Fight the Pile of Shame in 2020

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**Da Boss**

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/773059.page

I really liked this thread idea by Argive last year! After a stressful couple of years where I got very excited about the existence of Start Collecting sets and discounted boxed sets, I have accumulated QUITE a large "pile of shame". The pile is also diverse enough that I have no real excuse of getting bored with things, because there is always something else in the pile that could hold my interest in that case.

So, I think I need to draw a line in the sand. The Pile needs to shrink. This thread is intended to be a place where others who find themselves feeling the same can band together, give each other some motivation to stick to our goals and confess when we fail to meet them.

My goal: Cessation of buying of new miniatures, with only crafting materials used in terrain building being allowed as acceptable spending.
My biggest weaknesses: I am excited to make a small force for all the stuff I think is cool in 40K. At the moment, I have unbuilt Necrons, Tau, Tyranids and unpainted Imperial Guard, Space Marines, Orks and Chaos Space Marines. A mad urge inside my mind tells me I need to add Dark Eldar to this so I can have a full set of factions that I like the look of.
The second weakness is, I am a sucker for anything where I think it will go out of production, like limited runs for two army sets, or when GW announces they are gonna discontinue stuff.
The third weakness, buying stuff before a price rise.

I am minded to be pretty hardline with myself, because I have definitely let things get out of hand (the 40K pile of shame referenced here is only half the story, Fantasy is similar and let's not discuss historicals...). I know some people do a "paint twice as much as I buy" rule, which I think is cool, but I am gonna say no new stuff this year, just focus on what I have and get it sorted out. I am not minded to sell off any of my stuff, because I have always regretted that later, but it should at least get painted and get properly used at some point!

What about you? Do you want to fight your pile of shame? What are your goals?
Apologies to Argive, your thread was six months old by now so I wasn't sure whether to necro it or not!

**Gangland**

I will join the crusade. I have quite the pile for fantasy. And a modest amount of 40k. I have been chipping away build.wise.but Indo need to step.up my paint game.

**Freeflow44**

I will join the challenge as well, while my pile of shame is not huge...I hate looking at it.

Also I want to spend less this year and spend more time playing.

I commit not to buy another kit until the Pile of Shame has been completed

**zerosignal**

My pile of shame grew over the last two weeks.

The new year resolution to avoid the pub and instead hobby stuff is not going well

**Freeflow44**

I'm going to be particularly brave and tell you guys what I have to build and paint before I can buy another kit:
1. Fyreslayers - Start Collecting Box
2. Fyreslyers - Hearthguard Beserkers
3. Gotrek
4. Death Guard Foul Blightspawn
5. 2 Death Guard Easy Build kits of Plague Marines (6 Plague
Marines)
6. Death Guard Myphitic Blight Hauler

**Polonius**

I am entering year four of serious work on my pile of shame, which continues to grow due to a nasty little hobby: buying and selling large lots of used Warhammer. Shameless plug: https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/675393.page Between swap meets, FB groups, and friends, I have brought in multiple huge lots of stuff, sold most of it, made profit, and kept the best stuff. Two problems: first, "the best stuff" still adds up quickly, and second, I just hit another swap meet on Sunday. Guess who is now the proud owner of a couple hundred Dark Eldar and Ork models?

While those are going on ebay sooner rather than later, I still have some serious stuff to paint. Space Marines, Eldar, Chaos, and Grey Knights all have substantial armies to strip, rebuild, and paint, while Admech, knights, DA, and BA all have at least 1k points to go.

**ccs**

Chipping away at the unpainted masses (40k or otherwise) is the never ending battle.

That I can commit to continuing in 2020.
I will not lie to you & say I won't be buying more models.

**John Prins**

Well, I'm feeling good about myself at the moment, as year on year I've painted more and more miniatures for the last 3 years. That said, I've also bought more, but I've managed to clear out a lot of my Eldar and Necrons the last 2 years thanks to my Christmas projects, and I'm doing a small Horus Heresy army that's using up my surplus Skitarii by converting them to Tech Thralls. But when the Desert of the Dead Kickstarter fulfills I'll be getting a mountain of elf models, Hopefully I can avoid buying too much stuff this year - I'm deliberately avoiding Sisters of Battle (maybe a few years down the road) - and clear out the old backlog. Maybe I'll do some Tau as my next Christmas project.

