Sometimes, there are things I want to write about and topics to touch on that do not fit neatly into a category. Spend anytime with Wargamers and you will soon find out one of the common problems that they face. It is called a Pile of Shame. All of the miniatures that they have purchased but have not managed to paint or projects that were abandoned half-way through the process. This is one of the things that seems to unify all wargamers and a common topic of moaning and ribbing online.
This situation is so common, that Wargamer folklore has sprung up around the topic. It is said that a Wargamer can live forever as long as they never paint all their models! If you paint them all, you are putting yourself at mortal peril! It almost makes the Pile of Shame justifiable!
First off, I do not really see anything inherently wrong with a Pile of Shame. In fact, I prefer to call it a Pile of Potential. As long as you are not endangering your families income stream, running out of space, or otherwise negatively impacting those around you then it is fine. Your Pile of Potential helped feed some other people's kids and helped your money spread through the economy. I prefer if miniatures get used though, so let's talk about how to get rid of that Pile of Potential and how to keep it gone.
An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure
The best way to handle a Pile of Potential is to not accumulate one to begin with. That means that you do not buy models until you have finished the ones you are working on. You do not start a new project until an old project is complete. You do not buy models faster than you can paint or play with them.
Of course, anyone who is a wargamer knows the danger of this route too. Many of us have started a project only for the miniature line to be discontinues before we finished it, the Meta of a game we play to change, or the rules edition churn comes and invalidates what you have been doing. Therefore, there is a large incentive to "buy it all" as soon as you can. In fact, I myself tend to get all the models I need for a project in one big batch, enough for two sides at least. Typically, that means you will have more models than you can paint at a time.
If you do this, you will inevitably have a Pile of Potential at some point. I typically have 1 project I am working on painting, and one in the hopper. I never have a Pile of Potential that extends beyond a secondary project. For example, I might be working on the two armies for the Battle of Kadesh, my back-up is the latest Heroquest Expansion, and that's it. No other projects with miniatures sitting around. This way, if I need a palette cleanser I have it, or if I finish a project I can immediately roll into the next without hesitation. Once I roll into the back-up I can consider what my next project will be. This gives me incentive to keep the painting machine rolling without creating an unmanageable Pile of Potential.
Time for a Pound of Cure!
Chance are if you are on this blog, it is too late for you. The Prevention Phase of your Pile of Potential is over. It is now time to manage it and work it down. It is now time for a pound of cure.
1. Prioritize your Pile
Before you do anything, you need to go in and prioritize your Pile of Potential into what you want to see on the tabletop next. It can be helpful to schedule a game or tourney with the models to give you a hard deadline to finish or give you a shot of ambition. However, I rarely do that. It should be enough to see them completed because the models or project alone brings you pleasure.
If you look at models in you Pile of Potential and the thought of painting them, completing them, or displaying them does nothing for you then it is time to "dump" that project. Move it on to someone else who will feel that way about them. Why horde what you no longer want? You can give them away, sell them, or just throw them out. I am a fan of just giving them away to other gamers. You might see them again someday across the tabletop!
2. Lower your Standards
I look across the internet and see an ocean of coll, well-painted models. One thing I notice is that most really high-quality painters do not paint armies, they paint miniatures. They are lucky if at the end of the year they have 1-playable unit. Do not aspire to them! That way is a trap! Instead, you need to focus on getting minis to the table.
Consider the following:
- In most games, they are going to be at arm's length away or greater. That is three to six feet away from you. Are you going to see subtle shading? How about highlights? Will you see how you carefully dotted the eyes?
- Next, most armies act in units of troops. How often do you look at the individual models in a unit? Do you notice where the soldier's belt has a splotch of green on it where is should be brown? How about if the spear colors slightly overlaps the hand? Unless you have the eyes of an Eagle, you won't notice. Therefore, most details on a model are irrelevant.
- Consider your scale. There is a different level of detail needed for a 54mm model vs a 6mm model. One you can see the straps and hooks on at range, while the other is simply dots of color.
- What do you see on the table? In most games, you are looking at the back of your troop! That is normally their backpack and pants! You don't even get to see their faces in battle!
When I say, lower your standards; I mean paint to the level that makes a game piece playable. This is typically base colors + a wash + a base of some type. That is it. You can spend more time on the front ranks, the standards, the officers if you wish but every moment spent on such things is less time painting other models in your army for effects that are not noticeable on the game board or even while on display waiting to fight.
Is it your best painting? No! Does anyone know or care? Also, No! Paint to the level needed to play.
This leads to a corollary. Once a model is painted, it is painted. Never revisit it and never paint it again. If it has paint, it is all right. The only time this is acceptable, is if you have nothing else to do, no Pile of Potential; and you really, really need to paint right now!
Batch-Paint!
