First month is over and it’s been a strong start again to the year. I am already most of the way through my collection of AoS Khorne Bloodborne. All the troops are complete, all that remains are the characters. I’ve not used so much red paint in since painting the Lannister army! Still really good progress so far. I’ve also managed to spray paint undercoat almost everything on this year’s challenge list.

Last year’s painting challenge was a resounding success! I even managed to complete it within the first quarter and then go and paint dozens more miniatures in the rest of the year. So with that in mind, I’m starting a new painting challenge for this year. One that will finish off the vast majority of my remaining Pile of Shame. Actually, it will clear all built and unpainted plastic models. The only things left will be Lord of the Rings metal hero models1 and the free sprues that you get with the various wargaming magazines.

I have done it!? Finishing off with the guy who, in the series, started it all. With Petyr Baelish, I’ve painted the last of all the miniatures I had from the ASOIAF Kickstarter. Looking back at the start of this series, it’s been almost four years in which I’ve been painting my haul. I did of course paint other things in between, so while I’m a slow painter, I’m not that slow!

Napoleonic Prussians were my very first foray into miniatures away from Games Workshop. It was a bit of a painting culture shock. From individual highly-detailed 32mm heroic models to slender 4-to-a-base 28mm rank and file troops. It took me ages to finished the first three battalions and then two more Landwehr battalions and a smattering of skirmishers, artillery, etc. Then came the time of madness where I was suddenly inundated with A Song of Ice and Fire miniatures, Cthulhu, Romans and Britons as well as napoelonic ships.

Mon Dieu! Hard to port! Yes it’s only mid-April and yes, the last five ships took me almost half a month to complete. Nevertheless, I’ve managed to paint 142 miniatures over the course of three and a half months! Personal best. I should have left something easy for last, those ships were definitely a test for my patience, but now they are done and I can look forward to trying them out on the black seas game mat!

England expects every man to do his duty March has been another good month in terms of progress. I’m now almost all the way through my year’s goal. I’ve painted up Anna and Elsa and even already played the first game with my daughter using them. The Britons are also completed now, that’s the whole Hail Caesar boxset done! As well as all the remaining warriors, I also did the few extra pieces for the two chiefs.

Ave Caesar! Morituri Te Salutant That’s the last of the Britons painted and with that the last miniature from the Hail Caesar: Roman Invasion of Britain starter set. All in all around 125 miniatures, rivalling the number I’ve painted in total for my Napoleonic Prussian army. I thought it would take me much longer1, but in the end, I got into a nice rhythm, knowing exactly which colour to pick next, the order in which to paint the minis, when to include the shields, bases, etc.

Let it Go! Let it Go! As Monty Python said: “And now for something completely different.” While I was browsing the internet forums and blogs, I came across a post by someone trying to get his young daughter into wargaming. To do that he painted up some of her favourite characters to use in a modified skirmish game. I liked the idea and wanted to see if I could replicate his results.

More screaming barbarians! Lots more progress in February and if anything I’ve managed to increase my pace! At this point all the miniatures from the A Song of Ice and Fire Kickstarter have been painted1. Far more impressive though is the fact that that I have already managed to paint a whooping 50 Britons so far. With the ten I managed to complete at the tail end of January, I’m now 75% through the Britons.

Today I finished the last mini from the A Song of Ice and Fire boxset that I got from a Kickstarter pledge a few years ago. Brienne of Tarth valiantly led the rear-guard on the painting front and joins her fellow neutral characters to complete the Starter Set. Alongside my pledge for the Starter Set, the pledge rewards and milestone unlocks I also bought a couple of extra boxes to round out the collection.