buy into those sweet new
GSC bikers once I'm done.
