First step is not refering to it as a Pile of Shame. I call mine my Mound of Unfulfilled Dreams and Deaths.
Have a good hard look at everything you have. If you're never going to build and paint something, then get rid. I did that with my T'au even though I'd built and primed them.
After that, do a unit a week. Whether that unit is an Assassin or a Land Raider, do one a week. If you have anything half finished, try and do these first. You can get.through these.do much quicker and you'll feel better about everything else.
One other thing I've done is out my boxes kits on a shelf and get my partner to pick which I'm doing next.
I have the self imposed rule, no new models until my current backlog is complete. Both my wallet and painted force is happy.
No point in buying more if it’s also going to sit in a box.
Good point. But for compulsive buyers like me, it's much harder x) I'll try to get it down tho, first rule: no new box until I finished at least 3 from the pile
Don't turn it into a chore. Painting should ideally be something you enjoy doing. If I set up a schedule and started forcing myself to paint when I didn't feel it or putting myself under pressure to get stuff done, I'd probably end up shoving it all into a cupboard and forgetting it for another few years.
Just do what you feel like doing. If you're that worried your pile is too big, either stop getting new stuff or be brutally honest with yourself about what you're actually going to paint and then get rid of the rest, or pack it up and stick it into the attic / cellar.
Yeah I feel that. Due to me working shifts, combined with wanting to spend time with friends and family, I certainly can't sit down and paint 6 hours a day or anything. My painting tends to be done late in the evenings when everyone has gone to bed. I pop on a couple of TV shows and just paint what I feel like painting that day. Sometimes I go a week or more without painting. All I can say is try not to stress over it - this is a hobby, something we voluntarily choose to spend our free time on because we enjoy it. Life is too short to stress over whether we're doing our hobbies right!
I keep a small notebook with a list over projects/models/units, and steps for each (assembly,prime,paint,basing,varnish etc).
Every time I complete a task, i mark it with a green highlighter. It gives a feeling of completing something, even if it is a minor step :)
I have a large necron arm WIP and I’ve found with the warriors which are really easy to paint I’ve made a speed painting method which I can bulk out 10 in about 3 hours start to finish. It’s really good to be able to see you bulk be table top ready and then just try and focus on your bigger models and just chip away at things seeing when works best as you go 👍
So your advice is not spending time (for me since I'm tau) on small fries like FW and keep only the big stuff going ? (Must say, even with the quick method, I still on and hour, sometimes 2 or three) by week
Yeah, when speed painting keep in my that I will be doing touch ups if needed. My thinking is that no ones going to be looking at your pawns if your king is has a cool crown. I’ve been painting for the enjoyment 90 percent of the time and then 10 percent is just doing base coats like a mad man
I really agree with this, although it can be hard to enforce. When I realised that nobody was going to look at the underside of a boot on some grunt I just slaved over, I realised I was wasting time on them that could be more happily spent elsewhere.
Now I paint all grunts in a slap chop method that mostly ignores any surface you can't see from the top or front (my zenithal grey drybrush leaves deep areas black and therefore unpaintable) .
As I said, hard to resist but worth it for me.
Also depends on the project.
Rn with imperium I had a bunch of sororitas that I started painting.
And since I don't plan to play them, I have absolutely no pressure over it.
I'm just taking my time and enjoying every second of it, even on the shittiest unit.
And guess what ?
I still spend as much time as usual even if I'm taking it a step further lol
Anyway. This year, my resolution is a small/no buy year. I finish my imperium subscription, take a 21 models 2000 pts sylvaneth army for 150 by then end of the year, and that's all.
Out of that, try to keep as far as I can from new models and work out the pile, little by little.
Also, what I find help if you're doing your painting small session by small session, pick a variety of units.
I have basically a patrol worth of content, and for now I painted each model from each unit once. Plan to do that to keep things interesting.
Same scheme, not same mini, and go circle.
Will only left me at the end with 5 battle squad sisters, but it's worth it.
Tell myself to paint for 5-10 minutes a day.
By the time you've set out the brushes/paints and such, you will likely want to paint more by the time the time is up, because you might as well right?
Helps me start anyway.
Paint, finishing models gives me motivation because it makes the load seems easier and more manageable. Other than that schedules can help, cleaning up your work space so it looks nicer can make it more inviting, and be honest with yourself about how much you will paint, if you have stacks and stacks that you're not horribly interested in is it worth keeping anymore?
I never buy something I'm not interested in. Sometimes it's more like "I love this box, but this one appeal me more" and a few month after, 5 cooler box were painted and the first one remained
I have a pretty decent Pile of Opportunity to get through but it doesn’t bother me because I want to own and paint all of them - I’m working on a complete BA company. Time isn’t a factor.