**phillv85**

I’ll be working hard on my mountain of shame again this year.

This is a year that my mountain of shame will suffer a net loss, I’m determined! I’ve got almost all of the models I need for many armies, and so I fully intend to paint more than I buy.

I’ve even finally started on the Tyranid army I started buying models for 2.5 years ago.

So far this year I’ve painted 3 models, and bought 0.

**tneva82**

Def would need but with sisters coming and having joined aos escalation league can't really do. Might do half year though i suspect buying miniatures 2021 will get sudden price jums so maybe buy models in advance

**hotsauceman1**

My pile of shame is all hidden in boxes
MY goal is to consolidate and eventually sell many things from projects i have long ago abandoned.

**Excommunicatus**

I feel my 'pile of shame' barely qualifies, even though it is a significant source of anxiety for me. I don't like having more than 20 things unbuilt/unpainted lying around, it makes me feel overwhelmed and I tend to just sit and look at it, worrying about how much painting I have to do rather than just cracking on.

Nonetheless, every little helps, right? No more purchases until the following is/are done;

9 Drukhari Wyches
10 Drukhari Kabilites
Succubus
5 Renegade Militia
2 Malefic Lords
Emperor's Children Lord, 3 Sorcerors, Dark Apostle
Syll'Esske
Converted Epitome

Administratum
Statue Garden

Which is only 36 individual things, but is more than i managed in 2019.

**Easy E**

About half way through last year..... I ran out of stuff to paint!

I have since rectified that situation, but will NOT be joining the challenge this year. I have a few more Ancients to add to my collection first.

**LunarSol**

I started aggressively attacking the pile about a year ago and made some solid progress last year that I kind of backpeddled on with some holiday bundles. Still down pretty significantly, but I need to spend this year really mastering my airbrush process to get through a bunch of large units. Definitely need to reduce what I buy to get through it, but also need to focus on a few things that feel large but I could get through quickly if I focused.

As I pledge, I want to get anything I buy painted within a couple months. No buying things for the future as by the time the future gets here there's likely something else I'll want. If something is on my backlog, its likely there for a reason after all. Most of what I bought last year is painted actually.... its the stuff I bought years ago that gets me...

**Da Boss**

I am double ashamed when I see other people posting their "pile of shame" stuff and think about how much is in mine. Really hardens my resolve (while making me feel like I am nuts). I guess I have been collecting since the 90s and rarely ever sold stuff, but I have been especially bad in the last 3 years!

**Excommunicatus**

I started in 1996, but took a short break from 1998 to 2009, when DoW reeled me back in.

Between 2009 - 2014 I amassed a steamer-trunk full of NIB or grey-on-sprue kits; ca. 6k Tyranids, 6k Blood Angels, 5k Imperial Guard, 3k CSM, bits of Dark Angels and Grey Knights... which is why I now try to keep it under 20 things to-do.

**Big Mac**

Even though I ferociously attack the pile of shame, I still have a substantial mountain left, notably standing in the way are 5 knight class titans(crusader, valiant, porphyrion; FW chaos knight, taunar); if I can get 2-3 of them done along with my regular progress, I’d be very happy.

I’m also in the progress to obtain and someday paint 1k IG infantry, about 850 obtained, 750 painted.

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/767743.page

**Captain Brown**

Years ago I set a goal of painting or selling twice as many models as I would allow myself to buy. It has worked over time and has greatly reduced the pile of shame.

Cheers,

CB

**queen_annes_revenge**

My pile is not that big, but big enough considering my models merely sit in a display cabinet. I tried this last year and failed miserably. Going to make a concerted effort this year. I don't think I'll not buy any new models as I've found a nice source of 54mm Inquisitor models, and the fallout miniatures are very tempting, but I'll definitely be trying to reduce my pile, and get more of my conversions and kitbashes painted.

I have.

