After a decades long layoff, I came back to miniatures as a father-son project. My son wanted to play Warhammer Fantasy so I bought unpainted collections at Bartertown. In short order, I had a plastic mountain of Orcs & Goblins, Dwarfs, and Tomb Kings. Being new at this, my son and I were very slow painters. That plus assembling the figures meant it took us many sessions to finish a single unit. And there were so damned many GW boxes! What was I thinking, buying 3 armies at once? Every time I got a peek at the plastic mountain, my enthusiasm for painting sunk. When my son moved onto the world of music, I was left to finish the lot myself.
I did eventually finish at a rate of an army a year but the experience left a mark. When I quit fantasy for historicals, I decided to avoid this mistake. I use an accountant's precision to plot my purchases. I keep a first in, first out (FIFO) painting system. Before I start a new project, I finish the old one. With this push, my collection of unpainted 28mm minis is down to 6 figures.
These fellows fill some gaps in my Viking and Anglo-Danish warbands for Saga. I used triads with the cloaks but I toned down my color jumps and washed to flatten them out for a more gradual transition.
The slingers add an important shooty element to the Anglo-Danish warband. Being levy, they're quite dull to look at.
Running out of things to paint, I also finished some Saga color items including aditional fatigue counters.
With my Just in time inventory system maxed, I'm back to sifting through unpainted lead at Bartertown and browsing Architectsofwar. I've got my eye on more Dark Age figures. It can't hurt to keep a lead molehill, can it?
