A Little Help From My Friends?

So, I'm five months into Operation Unthinkable and I'm doing well and have given away only a handful of miniatures. So far the projects I've finished are:

• Bolt Action Soviets
• VBCW Royalists/B.U.F.
• Flames of War Germans
• BMG Urban Terrain

However, I'm seeing trouble on the horizon for a variety of reasons.  Firstly, I'm running out of simple things to finish and the bigger projects are looming. Secondly, being the magpie that I am, I've actually added a couple of items to some of the above projects in the shape of some more terrain and a Soviet assault gun. Finally, I'm getting side-tracked by new projects like the Dropzone Commander Resistance army I'm working on this month. The lead pile isn't diminishing as fast as it could be.



A lead pile...

Therefore, in order to stop the rot, I've decided to sign up to the 6 Month Painting Challenge that Matt failed at last year. The rules, taken from The Spider Web of History, are:

1. No purchasing of new miniatures, EXCEPT if you use a joker.  You get three jokers to use on a figure purchase.  Could be a blister pack, an ebay bundle, or a single figure...you can't splurge. The only exception to this rule is if you need bitz or A FIGURE (Singular) to complete a unit/warband etc. 

1.1 - There is an opportunity to "earn" additional jokers.  If you complete an entire project (whole unit/army/warband etc.) with pictures of starting, WIP, and completion, you earn yourself a Joker.  

2.  Gifts do not count against you. Holidays, birthdays etc. Also, if you're given gift cards by your hobby illiterate family or friends, you can without penalty use them on anything you want miniatures wise. 

3.  Paints, terrain (or materials), and other hobby supplies do not apply to the no purchasing rule. 

4.  At least one hobby related blog post and/or Instagram update a week.  If you instagram, be sure to hashtag your pic with #6MMRPC 

5.  Zombtober will be part of the 6 month challenge so, Zombie related stuff during October is ENCOURAGED. Other theme suggestions are welcomed. 

6.  Anyone that wants to submit a before and after picture of a miniature that they are proud of completing during the course of the challenge to dmcffd@gmail.com will be entered into the running for a gift certificate to a online wargaming store of their choice.  Judging will be by an un-biased person.  Amount on the gift certificate will be dictated by winners nationality but should work out to about $30 U.S. I (Spiderweb of History) will not be eligible to win.  
Now let's be clear. I anticipate failure on the buying of stuff. However, with my birthday just gone I've got a stack of stuff to be working on and I still have projects to complete. What's more, I've noticed that BMG has begun to veer into characters that are more and more niche and not on my 'must have' list, which should help the buying a little. However, three purchases in six months is tough, so I'll deliberately be seeking out those bonus jokers to help out and this should provide added motivation for the bigger tasks that lie ahead.

For reference, these include:

• 15mm Sicillian Greek army for Impetus
• Completing my 15mm Mid War US force for Flames of War
• 28mm War of 1812 Americans
• 28mm Native Americans for Muskets & Tomahawks (and War of 1812)
• 3 MDF Buildings and other scenery for my Urban Board
• Loads of Zombies and Survivors
• 28mm Superheroes for my mini-Marvel project
• As ever...BMG

Mainly though, a bit of pressure to get stuff done will be a massive help.

Fancy joining in?