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So I am currently in the process of annihilating my vintage SM pile of shame since last year when the AoD box dropped. Looking in my hobby cupboard to see what little amount of SM remain I found a couple of unbuilt Chaos models (five terminators, ten CSM and twenty cultists). About twenty years ago I painted 99% of my CSM models and one portion of them has a Nurgle green/brown colour scheme with rusted metal reserved for the edges of the power armour.

However being exposed to numerous HH 2.0 Youtube battle reports I witnessed how terrific the Death Guard (DG) look in dirty white power armour. My green/brown colour scheme looks good but the white DG stuff just looks better. I am now considering painting the few remaining Chaos models apart from the cultists in the white colour scheme with sickly green as secondary colour when the SM have been finished. And obviously my previously painted CSM minis would then need a repaint too. In regards to repainting we are talking about four vehicles and 45 infantry models.

The logical portion of my mind tells me to not repaint the painted CSM models as they look good enough and it is about bloody time to tackle the AoD box itself once the vintage SM have been finished. What´s your opinion on the matter? Do you also have sometimes the urge of repainting an army but knowing full well that this is madness?

Repaint them. I have models I've repainted 3-4 times.

I don't repaint for financial and time reasons, but all power to you if you do.

It's madness.

Chaos are ALLOWED to look different... the clue is in the name....

I am currently in the process of repainting my Imperial Guard but the were painted at such a level of trash that this was mandotary. It doesn't feel great though, I like painting so I enjoy myself but the enjoyment is really from saving them because they were just THAT bad.

If you are really really in painting, I'd say that's less expensive than buying new minis as you obviously skip the price of miniatures.

IMO stripping and repainting is not worth it unless something is OOP and hard to find. Just buy new stuff to paint in the new scheme and keep the old ones for large games or sell them to fund the new army.

It….depends.

First, consider if the current paint job can be touched up with washes and highlights and that.

Second, consider if you’re happy to do so, and aren’t fussed on a given paint job being a milestone.

Third? You know you, and you just do as you please, having considered the first to as a Labour saving efforts.

depends, for example I have very recently started T'au, I have three infantry units so far

the first was primed white, panel lined, then I realised the level of touch up required with a pale grey sucked

the second got painted pale grey, panel lined and edge highlighted, well partly, also a mess

the third got drybrushed white over grey and has yet to be lined, they do need the lining but will get an oil wash panel line for that when I either get hold of one or get around to making one

the third looks good, so what happens with the first two?

they could get a strip and re-paint, this is the cheaper option, the cheapest option is to leave then and gradually replace them if it matters, or replace with 3d print

comes down to the cost/benefit relationship, if every time you look at a model you hate it, repaint it, if you can live with it, weather it etc, do that

I've repainted some units multiple times. Part of this is a function of increases in my skill and changes in my taste.

Some years back I went for a metallic silver on my Chaos terminators, and now I don't like it. Some are already on the table.

I try to prioritize new builds, but sometimes the old stuff is just so awful, it gets pushed to the front. Can't have that stuff stinking up the battlefield.

I really comes down to if you want to do it for your own enjoyment. (Do you have another painted army to play with in the meantime...as the one you repaint will be out of commission for a while).

I repainted my entire Eldar army, and at first I thought I had really created a whole lot of work for myself, and a massive increase to my pile of shame.

Now my army is from the Rogue Trader and Second Addition era, so all metal and easy to strip.

As I have repainted, I have really enjoyed the process...and now do not regret my decision in the slightest. As my army looks far superior to my 1990s work.

My two cents,

CB

Your minis, do what YOU want with them.

I don't repaint mine once they're done. Yeah, my skaven (first army) look pretty 'meh' next to my lizardmen (most recent army)... but there's WAAAAAY too many of them to bother repainting. Heck, there's too many of them to make rebasing them for the rumored new TOS base sizes realistic...

 Vulcan wrote:
Your minis, do what YOU want with them.

