The Lead Mountain Three Month Update

For the last three months my output has been really low, especially as I do not count figures painted for others in my totals. Today I plan to look at how many figures I have in hand against the number I had back in June of last year when I decided I needed to keep a record to try and reduce the size of the pile.

6mm

So first up is the little chaps, my 6mm Mountain has always been on the large size due to my buying large numbers for Project Waterloo but I have also kept up a steady output in painting them.

Infantry Battalions (units of 24-28 figures) I have painted up a total of 12 units worth more than I have bought, not bad until you consider I still have enough for 134 such sized units! 

Cavalry I have had a steady increase in units over the last year but with recent work I have brought the total down to plus 3 and maybe before the year is out get this total to a negative.

Command has had the best results with 32 figures more painted than bought.

Guns and limbers have more or less been painted as I have bought them leaving me with 4 extra guns and crews and one less limber than bought.

Buildings, thanks to Mike at Leven I may never get down to having painted more than I have bought. At the moment I am on plus 14 to number painted. Consider that I have painted up ten in October and you may see my issue!

15mm

Once the main stay of my gaming life and still remains a fairly regular staple, I recently bought a lot of Greek and Persian figures but then again I did have a good run of 15mm in last years Analogue Painting Challenge.

Infantry minus 190, mostly thanks to the Roman Army but I also painted up a Phalanx and Hoplite unit. Not at all bad given I gained 62 hoplites earlier this year.

Cavalry is not so impressive with 8 more figures painted than bought. Consider though that not only did I get the Persians but I also bought a unit of Companions as well so I have got quite a few over the table.

20mm

Bought a bunch and painted not a lot. Hopefully more will get painted during the challenge but right now it does not look good.

Infantry sit at plus 96 and cavalry just 6 so plenty to be going at.

28mm 

Never has been the main stay of my painting world with roleplaying being the main reason to purchase. But both Saga and Cowboys have seen the lead pile take on a fair few of these guys.

Infantry sit at plus 38 and I expect a few units for my Vikings to get over the table in the challenge and I plan to get the last of the cowboys done as well.

Cavalry with just 4 figures needing to be painted (and their on foot equivalents) I should get these done and dusted during the challenge.

32mm

Just the Arena Rex figures in this scale and you can expect to see these being painted at about one a month until they have all been finished. I now just have nine more of these to do having finished one last week. They are a joy to paint but less so to put together. Expect a slow but steady output here.

Lead Poisoning, The Mountain Bites Back

I purposely missed last months post as I had a whole lot of nothing to report, well almost nothing and hoped this month would be a lot better. Actually it is but from a personal view point it was worse. I have managed to paint up the equivalent of nine battalions of 6mm British Napoleonic infantry but all these were for Steve, so nothing at all for me.

I will be mostly painting my own figures this month though I will try and get a bunch finished for Lee. The last two months have been the worst painting months I have had since coming back to the hobby over four years ago. This has been in part down to going on holiday for a week but mostly I have been slow at adjusting to the new work routine with the much later finish and almost double the time journey to work.

I plan to be more proactive, making more effort to get to the desk than recently. This goal will be much helped by the simple fact I will be painting my own figures which is that bit more rewarding than painting for others.

My mix will be different as well. Last night I spent a few hours on one of the Arena Rex gladiators from their Kickstarter, a very enjoyable few hours. I have a second one assembled and ready for undercoating with a few 28mm fantasy figures also waiting in the wings.

I also plan to get more of the 6mm Ancient army painted up, several pike blocks are demanding attention and yet more companion cavalry units look set to cross the table if not this month then next. I still have a few command bases to paint for Steve which will be done as I go as he needs them next month. I will also kick myself into gear and continue with painting my Leven Buildings and of course get back onto the Cowboy buildings that I have not touched in almost a year!!!

Another positive is that I have not bought any new figures in the last two months so at least the mountain has stayed the same size though with The Other Partizan this weekend that could change.

June Jumble

What a month June was, my worst production in over three years. It was no coincidence that it also coincided with my starting the new job that mixes long hours, long journey time and working eleven out of fourteen days. However things are settling into a routine and for the next couple of weeks at least I can make use of having Wednesdays off whilst the kids are at school. 

So before I go into what I painted I thought I may as well come clean on some of what I received this month. I received three packs of figures from Commission Figurines, French Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery. These are 6mm MDF figures that are a close size match to Baccus.

The artillery look like they will be fun to assemble, that's a job for latter this week. The cavalry look easier though I have yet to prep them and so more on them later.

