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So what model has been sitting on your workdesk waiting for your attention the longest? Not necessarily stuff that's sitting in a box, but that model you've built and quite possibly primed, but has sat waiting for its turn? How long have they been waiting for attention?

In terms of age since it was released?

Maybe a year.

In terms of time since I purchased it. A couple of months. I paint stuff when I need it for a game, and I've not had any games where I've needed it yet. Also, the weather was too wet and windy, so priming hasn't even been done yet (the models are assembled and glued to bases awaiting decent "priming" weather - which might be November.)

I don't buy a lot of stuff per year, but it doesn't see a table until it gets painted.

The oldest stuff currently in my primed and ready for paint pile is from back in July of 2017. I’ve added a goal to my annual checklist to try to get at least 3 things from the back of the pile done. Just last week or so I finished up a Land Speeder Typhoon that had been loitering since September 2015

A couple of Knights from the Renegade box. Got them built and magnetized and primed in time for the rules to change where I didn't need them in 8th for what I was running and once the pandemic hit my priority became to clear up my backlog and they were hardly the oldest thing at the time. Now though..... probably about time to get back to them.

The oldest unfinished stuff I have dates from the summer of '89.
That's when I began playing WHFB 3e.

It's a unit of Prince Ulthers' Imperial Dwarves: The Dragon Company.

32.5 years later I've still got 5 or 6 models to finish in this unit. One of these days....

They are not actually on my desk. They're in one of the many carry cases my dwarf army occupies. And to be fair, I've painted thousands of minis, multiple armies for multiple games, and I have more painted WHFB dwarves than I'll ever need to field at one time. I just haven't finished that very 1st unit.

As to what's actually on my desk?
1 Grot Mega-Tank - undergoing a weapons re-fit before I paint it. (oldest mini on the desk, just new to me last week)
several random D&D minis
1 Konflict '47 USA Tesla AT gun

I mean I have models sitting in boxes that are pretty old but for a model that is built, primed and ready to paint for the longest?

I have a Chaos Dwarf Bull Centaur from Blood Bowl that I converted into a Bull Centaur Lord for my Big Hat Chaos Dwarfs back in 2006. I have it out and on my desk yet still not painted.

If we count the boxed stuff I’ve got actual lead minis from the early/mid 80s. But they are not even remotely active projects.

I’ve got some RTB01s I’m in the process of stripping to repaint, but I don’t think I started the project before the oldest stuff in my primed pile. I might have though, they’ve been sitting around for a while now half done.

On the table right now?

2 metal Preatorians and some Mordians from 1994 (can't be sure when they were actually cast)

I've still got stuff from the 6th edition Dark Vengeance starter set that I've not got round to painting yet. That's the best part of 10 years...

Exarch must be pushing 30, but had to pack paint table away pre-move

Chronologically oldest model currently sitting on my desk for no particular reason.... Probably a squad of Steel Legionnaires. When were they done, late Nineties?

Model that's been sitting in my painting queue for the longest time a Greek hoplite bust that is finished but needs a plinth made up for it. Probably going on 2 years now since I started it.

Longest in my painting queue that's been sat there primed for me is a bunch of adventurers for Warhammer Quest 1st edition. Mainly the Barbarian and Dwarf. First primed in the summer of 2009 and they've been waiting like that since then...

At the moment I've got a Games Day 1999 Captain on my desk being worked on. I alo have an RTB01 there too, but it's not immediately in the queue.

The oldest model that has been built and primed? 0 days.

I got a large Persian army in the mail about 2 weeks ago, but they are unbuilt and still in the packages as of this writing.

I have nothing on my desk waiting for paint work.

Lizardmen from the 5th Edition starter set, both Skinks and Sauruses.

They haven't been sitting around in my possession the whole time, of course. They were part of a big lot of Lizardman minis I picked up primarily for the metal Temple Guard.

There might be something even older gathering dust in the 'maybe later' pile that I've lost track of, but nothing currently in process.

Blood Axe Kommando #5 (metal from 1995) needed some touchup to his paint and base. Finished it today.

