How to get through the pile?

[obsidian3d]

I've got a bunch of stuff I'm hoping to divest myself of as well. Although I have been building a lot of things I know I want to paint and play with, there are still dozens if not hundreds of figures I will likely never get on the table for a game. It's tough to let things go, but I know I'll feel better with the available space than not.

[LawnRanger]

Brother I feel your pain ..

We have to man up and face a few truths ,they aint going to paint there self.

First thing is Stop buying figures !  

Stop looking at kick starter and web sites ...thats time wasted you could be painting... only look at this web site  for now  

Dont  take an inventory you are wasting painting hours ...deep down you/we know what we/you have !so dont waste time..

DO not sell Any stuff you bought it for a reason ! in the first place..

FIX a time slot in your week to paint ! And stick to it ..

Get a little note book and write down what you paint each week and try and beat it every month! set a target each month!
and try a yearly target as well .. I try and hit 2000 figs a year, am 274 figs away .
Some months you WILL hit rock bottom, thats life but you need to pick yourself up and start painting again.

 You just need to "Get a Grip Of Your Body "! (thats what meee  Sjt  used to say.).and put the time in you will find its rewarding in the end ...

Good Luck Brother .we are with you no this long road ..LR
LR

 

[FramFramson]

Just don't forget to keep some surplus, since it's a well-known fact that a gamer dies if their lead mountain is ever exhausted.

[Vanvlak]

I back Cherno's advice, and with less punch  I'd add - find a very simple paint scheme if you're painting a large force. Not an ugly scheme, just a practical one which looks good and can be applied easily - an undercoat which can serve as basecoat, use of drybrushing and washes...

[Legion1963]

Pick three things you like, preferably in the same scale and that can use common terrain for simplicity.

Sell of LAF, eBay, or throw away the rest. Feel lighter, feel in control, and move on. The cost of the weight upon your shoulders is killing your enjoyment of the hobby. Let it go.

Indeed. Now here's a man who knows a thing or two. ;-)

[Golgotha]

Divide into piles that are going to be similar colours/tones - spray paint said colour and add a wash. Suddenly piles of ugly bare metal and plastic look infinitely better. Especially if they have been put together and based - remembering that painting minis on the sprues is much quicker too. You will feel better and they will look better and you can also play with them. it is then just a matter of adding detail painting as and when you have time and if they have been undercoated in their main colours painting will be quicker too. Also consider painting one colour at a time and get a conveyor belt type system going.

Time management - cull time impacting negatively on your painting like internet and TV.

Do not sell! You may regret it - only part with them if you have lost complete interest and as others have suggested prioritise - you will likewise be more positive if you complete a particular game or armies worth etc.

If you do still want to get rid of minis then barter them in return for someone to paint the minis you do want...

At the end of the day we are all addicted and no doubt have large piles of unpainted minis but that is half the fun.

Perhaps I need to follow my own suggestions I do feel like a hypocrite.


 

[Carpet General]

I've had a couple of times in my life where I've 'let go' of my collection when it had got too large. The threats of divorce helped. 

For the most part I didn't regret it in the end. If you really miss something you can always buy it again at a later date for twice the amount you originally paid for it?

[Bazhell]

remembering that painting minis on the sprues is much quicker too.  

As I am rather new to this except for some time in a local gw I did not know this. But isnt there the problem of cutting it from the sprue and having to do it again anyway?

[tyrionhalfman]

As I am rather new to this except for some time in a local gw I did not know this. But isnt there the problem of cutting it from the sprue and having to do it again anyway?

Most manufacturers are really helpful and attach the parts to the sprues using the flat areas where they'll be glued together where possible, so I guess only limited touching up would be needed. I've never tried it this way, as I like to play around with combinations to get the best out of a plastic kit, so glue them together before painting.

Good luck getting through the mountain

[Major_Gilbear]

As I am rather new to this except for some time in a local gw I did not know this. But isnt there the problem of cutting it from the sprue and having to do it again anyway?

This was (is?) an old trick for doing shields - spray them on the sprue with a clothes peg on the corner so that you can stand the sprue up whilst they dry.