Maschinen krieger falke
Khârn the betrayer(both new and old)
Magnus the red
Inquisitor eisenhorn
Krieger thrax
Cherubael
Calas typhon
A couple of kitbashed night lords
Forge world knight scion
Forge world gabriel angelos
The hobbit thorin oaken shield and azog
Ak interactive mig 21
Couple of terminator kitbashes
Redemptor dreadnaught
New chaos termies
New chaos havocs
11 man world eaters kill team
Warcry minis

**Talizvar**

My shame has spanned decades.
Last year was putting a strong dent in it but completely finished models of a complete army is an insane minority.

I would strongly suggest the following :
- Open the boxes and look in, I was suprised how many of these things i started and set down.
- Put any decals in baggies, humid basements tend to kill these.

Black Templar is my most complete army but they are TRUE old-marines from the original 1" bases and many metal.

My NEW push is taking all those Primaris and rolling them exclusively into an Ultramarine army.
I have some 90+ models of these guys with their first base coats on them and 30 guys at the stage ready for shading and edge highlighting.

Full armies of Imperial Knights, Inquisition, IG/AM/Scions, Grey Knights, Mechanicus, Death Watch and a massive collection of various Chaos is bordering on insane.
Never mind any other games (Bolt Action, Malifaux, Robotech, Battletech, Warmachine-intro army only)... yeah... not right upstairs for sure.

90% is built (!!!) as well as primed and based... painting however... 10% maybe (my standard of complete)? 30% may have some base colours on them.

Heck, I opened up some boxes and found I was 80% done on some models and had magnets in them and only had to finish the darn things (usually vehicles).

So yeah, my big push is to get those Ultramarines done-done, no half finished stuff.
Then work on all those "soup" groups that may play nice with either Space Marine group.
Hell I have one Imperial Knight I am quite proud of and just needs some small details and decals.

That is my plan, baby steps.

**Commodus Leitdorf**

Last year I made a list of all the stuff I had bought off Ebay over however far back my history went. The intention was to paint all of that before I bought anything new.

That list keeps growing...I just bought a handful of Long Drong's Slayer Pirates just because I could.

The pile of shame will grow...
There is not stopping it...
Resistance is futile.

**SamusDrake**

The war on the unpainted genestealers is already underway!

Had to come up with two colours that could use the same wash though.

**inflatablefriend**

I think I've moved on from the pile of shame to the geological feature of shame.

Just can't stop with the shiny plastic, despite not having played in many years (I will, just as soon as I have an actual force built and ready to play!)

I'd love to say Beastgrave (easy to play quickish games, hopefully find a couple of local players) will be my next and last purchase until the ascent of shame is well underway.... But pointy elves, new Tau, SoB, Seraphon??? Yeah.. it'll grow.

**H.B.M.C.**

Da Boss wrote:
What about you? Do you want to fight your pile of shame? What are your goals?

My Great Pile of Shame is perhaps too much to tackle in one year, but my goal is to get all of my terrain built and then start painting it.

Once the Great Expansion is complete, I'll have everything I need.

**Nevelon**

For a bit now one of my annual pledges is to paint more than I buy. Last year was a good year. I painted 53 models, and only bought 8.

Now, I got more than 8 models. I don’t count gifts. Even ones where I’m given a chunk of cash and told to get something I want. But that only adds another ~20 models. Still a net loss for the pile of shame.

This year I think might work out OK. I’ve got a healthy enough stock of things to work on, I don’t feel compelled to pick up any new stuff. Except maybe plastic aspect warriors. Maybe some new marines if they are extra shiny. Or have good rules. Or I suffer a moment of weakness...

Still, one of my other goals is to maintain a 1-a-week pace, so I should be able to make 52 models transcend from the grey legions. This year, it might not be my own pile of shame though. I’m painting my friends SoB box, so that’s half a year of work there. If I can keep my purchases to under two dozen minis, I should be able to get another year of progress against the Dread Pile.

**SlaveToDorkness**

Alas, I doubt my mountain can even be codified....I will give it a valiant effort,

**MegaDave**

I was one model away from having banished my pile of shame.

Then I bought 10 cultists to get the heavy stubbers. Then, my grandmother was driving me by the local hobby store on the way to church, and asked if I needed to stop in there. I thought I was just going to get paint, but I bought Abaddon.