Oldest I can remember is this guy:



First blister pack I ever bought and decided to give him a Lightning Claw from the commander box, simply because it looked cool. This was back when you could really pimp out your Sergeants with armoury equipment, and the Bionics really did come into play. Back then they just gave you a 6+ FNP but it paid off, sometimes twice in one game.

I don't have a sitting desk of models to paint, but Mephiston has been primed and waiting for paint since 1997...

I have many models sitting in the drawers / cupboards. Being a quite compulsive buyer when I see good deals on ebay, oldhammer 40k collector (Warhammer 40k : valhallans, 2nd ed Cadians ...).
Apart from what I have in my pile of shame that could well be resold, I have quite a bit too much of figurines that I definetly think of painting one day, but are still in my cupboards and drawers :
* A few blisters of pewter valhallan warriors, which I bought new around 2006, still unopened because I slowly painted what I found on ebay first.
* 2 Forgeworld Leman Russ turrets, bought new circa ~2010 when they were quite cheap, to expand my turret selection. I painted only one out of 3 bought, but looks very nice.
* An old (pre-5th ed') Chimera on sprues.
* a small but growing collection of 2nd ed' cadians (recent ebay purchases).
* many old 3rd edition Armageddon sentinels, in shattered poor condition (recent ebay purchases).

As for the less susceptible miniatures to be finally painted by myself, and more susceptible to be resold :
* 2nd edition Leman Russ new in original box (old ebay purchase).
* 3rd ed' Hive Tyrant (pewter), many pewter tyranids, we will see...
* 4th ed' Tau about 1000 points army, we will see...
* one XV-84 Forgeworld crisis model, bought about a decade ago...

Other systems :
* Epic 40k orks, epic 40k squats, epic 40k Imperial guard (there's a yearly Epic Armageddon tournament in my region, I should learn the system and give it a go).
* Demonworld (15mm fantasy) dwarves (dead system, shame, it was a great game from around 2000).
* A few Mordheim (1999) figurines. No games around me for this, so they stay as is.
* two boxes of early-2000 era Confrontation, basic warrior dwarves of Tir-Na-Bor.

 Inquisitor Gideon wrote:
So what model has been sitting on your workdesk waiting for your attention the longest? Not necessarily stuff that's sitting in a box, but that model you've built and quite possibly primed, but has sat waiting for its turn? How long have they been waiting for attention?

A two headed Chaos troll and a headless goblin mutant whose face is in his chest, so 38 years old. They were some of Citadel's first Chaos figures for WHFB so about 1984, when WHFB advertised itself as "The Mass Combat Fantasy Roleplaying Game" (emhasis added). They've been primed since about that time, but not always on the table. I keep meaning to paint them, and for one reason or another putting it off. Right now I'm on a Stargrave kick, so the Northstar minis and a few other sci-fi figures are actually being worked on while the two chaos mutant figures just sit and watch. There was a third mutant figure in the blister, a chaos harpy, but even then I didn't care much for its look, and just stashed it away in storage. Since the scale change that storage is filled with 25mm metal minis, some painted in the 80's, the others were waiting their turn. Not likely to go back to them at this time.

Probably an original Hero Quest Elf that I'm trying to fix up. He's lost his feet, the poor guy. So over 30 years old, about.

I've got almost a full box of rogue trader squats on my desk. The models are so uninspiring that I can't be arsed to start them rathe rthan the newer, nicer miniatures.

An Inquisitor Eisenhorn conversion, still not finished some 21 years after release. Its on the table to inspire me to actually finish it.

After that would be the metal Daemon Prince.

Both of these have ended up on my desk recently after being stripped, but they are both pretty old.



I also have some metal chaos terminators that i'm curently painting up that have been waiting years to get finished!

I currently have the RT 2nd Ed? termie Inquisitor and Librarians starting accusingly at me.

They need some tactical boulders to stand on so they can be added to my current WG termies.

Some 1999~ ral partha fantasy

Sitting on my hobby desk queued up to be worked on... Death Guard from the Dark Imperium box (8th edition).