If you are working through a Pile of Potential you will have to learn to batch paint. Batch-painting is simply painting in an assembly line like fashion on multiple troops at once. If you paint one miniature at a time, you will never get a project completed, not even for very low model count skirmish games. It is not an efficient use of your painting time.
If you are like me, you have a family, friends, career, and other hobbies you like to do. You can not spend hours a week on painting models. You have a window of opportunity. Therefore, you have to make the most of whatever time you have to paint by painting the most models you can at once.
batch Painting means you line up all the models you need for a unit. 10 is a popular number but sometimes units are larger depending on the wargame. I have painted as many as 60 guys at once. You get out all the paints you will need for skin-tones, and then you paint all the skin for the batch at once. Then, you get out the paints for the shoes, and you paint all of the batches shoes. Then you get the trouser colors and paint all their trousers. Then their vests, then their jackets, etc. etc. You work up until you paint all the buckles and buttons last. You let them dry and then the next day you give them a wash.
To finish you provide a simple and repeatable base. Even a simple coat of paint will do. Maybe paint the base and dip it in flock. Then, paint the base rim brown or black. Once a project is done, you can line them all up and spray them with a protective coat.
Units that wear a uniform are great for this as they will all be using the same color at the same general place. I.e. all their boots are black, their pants red, and their jackets blue, with a black hat. However, this technique also works fine with non-uniformed troops. However, you paint ever third or fifth guy with the color and then repeat the process with the next color.
The most important step of batch painting, is to set-up the finished models for a nice photo-shoot, snap great pictures, set them up for display or storage. Then, go online and celebrate with your gaming group or fellow wargamers what you have accomplished. This small celebration helps give you the momentum to get to the next unit.
Overcoming the Hard Part
The hardest part of dealing with your Pile of Potential is dealing with your Pile of Potential. That means, the hardest part of the process is getting yourself to paint. The only way to do that is to paint.
Unlike many of you, I do not leave my projects and painting supplies out on my desk. I have them all stored away but accessible. Therefore, when it is time to paint it is a commitment of time and effort. I accompany this with the ritual of preparing my workstation for the effort and this gets my brain committed to painting. In addition, it also signals to the others in my household that I am committed to a project. Unlike most, I do not watch movies, listen to books, or surf the internet when I am painting. At most, I will turn on some music as background noise.
Since starting is the hardest part, I use the ritual to help get my mind into the painting space and secondly I avoid anything that will make starting harder. That means, I determine what I am going to paint before I sit down. I decide how I am going to paint it ahead of time or in the moment of painting. Once something is painted, I never go back and change it. Since I am typically batch painting, once the last model is painted, typically the first one is dry and ready to go for the next color. Once you start you need to keep the momentum up and not stop painting, because once you do you will have a hard time starting again.
If I am not sure what to do, I do not watch TV and I do not scroll online. I perform my ritual and set-up to paint. I do not wait for inspiration and I do not wait to see if I feel like painting. If I ever am not sure what to do or sense that I am waiting around I pull out my paints. This can be at anytime, late at night, during the day, on weekends. I never want to paint but if I have a moment where I am unsure what to do next; that is when I strike. The desire to paint is secondary to the act of painting itself.
If you want until you are inspired or want to paint, you will NEVER get your Pile of Potential done.
Painters Anonymous
I have all ready shared a few of my tips and hacks to get rid of my Pile of Potential. I have been relatively successful for most of my painting career. However, there are times when even I can not do it alone. I find something that really helps me is to make painting a social activity.
Thankfully, I am part of the True Crit Gaming Guild. The Guild is just as focused on painting and finishing models as it is on playing games. There is a regular Painting Social where we all come together with projects, paints, brushes, and other tools. We sit around tables, drink tea and coffee, chat and paint. This helps getting over the hurdle of just starting to paint.
In addition, I have learned a lot of great tips and tricks from others. We celebrate each others 'wins and successes. We cheer each other on. We help each other get over procrastination. We admire each others' work. I am lucky to be able to sit around and engage with and paint with a lot of great painters.
This is another great tool to uncap your own inner momentum to get and keep painting. It is about you, but also helping the group. If you are familiar with Maslowe's Hierarchy of Needs, you know that Group is more important than your own self-esteem. Therefore, it can be really helpful to make your efforts to eliminate your Pile of Potential a group effort and not a solo show.
Final Thoughts
The Pile of Potential is a perennial problem for wargamers. It is a constant topic of conversation, discussion, and moaning. However, a Pile of Potential is a choice. It does not have to be. I have shared my tips and tricks for dealing with a Pile of Potential which includes prioritizing, getting the output you need, make sure you start, and that you do not always have to go it alone. Therefore, I would love to hear about how you have managed your Pile of Potential. Once it is gone, it is much easier to keep in check.
Until next time.....
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