Close up of the infantry, there is some detail picked out for you though more detail needs adding. I have actually painted up a battalion this afternoon whilst waiting for Hougoumont's ornamental garden to dry. More on that when it's finished. They are quick and easy to paint and again more in an upcoming post.

I also had the chance to buy some old Chariot Miniatures Hoplites at a very good price so grabbed them building back up my 15mm stock piles.

In the same offer was a bunch of Persian cavalry and as I would be looking for more of these at some point took the opportunity to snag a bargain. So on a month of low production I managed to get figures in all three major scales, oh dear...........

6mm

Whilst I added ten battalions to my pile in May I at least managed to paint up four in June so the overall trend is downwards still.

No command has been painted in June so remains on Plus 15, Boney and a few mates NEED painting in the next few days so at least that will start to drop.

I managed to paint up one cavalry regiment but remain Plus 9 overall so post JoS will see my cavalry get more attention.

All other 6mm remains the same and will do so for a while yet I fear.

6mm commissions only four buildings have been painted up but I have a chunk of Steve's half finished and even more for Lee put aside till after JoS then that category should see good reduction.

15mm

Infantry Plus 62 and cavalry Plus 46 (thirty one additions) but overall since starting the tally they are actually down on total numbers.

20mm 

Remains Plus 96 infantry and Plus 6 cavalry, need to get back to doing these as I hope to get to use them when it comes round to our Christmas game round at Kev's.

28mm

If you thought my 6mm was out of control take a look at these numbers. 

Infantry a further Plus 9 in June so Plus 80 in total and fortunately only Plus 4 for the cavalry.

On a positive note I don't see me buying much in July and my painting time has increased allowing me to get on with part painted projects. July tally should look better than June's and with Project Waterloo getting out the door I hope to be in position to both play the actual game and painting up other projects.

May Day May Day, The Lead Pile Is Calling

Sorry for the lack of posts this week, I started a new job on Monday and it's eating up a ton of time at the moment, though I get Wednesdays off so will be doing some catching up today.

Keeping with the theme of busy through work excuse I slink into my work progress and what with interviews kids being off school and all the prep to start work I have rather let it slide on the painting desk. Not good news given I attended Triples and bought some stash, so it does not look that good when viewed from the point of reduction. 

6mm

Baccus have a lot to answer for, with their release of the last new French Napoleonic codes and my buying a big bunch of Ancient Phalanx figures has seen the pile grow by he equivalent of twenty battalions set against the painting of just ten so a PLUS 10 for the infantry.

Cavalry has been my bane in 6mm and I again added to the pile with another ten regiments worth BUT have exchanged or painted enough to keep the same number of excess, that being ten more than when I started keeping count!

Again for command I was hit by the release of My Little Ogre Play Set (Napoleon and friends) has pushed up my command figures by Twenty one, not great news as it was already PLUS eight. The good news is that I will be painting up the little man for Project Waterloo as well as others so I hope to get this back to zero within the nest two months and have no reason to buy any more for some time.

The only other change has been the painting of four buildings leaving me on an eye watering PLUS Twenty Eight!!!

15mm

15mm has only gone down each month since December last year with purchases far outweighed by painting well this month saw an increase in cavalry by sixteen figures, 12 for an extra Companion unit and I plan at least one more and figures to add a fourth command stand for my Persians. Hopefully these will be painted up in the next month or two.

28mm

28mm is the only other scale to have seen any changes, I have bought another ten figures for roleplaying with the kids (D&D) but did paint up twenty five though this still leaves me on PLUS seventy one.

I would say May has been the worst month for painting in the last 14 or so months. Fortunately my spending has been quite restrained meaning little damage done. However between now and Joy of Six will see me working hard on getting the last bits finished such as the few units I need that were missed on the original OOB and of course the buildings for Leven to go on his trade stand as he will be attending it as his first wargames show. I am also basing up a bunch of trees for our game.

I have twenty regiments of Baccus ACW infantry close to being finished but have put them on hold till I have some of this work done. June will not be a very productive month but it will be a focused one.

The April Fools Painting Progress

Typically April is the swan song of painting for most wargame painters, the light nights, better weather and jobs to do strip away a lot of the time available to paint. I am fortunate that I can remain quite productive during the light nights though production may well dip a little.

Of course the Analogue Painting Challenge that ended late March is bound to effect those of us who took part. I have dipped a little due to that but the enforced inactivity work wise has made up for that a lot as well, silver lining and all that.

6mm took a real thumping with another eight battalions off the table, that's ten over the last two months and has been a nice but small reduction of the lead pile. I even painted up two regiments of cavalry but that still leaves me ten regiments short of breaking even on these. Cavalry remains a tough one for me in 6mm. The only other change has been buildings with me painting six but buying twelve, oops. So I am a massive plus thirty two on my own buildings, that's bad, real bad. Still some of them are quick paints so I know I can bring this down.

