So, after that turns out to be around 7 months (oops) of the 6 month Miniature Mountain Reduction Painting Challenge... I thought I should post what I had actually managed to do.
The easiest way to keep track (and show) progress has been using the painting chart idea used by
Admiral Drax. So, here is the initial painting chart:
And the more or less final one:
As you can see, not a huge amount of green on the chart. One of the major reasons was the weather over the course of the challenge - winter time in Scotland is not the best time to be trying to varnish anything, and the Army Painter Strong Tone 'dip' I use really needs to be applied outside.
However, I am pretty please with the amount of yellow on the chart. Yellow being assembles, base coated and block painted - ready for the AP dip, highlights, decals and basing.
 |
| The miniatures at the 'yellow' stage |
 |
| 4.2" Mortars, platoon Universal Carriers x2 and Loyd Carriers x4 |
 |
| Painted infantry, mortar and gun crews. At the point of painting these represented all the infantry figures I required, however there are still crew figures for the Universal Carrier patrols to do. |
 |
| D7 Bulldozer, Humber scout cars and Sherman ARV mk1 |
 |
| Ambulance, MP and AA command Jeep - with Sherman I's and Fireflys in the background - the group shot of the Shermans was rather blurry. |
Then we have the 'orange' units - in construction/base coated but with no other work:
And finally the few 'Green' models - although these tend to be models that were most advanced when the challenge started:
 |
| The left hand truck here still requires decals |
I've stolen the roundup idea others have used, posting the original rules and how I got on:
1. No purchasing of new miniatures, EXCEPT if you use a joker card. Like in a deck of cards, you get two jokers to use on a figure purchase. Could be a blister pack, an ebay bundle, or a single figure...you can't splurge. - Like Dai I am changing this slightly as I work on whole units/platoons at a time and some of these are missing vehicles. However, I aim to complete whole units first before moving on to those that require purchases - If I get that much painted!
- I was doing really really well with this until the last 6 weeks. Due to an error in gift requests at Christmas I ended up with the wrong light tanks models (M3 Stuart 'Honeys' when I actually needed M3a1's). Fixing this mistake has meant 3 purchases. I also bought a box of PSC Loyd Carriers and 6-pdr guns (not even on the painting chart!), 4 more (!!) 25-pdrs because the basing issue and lack of turntable became an itch in my brain that I could not scratch, a mixed batch of vehicle and gun crews from e-bay, a pack of Battlefront 40mm Bofors guns that were cheap on e-bay (to give me a full 6 gun battery), a bucket load of Battlefleet Gothic miniatures (which I wasn't counting as they are models to use in a roleplay game - but technically they are more models for me to paint). All in all, I did well for the first 5 months, but lost it a little at the end. This one has to be a FAIL for me.
2. Gifts do not count against you. Christmas and or 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. I luck out here, as I'll have Christmas and my birthday during this 6 Months.
- I'm lucky when it comes to gifts that my Fiancée normally asks for a list of what I want before Christmas and Birthdays. Added to this I was kindly gifted a dispatch rider from Dai.
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 - I don't use Instagram
- I initially thought I had failed this, but looking at post numbers I did technically post enough to qualify as one per week. The challenge certainly kept my painting in my mind, and other peoples blog posts inspired me to keep chipping away. My blog activity is something I need to work on.
5. Zombtober will be part of the 6 month challenge so, Zombie related stuff during October is ENCOURAGED. - I won't have any zombie related models. Sorry!
- I went for 'Tanktober' instead, and worked on my Shermans. Although October was a slow month for me due to a house move at the end of September.
All in all I felt the challenge did help me clear some of my backlog, and the painting chart has really helped me keep track of my progress. The community spirit of the event, especially the feedback and support from our Facebook group, was fantastic. Looking at what I have ready to move forward, it already more or less matches what I managed to paint in the whole of the previous year.
While I fell at the end with regards to miniature buying, the challenge did help me keep a lid on my spending habits with regards my WW2 collection. I will take part in the next challenge, but for now I am going to switch from painting my WW2 stuff to painting some Full Thrust ships. Although I will probably end up doing both at the same time.
All in all a busy 6 (or 7) months, that have involved moving house, changing job and getting engaged...
Thanks to all my fellow bloggers and all those that commented and visited the site over the course of the challenge. I encourage those that didn't take part this time to give it a go next time round!
