After having a binge doing 15mm miniatures I am now reasonably happy with my 28mm miniature painting skills. The way I have been painting for the last couple of years, where I generally stick with one project but have a range figures on the go at any one time.
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| The Paint Table |
So last week I finished a load of figures, about twenty, which is a lot for me at the moment. This has included two super hero miniatures, three modern, a Victorian gent, a couple of sci-fi figures, some dark age troops (mostly Vikings unsurprisingly, another couple of poor unfortunate survivors of the apocalypse and about half a dozen fantasy figures.
Another advantage to this is that I am getting through some multi-decade old miniatures. At least two of these were purchased from a Virgin Megastore almost thirty years ago (my paint queue really is moving at a glacial pace). A good chunk date to around the time I started blogging.
The techniques I am using and the effects I am using are slightly different every time. Rather than grinding stuff out, there is variety of minis to keep me interested. I suppose the final thing is that, lazy as I am, I tend to use the same colour palette when I am painting so this is swapped around a half dozen genres rather than one unit.
Right now I am feeling the urge to buy some more figures. Stargrave was going to be the big thing for me but Sludge has made into my list from nowhere. Also feeling the urge for Fallout again. I am trying to resist.
I like the idea if Stargrave and more importantly I like the figures. Conversion projects seem endless with this. When Frostgrave came out I really brought into it but never got to play it much. If I have the figures I might turn my attention to something else like Five Parsecs.
Going through looking for a mix of figures for the next batch has reminded me how many primed lead and plastic minis there already is in the queue and that does not take into account the unprimed stuff and what I assume is going to be about sixty or Sludge figures. Conversion projects, on a limited scale, appeal to me right now.
My ideal would be to get through five hundred figures each year with a more realistic target of 250. That's ten or five figures per week. Right now with the kids and work I would settle for five a month. If this continues then I already have enough stuff to keep me going for about five years.
Like most of you I plot and scheme when it comes to buying figures. I now have more than enough dark age fantasy humans but I still keep looking. I have plenty of apocalyptic humans and more modern zombies than I could ever possibly need. So I am looking elsewhere.
It would be nice to do a super hero project. I started this a few years ago. Still trying to source some figures though. Not really wanting to spend money right now as I have other plans for it. Mainly to do with a twenty month old project.
Also looking at a weird wild west project. Another sort of failed project but one I feel a lot for. One of the people I game with a lot has a real interest in Deadlands.
At the time I started the Vikings project it was a toss up between that and doing a Samurai version of Journey to the West. As this is a start from scratch project I am guessing it's not happening.
For some reason pirates has added itself to the list. Wouldn't just be pirates as it would morph into something more like Solomon Kane.
Not to mention Star Wars, which is getting be the seasonal event special this year for the third year running. Still not feeling the urge for too much socialisation so maybe think about this another time.
Which leads me back to the one with the most pull. Weird War II. I have a lot do here not least if which is the bad guys. It's a time travel thing I have in mind. Lots of alternate history layered onto our time line. This looks like it might be a possible project. There is enough painted and in the queue that I could actually start this fairly quickly.
The thing is, each idea becomes a project then a hard slog. Vikings was supposed to be a short project and eight years later I am still filling in gaps, at least four hundred figures later. Not to mention the generic fantasy figures involved.
Each of the new projects it one to two hundred figures. So at the current rate maybe five years down the line before I finish. Three projects and I will be retired. Well maybe four. Or five.
After all that, I might have another plan.