6mm for others has been a lot better, no fresh units in but six out. Cavalry even better with twelve painted! Building wise I have painted up eight and received another four for my trouble. Those will be dashed off within the next couple of weeks so unless Mike sends me more I look to clear the decks, even if it's short lived. I also have to finish a hedge/fence set as well but that's near the front of the queue.

15mm. been quite the year for 15mm so far. Another sixty four infantry figures painted, my 15mm mountain is now just a mound, very happy with the progress and it looks like I won't be adding to the pile at Triples so it's very healthy.

20mm is not so good, still in triple digits at the start of the month I get it just below painting up eighteen figures. On a positive note they are a good match so can just get on with it so these should have a steady reduction over the months.

28 and 32mm have had no movement at all so remain the worst excess at the moment. I do have over twenty figures on the paint desk at the moment all 28mm so that will help that issue. I also have a lot of 6mm though precious little that will remain in my collection. I expect May to see a good amount cross my desk but not a great deal to remain here.

May will also see a lot of figures added to the mountain, I collected the Salute goodies yesterday (nicely into May) and whilst none of it is mine it still all needs painting. I also have nearly 150 10mm WWII Germans land that need attention. 

I should be picking up some more 6mm at Triples if all goes to plan, other than that no actual plans to increase the lead pile. Still have more kit than I can paint in a year which I really want to get on top of.

Coming up this month? Loads of ACW Union Infantry, a good splurge into both ECW 6mm armies and finishing off Steve's Waterloo stuff and making a start on my son's figures at long last. So May will be mostly 6mm.

Brought to Account

It's been some time now since I blogged the total for my 6mm unpainted collection. Even though I have had the results ready I have hesitated to give thought to the warnings, well wises and various death threats if I was to continue with this folly. But I could not be swayed, indeed I challenge you the reader to do so too! Only kidding, it's to likely to cause the odd heart attack.

15mm

ANCIENTS

It's fitting that I start with my Ancients collection of bare metal, not only has it had the most time spent on it of late but it's the period that's had the most play of late.

Macedonian Command: nine figures, these need more Lance armed cavalry figures adding to them as Hail Caesar allows for a lot more units and I am short of cavalry  in this option.

Pike: eighty nine figures, I also have 23 figures painted and unbased so enough for another three and a half blocks so eight blocks worth which will keep me going.

Hoplites: Twenty Four figures  so one and a half blocks, I am using my Egyptian Hoplites from way back (sixth edition WRG) to bolster my Greek Hoplites so these will make a nice addition to the Greeks. I can see a fair few more Greeks adding to the collection.

Peltasts: eight figures, just enough for one more unit. I do have quite a few peltast units painted up so not sure I really have to worry about painting these.

Greek Medium Cavalry with shield and spear: twelve figures for a full unit. Will get these painted up but are not high on the list as most of the other cavalry would get more use whilst these are just option troops.

Gallic Cavalry: twelve figures, again a whole unit and these do need to be got done soon for one of my Alexandrian options.

Cataphracts: Twenty, these were part of the Seleucid army Martin gave me four years ago but they are not great figures. I don't know who made them but the horses are VERY thin. A quick paint job and E-Bay me thinks.

Persian Bow: eight figures, these are excess to my normal light infantry options but could be added to the Levy infantry I need to rebase so will get painted up at some point.

Genetic Bow: 49 figures, these will make great Levy archer units so may move up the queue some. I would get another four units so not a bad possibility for my Persians.

ECW

ECW in 15mm was the first army I started with and I only have the figures to paint up one regiment of foot a couple of mounted officers and three limbers. Not very high on my to do list.

FANTASY
An army I was given again by Martin and forgotten about until looking for all the figures that are unpainted.
Goblins: Thirty Eight.
Goblin Bolt Shooter: One.
Orcs: One Hundred.
Warg Riders: Five.
Warg Chariot: One.
Dragon and Rider: One.
Dinosaur or giant lizard?: One.

Will be looking to off load this lot in a trade, so open to offers. The Goblins are nice looking figures whilst the Orcs are a little rough though serviceable.

20mm

ANCIENTS
For Hail Caesar over at Kev's I have bought three boxes of Gaul's and have started some test figures.

Gallic War Bands: One Hundred and Eight figures. I hope to get a few units of these across the table over the coming weeks or so.
Gallic Cavalry: Six figures, or enough for one unit and a command stand, again these will need to be started soon.

WWII
I started back on this journey again for use at Kev's but these look to be used against Lee as well as he is building a German force.

