Last year's Painting Pledges started out pretty successfully and then I sort of fell off the wagon towards the years end. Let's take a look at what I said I'd do and what I actually got done.
Super Dungeon - one of each clan, Ika, Tora, Yamazaru and the Elemental Shrine (30)
Imperial Assault (7)
Descent - Crown of Destiny, Guardians of Deephall, Stewards of the Secret & Shards of Everdark (52)
Massive Darkness Hellscape (68)
Batman Shadow of the Bat (40)
Marvel United X-Men (10)
Zombicide Fort Hendrix (13)
Robinson Crusoe (18)
Finish TMNT (8), Finish Downwood Tales (7) Finish Tail Feathers (7)
A total of 350 minis across all range
In July I re-evaluate the challenges and add or change things because things change, for example Robinson Crusoe didn't deliver so painting it was always going to be a challenge. So here's what I changed.
Drop the overall total to 300. While it's possible I'll get close to 350, I would rather succeed than fail and 300 is still not a bad target.
Massive Darkness I'll keep the target of 68 but it wont necessarily just be models from the core box as I don't need to paint 6 of everything as we'll likely be playing at 4 players max
Drop Robinson Crusoe, there's a possibility this will deliver after Christmas so it's not likely to get painted this year.
Add ISS Vanguard (9) Core Set to replace Robinson.
Okay, so what did I achieve?
Super Dungeon - Challenge 30 - Total 18 - Total Remaining 89
I certainly didn't do everything I did 2.8 clans (I never finished Yamazaru) and I didn't do the Elemental Shrines.
Imperial Assault - Challenge 7 - Total 8 - Total Remaining 0
I smashed this one, even with an extra mini sneaking onto the list. I not only closed out what I own, but I have now painted everything that has been produced for this game.
Descent - Challenge 52 - Total 17 - Total Remaining 35
I started out with good intentions on this one, but in the end I fell short, basically failing to complete any more minis after we finished playing through the Kindred Fire campaign.
Massive Darkness - Challenge 68 - Total 58 - Total Remaining 111
I fell short here too, my original plan was to fully paint the base set but I figured you guys would get bored if I painted the same set of models for a whole week for ten weeks which was likely how long it was going to take. So instead I branched out and painted some heroes and monsters from other expansions but I still didn't quite get to the 68 needed to complete the challenge.
Batman SOTB - Challenge 40 - Total 40 - Total Remaining 60
I did this one but only just, however with my younger brother now asking to play this most weekends it's likely to hit the painting bench again this year.
Marvel United X-Men - Challenge 10 - Total 42 - Total Remaining 78
Well, I smashed this one. I always knew I wasn't planning to finish all of Marvel United as doing one a day in season 1 nearly killed me, but I also knew I was going to end up doing more than just the X-Men Core Set.
Zombicide - Challenge 13 - Total 48 - Total Remaining 113
Again, I went way over my target here but Zombicide is hitting the table so I want to get it painted. I initially only pledged to paint the Fort Hendrix Box but I actually found time for lots more besides, included new abominations, dogs and VIP zombies.
TMNT - Challenge 8 - Total 3 - Total Remaining 5
I really should have been able to do this one and I set out with good intentions but the lack of play combined with the game system itself being shut down just meant I didn't find the enthusiasm to paint the last batch of foot ninjas.
Mice & Mystics - Challenge 7 - Total 7 - Total Remaining 0
I did manage to summon the energy to return to Mice & Mystics and paint the remaining minions. I didn't however, as I also promised, finish Tail Feathers, which goes on for yet another year unfinished.
ISS Vanguard - Challenge 9 - Total 14 - Total Remaining Some
And lastly we have Vanguard which I did at least manage to cross off the bits I said I would. I'm not quite sure how many minis are left because Awaken Realms didn't give an exact count and I haven't been through and added them up myself.
All Ranges - Challenge 350 - Total 285 - Total Remaining Too Many
So, I initially promised 350 minis, which was pretty much one a day, that was ambitious. With Lockdowns lifted I now go home again for 3 days a week so realistically I can paint 4 or 5 nights a week so 350 was always going to be a stretch. I closed out the year at 285 which is still pretty respectful, although I'd have like to hit the 300 mark, just for the nice round number.
In terms of "Other Stuff" I didn't stray far from the beaten path. I fell down a Lord of the Rings rabbit hole for a while, which could basically be an endless project if I really got my teeth stuck into it. I finished the Zombicide Invader comics extras which are cool but I haven't actually played with them yet. And I did some Dungeons and Lasers townfolk.
I also did some terrain which I never count towards my minis for the year, but I'll share some of it below, but it was mostly just terrain for Massive Darkness, such as doors & traps.
2023 Painting Pledges
So then we arrive at the painting pledges for the new year... what do I think I can get done?
250 Minis
Finish Marvel United X-Men (78)
Finish ISS Vanguard
Paint Zombicide Darkside (104) or Paint Marvel Zombies Core (90)
Paint Arkham Asylum (15)
Finish Hellscape for 4 Players (10)
Paint Descent Heroes (14)
Zombicide Daily Spawn (30)
So, I'm going with a more realistic overall goal. I'd like to close out X-Men before the next batch turns up and because this one is in heavy rotation at the moment. I'll try and finish Vanguard while we're playing it as we're only likely to play through the game once, so not much point in painting once we have finished.
Batman is also seeing play right now so getting those models finished would be great, although I'm just going with Arkham for the pledge rather than everything. Descent, Hellscape and Zombicide will fill in the gaps around everything else I think and allow me to break up bigger projects with something different.
Lastly I'm going to paint one of my outstanding base Zombicide games, I don't think I can do both in a year and to be honest I'm not sure when Marvel Zombies will actually arrive. Whichever one I choose will likely be my summer project. Either way I likely paint the heroes for Marvel Zombies, even if I don't do all the ranks and file minis as this is one of the most requested things from my followers on FB.
And that's about it. Big year overall, didn't quite hit some of my targets as priorities shifted over the year, but I'm looking forward to the new year and things have already started off well. What are you guys painting this year? Any big plans? Let me know in the comments. Until next time, have fun painting...
The Duke