Realistic Expectations: Making a Dent in the Pile of Shame in 2020

I have played and collected Games Workshop games and miniatures since the mid-90s. Along the way, I’ve also picked up a number of miniatures from other companies. I have some Privateer Press, some Infinity, an Italian fleet for Dystopian Wars, a ton of Malifaux…

I like miniatures. I like collecting them. I like playing with them. I could be a lot better at keeping up with the hobby side. I have all of the best intentions. I pick up paints, enjoy short bursts of productivity, and get precisely nowhere in the grand scheme of things. As such, I have a long-established ‘pile of shame’ that has only grown over time.

In terms of painted armies, I don’t have much, and I actually have significantly less than I had a few years ago. I got rid of my massive 40K Chaos army over the past year or two, sold off my Ogres and gave away my Eldar to a friend. As such, I only actually have one (mostly) painted army at the moment, in the form of my Tzeentch Daemons.

I’m realistic in that I’m not going to shift the big backlog I have any time soon, and that’s ok. I’d just like to be heading in the right direction. As such, it’s time to set myself some goals for 2020.

At the end of the day, I know myself. I’ve set myself goals before and I’ve let myself down repeatedly. I’m going to stay optimistic, though. I’m setting a few goals:

1. Finish up my Tzeentch Daemons by basing my Horrors, finishing my Flamers and finishing my Lord of Change.
2. Start working through the huge number of Skaven miniatures that have build up over the past decade. Aim for 1,000 points for now.
3. Complete a 300 point force for Infinity out of my existing (unpainted) Nomads, Aleph or JSA.
4. Finish off a playable 1,000 points of Adeptus Mechanicus.
5. Make a start on painting up some sort of the MDF terrain I’ve been building.

Is this Realistic? I dunno. I’m pretty terrible. A lot of the miniatures listed above are actually already partly painted. The Tzeentch stuff should be very doable for this reason. As such, I think a goal of 150 miniatures for the year would be both a huge improvement on previous efforts and should be something that I can realistically accomplish.

We’ll see. I’m going in with the best of intentions!