Russians: Forty Eight infantry, I don't really need the majority of these figures as I have plenty of rifle and SMG figures but could do with more support such as medium and heavy MG's and Mortars. This means these may not get painted and I buy the extra support.

American Paratroops: Seventy Five SHQ figures with a few mortars and MG's. These I bought years ago and I have no plan to paint so these need adding to my trade list so again offers if your interested.

28mm

FANTASY
Trolorc's or Beastmen: Ten more figures to paint, that will really challenge the players. They are all prepped just need to get onto the table.

Old School Orcs and Goblins: Ten, including just one Goblin. I don't see these getting painted either, much prefer the new style to the old.

Dwarf: Three of the bleeders, at least one will get painted up.

Humans: Thirteen blokes and one women, these will find their way through the pile when I need them but no rush at present.

Elves: Six of these and again they will find their way into the queue when I need them.

WWII
Russian: Twelve figures I really need to get painted up and paired up with the winter Germans I have painted as Sniper Reminders.

Polish/French/Italian: Six of each all waiting for doping for Sniper Reminders.

Partizan's Eleven as the other WWII

DARK AGES
Viking: One Hundred and Fifteen infantry. These will be used by me and my son for our SAGA armies and other rule sets though some of the ones I got in trade for painting will be painted and sold on.

OLD WEST
Cowboys: I have eight each of mounted and dismounted cowboys, these are Foundry and I have to get round to painting them soon, will add a lot of interest to the games, but then again I need to paint up the buildings as well.

32mm

ARENA REX
Gladiators: Eleven Figures. Why the dice image? It's the only part of the whole Kickstarter I have actually used so far! The figures though will be started soon, it's a project of pleasure as I will be trying to stretch my skills with these, playing is at the moment secondary though I hope it will prove to be a good buy rather than good bye.

Mad as a March Hare and Three Months In

As it's not only the end of the month but the first quarter. At the end of last year I came up with a few aims and completed some and forgot the rest so I thought it might be a good idea to remind myself of where I am.

Aims for 2015.

Finish Matt's Zulu's before the end of February.

Get all the Waterloo buildings finished before the end of March.

Paint up at least eight points of Vikings in the year (including painted troops)

Get the WWI planes painted and get a few games in with the boy.

Get the Roman army finished before end of May

Paint up enough 6mm Ancients that I can have a game with them.

Buy and paint up a number of Celtic Warbands for Hail Caesar in 1/72, the buying is sorted.

Paint up the Arena Rex gladiators and get a few games under my belt.

Start a new 6mm Napoleonic Army, certainly the Poles but probably the Spanish as well.

Continue painting yet more Prussians, French and French allies in 6mm, no way am I finished with the two main forces I have worked on so far.

Well I managed the Zulu's so a good start, I have not managed to finish the Waterloo buildings though they will get finished soon, shall we say by the end of the month for the ones I have on hand?

I also have the eight points of Saga though yet to get another game in but with the kids off over Easter will try and get a couple in.

Total fail on the WWI planes, really need to try and get on to these soon but not feeling no urge at the moment.

The Romans will be finished this week so nicely ahead of time, just a couple of bow armed units need finishing and a bunch of basing.

The 6mm Ancients have gone well this year, still way short of enough for a game but it looks very likely I will get enough done this side of winter.

Started to paint the warbands up and will get my first unit/s finished before April is finished.

Arena Rex has been left till after the Challenge and will be started soon, I want them either finished in time for the next Challenge or at least enough to get a few games in.

The 6mm Naps army will be the British and will be for my son, that starts real soon as I am doing another mates and can't leave my son out can I?

Have more Prussians on the paint desk at the moment and painted up a few French earlier in the month. Plenty more to paint and will keep adding units as I go, this will be how the Poles get into the roster though the Spanish and Portuguese will get some love before the years through.

So overall not too bad a showing against my aims and most should be reached at some point in the year but how does this fit in with reducing the mountain?

6mm has taken a back seat this month with only two Battalions getting painted and whilst not having bought any 6mm in the month  I am in the red in all categories except the infantry. Good job then that I have plans to get through a lot more 6mm this month.

15mm on the other hand has seen more figures painted for the second month running. Only two infantry figures (more on those cheeky chaps in a future post) and fifty five cavalry figures. This leaves me sixteen half painted infantry to go for a finished project. Great stuff.

20mm has stayed stagnant apart from nine part painted test figures, but these will also come along this month and should see a lot of improvement over the next few months.