I don't repaint mine once they're done. Yeah, my skaven (first army) look pretty 'meh' next to my lizardmen (most recent army)... but there's WAAAAAY too many of them to bother repainting. Heck, there's too many of them to make rebasing them for the rumored new TOS base sizes realistic...

I should think rebasing would be easier than assembling and painting new models from scratch.

Since I'm cheap, I prefer recycling as much as possible. I'll even pull old vehicles apart and build new ones rather than have an unused model.

I gave it some thought and realized the application of my old paint scheme for the remaining Chaos dudes wouldn´t fill me with joy but would rather feel like a necessary exercise to get everything completed. So the unassembled stuff will get the white paint scheme but the models painted twenty years ago will have to wait until the HH stuff has been tackled. That´s I think the best solution.

Plan for action is set, all is left is to wish you happy painting comrade!

Commissar von Toussaint wrote:

 Vulcan wrote:
Your minis, do what YOU want with them.

I don't repaint mine once they're done. Yeah, my skaven (first army) look pretty 'meh' next to my lizardmen (most recent army)... but there's WAAAAAY too many of them to bother repainting. Heck, there's too many of them to make rebasing them for the rumored new TOS base sizes realistic...

I should think rebasing would be easier than assembling and painting new models from scratch.

Since I'm cheap, I prefer recycling as much as possible. I'll even pull old vehicles apart and build new ones rather than have an unused model.

EasiER, yes.

When you're talking about around a thousand of them, it ceases to be 'easy'. And frankly I'd rather use the money it would take on other things.

 Vulcan wrote:
EasiER, yes.

When you're talking about around a thousand of them, it ceases to be 'easy'. And frankly I'd rather use the money it would take on other things.

Ah yes, the old Zero Option: do nothing.

Unless my Pile of Shame is gone, and I have a desperate need to paint; I won't repaint anything.

Oh, my Pile of Shame is gone!

But do you have the urge?

I mean each case is different and I don't believe there is a hard and fast rule on it but one thing I have heard is to not go back and repaint things for two reasons.

1) Going back and repainting things means you will never get through your pile of shame.
2) Old things that you have painted are part of your painting journey. You can track how you've improved through your old stuff.

That being said, I am repainting my very first army, my 6th edition Empire army. My painting has changed so much that the far older stuff really doesn't look good next to my more modern paint jobs.

Honestly they are your models, do what you want.

 Commodus Leitdorf wrote:


1) Going back and repainting things means you will never get through your pile of shame.

I'll never get through it anyways. So going back and repainting something won't have any detrimental effects.
I'll die and whoever gets my stuff will have years & years worth of painting enjoyment ahead of them.....

Only repaint if you still like the look of the old models (personally I only find the vintage metal models palatable enough to consider any theoretical repainting, old plastics look naff)

ccs wrote:

 Commodus Leitdorf wrote:


1) Going back and repainting things means you will never get through your pile of shame.

I'll never get through it anyways. So going back and repainting something won't have any detrimental effects.
I'll die and whoever gets my stuff will have years & years worth of painting enjoyment ahead of them.....

I have proven that it is possible to repaint an entire army and still eliminate your pile of shame. I even picked up models to complete the army I was repainting (so no hard freeze on adding additional models)…but you should really want to do it. To make that old army you loved something new again that you enjoy is the key. Now if you like the newer models, I would not proceed, but if it is an old army that you cannot procure easily...go for it.

My two cents,

CB

I don't even have time to paint all my stuff once. I definitely wouldn't repaint 4 vehicles and 45 infantry, especially when it's a chaos army.

 Captain Brown wrote:
I have proven that it is possible to repaint an entire army and still eliminate your pile of shame. I even picked up models to complete the army I was repainting (so no hard freeze on adding additional models)…but you should really want to do it. To make that old army you loved something new again that you enjoy is the key. Now if you like the newer models, I would not proceed, but if it is an old army that you cannot procure easily...go for it.