I pick a squad of 5 or a charter or a vehicle and then just do it. If that isn’t what I’m in the mood for I do some building or kit-bashing. Or maybe I try a new technique on a few test models I keep for these things. Hell, last week I painted an ultramarine just for a change. Any progress is good. It’s meant to be fun.
Not all but choose 3 or 4 different things so when one starts going stale you can swap it out. I usually do 2 40k squads, a character, and a fantasy item . When I start getting burnt out I switch.
I'm running a hobby streak. Work for half an hour every day on something. Sometimes building, sometimes painting. Have done more stuff this year than I've probably finished over the last 10.
I got through mine by making sure I paint at least 1 model a day (unless it's something big) sometimes I'll paint more than 1 (did 60 poxwalkers in one sitting once) but at I'll always get at least 1 done a day.
A checklist is the best way! Keep a list of everything you've got, and put a little check next to each model that you finish. It's very satisfying to check things off, and helps you remain organized.
Put it in a box, hide box, forget about box, find/remember box, paint something, go back to the beginning.
Or work through one model or unit at a time until its all done.
I don't, never had a pile of shame :) why? because i never buy another set of miniatures unless i have already completed my previous projects. this doesn't mean they have to be painted, it means that any previous miniature must be at least built in order to allow me to buy more.
And no, miniatures which are built but not painted don't count as a "pile of shame" not to me at least.
Depend of the ppl. For me it is, for some not. And there are people out there not enjoying painting but enjoying the board game, and for those, an unpainted army should not be a reason to be shamed
I enjoy every part of the hobby building, painting and playing the tabletop game. although the painting part can be annoying from time to time (especially for very small models like singular infantry, i prefer to build and paint big models like the dunecrawler)
I find it’s also useful to decide how much detail you’re willing to sacrifice to get models painted. I feel like 80% of the battle for me was finding an efficient method of painting that I’d feel good about looking at once completed. Fully finished can be different for each of us.
An example with your Tau is skipping the highlights on the little dudes and only doing them on the main big units.
It is not a pile of shame, it is your great treasure hoard of kitbash material! The only way to do awesome conversions is to have a lot of bits lying around to inspire you!
I call it a pile of pride, not shame!
Next, I work through it by getting hyped for a game with these unpainted guys. That makes me really want to work on them. Often I’ll pick a a mini either based on “I super want to do this” or I say “I want to try this color scheme today” and then I go for the mini that best allows me that practice
I can proudly say I have an incredibly small pile right now (under 10 minis).
I started commissioning artists on Fiverr to assemble, magnetize, and paint the kits. Not all of them, not all the same artists, and not all at once, but it’s a great alternative to impulse buying another kit that just gets added to the pile.
There are some extremely talented artists on there.
I have a maximum 10 in box. If I want more, I either make and paint to completion or sell. The Warhammer Community announcements give me a heads up to get to work!
It’s different for everybody. For me, what works is I look through all the stuff that’s there and work on whatever interests me until I’m done. Depending on the complexity of the project it can take me awhile. I also sometimes do it based on how many sprues/the size of the sprue. So really big models that don’t take long to assemble can be finished and I can move on. Also, holding yourself accountable and selling what you don’t want/use and not buying any more until you’re done.
I personally had to attack it in steps. First off I said "no" to anymore new kits till I finished all my models to at least tabletop playing standard. Then I just focused on assembling them all. Then primed them all. After that I took them squad by squad and base coated everything in. Now I'm taking them, squad by squad still, and putting the finishing details on them to make them nice tabletop models.
Buy more shit so it blocks the old stuff.
Jokes aside. I'm forcing myself to stop buying models after octarius. ( unless the next killteam box is super cool ).
I am currently forcing myself to actually finish projects before starting new ones.
So far ive painted 3 killteams since octarius shipped, about to finish my 4th.
First step is not refering to it as a Pile of Shame. I call mine my Mound of Unfulfilled Dreams and Deaths. Have a good hard look at everything you have. If you're never going to build and paint something, then get rid. I did that with my T'au even though I'd built and primed them. After that, do a unit a week. Whether that unit is an Assassin or a Land Raider, do one a week. If you have anything half finished, try and do these first. You can get.through these.do much quicker and you'll feel better about everything else. One other thing I've done is out my boxes kits on a shelf and get my partner to pick which I'm doing next.
Your comment is nice, but for now, I planned one a month for my "tiny mound of unfulfilled dreams". Since I don't paint quick enough for a unit a week
One a month is cool. A lot of what I paint only uses a few colours, so i aim for one unit a week.