28mm saw a rather large increase in my holding of infantry when I traded figures for painting a mates figures. Now I have eighty six more figures than I started the count with. Well since June last year I have painted 107 28mm infantry so it is possible I can get this figure down some over the rest of the year but I doubt I will get them back in the black for a fair amount of time yet but I plan to try.

Taming The Mountain - February

As we all know, February is just four weeks long, add to it the various distractions and my time in front of the painting table was more limited than I would like. The first show of the year for me also was on Feb so the mountain was in danger of a growth spurt.

6mm Received a chunk of figures through the door. I bought sixteen battalions worth but having painted fifteen in January and a further four last month I am still down three overall.

The cavalry I continued to buy gaining five regiments but also painted five remaining on Plus 12 overall, really need to get working on these.

I have painted up the six elephants and the original Stone Throwers but received the four small ones from Baccus so remain Plus 4 on Guns.

Buildings have gone through the roof by adding 22 so are now Plus 29. The rest remain unchanged.

15mm Continues to be the best reduction with 52 more infantry painted in Feb, that's 154 over two months with no additions so a big lump carved out.

Cavalry have also seen progress with sixteen figures painted but I have bought the same number 

to help finish off the Roman army, March will see a chunk more 15mm Cavalry painted up.

20mm Has not been touched, maybe this month? 

28mm Thanks to Gary and receiving a payment for commission work 28mm Infantry has taken as bit of a bashing as I added eighty figures to the pile whilst only painting nineteen. Expect that bulge to remain for a few months being slowly chipped away as I don't see that much time given over to it.

No other changes to 28mm or 32mm.

So with big gains in infantry in 28mm and buildings in 6mm the mountain has grown not shrunk. The saving grace is that all these figures and buildings did not cost me any money so I can at least take comfort from that.

Really pleased with the progress of my Roman project as that should be finished no later than end of April and possibly before. Most of my time will be spent painting up 6mm this month, both Steve's and my son's British Naps and Lee's ECW Parliament army. However I will throw in a few bits of my own to keep the interest a little keener. 

December Mountain Climbing

Given all the various activities that December threw at me I still managed a very credible month no doubt that the Analogue Painting Challenge helped. Not actually buying too many new figures also has kept a lid on the growth side on the mountain. So lets take a look shall we?

6mm.

I needed about 8-12 figures to act as Elephant escorts so of course bought 4 units worth. I already had a carry over of two units but painted up a total of nine to reduce the total to minus 3.

Cavalry wise I carried over twelve units and added a further three of the new Baccus Naps but at least managed to paint up three leaving me with the twelve carried over again.

I also bought seventeen command figures whilst painting just three leaving me with a plus of fourteen.

I painted up a single limber and twelve guns and crews but had carried over eight guns from a previous purchase but resulting in a minus 4 so more improvement.

I also painted up a further 10 buildings bringing the excess to just 10 buildings, I should get these done in January.

Elephants and WWI planes remain unchanged, probably remain the same through January.

15mm

After a year of ignoring what was once my primary scale for a whole year I painted up thirty two figures and yet more will be painted up each month for some time. Given I have not bought any for over a year this will help a great deal in reducing the lead pile.

20mm 

I carried over 96 figures from November when I bought the WWII Russians, I have now painted up one box less 4 unusable ones that have been thrown so half the mound see's the pile reduced to just forty Eight. The second box may or may not get work as the quality is not that great.

I also received three T34's for my Russians from my Secret Santa which are in the prep stage and should be done early January.

28mm

Also a good month for these guys. Last month saw me finish with one less model than the month before and I have painted up a further twenty  infantry carving a nice chunk out of the mountain, expect this to continue.

I have painted up two mounted and with only about sixteen altogether these should be dealt with soon enough.

I failed to paint up any more of the buildings so I hope to get a couple at least done this month, lets see shall we.

I even finished the four coffins on the table for months, well I do need the space.

32mm

Well as mentioned last month, this is for later, expect me to start sometime in the spring.

So weight wise I have cut a sizeable chunk from the mountain and January should hav much the same with limited purchases and good progress bringing more areas down to the levels I had when I started to monitor purchases V Painted and plenty of reductions in number beyond that figure.

Notable exceptions will all be 20mm, I have ordered three boxes of Celts and will be getting some 20mm support for the Russians. Next show will be February so I don't think any other purchases till then. However it's likely that 6mm will get another influx of figures as I will pick up any new French from Baccus and plenty of Ancients.

Naughty November

Naughty because I bought another twelve 28mm figures this month, but nice as it's the first month since I started to keep track that I have painted more than I have bought. Even so I have actually painted less this month than I would have liked but with the amount of time I have spent on Hougoumont and prep work for the Analogue Painting Challenge I can't complain.

