40 Days - Not buying Warhams Challange

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**Argive**

Hi All

So I've noticed that my backlog of plastic is creeping up and not decreasing.
Also taking a look at my finances I've almost fell of my chair regarding how much I've blown this month...

So I have decided to impose a 40 day ban on myself regarding buying any more minis/Modeling gear ... (No more buying those cheap bits on e-bay because i could use them for something etc.

)
All the focus will be on painting already assembled models and maybe building some stuff already purchased.

If I can hold out until the last day of of April I will treat myself to one FW item (probably Shadow specters)

Who is with me!?
Get involved make your own pledges and get painting/modelling peeps!
Post your pics etc to help keep me motivated!

**Eldarain**

Do it. I have sworn off all model purchases for this year. Books are ok especially if they revamp factions/excite me to get working on backlog items. Last thing I got was the Plastic Squig Herd/Hoppers kits as I knew they were coming when I settled on this plan and have been waiting 20 years for them.

The most interesting part has been the creativity that it has inspired. I don't own a Gobbo boss on Mangler Squigs but I do now by combining Grom the Paunch and some third party Squigs from the backlog.

**Argive**

Oooh very cool!

**Rolsheen**

Does buying basing material count?
I've bought stuff to do the base's of models already purchased.
Holding off buying the weapons for my Warhound Titans until there built and painted.

**Just Tony**

I hit this challenge a while back when I went retrogaming. However, a backstock of square bases would probably lure me in.

**tneva82**

Argive wrote:

So I have decided to impose a 40 day ban on myself regarding buying any more minis/Modeling gear ... (No more buying those cheap bits on e-bay because i could use them for something etc. )
All the focus will be on painting already assembled models and maybe building some stuff already purchased.

Presumably paints etc required to actually finish those paintings don't count?-)

Guess I could try. I have this to go:

Spoiler:

And 5 new ork buggies coming on my way. Also battlewagons(2), 10 more nobs and whole bunch of others to do as well.

**Mad Doc Grotsnik**

Only buying Vigilus Ablaze this month, so I can keep up with the lore.

Other than that, got a pile of GSC I need to get painted, and that'll take a few weeks I reckon. So no need for new at the moment.

**Cruxeh**

A Venomcrawler is on its way, as are 100 32mm bases (something about rebasing all the Space marines that are still on 25mm bases). So between that and what little I have left to build, I should be able to hold out for 40 days with relative ease.

**Dr.Scheme**

gonna make one last order of paints and then I'm all for this challenge (also have to include a ban on buying stuff for infinity as well or else what's the point

)

**Strombones**

Do it. Pick 2, 3 at most, projects that you want to make good progress on and stick to them for 40 days.

Also find some stuff you aren't using, or know that you won't ever get to and chuck it on ebay. Usually makes me feel better.

**Argive**

You can set your own parameters for the challange. To me that means not buying anything at all. Theres always more p&m stuff to could get.. greenstuff world is the devil!

Id say if you know you need a pot of paint to finish the next project or two thats ok I guess. The objective is to get out of tgat 'easy to buy' habbit and develop some self discipline. Also have a goal at the end of it to prevent buying 2nd rate minatures to add to the pile of shame but rather only buy high quality high value mininis.

Dont know about anyone else but I sure bought a cheaper box of stuff i didint particularly need right now rather than wait a week or two for payday and got something more quality.

**Captain Brown**

This is something that is not that hard.

Just make a list of what you have to paint and you will stop buying.

Trust me that list will be far longer than you expect.

Cheers,

CB

**Argive**

I see the pile of plastic i need to paint every day and it doesnt stop me from buying more hence the challlange. Might not be hard for you but it is for me sadly.

Current to paint list consists of stuff thats already built and primed...

**filbert**

I would need to commit to not buying any new miniatures for the rest of my life in order to successfully work through my current backlog but all the same, I applaud the thread motive!

**timetowaste85**

I'd say paint is okay to buy; you aren't finishing anything w/out paint. So put hobby funds towards that to get what you need, but nothing else. I give myself "I'm only buying these items" conditions; I said I'd only buy Slaanesh stuff when it was released (actually bought SC boxes before they went up in cost). Otherwise I'm only buying Chaos Primarchs (Abbadon DOES count, as a clone of Horus/Guilliman sized), AoS Khorne book/spells/terrain), Slaanesh new models (and Hellstriders). Warcry is this summer and will be a purchase as well. Anything else...not touching. My backlog is still high, but I'm working through it.

**Kid_Kyoto**

Funny I have the same Lent vow.

So far so good on the not buying front.

**Togusa**

I'm literally selling everything I own, with the exception of my Stormcast Eternals, and my White Scars in order to buy 10 of everything in this new Chaos Marine release. I have already failed.

**JohnHwangDD**

Argive wrote:
So I've noticed that my backlog of plastic is creeping up and not decreasing.

At the start of the year, I decided I would make a strong push to reduce my unbuilt pile:
* get stuff playable, starting with my metals; then
* give & sell stuff that I was never going to field

I did hobby every evening, working through the pile army by army: Imperial Guard, Inquisition, Sisters of Battle, Dogs of War, Empire. For each army, I made a master list of what I needed, built what I had and sold off the rest. I bought the odd one-off to "complete" armies, but I also built them upon receipt, so they weren't sitting around unbuilt.

It's been very successful, and my pile of unplayable stuff is now smaller than ever.

I'm currently working on a few dozen half-built Empire minis, before I can call that army "done".

Anyhow, strongly recommend a selling component, where you just sell anything still in shrinkwrap. If you haven't even cracked the wrap, you probably don't need it.

