"My first new project in over 7 years...." Topic

For the first time in 7 years I decided to actually start a new project. I've been adding to existing collections like 6mm Napoleonics and 15mm SciFi and so on. So it's not as if I don't have any new toys. But this is the first new project for me, and I think may be my last.

I'm doing 15mm Vikings and Saxons. I plan to use Clash of Empires for mass battles and whatever skirmish rules catch my eye this week.

I ordered figures from Baueda, Black Hat, Donnington, Khurasan, Splintered Light (can you tell I like a lot of variety?). Over 1500 in all.

Unlike projects in the past this is on the fats track. Specifically I just sent the entire lot off to Evil Bob's Painting Studio. Now all I have to do is wait several months and Voila! Time to go pillaging and plundering!

Yeah, I'm kinda excited….

Best of luck – that lots gonna keep you busy! How long will it take you to paint them?

He's not going to paint them. He sent them off for someone else to paint!

Oh yeah – d'oh!

I admire your restraint, EC.

Enjoy the new project.

Glad to see you are finally coming over to the Dark side..I mean Ages!

Well done, now tell us the secret to not staring a new project for 7 years…there's dollars for that skill!
I suspect, if my ability to paint does not diminish by the time I'm 102, I have a chance of finishing everything, in the meantime, I plan my next order to QRF….

What's the secret? Well, start with a lot of unfinished projects!

Seriously, here is how I did it. I emptied everything I had – painted, unpainted, WIP – on to the basement floor and sorted it into piles. 15mm Vietnam here, 20mm Spanish Civil war there, Lord of the Rings here, 1/6000 naval there. I then axed every project I could not get either from 0 to 50% or from 50% to done in 18 months.

All that was sold off, traded, E-bayed, or given away.

I traded a lot for painted or for painting services (paint me a unit keep the other 2). When all was said and done I raised maybe $5,000. USD I then prioritized what projects I could get to a game with using that $5,000 USD and painting services. So in 6 months I finished up 15mm World War II (Americans, Brits), 15mm Vietnam (Marines), 1/1200 Ironclads, Renaissance Galleys, etc. etc.

I can now put on games (with troops for all sides) for:

• 6mm ACW
  
• 6mm Napoleonics
  
• 6mm Seven Years War
  
• 6mm World War II
  
• 6mm Zulu/Colonial
  
• 15mm World War II (Britsh, French, German, Soviet, US)
  
• 15mm Napoleonics (Peninsula)
  
• 15mm Vietnam
  
• 15mm Old West
  
• 15mm Modern
  
• 15mm Plains Indian Wars
  
• 15mm Victorian Sci Fi / Pulp
  
• 15mm Sci Fi
  
• 28mm Lord of the Rings
  
• Age of Sail
  
• WW1 Naval
  
• Renaissance Naval
  
• ACW Ironclads
  
• Coming Soon: Vikings & Saxons

Now, I can't do everything in all these periods of course. But once you get to the "I can run a game" I found the lure of adding a unit/army/troop type was much more appealing than "ooh shiny, these will see the table some time in…..2027."

Plus, when you dedicate most of your budget to either buying painted or sending it out you get "results."

I still paint and make terrain and so on.

P.S.

And oh yes. Today I could fit all my unpainted lead in one file box. And most of that is stuff where you buy a pack of 3 tanks but only need 2, pick up a collection off E-bay keep the 80% that's painted, throw the rest in the box.

One of these days I will sort all that stuff out and either sell it, give it away, or trade it….