A day later I found a chaos lord still on the sprue in a old box. He didn't have a base. So I went to the hobby store. THEY WERE OUT OF BASES!

So I bought a chaos sorcerer for the base I needed.

So much shame...

On the bright side, the cultists are almost finished, and the three characters shouldn't take that long to finish. After that I have three terrain pieces I want to finish, and then I can buy more stuff! (Assuming I don't buy more stuff along the way...)

**Argive**

Da Boss wrote:
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/773059.page

I really liked this thread idea by Argive last year! After a stressful couple of years where I got very excited about the existence of Start Collecting sets and discounted boxed sets, I have accumulated QUITE a large "pile of shame". The pile is also diverse enough that I have no real excuse of getting bored with things, because there is always something else in the pile that could hold my interest in that case.

So, I think I need to draw a line in the sand. The Pile needs to shrink. This thread is intended to be a place where others who find themselves feeling the same can band together, give each other some motivation to stick to our goals and confess when we fail to meet them.

My goal: Cessation of buying of new miniatures, with only crafting materials used in terrain building being allowed as acceptable spending.
My biggest weaknesses: I am excited to make a small force for all the stuff I think is cool in 40K. At the moment, I have unbuilt Necrons, Tau, Tyranids and unpainted Imperial Guard, Space Marines, Orks and Chaos Space Marines. A mad urge inside my mind tells me I need to add Dark Eldar to this so I can have a full set of factions that I like the look of.
The second weakness is, I am a sucker for anything where I think it will go out of production, like limited runs for two army sets, or when GW announces they are gonna discontinue stuff.
The third weakness, buying stuff before a price rise.

I am minded to be pretty hardline with myself, because I have definitely let things get out of hand (the 40K pile of shame referenced here is only half the story, Fantasy is similar and let's not discuss historicals...). I know some people do a "paint twice as much as I buy" rule, which I think is cool, but I am gonna say no new stuff this year, just focus on what I have and get it sorted out. I am not minded to sell off any of my stuff, because I have always regretted that later, but it should at least get painted and get properly used at some point!

What about you? Do you want to fight your pile of shame? What are your goals?
Apologies to Argive, your thread was six months old by now so I wasn't sure whether to necro it or not!

Hear!! Hear! Brother!

I love the fact the dream of fighting the never ending battle is alive!
Yarrrr!!!

No need for apologies, getting told off by a mod is never fun

To be honest I have fallen of the waggon recently..
My pile has grown, and I have lots sight somewhat of the fight.. So this is a great reminder of what needs to be done!

I already have a new years resolution of focusing on my fitness and health as I have let myself go over the last 1.5 years since meeting my woman (life eh ?)
But I will make another commitment regarding more purchases.
TBH if FW still had carmine and magma dragon on sale I would have picked those up this month which I was planning but as they are gone there is no longer anything I truly want.

I have been in build mode for the last couple weeks and going strong. In fact I'm quite in the zone building all the time in my spare time..
Over the last 2 weeks I have built and based: 18 Storm guardians, 15 Dire Avengers, 5 wraithguard, converted and built 2 wraith lords, building and magnetizing another 5 CC wraith blades.

On the pile que I have:

Stripping:
Asurmen
Warp spiders

(And a huge backlog I'm actually ashamed of so I deleted the list...)

So yeah. Time to stick the fight.
Hopefully My house purchase will go through sooner rather than later so that I can get that dedicated hobby/airbrush space which will make things much much easier.

My Goal this year: Build every bit of Eldar I have and aim to paint at least 50% of it.

**privateer4hire**

My pile o' is:

To build:
5 necron immortals
necron floaty weapon platform
5 GSC bikers

To paint:
The items above
15 OOP necron warriors
3 little frog guys from deep undercuts
5 primaris tactical type guys
5 primaris jump pack guys
12 necron warriors

**stroller**

The reduction in the BUILD pile of shame went well last year. Just the space wolves to finish off and a few bits and bobs and repairs.

The PAINT pile of shame... 4 years worth.. maybe 6....?