Stuff what I been painting

This month I managed to complete some more Bushido models! In this case, some more Gashadokuro (or skeletons for those not fluent in Japanese) in the flavour of Warui (with the rake and ghost scarf) and Akoshi (with the banner).

I’ve also painted up Wotjek the bear (who fought in the Italian campaign in the Polish 2nd Corps). This is Warlord Games model for Bolt Action.

I’ve also started Barons War and I’ve knocked out some terrain for this, a couple of out buildings and some fences.

I did reduce the pile of potential in August, albeit by just 1 model as I realised that I needed some objective markers for Barons War, so bought some bits for that. Hopefully they won’t take long to get finished.

Otherwise, I’ve spent the last couple of months priming knights and peasants, hence why the number of models on the painting table has increased dramatically.

I actually made progress in July. Now that we’ve unpacked the house and got everything organised, I’ve been able to finish some stuff off. Starting with the numbers this time, for the first time this year, more models were completed in the month than added (we won’t talk about the fact that the pile has grown significantly this year…)

July was about completing Bushido models. Below we have,

The last of the four sister witches, Josei. And then a family picture with her three sisters.

Eiko, a skeleton samurai

Satou Hatchi (two of them for some reason), another skeleton samurai

The Hozumi family and retainers from the Bushido starter set

The Kiyozumi family, the other half of the Bushiso start set

While we’ve moved house, there’s still a lot of sorting to do and that’s eaten into my time. And other life issues happen, so not a lot completed in the last couple of months. I have spent some time building models but these are all still just grey plastic.

So I’ve manged to complete two more Bushido models, first up Akuba.

And Shojo

I’ve also added another 17 models to the pile. Some are these are linked to my big purchase back in April but I also went to UKGE and picked up some more Bushido models.

After almost a year, we finally managed to complete our house purchase and move. This immediately led to some 1:1 scale painting and other house related activities, so time in the first part of 2026 has been limited.

My hobby stuff now has a new home in the garage and I can begin to unpack things. I had painted up some stuff in the last few months but not been able to base them due to all the basing materials being packed away, but I’ve found them and now starting to work through things.

So in the first 4 months of the year, I managed to paint Hikari, the undead witch for Bushido.

I also managed to finish the Maiden of Sagoya and her ghost, also both for Bushido.

Last year, I was very reserved in buying new stuff because I knew we were moving house. But now that we have moved, the cork is out of the bottle and I’ve been adding to the pile of potential with reckless abandon. I’ll probably create separate projects for the models I’ve been purchasing but here’s the sorry looking stats.

It wasn’t an overly productive year. Our attempt at trying to purchase a house rolls on, still with no conclusion and as a consequence, much of my painting and hobby stuff remains packed in boxes in the garage. This seriously limited completion of models to the extent that in 6 months, I managed to get just one over the finish line. I made progress on a number of others but wasn’t able to complete them.

Here’s Tadaoki, the solitary Bushido model I finished in the six month period.

The lack of progress didn’t do anything for my efforts to reduce the pile of unpainted models. Being packed up for a house move didn’t stop me adding to the pile either. In September, I spotted a cheap ebay lot for a very old game which came with 30 metal models included (I’ll create a project for this at some point). And in November, I picked up Blitzbowl from the US which comes with some Orc and Dwarf models. And I was very kindly gifted some more Bushido models for Christmas. This means that in 2025, I completed 7 (yes, just seven) models and added 61 to the pile.

Let’s hope 2026 is more productive.

So we’re in the process of buying a new house and as a consequence, things on the painting front have really slowed down. Especially as I’ve packed all my stuff into boxes ready for the big move. We still don’t have a move date….

Anyway, I’ve managed to complete the sum total of 3 models in the past 3 months. Two rock kami’s and Waku the Soul Collector. All for Bushido.

The stats haven’t changed much although I did add two more models to the pile during the period thanks to being at UKGE. Having said that, I’m still up on the year despite the slow progress.

I’ve also not added in my old stuff that I found yet. I’ll do that once we’ve moved house.

With all of my painting stuff packed away, I had to find other hobby stuff to do. So my son and I decided to give Moonstone (the multi award winning game) a go.

So I ordered the rulebook and cards and got to work with some PVA, scissors and the free downloads to create the ‘models’. And with all my terrain packed away, I went old school and used cups and other household items for terrain. Just like being back in the 1980’s.

My goblin warband took on my son’s Leshavalt in an entertaining game. It was close and my son was winning right up until my last activation when Vicious Syd won the day for me.

It’s been a bad first three months of the year for modelling and painting. I don’t think I even picked up a paint brush in January – I just wasn’t feeling it. Added to work being very busy and other stuff, time for hobby just wasn’t there. I did however manage to get something done in February and March, not much but three models have been completed. And on the positive side, I’ve not had time to buy or add anything further to the pile, so at the very least, my collection of unpainted miniatures has reduced in number!

So in February, I finished off Minarai for Bushido

In March, I completed Eldest Brother, also for Bushido. I’m quite pleased with this one.

I also completed an Opel Command Truck. This is 15mm and could be used for Flames of War if having such a command truck were an option. In reality I wanted to try out some enamel washes for panel lining and then some enamel weathering effects. Looks fine from a metre away but I need to work on the technique to have it stand up to close inspection.

As always, here are the stats of the pile. I’m also moving house and I’ve found more unpainted models in a box. The question is, should I add these to the stats below or studiously ignore them for the time being?

Despite the run up to Christmas being busy and the festive period being one of over indulgence, I did manage to finish off some models. Here’s what I achieved.

First up, some 3D printed terrain pieces. Both of these are scanned images from real statues somewhere in the world (the first is from a temple in Bali). And no, I didn’t scan them myself, although a trip to Bali would be nice.

I finally got around to finishing off some rat swarms for Bushido. These are also 3D printed. These are all painted with speed paints to continue my experiment with them.

And last up some 3D printed portals for my son’s Kinshi Temple Bushido faction. They use these to leap around the battlefield to get into very annoying places.

So a final look at the numbers over the year, and those models finished in December dragged me into the position of painting more miniatures than I acquired through the year, with 73 completed and only 66 added. Looking back on 2023, my overall output in 2024 reduced but I was a lot more restrained on the purchase front! My aim for 2025 is to continue the trend of reducing the pile, so let’s see how that goes.