**tneva82**

Argive wrote:
You can set your own parameters for the challange. To me that means not buying anything at all. Theres always more p&m stuff to could get.. greenstuff world is the devil!

Id say if you know you need a pot of paint to finish the next project or two thats ok I guess. The objective is to get out of tgat 'easy to buy' habbit and develop some self discipline. Also have a goal at the end of it to prevent buying 2nd rate minatures to add to the pile of shame but rather only buy high quality high value mininis.

Dont know about anyone else but I sure bought a cheaper box of stuff i didint particularly need right now rather than wait a week or two for payday and got something more quality.

Problem with not buying literally anything means that you easily run out of things to do then sitting thumbs. Or you have to buy tons of paints in advance "maybe I need that" which seems silly for the goal. I have no idea how much warboss green I will be using in 40 days...

If goal of challenge is reduce your unpainted pile rather than buy more wouldn't it be counter intuitive to set up rules that makes your painting halt completely? Then you just sit rest of 40 days and your unpainted pile remains constant.

**Argive**

There is no danger of that... I will not get through the stuff stuff to paint/do in 40 days.

Hobby time is limited by work, life, GF commitments and im a slow painter/unskilled perfectionist.. I have some 3000+ points of Eldar kicking about.. If I can get through it in 40 days it will be nothing short of a miracle but fingers crossed!

I'm pretty well stocked on paints. If I do start running out of a critical paint I will go to the shop and buy it if I absolutely have to because it would be unreasonable not to... But getting a couple basing rollers from greenstuff world for example...? would it be useful down the line? sure. Do I really really need it to paint stuff? No.

Anyway I've made the decision and I'm sticking to my commitment. I believe I will reap the benefits in the form of painted miniatures instead of scouring e-bay for deals. Maybe this thread will also encourage others.. By no means am I saying everyone needs this sort of thing.

**Rygnan**

Ok, jumping in on this. Setting some goals for myself to achieve by the end of April

-Purchase:paint ratio to be 1:4 at least. Allows me to pick up a few things I've been eyeing off, but not to go mental and splurge
-Complete projects by faction/game.
-Don't start projects until others are complete

So my plan then is as follows, starting with what I'm working on now

-Finish my League of Assassins for Batman. 5 models and an objective marker, all part painted, 3/5 not far from completion. Easy goal
-Finish my Arena Rex cohort. 1 model only, easy goal
-Finish my Suicide Squad. 4 models, no paint on them. Relatively easy goal
-Finish my Brave and the Bold/Team Arrow. Lots of overlap here, only 5 models but they all need a lot of basing work before paint. Motivation is the barrier here but the goal is doable
-Finally, make a start on my Gorilla Grodd crew. 4 models but I need to buy resin bases for them (still counting towards total purchases) before I can paint. With this I am back to 100% painted for Batman and Arena Rex, and can thus move on to other projects needing completion

**FeindusMaximus**

Try not BUYING anything new and shinny until you complete a project (mid to large size, not a single or handful of models). Then buy somehting.

**Horst**

I'm with you. My backlog at this point is a Sentinel, 3 Custodes Shield Captain Jetbikes, and a Questoris Knight to assemble / magnetize. And that's only for list ideas I currently have... on top of that I have 3 more sentinels, like 40 metal Kasrkin, ~30 Guardsmen, and a Valkyrie that need to be painted. Most of the Kasrkin and Guardsmen are primed / base coated already and are used for my Kill Team, but it would be nice to get them painted so I can field them in my 40k games if needed.

**Argive**

Good ideas. I so got those shadow specters coming once the 40 days are up. I feel realy good about doing this. Only been on ebay once today to check prices for stuff im looking to flip.

Indeed if i can paint my currently built and primed stuff id be very happy. Paintings the real bottle neck. But also the one that needs most work and yields the most completion reward. I think building, basing and priming are the easiezst quickest, and probably most fun steps. I could sit and build mad hatted conversions all day long.

**Just Tony**

Togusa wrote:
I'm literally selling everything I own, with the exception of my Stormcast Eternals, and my White Scars in order to buy 10 of everything in this new Chaos Marine release. I have already failed.

I just searched to see if you have a sales thread on here. Nothing.

**tneva82**

Argive wrote:
There is no danger of that... I will not get through the stuff stuff to paint/do in 40 days.

If paints are included in "no buying" list I would. By the simple fact that sooner or later I would run out of paint and painting would halt in screeching stop for me to wait painting. There's only so far I can paint without some paint being show stopper.

I have more than enough models to keep me painting for long...But I don't have unlimited paint stock in my home :-) As it is on tuesday I had day off(for this week) so was planning to paint and nearly ran into paint issue. Only by luck I DID have another bottle of leadbelcher. Without that I would have ended up being out of painting...And local store btw had no leadbelcher on sale...

{quote]I'm pretty well stocked on paints. If I do start running out of a critical paint I will go to the shop and buy it if I absolutely have to because it would be unreasonable not to... But getting a couple basing rollers from greenstuff world for example...? would it be useful down the line? sure. Do I really really need it to paint stuff? No.

**Argive**

Good stuff! Hope you reap the benefits.

so far so good for me. Got lots of work done for tomorrows battle and no time wasting looking at ebay

**LunarSol**

This is a really good idea. Big problem right now is that I've been finding it hard to get things through the LGS unless I preorder. I've really only got one thing that falls in that bucket this month, so I think for this year I'll go with no online orders and commit to something more fully next.

**Argive**

Still not bought anything.
So far so good.

Finished painting eldrad and wave serpent and had a nice 1000pts game. Really hard not order some shining spears i could maybe do with but no no no

....

**hotsauceman1**

Does paint count?
I love painting and buying new paints lol.