"Plan then Paint the Army?" Topic

In a booklet from The Army Painter, they recommend coming up with your army roster before ever starting to paint the figures.

Do you follow this practice?

* yes, I plan first
* no, I paint first

It depends.

*both!

Yes.
Plan ahead in the game that requires large armies.

No.
I paint as I go when I am playing small scale skirmish games.

I have armies that aren't painted yet, so I must plan first.

What heresey is this?

Balderdash.

Harumph.

Eric

Almost never. I buy enough figures to get a start and then paint them and then move onto the next thing and paint that. I try to get a bunch of rank and file together first and then worry about the OOBs and such after that. Mix in some cavalry (or whatever) when I get sick of painting infantry and end up with a couple hundred figs at the end of it all.

I usually work up the army and buy some figs.

Then I find another game and repeat.

A mix. I tend to start off with a plan to get a playable force. From there I paint minis and buy reinforcements at whim. I don't even always manage to complete painting one unit before starting on something else.

People say I have a short attention span and am easily distrac Oh, look! A chicken. Mmmm chicken.

Usually plan but when something shinny comes along, the planning comes 2nd

Yup. Both.

Plan first. But, no plan ever survives contact with all of the temptations found on TMP. So, like Micman, the relevance of the plan diminishes as I begin to paint and…oh, wait, that is shiny and I must add to plan : )

We need Jim Mora to squeak:
"PLANNING! Don't talk about planning! You kidding me? Planning?"

YouTube link

Yes I always start with an OB and expand as I start new ones.

I see it like Condotta -- plan first, but the plan changes as I build the army and play with it.

Rarely. Usually, I buy a bunch of stuff and start on some of it. Depending on my interest quotient I paint up a lot or a little before moving on.

Thanks,

John

Never, I buy on impulse and then buy some more stuff I like the look of, then paint something, play a sample game with new rules and sell them off for something else that looks fun.

Planning and painting a whole army… Not in this lifetime :)

No way. I just buy, buy, buy.

Sometimes I even get around to painting some.

Sometimes. Not nearly enough. I have enough unpainted lead to keep me alive until I'm about 200 years old.

I have always had a basic army plan and then expand upon it as I complete the initial plan. From then on it is usually whim.

Both…sometimes I plan the army then buy the figures. At other times I'm inspired by some figures, buy them, and sometimes paint them before I settle on an army organization.

Plan then paint, always.

Otherwise I buy more than I will ever paint.

Both.

Al | ravenfeastsmeadhall.blogspot.com

Find an army I look the look of. Figure how the army will be organised. Buy a unit or two. Paint them. Find an opposition army I like the look of. Figure out how the army will be organised. Buy a unit or two. Play some Pokemon and D&D, then build some cardstock scenery for the next rpg encounter…

If I can, yes Plan then Paint.

Some projects are more "organic" and I buy and paint as I discover new "needs"

Not so much as a roster, but definately a playable force; then paint it.

Yes, I try to do it always…..doesn't always happen though.

'Otherwise I buy more than I will ever paint.'

That is almost one of the definitions of a wargamer.

What is plan of which you speak

It's always been whim, even when I buy box armies.

Actually the Mycenaean Greek army was a planned purchase.

In my mind I will plan a warband for skirmish games
I will then purchase said figures over a period time
I will then leave them in the lead pile more often than not

Beginning to think I'm missing a step somewhere…

…they recommend coming up with your army roster before ever starting to paint the figures.

I've done that, and then "they" change the rosters! I painted up figures that can't be used in the list anymore! Hint: I can't use my Carrocio anymore! Best, Dean

I always have a plan then I visit a wargames show and get swept away by some new range and buy that on impulse instead. Most wargamers' brains are programmed to respond in this way!

In general I plan, purchase and then paint, so my lead mountain is relatively small.

Not all the time of course but the exceptions are few and far between.

When doing a 'rosters' I usually do the core units I need for a particular army/theatre/period/unit type then sufficient optional extras to cover reasonable permutations e.g. Soviet Motor Rifle Division plus army artillery & engineer assets plus representative combat aviation and maybe a spare Tank Regiment or two to turn it into a Tank Division.

Yes, thus the thousands of books.

Usually purchase the matchup all together. You never know when lines discontinue, companies disappear, exchange rate changes etc

DM

I try to pplan but rarely have the funds to purchase all at once.

I usually end up getting my armies rather serendipitously; in trade, finds at flea markets, sales or gifts when friends are clearing out their leadpiles.

This gets me painting.

So I then try and plan what I can do with what I've got and make a few small purchases to fill holes.

I start with a basic plan to give myself enough units per side for a decent night gaming, then it all gets terribly out of hand.

I do think you need a plan intitially though.

Plan.

Buy.

Then paint.

The first two are remarkably easy. The third, not so much…

Not really. I just plan starting an army after got in love with. It's after some work that I begin realizing I should have a bit more of this or that.

But don't mind, such lack of planning keeps excitement for longer

"Yes"

because I find it hard to prioritize what fig I should paint first (I'm an impulse buyer o_O )