My two cents,

CB

*Fist bump*

Some years ago I adopted a Marie Kondo attitude towards models and began selling off stuff that had languished for too long. That pretty much demolished the pile of shame. I have unpainted/unassembled models, but the reason they are in that state is that I'm not currently playing that particular list/game. However, when I do (and I will), they will get done.

I don't paint for pleasure, I paint to play, and so whatever campaign I'm running (or am about to run) gets priority on the painting table. I will often choose a faction based on having a backlog of figures. For example, in my current (paused) 40k campaign, I recognized that my Chaos Marines had a bunch of models that I wanted to repaint and also some vehicles that were awaiting refurbishment. So that became my army of choice, and that's what I'm cleaning up at the moment.

Or, more accurately, that's what I'll address when the weather turns. Summer is too fleeting to waste it indoors inhaling paint fumes. I do the vast majority of my gaming in cold-weather months.

 Captain Brown wrote:

ccs wrote:

 Commodus Leitdorf wrote:


1) Going back and repainting things means you will never get through your pile of shame.

I'll never get through it anyways. So going back and repainting something won't have any detrimental effects.
I'll die and whoever gets my stuff will have years & years worth of painting enjoyment ahead of them.....

I have proven that it is possible to repaint an entire army and still eliminate your pile of shame. I even picked up models to complete the army I was repainting (so no hard freeze on adding additional models)…but you should really want to do it. To make that old army you loved something new again that you enjoy is the key. Now if you like the newer models, I would not proceed, but if it is an old army that you cannot procure easily...go for it.

No, you've proven that you can get through your pile.
And I'm willing to bet my pile is far bigger than yours ever was.

Me? My hobby is not painting minis, it's playing games. I'm a (very) slow & unmotivated painter. Always have been, always will be. And while I like fully painted stuff (and have plenty of it), I've never found the color of my models to have much impact on actual play. So I generally paint only when the mood strikes, the right cosmic alignment occurs, OR I'm suffering extreme depression & stress.
The 1st two aren't under my control & thankfully I've not been extremely depressed or stressed for a few years.
So things get built & then get an initial layer of basecoat/primer. After that things get finished whenever they get finished.
My total output of finished minis to date this year: 7
Meanwhile Jan - present I've added approximately 275 minis (across numerous games, not just 40k). And there's still a bit over 4 months to go in the year....

 Captain Brown wrote:

I have proven that it is possible to repaint an entire army and still eliminate your pile of shame. I even picked up models to complete the army I was repainting (so no hard freeze on adding additional models)…but you should really want to do it. To make that old army you loved something new again that you enjoy is the key. Now if you like the newer models, I would not proceed, but if it is an old army that you cannot procure easily...go for it.

My two cents,

CB

I mean everyone is different and has various speeds of painting. It also depends on what you're getting painted. My Empire army is 170 models, that's not something that can be easily repainted especially to the standard I have for myself now. That being said i'm doing it anyway as that army is my favourite and of all the models I own it is the one I would never get rid of.

Sometimes I look at my early Black Legion models and think I should add extra highlights etc. but then again they are a reflection of where I was at the time painting wise and I keep them as is as a warm fuzzy reminder of those times in my life. Repainting them would feel....wrong somehow.

ccs wrote:
No, you've proven that you can get through your pile.
And I'm willing to bet my pile is far bigger than yours ever was.

Me? My hobby is not painting minis, it's playing games. I'm a (very) slow & unmotivated painter. Always have been, always will be. And while I like fully painted stuff (and have plenty of it), I've never found the color of my models to have much impact on actual play. So I generally paint only when the mood strikes, the right cosmic alignment occurs, OR I'm suffering extreme depression & stress.
The 1st two aren't under my control & thankfully I've not been extremely depressed or stressed for a few years.
So things get built & then get an initial layer of basecoat/primer. After that things get finished whenever they get finished.
My total output of finished minis to date this year: 7
Meanwhile Jan - present I've added approximately 275 minis (across numerous games, not just 40k). And there's still a bit over 4 months to go in the year....