The only things I painted in 6mm this month was buildings and boy did I paint some buildings. Both Hougoumont's and another set of Napoleonic buildings yet to be shown netting me a total of twenty five buildings. Still leaves me on plus 24 as I have had two large orders of buildings arrive in the last two months. My aim is to get the last 24 done during the challenge so next three months.

So 6mm looks like this

Infantry +2 Battalions. 

Cavalry +12 regiments

Elephants +6

Guns and Crew +8

Buildings +24

Wagons +4

Planes +9

This month I plan to paint up at least four battalions, four regiments of cavalry and the eight guns and possibly a limber. Building wise I will have to paint up eight to be on track for the 24 I have mentioned above.

20mm remains plus 96 being the ones I bought from The Works a few weeks ago and a project that may get some treatment during the challenge though they remain in their boxes for now.

28mm has seen the best movement, I painted up sixteen figures to set against the twelve I bought and the three I carried over from the month before for a minus 1 to the lead pile. I have prepped over 30 28's so expect some success on the pile in December. I also painted up one building and two horses all of which will feature later on the blog.

Infantry -1
Horses Flat
Buildings Plus 4
Coffins +2

32mm Remains on +11 infantry which will not get looked at till post challenge unless I really get the urge.

So not a massive reduction but the corner is being turned. The only possible figures I should get in December being my Secret Santa so should see the Lead Pile get a reasonable dent. Indeed other that getting the rest of the new Baccus French I don't see many reasons to get more figures till after the challenge, lets see.

Talking of Challenge here is what I have prepped, a few more bits to be done before it kicks off on Friday.

Box 1, thirty odd 28mm Vikings, a bunch of 15mm Romans and a few 6mm Prussian guns and cavalry.

Some 28's prepped for last years challenge and a few cowboys.More 15mm, this time Thracian infantry, more Prussians in 6mm and the rest of the Zulu's that I hope to get finished in the challenge. Will I get all of them done? Probably not but I am hoping for the majority and other bits as they take my fancy.

Super September?

Remember August's round up. Sub par levels of painting and a lead mountain spewing figures in mini eruptions? Well September was poles apart, amazing given the other commitments I had in the month. Still I seem to still have some frightening additions to the pile of figures to paint but a corner has been turned for sure.

The only items to be added to my mountain this month has been buildings. Mike sent me 25 buildings, 10 to be painted for his own collection and the rest for the Waterloo Project. The other building was bought as my Santa Clause present and I am really excited to get onto this soon. I can't say any more for obvious reasons but it will be painted this month as will all the 25 buildings received in September so I am very happy with my mountains slimming down process.

6mm has obviously been the focus of this month with 11 French Battalions and the equivalent of three Battalions of Zulu's finished off last night. This means that the 24 Battalions bought in July and a further 5 have been painted in three months, not to shoddy.

I did not touch any cavalry so I remain plus 7 but my end of December I should have that reduced to a minus figure.

Command has remained flat and guns reduced back to the same level as May. Both will see more painting done in the final quarter so again the mountain will be chipped away at.

Buildings look horrific at +50 and even with the 28 I plan to get painted this month I have a lot more to get done before I can get these back in hand. Mind you I need to sit down with Lee and work out how many buildings we need for Waterloo as I can expect to need more.

Wagons and Planes remain the same, I really am not concerned but I do need to get more painted up so we can try playing the rules we have.

In 28mm I carried over 12 last month and thought I would get some painted but that was a mission to far, expect some more work getting some of these over the table, mostly Vikings but a couple of cowboys and finally some Mansion of Madness figures for a friend (more like 25mm but they can count).

Finally painted up the two wagons from Partizan but the horses are still in their boxes, need to fix that this month.

September
Type	Carried on	Bought	Painted	Mountain
6mm Infantry	PLUS 9		14 Battalion	Minus 5
6mm Cavalry	PLUS 7			PLUS 7
6mm Command Figs	FLAT			FLAT
6mm Limbers	FLAT			FLAT
6mm Guns and Crew	PLUS 4		4	FLAT
6mm Buildings	PLUS 25	25		PLUS 50
6mm Wagons	PLUS 4			PLUS 4
6mm Planes	PLUS 9			PLUS 9
28mm Infantry	PLUS 12			PLUS 12
28mm Wagons	PLUS 2		2	FLAT
28mm Horses	PLUS 2			PLUS 2
28mm Building	FLAT	1		PLUS 1

So it looks good, well yes and no. The World Championships is at Castle Donnington this weekend and so far I have the following on my wish list

6mm Four Battalions of the new Baccus French Guard and four Guard guns and crews.

