I've noticed quite a few '2014 In Review' posts popping up over the past few days, but this one has something special. This one is about "Project: Micawber"...
"Annual leadpile twenty orcs, annual painting nineteen orcs nineteen goblins and a snotling, result: stagnation.
Annual leadpile twenty orcs, annual painting twenty orcs nought and a snotling, result: progress."
(I may be misquoting Mr Micawber here ... our enforced Sixth Form reading of David Copperfield was a long time ago.)
Upon considering my ever-increasing leadpile of unpainted miniatures, I hit upon a resolution at the start of this year: I can buy whatever I like, as long as I paint more than I acquire.
The results are to be tallied up at the close of the year, and if I'm in credit, eventually - surely - that means I'm making progress.
Some new miniatures got painted up right away - whether sourcing particular Savage Orcs for conversion, or recruiting new winds of magic for my collegiate.
Some miniatures, I admit, were picked up on a whim, and are destined to spend a very long time in a drawer - I'm looking at you Pirate Space Ork With The Bionik Body.
Rebasing doesn't count; repaints don't count (unless they're extensive); no bonus points for cavalry or monsters - a miniature is a miniature. All that matters is that a once-unpainted model in my collection has been moved off the painting table to a state of completion.
As a benchmark: in 2013, I bought 103 miniatures (mostly Greenskins or Necromunda) and painted only 60. I ended the year with a total of -43. Let's just say that gave me scope for improvement.
So, if you'll indulge me. This was my 2014:
I won't list them all here, partly because it's dull, and also because I get to keep my surprises for 2015.
Acquisition total: 104 models.
(one higher than last year - dang!)
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| Old Father Time shows no mercy. |
"Annual leadpile twenty orcs, annual painting nineteen orcs nineteen goblins and a snotling, result: stagnation.
Annual leadpile twenty orcs, annual painting twenty orcs nought and a snotling, result: progress."
(I may be misquoting Mr Micawber here ... our enforced Sixth Form reading of David Copperfield was a long time ago.)
Project: Micawber
Upon considering my ever-increasing leadpile of unpainted miniatures, I hit upon a resolution at the start of this year: I can buy whatever I like, as long as I paint more than I acquire.
The results are to be tallied up at the close of the year, and if I'm in credit, eventually - surely - that means I'm making progress.
 |
| The view from my painting desk. |
Some new miniatures got painted up right away - whether sourcing particular Savage Orcs for conversion, or recruiting new winds of magic for my collegiate.
Some miniatures, I admit, were picked up on a whim, and are destined to spend a very long time in a drawer - I'm looking at you Pirate Space Ork With The Bionik Body.
Rebasing doesn't count; repaints don't count (unless they're extensive); no bonus points for cavalry or monsters - a miniature is a miniature. All that matters is that a once-unpainted model in my collection has been moved off the painting table to a state of completion.
As a benchmark: in 2013, I bought 103 miniatures (mostly Greenskins or Necromunda) and painted only 60. I ended the year with a total of -43. Let's just say that gave me scope for improvement.
So, if you'll indulge me. This was my 2014:
Bought
I thought I was rather restrained this year, picking up only individual models that really appealed to me. Unfortunately, on top of that, I also grabbed a whole mass of troops to fill out existing units, and that accounted for half my tally.I won't list them all here, partly because it's dull, and also because I get to keep my surprises for 2015.
Acquisition total: 104 models.
(one higher than last year - dang!)
Painted
- 13 x Savage Orc Boar Boyz
- 1 x Savage Orc Big Boss on boar
- 1 x Savage Orc Shaman on boar
- 1 x Savage Orc Great Shaman
- 1 x Savage Orc Big Boss with Battle Standard
- 25 x Savage Orc Arrer Boyz
- 3 x Savage Orc Big Stabbas
- 1 x Savage Orc Big ‘Un Unit Filler
- 3 x River Trolls
- 1 x Witch Hunter
- 12 x Alcatani Fellowship
- 1 x Shadow Wizard
- 1 x Amber Wizard on horse
- 2 x Light Acolytes
- 1 x Jade Wizard
- 1 x Celestial Wizard
- 11 x Glade Guard
- 1 x Wardancer Musician
- 1 x Glade Lord on Great Bear
- 5 x Wild Riders
- 14 x Cave Squigs
- 10 x Squig Herders
Painted total: 110 models
(wow, do I paint slow)
So I achieve my goal by 6 whole models. At this rate, I'll be getting the leadpile under control in 160 years or so, but at least it's progress.
(wow, do I paint slow)
So I achieve my goal by 6 whole models. At this rate, I'll be getting the leadpile under control in 160 years or so, but at least it's progress.
Other notables of 2014
- Favourite unit: I suppose I should give it to one of the cavalry units, as both the Boar Boyz and the Wild Riders took a considerable amount of time to convert and paint. But I've had the most fun painting the final unit of the year, so I'm giving it to the Squig Herd.
- Favourite model: I've been inching forward with my painting skills, and I'm giving this one to the Celestial Wizard. I may have done better paint jobs, and the magic carpet looks a bit threadbare, but I just love the cosmos cummerbund.
- Favourite battle: The Witch Hunter's 'Kill Smaug' pistol shot runs a very close second, but I'm going to have to pick the Shadow Wizard's three-game run to claim the Wizards' Cup (through dirty tricks, undeserved luck and even a little bit of generalship).
- WoffBoot VIII: 5th place out of 6, an indictment of running an over-fluffed dual list with not enough practice. Next year, my ambition is to claw my way back to the comfort zone of mid-table 4th.
- Battles played: 19 - more than I've managed in a year for a very, very long time (and more than half due to the wonders of modern telecommunications - thank you Skype!)
- Blog posts: This has been our most prolific year, with 158 posts (almost as many as the two previous years put together). We even got a Liebster Award , and some rather appreciative scores from Sigmar's Fantasy Battles.
Our audience appears to be growing strong (if the little blue lines on Google Analytics are any indication) - so thank you to everyone for taking the time to read and comment.
Speaking of traffic, our number of visits recently exceeded 50,000 - no great shakes in web terms, but it does allow me to close with this gag:
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| "FIFTY THOUSAND!" |
Have a great 2015. May you never roll ones.*
*with the exception of leadership tests.
If you need some extra credit through the medium of Blogshare: -
ReplyDeletePurchased or Donated Models (including scenery) - 14
Painted Models (including scenery) - around 200, I lost count
I suspect your acquisition column might increase once those Kickstarters come through the door.
ReplyDeleteYup! #nolongersmug
ReplyDelete...although mine you, that's going to apply to you as well. #smugagain
ReplyDeleteYep, with the Damoclean Dungeon Saga hanging over my postbox in August, I'll need to paint 104 miniatures this year just to break even.
DeleteThat's assuming I don't buy any additional models this year, which of course is poppycock - I'm already celebrating my clean slate by filling up the shopping basket.