Avoiding and Tackling Hobby Shame

Call it a pile of shame or a collection of opportunity, purchasing more miniatures than you'll ever have time to paint comes with an assortment of feelings most of which aren't great to deal with.

Benignly, a collection of opportunity is great if you're into kitbashing, or just enjoy always having something to paint. This is fine if you have the space, finances, and support of your loved ones. Less comfortingly, it can be a source of mild embarassment to have so much dead plastic weight in your cupboards. At its worst, it's a compulsive, addictive buying disorder.

I'm by no means an expert on the latter scenario, for which I can only recommend seeking professional help. That said, my own approach to managing excessive purchasing does lean on techniques advocated, and is based on my own experience seeking help for compulsive habits. And it's worth stressing: I am still working through my backlog. This isn't someone who has finished the process telling you this is easy: it's someone telling you what they feel is working, and doesn't always follow their own rules.

Stop buying new stuff!

If it sounds too simple, that's because it is. But that's the reality: if you don't want to add more to your pile, simply stop buying more. If you buy more than you paint, you'll never get around to clearing it!

I do recognise that this isn't easy. It's also the part I'm least equipped to advise you on.

You probably find it hard to resist clicking add-to-cart, and this isn't entirely your fault, because it's wired into your brain. This is a fixable problem - you probably just need help. I couldn't find any charities specialising in this surprisingly given the rise of online shopping, but I strongly recommend seeking counselling from someone who specialises in addictions and compulsions. I think it's also part of internet addiction, for which there is some help here. Finally, if you are approaching the point where you feel you are hoarding, I highly, highly recommend seeking professional help - there's a charity here in Birmingham who helps with training & support, and also Hoarding UK.

Recognising what triggers your buying can be helpful. There are various methods for addressing this kind of mental loop, and with a therapist helping me, I have found that cognitive behavioural therapy has really helped me deal with understanding how I can recognise and address things that trigger negative behaviours. There are plenty of self-help approaches to CBT, but my own personal experience has been that regular therapy is vital for me.

Understand your painting rate.

One of the big reasons I ended up with 500+ models in my backlog was that I was simply overoptimistic about how quickly I could paint it all. I decided to work out how many models per month I can paint on average.

You don't need a spreadsheet to do this: you could just look at your past month, or take account of your next month and use that. Averages aren't always representative if you don't have enough data, but they're sometimes useful. Say your rate is 10, or 15. That's easy: if we're talking Games Workshop, most squads come in boxes of 5-10. So in order to stop your pile increasing, you really don't want to buy more than a box a month. If you want to shrink it, then that's every other month.

Set limits.

I touched on this in the last section, but once you know your painting rate, you know how much is too much in terms of models painted.

Limits come in other ways too though.

Financial limits

The obvious one is money: if you haven't got at least a monthly budget for all things in life, do it. You need to understand your realistic disposable income. Here's some professional budgeting advice. Your hobby budget has to come out of the remainder. I would also strongly recommend that hobby never goes on credit: always buy with cash.

One thing you do need to do here is track your spending. A basic spreadsheet is enough here. All you need to track is:

• Item
• Purchase month
• Cost

Then add up the cost per month. Once you hit the limit, no more spending that money. I would also recommend that at least at first, you don't 'pass on' money saved to the next month, so you can adjust to smaller purchases. The one exception may be a larger release. These can save you money, so if you buy the launch box for the next edition of something, you may need to consider this 2-4 months' spending. You probably won't paint it that quickly anyway.

Total model limits

Whatever your pile of shame is at right now, that's your limit. No more. As you work through the backlog, decrease the limit. Depending on your spreadsheeting interest, it can be helpful to use a burndown chart to track this. You always want the chart to be moving toward your target.

My target is 100 maximum (I'm at 400 right now). I started at 600 though! At my current rate (about 150 per year), I'll have reduced down to 100 in about 2 years. Heresy 3.0 not withstanding, I should be at about 300 by the end of 2025, 200 by the end of 2026, and 100 by the end of 2027.

Given those numbers, I appreciate you might be thinking 'damn that's slow'. And it is. I'm okay with that though, because it's moving in the right direction, and I'm fortunate enough to have enough space for it all. But that space should be restricted.

Physical space limits

I recommend defining exactly how much space you want to allow for unpainted miniatures. My target (I'm not there yet!) is a large, lidded plastic tub.