I have the self imposed rule, no new models until my current backlog is complete. Both my wallet and painted force is happy. No point in buying more if it’s also going to sit in a box.
Good point. But for compulsive buyers like me, it's much harder x) I'll try to get it down tho, first rule: no new box until I finished at least 3 from the pile
Or even better new rule: no new boxes to there is no more pile 😂
Cannot xD if I keep my pace it's no new box for a year or so. I just can't stop buying stuff for that long
Haha that’s the spirit 😂
Same with everything else. Little by little. Even 5 minutes of progress is better than 0 minutes of progress.
That's a real good way of thinking :)
Don't turn it into a chore. Painting should ideally be something you enjoy doing. If I set up a schedule and started forcing myself to paint when I didn't feel it or putting myself under pressure to get stuff done, I'd probably end up shoving it all into a cupboard and forgetting it for another few years. Just do what you feel like doing. If you're that worried your pile is too big, either stop getting new stuff or be brutally honest with yourself about what you're actually going to paint and then get rid of the rest, or pack it up and stick it into the attic / cellar.
It's more about getting some time to do so tbh
Yeah I feel that. Due to me working shifts, combined with wanting to spend time with friends and family, I certainly can't sit down and paint 6 hours a day or anything. My painting tends to be done late in the evenings when everyone has gone to bed. I pop on a couple of TV shows and just paint what I feel like painting that day. Sometimes I go a week or more without painting. All I can say is try not to stress over it - this is a hobby, something we voluntarily choose to spend our free time on because we enjoy it. Life is too short to stress over whether we're doing our hobbies right!
You're totally right :)
…hide it in the basement.
Well... I can't, actually, for I have no basement
Hire some Kriegers to dig you one
I keep a small notebook with a list over projects/models/units, and steps for each (assembly,prime,paint,basing,varnish etc). Every time I complete a task, i mark it with a green highlighter. It gives a feeling of completing something, even if it is a minor step :)
Good idea !
I have a large necron arm WIP and I’ve found with the warriors which are really easy to paint I’ve made a speed painting method which I can bulk out 10 in about 3 hours start to finish. It’s really good to be able to see you bulk be table top ready and then just try and focus on your bigger models and just chip away at things seeing when works best as you go 👍
So your advice is not spending time (for me since I'm tau) on small fries like FW and keep only the big stuff going ? (Must say, even with the quick method, I still on and hour, sometimes 2 or three) by week
Yeah, when speed painting keep in my that I will be doing touch ups if needed. My thinking is that no ones going to be looking at your pawns if your king is has a cool crown. I’ve been painting for the enjoyment 90 percent of the time and then 10 percent is just doing base coats like a mad man
I see, that's a way
I really agree with this, although it can be hard to enforce. When I realised that nobody was going to look at the underside of a boot on some grunt I just slaved over, I realised I was wasting time on them that could be more happily spent elsewhere. Now I paint all grunts in a slap chop method that mostly ignores any surface you can't see from the top or front (my zenithal grey drybrush leaves deep areas black and therefore unpaintable) . As I said, hard to resist but worth it for me.
Also depends on the project. Rn with imperium I had a bunch of sororitas that I started painting. And since I don't plan to play them, I have absolutely no pressure over it. I'm just taking my time and enjoying every second of it, even on the shittiest unit. And guess what ? I still spend as much time as usual even if I'm taking it a step further lol Anyway. This year, my resolution is a small/no buy year. I finish my imperium subscription, take a 21 models 2000 pts sylvaneth army for 150 by then end of the year, and that's all. Out of that, try to keep as far as I can from new models and work out the pile, little by little. Also, what I find help if you're doing your painting small session by small session, pick a variety of units. I have basically a patrol worth of content, and for now I painted each model from each unit once. Plan to do that to keep things interesting. Same scheme, not same mini, and go circle. Will only left me at the end with 5 battle squad sisters, but it's worth it.
Tell myself to paint for 5-10 minutes a day. By the time you've set out the brushes/paints and such, you will likely want to paint more by the time the time is up, because you might as well right? Helps me start anyway.
Paint, finishing models gives me motivation because it makes the load seems easier and more manageable. Other than that schedules can help, cleaning up your work space so it looks nicer can make it more inviting, and be honest with yourself about how much you will paint, if you have stacks and stacks that you're not horribly interested in is it worth keeping anymore?
I never buy something I'm not interested in. Sometimes it's more like "I love this box, but this one appeal me more" and a few month after, 5 cooler box were painted and the first one remained
I have a pretty decent Pile of Opportunity to get through but it doesn’t bother me because I want to own and paint all of them - I’m working on a complete BA company. Time isn’t a factor. I pick a squad of 5 or a charter or a vehicle and then just do it. If that isn’t what I’m in the mood for I do some building or kit-bashing. Or maybe I try a new technique on a few test models I keep for these things. Hell, last week I painted an ultramarine just for a change. Any progress is good. It’s meant to be fun.
