Tackling the Pile of Shame

Far too many of us in the hobby,myself included,let excitement get the better of us and end up with a very healthy collection of unpainted, and in some cases unassembled, grey plastic: the dreaded “pile of shame.” It usually happens for a simple reason: we acquire miniatures faster than we paint them. That can happen for a few reasons, but one fundamental driver is that many of us don’t track how large our backlog is, how long it will take to paint what we already own, or how much painting time a new addition represents.

To that end, I’m going to audit my backlog to see exactly how large it’s gotten. This blog is part one of my three-step process to get it under control:

1. Come up with a way to size my each unit and do an audit of the backlog (Living document backlog post coming soon!)
2. Track what you paint (and each new addition)
3. Set goals that ensure that each month it shrinks rather than grows

Sizing The Backlog

To effectively size the painting backlog, we need a system that accounts for the fact that items in the pile of shame represent very different amounts of future hobby time. It will take much longer to paint a Redemptor Dreadnought than a single Intercessor. Similarly, a character typically gets more time and attention than a basic trooper.

Taking inspiration from Hammer the Backlog and this thread on The Bolter and Chainsword, I wanted a system that:

• accounts for these differences,
• can be applied across a variety of game systems, and
• is simple enough to quickly tally up the size of a potential projects

Deepspawn Painting Points (DPP)

Class	Typical base/footprint	Examples	DPP
Infantry (S)	25–32 mm	Guardsman, Clanrat, Necromunda ganger	1
Large Infantry (M)	40–50 mm	Ogre, Terminator, Primarch-sized foot	2
Mounted / Bike / Beast	60–75 mm oval	Knight on horse, Space Marine bike	3
Monster / Walker (L)	60–80 mm	Dreadnought, Carnifex, Troggoth	4
Infantry character	25–40 mm	Space Marine Captain, Chaos Lord (foot), Necromunda Leader, Vampire Lord (foot)	5
Light Vehicle / Flyer	Rhino/Skimmer	Rhino, Trukk, Venom/small flyers	6
Character on mount/bike	60–75 mm oval	SM Captain on Bike, Chaos Lord on Juggernaut, Vampire Lord on Nightmare	7
Heavy model (XL or heavy vehicle)	90–120 mm or Land Raider–class chassis	Maulerfiend, Hell Pit Abomination, Land Raider, Battlewagon	8
Character on monster/walker	60–120+ mm	Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon, Orruk Megaboss on Maw-krusha, Commander Shadowsun, Greater Daemon	15

We’re largely using base size as our guide, but adding extra points for characters to account for the additional time they typically receive. This gives us a way to compare potential painting projects: for example, a squad of five models is expected to take a similar amount of time as one foot character.

One thing not captured yet is a way to size terrain projects. I know the Leadweight system on The Bolter and Chainsword proposes doing terrain by weight, but I don’t see that as viable. I’ll probably score terrain based on surface area/vibes for now. If you can think of a better way, please let me know!

Painting Points in Action

Let’s see how this looks in a real-world scenario, taking a recent Age of Sigmar Spearhead.

Spearhead: Cities of Sigmar – Fusil-Platoon

This contains the following models:

• 1x Fusil-Major on Ogor Warhulk
• 1x Alchemite Warforger
• 11x Wildercorps Hunters
• 10x Freeguild Fusiliers (and 1x Blackpowder Squire)

We can apply the relevant class from the DPP table to work out the number of points for each unit:

Unit	Count	Class	DPP each	Subtotal
Fusil-Major on Ogor Warhulk	1	Character on mount	7	7
Alchemite Warforger	1	Infantry character	5	5
Wildercorps Hunters	11	9 × Infantry + 2 × Large Infantry	1 / 2	13
Freeguild Fusiliers	10	Infantry	1	10
Blackpowder Squire	1	Infantry	1	1

Total for the box: 36 UPP.

Notes / assumptions:

• The Warhulk is scored as a mounted hero = 7 UPP (it’s a hero on a big body but not a true “monster” centerpiece).
• We count the two 40 mm bases in the Wildercorps as Large Infantry = 2 UPP each.
• All other infantry (Fusiliers, most Hunters, the Squire) are Infantry = 1 UPP; the Warforger is a Infantry character = 5 UPP.

Combat Patrol: Imperial Fists

Lets see how it looks for an upcoming 40k Combat Patrol:

This contains:

• 5x Company Heroes
• 5x Intercessors
• 5x Heavy Intercessors
• 5x Terminators and 1x Teleport Homer Token

Applying the classes:

Unit	Class	Count	DPP each	Subtotal
Intercessors	Infantry (S)	5	1	5
Heavy Intercessors	Large Infantry (M)	5	2	10
Terminators	Large Infantry (M)	5	2	10
Terminators	Infantry (S)	1	1	1
Company Heroes — Captain	Infantry character	1	5	5
Company Heroes — Others	Large Infantry (M)	4	2	8

Total size: 39 UPP

Notes / assumptions:

• In the company of Heroes We are only counting the Captain as a 'Infantry character', the rest are just 'Large Infantry'
• We count the Teleport homer as a 'Infantry' model

What we’ve learned from this exercise is that these two boxes are roughly equivalent in terms of painting points.

Necromunda - Full Orlock Gang

Lets consider a full Necromunda gang, basic gangers with specialists, prospects and a brute.

[copy goes here]

• One box of basic gangers

• 2 Arms masters, 4 wreckers and a couple of good boys

• One brute - lets use an Ambot for now but could easily be a kitbashed Lugger

If we point out the full roster

Unit	Class	Count	DPP each	Subtotal
Road Captain	Infantry Character (S)	1	1	5
Arms Master	Infantry	2	1	2
Wreckers	Infantry	4	1	4
Orlock Gangers	Infantry	9	1	9
Cyber-mastiffs	Infantry	2	1	2
Ambot	Monster / Walker (L)	4	1	4

Total size: 26 DPP

Notes / assumptions:

• We want to give the Road Captain character treatment, but none of the the other champions. Points can be scaled up/down based on your preferences
• This is assuming we are paint everything, if we just need the minimium for game day at the start of campaign this could be a low as 8 points

Next Steps

With this system in hand, the next thing to do is audit what I currently have and start setting monthly goals around what I paint - both topics for a future post.