Whilst at Baccus I plan to pick up some Ancients for a side project I am interested in dabbling at. This will be a Field of Glory or DBM/A army with bases set for 15mm figures but packed with 6mm goodness. I will get at least enough for a pike phalanx and maybe some elephants but it's just going to be a fun slow burner as it has to fit round finishing off the Prussians and Zulu's

28mm I need a couple of figures to finish off my Saga command stand, a few more for Loki to paint up and that should be it.

I also plan on picking up some western buildings for the kids but as these may be prepainted and not effect the mountain at all.

Given that I will more 6mm painted than bought at the show I should continue to see the mountain shrink back. It's still too big to consider counting what I do have  to paint though. It's also possible the 32mm kickstarter figures will arrive as well, that's a sobering thought!

Angst of August

I am willing to bet that August is the slowest month for production of figure painting for the majority of bloggers. For me it certainly is as a mix of a weeks holiday and a week off work sick has all added up to make this month really flat. Sure it started well but even with this under consideration the month looks bad as you will see.

It was also a slow month for buying with only thirteen 28mm figures (twelve being half price so I could not pass them up. So at least I did not increase the mountain by much and whilst I reduced many sections I am still up on almost every category since starting to keep track!!!

6mm Infantry are still suffering from the 24 battalions bought recently but with six more painted I am up by just nine Battalions and plan to get that number painted in September so should get this back down to zero for the worlds.

6mm cavalry just got 4 regiments under the wire meaning I still have seven more to paint before I break even. These won't be touched till possibly October and it's quite possible I will be buying more at the Worlds so still looks some way off before I can get these under control.

6mm command and limbers remain the same with no change which I am afraid is as good as it gets.

6mm Guns and crews well I have 4 guns painted as well as 4 guns and crews so only the crews need to get painted. Unfortunately I bought 8 sets in July so technically I am still up by 4 sets until I get the crews done. At least that will also happen this month.

6mm Wagons remain plus 4 as I did not manage to get the one I planned done. Just like the artillery it's no big shakes as is a small paint.

6mm Planes after the first rush I have failed to paint any. As I plan to get more in October I had better get a shake on this month. Still up nine.

6mm buildings, this is going to sting as I picked up 36 in July but at least I got a good lick done painting 10 bringing the mound down to a still dizzy plus 25. Given the nature of my buying of Leven I will always have this sudden bulge appear in the mountain but each time it should be brought under control with regular painting sessions.

28mm also see's a bunch painted, this time 13 figures bringing the increase down to a manageable plus 12 and as they are for Saga I can get these off the table in October if all goes well. Nothing to worry about there then.

28mm wagons and horses remain untouched through the whole month, I really need to get those horses out of the blisters!! both remain plus two.

In case your late to the show, in May I started to record purchases against painted. Rather than reset the clock each month all buying is carried forward so it's a real record of the growth or culling of the lead and resin mountain. 

Project Waterloo and the aim of buying and painting each new Napoleonic French model released by Baccus will keep the 6mm under control and should see the end of 2014 with a reduced stash of unpainted 6mm, though this does not mean I will have no 6mm left in hand at the end of 2014!

A Month of Shame

Well I do have a bunch of stuff on the painting table that will help me out next month but it's fair to say that July has not seen me at my best what with two games and all the weather bringing the painting total down a few pegs whilst the buying did not totally get brought under control. The numbers are....

Lets start with the 6mm as that is the worst offenders.

6mm Infantry PLUS 15 as I finished nine battalions this month but then I did buy twenty four of the new Baccus French. At least I have six Battalions on the table at the moment. Actually the big gain does not bother me as over the next few months I will get that into the minus figures and I actually needed twelve of them anyway.

6mm Cavalry, none got painted this month so I am still on PLUS 11, lets see what I get done over the next five weeks, I think I see more Prussians done.

6mm Command, got 10 of these guys painted so a MINUS 10 for the pile.

6mm Guns and Crews PLUS 8 but four of these are on the table part done the rest next month?

6mm Buildings (Gulp) I did paint ONE this month so that makes a mere PLUS 35 then! I guess building of the week will be back next week or else!

6mm Planes as this is a new diversion yet to be started I am on PLUS 10 but I think once I get going these will come along well.

28mm Infantry, MINUS 6 as I got the cowboys done. My next lot of the Winter War are due any day so I can expect the figure to go the wrong way probably next month, ow well I do plan to get the Vikings finished in the next couple of weeks as I am off work for a week and want to get a game of SAGA in with the son so need to get cracking.

28mm Wagons, still on PLUS 2 as I have yet to paint the ones picked up at Partizan, must get on them.

28mm Horses PLUS 2 see wagons for the same answer.

