Clearing Your Piles O'Lead, Part 1

December 29, 2001

I finished off all of my Hallmark minis (they're painted, and now just need to be based and given labels). I've also gotten a start on my ACW minis starting with the "hardest" ones first -- my Old Glory "Ragged Rebs." I had hoped to get one block done by this time, but that hasn't panned out. Part of this is due to the holidays, part of it is due to lack of drive (I know I probably shouldn't admit that, but I'm sure you've had that, "Gee, I'd rather do something else..." feeling from time to time). However, one of the big problems is that my work area looks like Hamburg after a visit by the 8th Air Force.

Aside from the fact that my basement can be described as "a five pound box holding ten pounds of stuff," I also have a bigger problem in that I am something of a pack rat. I have bits and pieces of models, terrain and minis scattered around my work table and loads of model kits stashed in a haphazard series of piles behind me. I have two shelving units, one at my left-hand side, one at my right. My table has a small four drawer storage unit sitting in the middle of it that holds some of my unpainted and WIP (Work in Process) minis as well as some of my paints and supplies.

What I'd like is more work area and better use of my available storage. That means doing the one thing I hate to do: CLEAN HOUSE! Actually it's not that bad. The hard bit is going to be putting stuff away when I get done with it.

January 10, 2002

Well I'm well on my way to cleaning up my work area. There are still some areas that need to be worked on, but I'm getting things straightened up. My plan was to layout my workspace for clear workflow. I've cleared part of the shelving unit to my left to hold some of my unpainted and WIP minis, terrain, paints and other supplies. My work area is cleared up and is well on the way to being the optimized. I'm somewhat amazed at what I've found buried. Bits and pieces of old GW space marines, parts of a 15mm jeep mini, various minis for Starguard as well as a couple of gun carriages for my 15mm ACW minis. I now have a place to put my paint blocks with my 15mm minis while I work on them. I also have more room to put stuff as I work on it. The shelf that I have under the table is going to be used to hold my bits and terrain building stuff. It's really shaping up nicely right now.

Trouble In Paradise?

Well, not everything is wine and roses. In the process of painting my 15mm ACW guys, I took a few minutes to look at my first batch of ACW minis. These were Old Glory "Ragged Rebs" -- shanghaied into working for the Union as I needed Union troops at the time. In looking back at them, I see how really bad they are. They look cruddy compared to my 15mm WWII guys. So, now what? If I decide to repaint these guys (3 brigades, 4-5 man stands, about 200 minis total) it will more than likely blow my schedule. At this time, it makes more sense for me to press on with what I'm doing now and come back and take care of these guys later.

Another Problem

One of the problems I've found myself confronting is a sense of apathy. I know I "need" to get these guys done by my deadline, but there are times I just don't feel the drive. I realize now that this is my biggest problem. I'm not sure how I'm going to defeat this right now, but I'm going to start scheduling time during the weekend to work on these for at least two hours. I also realize how I can get into this problem. My interest right now is World War II naval, not ACW. I also have other things business related that are occupying my mind and time right now. For the time being, scheduling some time to sit down and paint is probably the best solution. I hate to turn my hobby into work like this, but I also realize that I want to achieve my goals by St. Patrick's Day. It's still feasible, it's just going to mean that I will need to work harder to achieve my goals.

More Piles O'Lead

Clearing Your Piles O'Lead, Part 1 (Herald 44)
Clearing Your Piles O'Lead, Part 2 (Herald 45)
Clearing Your Piles O'Lead, Part 3 (Herald 46)