It was after ordering the new WH40K boxset, and the attendant 53 miniatures that come with it. I realised that I had just added a significant number of models to the hundreds (or perhaps thousands) of miniatures I have scattered around my home.
There are unpainted miniatures sitting on shelves, on my desk, in drawers, carry cases, blister packs, boxes and still unclipped on their sprues. It's quite possible there's a lifetime of hobby work awaiting my attention. It's a ridiculous backlog of unpainted, unprepared models, and I think it points to a fairly serious element of addiction at play within my collecting habits.
I'm probably not alone in this.
So after ordering the new WH40K and getting that tinge of regret you have when you've given in to a craving and done a bad, I thought I'd try to make amends.
I decided I wouldn't allow myself to buy a single new model or component** until I had completed one hundred models from my backlog. Yes, that's right, one hundred.
That was nearly two weeks ago, and right now I've still not got much to show for it.
Not much, but something. Enter one of the (seemingly) most popular Citadel models ever released: The Lord of Plagues.
Or, as I like to call my version, The Flesh Baron of Gshtaad.
I was lucky in that he was practically finished before I even set myself this challenge; he just needed a few minutes of work to complete. Fortunately my unspoken rules still allowed his inclusion, as anything that hadn't yet left my desk (at the time I started the challenge), no matter how close to completion, is fair game.*** But photographing old miniatures, or touching them up and calling them new, is a no-no.
I'll use this blog to keep track, and I'll try to be completely honest, showing a score at the end of any relevant posts. A score that currently looks like this:
ADDICTION CHALLENGE
REMAINING: 99
Wish me luck.
*It wouldn't be the first time one of my hobby challenges stretches over 10 years.
**Tools and paint are allowed.
***In fact with nearly 200 models in various stages of progress on my desk, the aim of this challenge is very much to put a few projects to bed and clear some much needed space.
Very nice Nurgle miniature, it is near to my ideal of Nurgle, muted tones, grim looking!
ReplyDeleteWell to avoid the cumulative sum of miniatures, generally I buy only when I sell what I have done -I paint and sell almost everything, I have no heart lol -, because I really like that my hobby has 0 costs, and I try to have few projects: however sometimes it is quite difficult, despite these two rules I have, look at the new Death Guard!!! Good luck however, I hope to see a lot of your work.
Thanks Stats. I wish I was more organised like you. It can be quite depressing having so many incomplete projects on the go at once. But, equally, it's occasionally quite nice to able to flit and change between models, depending upon what I fancy doing at the time. For example, I have a small contingent of Death Guard type marines and cultists sitting on my desk, and the the new 40K boxset has seen my interest starting to pique in their direction. It may not be too long before some actual progress is made.
Deletegood luck with your challenge. I don't think I'm as bad as you, but I have a fair amount of unpainted stuff- a whole Death Guard 30K army (100 x MKIII marines, 4 Dreads), an Ork army for 40K (Stompa, 9 Deffkoptas, 100ish Boyz), a SAGA Viking army (50 infantry), a Bolt Action Soviet army (60 infantry, heavy weapons, tank) plus a few odd models for 40K, like a Stormtalon I bought to field a particular formation and now will never need with the introduction of 8th.
ReplyDeleteI paint pretty fast, just finished a SAGA Anglo-Dane army in about 3 weeks, so I know it will get done, but I still can't help myself buying new stuff (like the Nurgle half of the 8th starter). Silly when I figure I have perhaps 18 months hobby stuff in store already.
Amazing that you can paint so fast. It's something I hope to work on to finish some of my Ork boys and Marine infantry. If I could get them all done I'd be in a much better place. Do you have a blog or photos online anywhere? Love the name btw. What are you infinitely resigned to?
ReplyDeleteHi Torva, I paint pretty simply, generally spray white, put on base colours with a fairly thin paint so they give a bit of shading (somewhere between a wash and a normal coat of paint) and then wash with something like Agrax Earthshade. Sometimes I spray a base colour instead of white. Then base with some GW textured paint and some tufts. Sounds kind of primitive but looks ok on the table and its incredibly quick.
ReplyDeleteMy username is a reference to quite a deep bit of the philosopher Kierkegaard's thought. Bit complicated to go into here, but here is an ok summary: https://rheasunlight.wordpress.com/2013/08/19/the-knight-of-infinite-resignation-and-the-knight-of-faith/
I don't have a blog or any photos online, but I've been thinking about starting one...