Miniatures Queue Update

Since I've added the Abandon All Hope blog, I've made some changes to the Miniatures Queue, to reflect the addition of fantasy miniatures that I've added to my task list.

I've split up the Miniatures Queue into subdivisions: 40k, Warhammer, LotR, Battlefleet Gothic, and Space Hulk.  I've left out Epic (for now), because that would truly make things scary.

The queue will probably spike several times in the near future as I get more organized and identify more miniatures I want to paint (and possibly make some ill-advised impulse purchases).

I've removed projects such as terrain projects and other scratchbuilt ideas from the queue.  I do have lots of ideas, but they frequently change.  As the queue is supposed to be a measure of mountain of miniatures I'm trying to reduce, scratchbuilt/terrain projects don't really apply here.

So here's the new queue, as of today:

Warhammer 40k:	185
Lord of the Rings:	147
Warhammer:	80
Space Hulk:	38
Battlefleet Gothic:	3
Total:	453

Project Overload

My Miniatures Queue has dipped below the 400 mark, which is a good sign. How long it will stay there, especially now that the new Blood Angels are coming out, is another matter.

The past few weeks have been absolutely insane at work, but (I think), the worst is over, and I can get back to painting miniatures. The problem is, I've got tons of different things to work on.

• Space Marines...including Raven Guard, Brazen Claw, Salamanders, and eventually some Blood Angels.
  
• Orks...lots of 'em! Mainly a few Deff Koptas and some infantry.
  
• Ork Mystery Project
  
• Tau Crisis Suit Conversion
  
• Complete my LotR Orc Army (I'm very close...)
  

I think the key to finishing this is to work on whatever project I feel like, switching between them as the notion strikes me. If instead I just line them all up and try to power through them, I'll just get bogged down and start to lose enthusiasm. By not giving myself a specific deadline and working on whatever miniature interests me at the time will ensure that I'll get it all done eventually, and have fun doing it.

Sobering thoughts about my own complacency

Since I put up my "Miniatures Queue" on the right hand bar of my blog, it's kept me very aware of the mountain on miniatures I own that I have yet to paint. As every gamer knows, once you start collecting, it's hard to stop and you quickly fall into the wargamer's trap--you always buy miniatures faster than you can paint them. Since I've been collecting miniatures for 22 years now, I've had plenty of time for the mountain to grow. Being out of college and having a real job with disposable income didn't help.

At this stage in my life I'm at the mercy of other competing forces, but the goal remains the same--conquer the mountain and paint up all the miniatures! This goal is probably ultimately unattainable, but having nearly 500 miniatures in the queue is ridiculous.

Supporting/raising a family means two things--I have less time to paint, but also less money to spend frivolously on more miniatures. So these two cancel each other out somewhat. Other good news is that I'm not all that interested in getting new armies that are in GW's immediate future, for example Space Wolves and Dark Eldar, so that leaves me some time to stay focused and work on the miniatures I already have.

But still the task is very daunting. I did some calculations, trying to be somewhat realistic. I took the miniatures in my queue, and tried to come up with an estimate on how long it would take to paint them all. Based on the various demands on my time, I estimated it would day me 2 days to paint an infantry model, 3 days to paint a mid-sized model like a cavalry model, crisis suit, or terminator, 1 week to paint a vehicle, monstrous creature or character model, and 2 weeks for uber-projects I have planned. This doesn't mean I'll be spending every waking hour on painting, but rather painting when I am able.

The results are sobering. Based on my calculations, I'll finish painting up all the miniatures currently in my queue on February 27, 2013. Yipe.

This outlook date will be subject to change as I complete and/or buy new miniatures. But I'm going to put an "Estimated Date of Completion" up on my miniatures queue section. This will hopefully serve two purposes--stop me spending money and get me painting more miniatures!

The Miniatures Queue

When I started collecting miniatures over 20 years ago, I was only 12 years old and did not have much disposable income. At the time I didn't have many friends into the hobby either (GW was still very new to the US at that time), so rather than play lots of games, I had the time to paint my miniatures.

But all too quickly, as I started working and therefore got some disposable income, my miniatures collection grew, and I fell into every wargamer's trap: the lure of buying a newly released miniatures frequently superseded my capacity to keep up with painting the miniatures I already had.

With time that has just gotten worse. Much worse. There is no end in sight. I think I am doomed to die a gruesome death, pinned beneath a mountain of unpainted minis stored in my basement.

As an attempt to motivate me to work through the sludge, and as a hedge against me succumbing to the temptation to buy more miniatures, I created a list. (I've noticed fellow bloggers doing something similar to motivate them to paint as well) This list consists of a large proportion of the miniatures that I have in my possession that as yet remain unpainted (or need to be repainted because I dislike my previous paintjob). It consists mainly of Battlefleet Gothic miniatures, 40k miniatures, and Lord of the Rings miniatures. I have a bunch of Fantasy and Epic 40k miniatures that I couldn't be bothered to add to the list just yet. Perhaps that will change down the line.

In the meantime, I've put up a counter on the right margin of my blog that is a reminder to me of just how many miniatures are currently in the painting queue. If I am diligent enough, hopefully the number will decrease with time.