The good news I guess is that I do not see any actual purchases for the whole month but with The Worlds at the beginning of October I can see a little bit of buying going off. I could also get the Arena Rex Kickstarter arrive in October adding yet more Resin to the mountain.

So I hope that August will be a month of shrinking down on the gains whilst October may get a few figures bought (I am thinking SAGA and Cowboys) and a few buildings but nothing beyond that. If THAT actually works out then the run towards the end of the year could be good for slimming down the mountain and if I get the best part of the Project Waterloo figures finished this year you should see other parts of the mountain slim down. OK lets here your views LOL

June Gain's and Losses.

So May and June saw wargame shows in the form of Triples and Partizan, these are typically dangerous times for anyone who actually means they do want to cut back on the old lead mountain. It really does not bold well then that the Joy of Six is in July making three months on the trot I will be at a show. Actually it will be the third show on the trot where I will have bought some Baccus figures, oh dear.

So lets start with 6mm I have not quite finished the lot shown above so will use them to soften the blow of the soon to be released Baccus French infantry but nothing really can help against the Cavalry with another four regiments bought at Partizan to add to the twelve at Triples. I painted two up so now the mountain is up nine over the last two months, not cool.

Limbers and guns both had plus four in and as these got painted I have gained nothing to the mountain but increased the painted total, good result.

No change to buildings but with over thirty coming to me this month I will have another new face to scale on the old mountain.

Last for six mill is a pack of four Baccus (again LOL) wagon's, maybe they will get looked at soon.

Keeping with wagons I have assembled but not painted my new Warbases stage coach or wagon, both of course in 28mm. Neither have I done the pair of horses, these need starting.

I do have three 28mm infantry almost finished so July should see a few items reduced on the old mountain but unfortunately like June will see an overall increase despite the idea that this exercise should decrease the overall weight.

 Yes it will be interesting that a quarter of a year into the exercise I will have quite a few red sections on my spreadsheet. I just need to concentrate on the idea that the next 3 months should see the overall total shift to the lighter with more of the 6mm being finished for Waterloo whilst I also work on the Saga and Cowboys in 28mm. I have said this a few times but I do not expect many more purchases in the next three months beyond new releases from Baccus and Leven and the odd addition to the Saga if my son really gets into it.

Lists Are Bad Things!!!!!

A recent blogger was unwise enough to do a list of current projects that need attention, he even said it was a bad idea. Now take my advice and DON'T DO IT.

Last night I decided I was too flaked to paint and with Triples around the corner it may well be an idea to see just what I have against what I need.

Currently I am working on 15mm Ancients, 15mm ECW, 6mm Napoleonic, 20mm Ancients in plastic, and 28mm WWII. Three other periods are under consideration, Gladiators probably in 28mm and Fantasy Role playing (after too long away) and last of all 15mm Orc and Goblin army that was given to me last year.

Numbers, it always comes down to numbers so here we go

15mm Ancients

Phalangites x 218 figures to go with the two blocks already done, though 64 figs get priority.

Peltasts x 16

Companion Cav x 12

Agema Cav x 12

Thracian Infantry x 40 figs

Command x 9 figs

Persian Cav x 16 figs (8 more needed at Triples)

Camels and riders x10 ( 2 more required, again Triples)

Elephants x 5 with crew

Cataphracts x 38

Skythian Cav x 8 (to base with others as Cav not LH)

Taratine Cav x 12

Galatian Cav x 15

Archers x 48 (base as Medium Inf)

Persian Bow x 8

15mm ECW

Single Regiment of Foote x 20 figs.

Once the 15mm or 10mm direction is decided then I will look to add some new Horse and Foote Regiments to the 15mm or Sell the lot. Meanwhile I am re-basing the lot. More on that on a later post.

15mm Orcs and Goblins

Infantry x 150

Warg Riders x 5

Chariot x 1

Dragon rider x 1

6mm French Naps

Foot x 396 figs

Cav x 54 figs

Generals x 9 figs

Guns and Crews x 4

28mm WWII

Ever growing list!! I started the post with about 20 left to do but another 12 arrived through the post!

20mm Ancients

Dacian Infantry Conversions x 96

Roman Deserter Cav x 12

Another few hundred on order.

As I said above, lists are not a good idea. I also have four projects on the painting desk at the moment, three of them just requiring base work and 12 Numedian LC that I just had to start as they look really nice, these are close to being finished.

After all this madness it's time for me to pimp someone else's blog, That being Diary of a Infrequent Wargamer. He has just hit 30 followers but should have more. Like me once he hits 50 he plans a giveaway. So if you like good painting, varied topics and good writing then nip over for a gander.