A New Challenge Enters the Ring!

In light of recent events in my life, and since I just got a large influx of new models, I've come up with a new challenge for myself: The Back-to-Work Challenge!

Here's the back-story:  I haven't had a 'real' job in a few years.  I was injured and lost the ability to my my high-impact job, so began doing token paperwork and data entry.  But I'd hardly call it a real job.  Anyways, my wife and I are moving from Vancouver, because it's just getting too expensive to live here.  However, that means we'll be shutting down our business, and getting 'real' jobs once we move.  Now since I've been living on a pretty lax schedule for the last few years, I figure I need to re-learn how to be productive for long stretches of the day.  And to see how much my neck can tolerate, as a gauge of whether or not I'll be ready for full-time work.

Read more:




So this is the plan: Starting tomorrow, I'm putting my regular projects on hold, and instead am going to be devoting myself to working on the Vampire Counts I just got.  I figure this will be the closest to work I'll have had in a while, since I'm not usually one for blood and guts on my models, I'm not terribly attached to the army or the models, and it's A LOT of painting, so it will get monotonous.

Why not my Dwarfs, High Elves, Lizards or Eldar, you ask?  Because those are models I want to paint.    This is about simulating job-like circumstances, without moving too far out of my comfort zone (to start any how).  So I want a task that will be a little tedious, I'm not personally invested in, and will require a lot of man-hours.  The Vampires seemed to fit the bill.  Plus all those Necrons I got need to be stripped.

I might add in the Chaos or the Necrons for variety down the road, but I strongly doubt it.  This challenge is more about seeing if I can put in a productive work day, and get tasks done the don't immediately benefit me. I would rather do my Dwarfs, I'm actually itching to keep working on them after all the progress I made on them on Saturday, but I'm worried my enthusiasm for them will carry me longer than I could reasonably do if I were doing someone else's work (like commission painting, for example)

So what do I have?

Vlad Von Carstein
Mannfred Von Carstein
Konrad Von Carstein
Female Vampire (Isabella?)
Winged Vampire
100 Zombies (Standard, musician)
40 Skeletons (HW/Shield, full command)
40 Skeletons (HW/Shield, full command)
40 Ghouls
10 Dire Wolves
3 Corpse Carts
4 Fell Bats
25 Grave Guard (HW/Shield, full command)
Banshee and 2 Wraiths
Varghulf
5 Blood Knights

This is not going to be my best work.  Guaranteed.  That's not the point of this.  The point is to get this army up and running as fast as I can, painted to an above-average tabletop quality.  I plan to use infantry bases once the models are painted, and magnets on the bases with a metal movement tray base, for ease of transport and storage.

And I'm going to start with the worst job: painting the Zombies.  I've never really cared for the GW Zombies, and now I'm going to do a 100-strong unit.  My plan is to take them 10 at a time.  We'll see how that works out.

If I make great progress on these models early on, I'll throw the Necrons in the Simple Green and prepare to give them a once over as well.  I figure at the very least, I'm not attached to these models, so I can try them out on the field of battle after I move, and if I don't like them, I should be able to fetch a decent price for them .  Plus Necrons are hot right now, Vampires are rumoured to be getting a new book in January, and Chaos sometime next year, so these could be big ticket items if they are painted.