The first tray complete
At the beginning of this year I placed around 120 models on a tray and declared these would be the next group I painted.
As you can see, most of these weren’t even undercoated at the time. Now though, almost 8 months later, the tray is complete:
I’ve been so happy with this approach that I have decided to continue on, and we’ll see a second try prepared soon. With the tray above I’ve completed my Blackstone Fortress set and Genestealer Cult models, as well as getting a bunch of Lord of the Rings and Bones models painted, plus a few old models that have been hanging around for far too long.
I put a variety of models on the first tray, and the second will continue that. Of the 120-odd models painted, my favourite was Aekold Helbrass, one of the neglected models:
I’ll update soon on my forward plans for getting my 782 outstanding models completed.
Scent of a Gamer 
Well done on getting this lot painted! I seem to start off like you, with figures getting prepared and laid out carefully on my desktop, but I find that I get de-motivated with them all staring back at me! So all I do then is put the bulk of them away and leave out just the next unit to get done and that works out quite well.
I’m impressed that you know you’ve got 782 outstanding models! I carefully avoid counting mine! 🙂
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It’s definitely true that keeping unpainted miniatures around can be a demotivating factor. I keep a few out on the tray, then get to watch the tray gradually go from white to painted over a few months so it works well for me. Seeing the painted ones next to the unpainted ones motivates me to ‘colour in’ the next group!
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Sounds like you’ve got the balance right! Seeing your progress is always a good thing! 🙂
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cheers!
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Great work! That’s a hugecommitment, and it doesn’t leave room for much flexibility throughout the year, does it? I suppose that’s probably part of the appeal as well … You won’t get tempted by new projects or purchases if you stick to the tray.
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Definitely. There’s been a few moments where I would otherwise have bought miniatures and done the usual convince myself I would paint them “soon”. Instead this year I’ve bought just 6 miniatures this year and they are all on the next tray.
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Very impressive rate of completion there, Dave – also what seems to be a nice balance between focused and free choice in what you paint as well. My own method is a bit more scattered, as I try to finish the neglected models that cover my painting desk, but constantly have new visitors arrive that queue-jump. A lot of them are boardgame models for “easy wins” and other neglected models that have been in cases, or elsewhere, but more of them then there probably should be are fresh arrivals, though in those cases, they’re often older models anyway.
I’m looking forward to seeing what’s on the next tray – and then their subsequent transformation!
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Yes, tried to get both some variety and some things finished off, like the Blackstone Fortress set. I’ll try a similar approach for the next tray.
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