Written by Well, I’m going to try pretty hard…
I’m not an addict. Addicts go to meetings…
I do have a problem though. I buy a lot of plastic that lives in the box on one of many shelves in my games room that I will one day probably get around to painting. Honest.
The decision was made recently that 2020 is going to be the year that I clear the backlog, one way or another.
The first thing to do is deciding what should stay and what should go… I’m still working through that, but I made a start by deciding what I definitely wanted to get painted and popped it into a spreadsheet…
There are still boxes to get through, so this will be added to as I work through it. I am currently up to 151 models to get painted in 2020.
There are also some projects I am simply never going to finish and have no desire to finish – and these I am going to have to pop on eBay. There’s no use in keeping hold of them for the sake of it.
I am going to be methodical with this and use as many shortcuts as I can to get rid of the great grey monstrosity. Contrast paints, oil washes, dry brushes… All of these are going to be my friend.
The money I would normally spend on models is going into a savings account and I’m not allowing myself to touch it until the backlog is cleared!
This is going to take a lot of willpower, but I am determined to get it done. The pile of shame needs to go.
The big question is… What about when it’s cleared? How am I going to stop it building up again?
Well, the biggest thing I am going to try to do is only buy one kit at a time – finish it, and then buy the next one. No more bulk buying armies, or spending that little bit extra for the free postage. I don’t want to have to deal with shelves upon shelves of unfinished projects and boxes any more.
Wish me luck, and watch this space. I am going to post monthly updates on my progress throughout 2020.
Painting In The Dark 
Good luck! Have a great 2020
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Good luck! I too, have a spreadsheet to track my progress.
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Thank you! I’m serious about it, so hopefully I can pull it off. The spreadsheet is certainly a big motivator, and will be carrying it on even after I finish this current mission
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Sounds like a grand plan. I will be interested to see how it unfolds as the New Year progresses.
I have a similar aim but know from experience I don’t have a hope in hell of achieveing it!
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We can but try! The plastic deserves to be painted!
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I think I’ll need to rework my spreadsheet. Haven’t updated it in ages but it will give me an idea of what I need to get done 😀
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If you want a read only copy to rob just drop me a message on discord!
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Looks like a great idea. I’m going to have a clear out in 2020 and although I may start another army during the year I think I’m going to stick to 1000 point armies and build them up to that level.
My question is everything you have that Is painted are you keeping it all or you thinking of selling any of that?
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I’ll probably end up keeping it… Though it really depends, if I never play it then it’s probably worth just moving on. If there’s anything in the pile of shame that I definitely won’t ever play then I won’t even bother painting it and skip straight to selling I think.
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Good luck with the backlog.
Might have to steal the spreadsheet idea. Sounds very therapeutic and will feel great when it’s empty/all finished off.
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Thank you! It’s been super helpful so far, just seeing everything that needs doing laid out is a great start
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