This post was originally published on the HMGS website on April 20, 2019.

Have you every attempted a painting challenge? Early in January I decided to attempt to paint more minis than I bought this year. It’s an easy enough goal to say but in practice it probably isn’t quite so easy! For me the first thing I needed to reconcile was what constitutes a miniature? I game in both 15mm and 28mm and so if I bout 100 28mm miniatures and painted 101 15mm miniatures could I honestly feel like I succeeded? How would a 15mm tank count? A 15mm tank could be the equivalent to a 28mm infantry figure but a 15mm infantry figure certainly isn’t the same as a 28mm infantry. Some people suggested I count packs or boxes but 1 box of 12 28mm minis and a single 15mm tank didn’t seem equivalent. Ultimately I decided to just break things down into like categories. I’ve ended up with 15mm vehicles, 15mm figures, 28mm figures and terrain. Terrain is kind of nebulous as some kits are much bigger than others but I’m ok with this. I currently don’t play anything requiring 28mm vehicles but if I do I’ll need to count them in the list. I realized that this isn’t life or death it’s just a neat little goal to try out. Of course I’ve run into a few things to ruminate about. For example I’ve considered playing Gaslands. Do I count purchased Matchbox cars against my total? Technically they are usable out of the package but I plan on upgrading and painting them. Do I count them as purchases? (I’ve decided not to!) What about minis indirectly purchased? At Adepticon if you bought beer from the beer cart you got minis. I got two beers and got a Games Workshop Night Vault war band. Do I count those? (Once again, I’m not. I wanted the beer, the minis were free. I’m not painting more than I acquire, I’m painting more than I buy!) Do I count the miniature my friend Greg is selling for his new company Wicked Elf? It’s in a super fancy box and I don’t know if I want to open it and ruin the packaging. Plus I’m not sure I can do it justice if I do decide to paint it. (Yeah, I’ll have to count this one!) While I probably won’t succeed at this challenge it is helping me think more about what I’m buying. I purchased a few minis just because I thought they were cool but for the most part I’m not buying them if I don’t plan on painting them in the immediate future so I guess that’s the real win.

-Wachtmeister

PS For those who are wondering my current count is as follows (bought/painted): 15mm vehicles 22/18 15mm infantry 0/0 28mm infantry 17/19 plus 8 assorted Blood Bowl counters Terrain 2/2 (One of the painted was a set of 4 small terrain pieces, one of the bought was much bigger. Meh, it’s a wash!