My pledge for the year is to limit my miniatures buying to any of the new Ral Partha figures coming from the Chaos Wars Wave 2 Kickstarter, and any figures in the future to support specific things in my campaigns, if needed. So that might mean some elves in 15mm. And possibly some levies/peasants in 15mm. But I’m keeping it as minimal as possible. I want to paint everything in my backlog, which at the beginning of January was at 415 to paint.
So how did I do in April?
I started April with 332 figures in the pile.
I painted 24 figures:
2 – 25mm D&D Monsters
9 – 25mm D&D PCs/NPCs
7 – 25mm wargames figures – Humans
4 – Battlemechs
2 – Fantasy terrain “tiles”
I also found that I miscounted one of my Grenadier box sets by 1 figure, so I had 9 instead of 10.
And “no purchases”! Three months in a row and counting…
I ended the month with 307 figures in the pile. For the year, I have a net of: +108 figures.
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But why the quotes around “no purchases”? Because the Ral Partha Chaos Wars 2 Kickstarter is in full swing now!
Right now, budget is the biggest factor in how many figures I can purchase from this Kickstarter, which is only a measly 17 figures (including 2 freebies from stretch goals). But if you want to get ahold of some really cool Ral Partha classic goodness and see a reinvigorated wargame – try out the Chaos Wars! It’s really a cool game!
Why so few figures painted this month though? Beyond having most of my weekends spoken for with traveling, a huge reason is because I’ve done something pretty interesting and scary, I’ve went to a completely new way of painting. I mentioned this in a previous blog post – I’m experimenting with the Foundry/Dallimore method of painting minis.
I used the 2 color method for the PCs/NPCs and monsters, and the 1 color method (with selective highlights) for the “grunt/unit” troops. I managed to complete 4 25mm spear men in one day – from first touch of the brush to finished basing! That’s pretty fast for me and now that I’m starting to get better with this method, I can see where I’ll be able to knock out lots of troops this way. I going to save the 3 color method for when I get really good, and I have a command or important figure to paint.
I like the results!
And… as promised, I finally figured out my photography issues (MOAHR LIGHT, IDIOT!) so here you go! Part of what I’ve painted up in the past 3 months…
Awesome! You're bases look way better than mine. Don't tell the U.S. Government, I mount all of mine on quarters, paint them green and call it a day!
@RipperX – thank you! The wood bases are 1" Litko bases – I mount all my 25mm on 1" wide bases to keep them the same, and then just adjust my wargames rules accordingly.
The dungeon bases – the thinner ones are Sculpy clay bases, homemade. The thicker dungeon bases are Hirst Arts flagstone floor tiles. They're "OK"… I am not sure I like the thickness, but I have 100 of them, and I use what I buy so …
You can go cheaper than quarters and buy some washers from your local hardware store. Usually cheaper than quarters and just as sturdy.
Looking good, Michael!
I like your "reduce the pile!" painting pledge vs. buying more minis. I should really dig more into my pile too, before buying any more!
Allan.
I applaud your diligence.
Now I need to get started on my 250 or so minis… and I haven't painted any since I was in grade school.
So intimidated…
@grodog – thank you. Hope you enjoy the old chunky classical Grenadier. I love the look, except for those darn baggy clothes! Don't murderhoboes dress any better? 😉
@Wieg – don't be intimidated! Trust me when I say that some of the paint jobs I've done last month, up close, look terrible! But I paint for the tabletop. At 3 feet, they look great, especially as "grunts". That's what I'm doing for learning the new technique, sharpen my skills on grunt and NPC/monster minis (like these) and get good enough to do PC and command/special figures.
Here's a great one coat tutorial on the Foundry painting method – http://www.essexminiatures.co.uk/pages/quick-dirty-basic-15mm-painting-guide
You can skip Step 4 – the highlights – and have a great figure! And this works for 25/28mm as well as 15mm.