Everyone's situation is different. Like I said, I did the Marie Kondo think and liquidated a lot of my pile. I had no intention of using them, so why keep them around?

I am also not a motivated painter. I paint only when games are likely and I generally paint what I will use in an upcoming game.

My painting is...basic. Yes, that's it. I'm famous among my friends for the two-tone paint job, though lately I've added a third color. I like to base coat with a spray paint and then do just enough details to give "life" to the figure. I do flock the bases though. Really helps make the figures pop.

Total miniature count for all armies/genres is 2,288 and most are painted. My armies are pretty much set at this point. To buff up my Eldar I bought some jet bikes in January and they're base coated.

That's why I can repaint. I look at my Chaos Marines and decide to upgrade a bit. Doing a couple of squads isn't much work.

Almost all of my unpainted figures are "in reserve." By that I mean that I have largely finished their army, but I know that I may want to tweak units from time to time. For example, my Ultramarines were "finished" circa 2003, but I have a handful of guys still in the blister packs just in case.

OT, repainting is the great way to refresh an army that seems stagnant, especially when you "leveled up" in painting skill since you did them.

Motivation came up a few times in this thread. So I will talk a bit about my level of energy right now. Prior the release of Ash Wastes & HH 2.0 last year I did very little related hobby stuff. There were years when the paint brush gathered dust rather than seeing a single mini. Though this ended when GW decided to wake the "Old Ones" ( ) with their nostalgia sales trick with the above mentioned games.

For Ash Wastes I built a desert board and decided to use the Car Wars game as a vehicle. So I didn´t spend a single penny on anything related to Bookromunda. Strangely predominantly mini muscle cars were raided in shops by me although I still didn´t have time to convert a single car to postapocalyptic standards.

In contrast a lot of new shiny stuff was bought for HH 2.0 but first a significantly margin of the old minis had to be elevated to the glass cabinet before touching dedicated HH territory. During that time I developed also an interest into our solar system via DVDs with the result that the new 30K and old 40K force need to have Mars bases accomplished via Vallejo Red Oxide Paste as well as for the first time using weathering powders, tufts and transfers. In the past sand was glued on the base and three brown tones were added as well as islandmoos. In addition there is also now a nice Mars mat laying on a new, large gaming board.

So in essence my hobby levels have been revived from half-aware zombie status to hyperactivity. At the beginning of 2023 there were a few months were I did nothing hobby related although I am for quite some time back on track. The trick is to pump out a unit per week. This unit can be a single vehicle or a squad of infantry up to 10 models. And it works. A finished unit replenishes my motivation to pick up a new one immediately. How many models have I finished since last year? Lets see:

- 100 SM infantry
- 6 SM vehicles
- 17 Iron Empire (IE, Raging Heroes) infantry
- 1 IE vehicle

The Iron Empire models are used as a palate cleanser when I need to take a break from painting power armour. For the future Nurgle CSM project there also needs to be a superior base design as I can´t continue doing sand & islandmoos since I began doing Mars bases. For that I decide to use Vallejo Thick Mud previously bought to use on my old Catachan bases but never had time to pimp them up in such a manner. Nurgle models waddling through mud just needs to become a reality.

How many games did I play with the Mars themed SM so far? Just one. I have become more of a painter than a gamer in recent years. Though when I do any type of tabletop game a digital camera is used to capture the action for posterity and also give me hints what kind of scenarios have been played in the past. So photography became another hobby as well.

A problem with having a mature collection is that I don't really get that manic frenzy that happens when I'm starting a new army.

So cool to be building towards a viable force and then fleshing it out. It is satisfying to do some refits here or there, but I do enjoy that initial rush of energy.