New Year, New Challenge 2023
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. There’s a few that I’m unlikely to paint, but some I’m actually quite keen on, like the samurai and some Abyssal Dwarfs.
So first thing on the list is a bunch of Age of Sigmar Chaos Warriors from the original starter set. I painted all the Stormcast Eternals from the box and then spent a while collecting more models from them. The opposing force of Khorne Goretide were left undercoated but unpainted. The models never particularly appealed to me. The completionist in me wants them painted now though. It’s also good to have both sides of a game painted so if anyone wants to play a pick up game they have a ready-made army to play against. There’s a bunch of Bloodwarriors and Reavers as well as some exclusive models like the Khorgorath, which I don’t think is beind sold anymore2. So far its been a pretty fun painting experience, but I’m definitely starting with the easier models first before moving onto the more complicated ones.
Next up is a box that’s been through five house moves and about 18 years of sitting around. It’s filled to the brim with a variety of Lord of the Rings models that I used to collect through my university years. The elves and goblins I have from the period are cringe-worthily badly painted, but the Uruk-Hai are not too bad. The box is full of Orcs and 3rd Age men as well as a few elves, Men of Harad and the likes. Some of them probably came from the Battle Games in Middle Earth magazine, much like the metal hero models I mentioned earlier.
Overall we’re talking about some 150 or so miniatures to paint this year. I’m not planning to finish them all off in the first few months again, but rather to pace myself throughout the year and paint more consistently. Depending on progress I may well then start to intersperse some other models that I’ve been meaning to collect, but we’ll have to see how it goes. Expect regular updates on progress and as always, you can see the results on my Instagram page.
Happy New Year!