I think this is understated in its value. A lot of the problem with the pile is that it's never contained. Boxes upon boxes everywhere. Sprues hiding in drawers. It's all way too much. If you live with someone, they probably hate it even if they don't say as much. A single box keeps it contained and manageable. In the meantime, here are some space saving tips:

• Bags, not boxes: ziplock bags are great, and they compact down far better than both plastic and cardboard boxes.
• Get some hobby organisers: These are great for anything you might have 'in progress', as well as for all the paints and other bits and pieces we all acrue as part of the hobby.
• Ruthlessly recycle bits + sprues: I love having bits for kitbashing, but the simple fact is I probably won't find a use for most of them. Just take them to GW stores for recycling, local recycling, or bin them if all else fails.

If you buy it, you paint it.

This is a really important one. I do break this rule now and then, but I think it's important that if you are buying something new, you don't just rest on the immediate rush of endorphins from a new box of models arriving in the post, or walking out the store with your new purchases. If you bought it, you should be excited about the hobby journey it represents. Capitalise on that, and start work straight away. Maybe you don't need to finish the whole box (I'm looking at you, upcoming box of 40 MK2 Tactical Marines), but make a start, and get something to the table.

Embrace Good Enough

Speaking of getting things to the table, I strongly recommend lowering your standards if you're aiming to paint a large backlog of stuff for the table. This can be frustrating if you're trying to improve your technique (I am), or hold yourself to past standards, but the reality is that when you get to playing games, you and your opponent will spend more time looking at dice, rules, and the overall shape of the game than any individual models.

A friend of mine wrote this article which talks a little more broadly about embracing 'good enough' at the table - and painting is part of it. You'll find that an army painted well enough beats a handful of display pieces and a sea of grey.

A few things can help here. I realise some of these means buying more stuff, so be mindful, and only buy what you intend to actually use in your next project:

• Ditch sub-assemblies: I am a serial sub-assembler, and it is a sure fire way to make a project take twice as long. It takes longer to paint, you have to fuss around with cleaning things up after gluing, and generally requires more mental overhead. Save it for the centrepieces.
• Coloured Primers: try to paint schemes that can be covered predominently by colour-matched primers. There are some great ranges here now, and usually colour match to regular pots of acrylics.
• Contrast/Speed paints: especially combined with coloured primers, you can very quickly paint up large forces with very little effort.
• Washes: it sometimes feels like a crutch to do an all-over wash, but it's by far the best way to bring out the texture and shape of a model. You can thin speedpaints too for this - and it often looks far better than it has any right to.

Sell high! Buy low!

No, I'm not talking about that kind of Games Workshop stock. What I mean is: at some point you will find no amount of moderation, planning, or persistence will clear your backlog. When this happens, you have a simple option: sell it. If you're ebay inclined, that's one option. There are sites like Troll Trader who buy stuff and resell – just expect to get less in return. Social media groups are often good, as are local clubs, some of which may run trading events.

And if all else fails and your finances are solid: you can always just give it away, to friends, charities, literally anyone who will take it off your hands. Don't worry about the sunk cost. You will feel better for not having it clutter up your life, especially while you practice more mindful spending in the future.

Socialise!

I can't recommend socialising your hobby activity enough. This external motivation can be very rewarding. Join clubs, Discord groups, or go to your local Friendly Local Gaming Store (FLGS).

Showing off your painting progress is an obvious one. People love seeing other people's minis. This motivates you to paint more.

Get things to the table! Planning to attend events with people is a really powerful motivator to get things painted. Ahead of an event I will usually try to have at least one new thing on the table. It's often a push, but it ensures I get things done.

It can also help with accountability if your group cares about your wellbeing. In my favourite Discord server, we update each other on how we're doing with our piles of shame. It really helps.

There is one caveat: external motivation can lead to feelings of FOMO on new releases as people get excited about new stuff. They may be selling on their own large backlogs and there may be deals you simply can't pass up. Remember the advice above: you have to keep your limits in mind, and only buy what you intend to paint.

Enjoy hobby moderation!

Something I want to stress finally: it is actually enjoyable! Seeing your backlog shrink, and your collection of nicely (if not always excellently) painted minis grow is immensely rewarding. Playing games with fully painted stuff is always better than a sea of grey tokens. Having less clutter in your life will make you feel better about your environment. If you live with someone, any quiet (or loud!) resentment they may have will shrink.

Another big thing for me is: I can actually get excited about a release without feeling too guilty. Because I'm only buying things I intend to paint straight away, I can capitalise on the excitement of the new release. This helps motivate me to do it, and encourages me to get more done.

Your hobby will stop being a source of anxiety or shame, and start being something that brings joy into your life.

You just need to stop buying things doomed to a life stored in your cupboard!