The Lead (and plastic) pile

Great War Miniatures Early War British

I got a bit done today, with a good couple of hours on the Dutch Jaegers.  I may get them finished next weekend but I am in Serbia most of the week.  When it got too dark to paint I cleaned up and based some Great War Miniatures British as they are going onto the painting table once I have cleared the Napoleonics.

BigRedBat recently noted on his blog that he had found a bunch of Celtic chariots and 100 Foundry Spartans in the lead pile.  Someone commented to the effect that how could he have a lead pile so big that he could  "lose" so many figures.

Well, I completely understand it.  I have just spent an hour looking for a group of early WW2 German infantry that I know I have but I can't find them anywhere.  Encouraged by my recent purchase of the Bolt Action rules I have been thinking about my Norway/France 1940 plans again.  When I finish the Napoleonic Prussians and Dutch I am going to finish some early WW2 British I have started and work on them with some early WW1 British I based today.  Both share the same colour scheme so there will be useful synergies with them.  I haven't found the WW2 British yet but know roughly where they are.

My lead pile is now spread out.  The picture above shows (bottom left) six B&Q units with 15 drawers each.  Some of these drawers hold 50 figures each, some less, but I still reckon there are somewhere around 3,000 figures here; all unbased and in bare metal.  To the right of the drawers are some boxes of Victrix, Warlord, Wargames Factory and Perry plastics (about 400-500 here).  To the right of those is another B&Q unit holding WW1 and ECW figures.  About 300 in there.

Next to the main metal stash are a load more plastics.  The boxes are two deep so we have 20 or 30.  750 figures minimum. At the top you can see three coloured file boxes.  There are actually six.  These contain figures I am working on.  About 100 in each so another 600 in total.

Finally, more file boxes.  The white ones contain painted figures as do the 4 coloured ones with labels but that still leaves 16 boxes with around a 100 based (and some started) figures in each.  More in some, as about four are packed with sprues of Lord of the Rings plastics.  Probably around 1800 more figures.  Overall I reckon that's about 7000 28mm figures.  Now, I paint 6 a week so that's...   Best not to think about it and consider selling some, I think!  The trouble is I don't really want to part with any of them.  Maybe the Ancient Egyptians.  That's about 50.  Good start!

Worse still, I have just ordered another pack of figures today.  These are Crusader Rank and File Union infantry in frock coats and Hardee hats to be Federal infantry for 1st Bull Run, as Perry Miniatures don't do these.  I suspect that size wise they will look odd with the Perry figures but you never know.  Worth a go, I thought.

I'm hoping to have a few hours on Sunday so I'll see what I can get done then!