"Focus Points; or, Too many projects?" Topic

For the rest of the year, besides selling stuff, I wil focus on 20mm.

I've outlined my projects, culled from 35+ to just 12.
link

It is also my means to discuss, what is too much, and if painting for fun is acceptable as compared to painting for a game.

Interested in your responses.

I culled the heard earlier in the year and I don't regret it one bit. With all of the neat figures that are available it is easy to get pulled in many directions, the result of which is that nothing gets done, but everything gets done half-assed.

I culled all my projects about 8 or 9 years ago. Best thing I ever did. Sold off tons of unwanted lead and rolled the money into painting services. Now most all of my hobby budget goes to painters not casters! But I went from having a lot of half finished stuff to having tons of finished and game-able periods.

Why would painting for fun not be acceptable? I have plenty of customers who have no interest in gaming. And I was a painter for 2 years before I played my first miniatures game in 2003 or 2004….

Haven't exactly culled the herd, more a matter of only buying 15mm (with a couple exceptions).

The exceptions are Infinity (and Relic Knights) in 28mm, and Napoleonics will eventually be in 3mm.

But I'm all over the place in 15mm.

WW2: US 1st Infantry Division at Normandy, Soviet Engineer-Sapper battalion, Fallschirmjager, Panzer Lehr, and those Eureka Scifi German Stormtroopers.

Vietnam: 1st Cavalry at Ia Drang, 11th Cav with Sheridans, and I need to get some Peter Pig VC/NVA.

For moderns, I have a Stryker platoon, and a variety of grunts.

Scifi, well, I have lots. Rebel Mini's Earth Force in vacc suits, Khurasan's space demons and exterminators, GZG's vacc suited troops. Working on some Gasaraki minimechs, too.

I own a bunch of AB Napoleonics, but I am going to do the ranked units in 3mm, saving the ABs for skirmishing.

Also have a pile of Khurasan's pre-samurai that I intend to get into at some point.

The real monster project is my 'Shenanigans in Baluchistan,' Pathan Revolt in 1897. Lots and lots of minis still needing paint there.

I've limited my projects, too. After reading a blog article by Bob Jones, the Die Fighting and Piquet author, about how one should focus on a single era/war I headed down that path myself.

Since I followed that advice, I have put 100 percent of my time and money into Napoleonics -- it's amazing how much I have accomplished.

I recently dialed back the number of projects/scales/periods I work on. I have yet to sell off anything, but I need to.

link

I really like the software development principles of Kanban to eliminate WIP and context switching.

Start painting one unit and don't stop until it's done. You can switch armies then but you always add something of value to the existing army

Painting can be tough for me, so I paint whatever fires me up at the moment. It all gets on the table anyway, so if I'm painting up sci-fi terrain while in the midst of a fantasy campaign (as I'm doing now) I'm just glad stuff is getting done.

Your post makes me think that maybe I should not be so hard on myself, seeing as I have only 3 or 4 irons in the fire right now. For me the problem is the huge number of terrain project that have been purchased but not started and the number of existing armies for which I have purchased additions, but not painted.

I intered a paointing contest where you get points for units completed. I have been doing something like this for a coiuple of years with just one friend, but thois year a whole group got together withactual rules and such like. I have completed more this year than the last three, including a lot of half finished stuff. very happy to have a lot of it done, but i have burned out a bit and need to get remotivated.

owen

All my painting is for fun. Even when distracted by a shiny (or plasticy) new figure that I have no use for, the Zen moments of painting become a transcendental scenario development out of body experience. The most fund part is usually when SWMBO points out that it is likely I failed my SAN roll and a reply with a reminder that she voluntarily chose me.