Then, when painted, you clip the shields off, scrape around the edges and glue them to the models - finally, you paint the rims with a little paint to hide where you cleaned them up.

This works well for doing a large-ish number of shields, and lets you also paint the models without the shields getting in the way.

With full models however, unless you're dealing with one or two piece models , and unless you clean up most of the mouldlines whilst the models are still on the sprue (fiddly), you will end up making as much work as you save IMO. Only if you are not bothered by mouldlines on the models will you really save much time, and even then it's debatable I think (since you could argue that painting areas that you cannot see/reach on an assembled model is also a waste of time and thereby obviating a key benefit of painting on-sprue).

Anyway. Not to de-rail the thread from a worthy subject!

[Onebigriver]

First thing is Stop buying figures !  

Stop looking at kick starter and web sites ...thats time wasted you could be painting... only look at this web site  for now  

Sound advice. I've been on a self-imposed ban for the last few years and it definitely helps if you reduce your exposure to new shiny things (desire creates suffering!) and limit yourself to looking at threads, websites etc that inspire you to get on with the projects you have onging.

[Drachenklinge]

well ... I am very lucky, since I am not much into Kickstarters - or very very seldom.

But something else ... a friend from our club has some system for buying new models:

He paint an infantry model 1point, cavallry 2 points, special techniques, more points, etc ... reaching certain limit allows him to buy more minis.

maybe that helps too. ^^

[Elbows]

Like everyone else I too had a pile.  I could argue that I still do, based on one project sitting in boxes, and I have a bin of plastic sprues from past projects (from which I could amass a small army).

Things to hold onto:
-Limited edition, or out-of-print stuff that you genuinely plan on using.

I've luckily formed an addiction to only gaming fully painted/fully themed/fully prepped tables.  While it seems a bit snobbish this is what has helped me the most.  It pushes my projects and makes me paint/work/finish faster than ever before.  Once I have a couple of fully completed projects...it's far easier to "add" to them later.  At the most I'll work on two or three projects at once (adding small bits to them).

The only things I go out of my way to buy are Kickstarters if they provide stuff I desperately want, or are a tremendous deal.  It's one of the reasons I didn't get into the Bones KS though.  They were all over the place with figures for so many games/genres...it seemed really scatter-brained.

If I acquire stuff and it isn't up to snuff or I don't like it, immediately sell it on.  I can regret it later. 

Just remember the only stuff you'll ever finish is stuff you want to finish.  If you look at figures and think "eh, I could force myself to paint those sometime..." ditch them.  You'll never actually paint them!

[westwaller]

...Take a deep breath, sit down. Sort through it, at your own pace- maybe tackle it chunk by chunk. As others have said, put aside the stuff you are never going to get rid of.

When you are sorting through it, really think about if it grabs you or not? Why has X been put away? Bad casting requiring more work? Not so good quality when you opened the blister pack/box? Either sort them or sling them/swap/sell at reduced price.

Set targets and limits. If its not done by X amount of time, its going. I will spend 1 hour a day, week etc, on This project, 2 hours on this... Start a project thread on LAF or a blog.

Ask yourself WHY you aren't getting projects done, do you not have the time, inclination, decent brushes etc.

Could you speed up your painting techniques? Dark wash over grey undercoat? Buy empty pots and mix up intermediate shades of the colours that you are using for your projects.

Break it down into chunks, sort, sell the stuff that isn't really really wanted. Set achievable goals, take back control, Have fun again!!

Avoid Kickstarters or at least set yourself a limit,

Good luck,

Westwaller.

[Revfan]

I am kind of a newbie...

But one thing I did was find something I wanted to paint, and then started a thread asking if there was anybody else with the same minis, that wanted to paint them as a group.

Check out the thread here
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=81989.0

The bonus is that, while not a competition, there is plenty of motivation to keep up, plus you get to see others take on the same model you have... which in itself is inspiration.

But I think your bigger problem is not having a local to game with.  I have seen some, "is there anybody else in/near Whehokin-Bumfux that wants to play XYZ?"  It never hurts to ask!