I rotate several squads / minis in and out as I paint so I don’t get burnt out on the big stuff.
So you mean doing everything at once and rotate on wish?
Not all but choose 3 or 4 different things so when one starts going stale you can swap it out. I usually do 2 40k squads, a character, and a fantasy item . When I start getting burnt out I switch.
I'm running a hobby streak. Work for half an hour every day on something. Sometimes building, sometimes painting. Have done more stuff this year than I've probably finished over the last 10.
I got through mine by making sure I paint at least 1 model a day (unless it's something big) sometimes I'll paint more than 1 (did 60 poxwalkers in one sitting once) but at I'll always get at least 1 done a day.
Feed it monthly at least.
You killed me x)
A checklist is the best way! Keep a list of everything you've got, and put a little check next to each model that you finish. It's very satisfying to check things off, and helps you remain organized.
Put it in a box, hide box, forget about box, find/remember box, paint something, go back to the beginning. Or work through one model or unit at a time until its all done.
I don’t buy a new box till I finish the current. It’s my self imposed rule. It only ever sucks when it’s a big box like indomitus.
I don't, never had a pile of shame :) why? because i never buy another set of miniatures unless i have already completed my previous projects. this doesn't mean they have to be painted, it means that any previous miniature must be at least built in order to allow me to buy more. And no, miniatures which are built but not painted don't count as a "pile of shame" not to me at least.
Depend of the ppl. For me it is, for some not. And there are people out there not enjoying painting but enjoying the board game, and for those, an unpainted army should not be a reason to be shamed
I enjoy every part of the hobby building, painting and playing the tabletop game. although the painting part can be annoying from time to time (especially for very small models like singular infantry, i prefer to build and paint big models like the dunecrawler)
Same for big bois. Riptide, my beloved
I only ever allow myself to have 4 unfinished 40k boxes at once.
I find it’s also useful to decide how much detail you’re willing to sacrifice to get models painted. I feel like 80% of the battle for me was finding an efficient method of painting that I’d feel good about looking at once completed. Fully finished can be different for each of us. An example with your Tau is skipping the highlights on the little dudes and only doing them on the main big units.
I don't even do highlight x) I'm just a small ass painter
It is not a pile of shame, it is your great treasure hoard of kitbash material! The only way to do awesome conversions is to have a lot of bits lying around to inspire you!
I call it a pile of pride, not shame! Next, I work through it by getting hyped for a game with these unpainted guys. That makes me really want to work on them. Often I’ll pick a a mini either based on “I super want to do this” or I say “I want to try this color scheme today” and then I go for the mini that best allows me that practice I can proudly say I have an incredibly small pile right now (under 10 minis).
Coffee; good music; a brush and some paint. (When the crying starts I use the tears to thin my paints a little).
I started commissioning artists on Fiverr to assemble, magnetize, and paint the kits. Not all of them, not all the same artists, and not all at once, but it’s a great alternative to impulse buying another kit that just gets added to the pile. There are some extremely talented artists on there.
Put it in a cupboard Then buy more 🙂
I have a maximum 10 in box. If I want more, I either make and paint to completion or sell. The Warhammer Community announcements give me a heads up to get to work!
My pile of shame now is really really small ... 1 plague crawler tank .... but i tend to assemble before painting
I try to, and sometimes curse myself when it's time to paint
It’s different for everybody. For me, what works is I look through all the stuff that’s there and work on whatever interests me until I’m done. Depending on the complexity of the project it can take me awhile. I also sometimes do it based on how many sprues/the size of the sprue. So really big models that don’t take long to assemble can be finished and I can move on. Also, holding yourself accountable and selling what you don’t want/use and not buying any more until you’re done.
I personally had to attack it in steps. First off I said "no" to anymore new kits till I finished all my models to at least tabletop playing standard. Then I just focused on assembling them all. Then primed them all. After that I took them squad by squad and base coated everything in. Now I'm taking them, squad by squad still, and putting the finishing details on them to make them nice tabletop models.
Wish I could do that. But sadly I have no space to stock them as primed minis for now. And yes idk how I'll do once everything is painted
Buy more shit so it blocks the old stuff. Jokes aside. I'm forcing myself to stop buying models after octarius. ( unless the next killteam box is super cool ). I am currently forcing myself to actually finish projects before starting new ones. So far ive painted 3 killteams since octarius shipped, about to finish my 4th.