Guest Blog: How Gaius Marius Learned to Stop Worrying and just Hammer the Backlog

Hi gang! As a special treat this week we have Hammer the Backlog’s first ever full guest post! Absolute great egg Gauis Marius has been hammering his own backlog for nearly as long as I have. Give him a bit of support here!

https://www.instagram.com/gaiusmariuspaints/

Now! Over to the man himself! Take it from here Gaius:

A few years ago I was in the situation I imagine many in Hammer the Backlog’s key demographic found themselves in: rediscovering old minis – both painted and unpainted – after an extended break from the hobby.

My former self had done a decent job of organising it all. In Warhammer Fantasy 6th edition terms, I had about 2000 points worth of The Empire and High Elves, as well as the unpainted remains of my first ever Warhammer army: Bretonnia.

Inspired by a blog of dubious repute called Hammer the Backlog, I vowed not to buy any new minis until my backlog was finished. I prepared a spreadsheet listing every unpainted mini in my collection, as well as a graph to track visually my progress. I figured it might take a year. Maybe two. I imagined the graph after two years would look something like this:

My Empire backlog was the largest in actual numbers. I dived headfirst into a unit of 6th edition Greatswords that I had half primed about 20 years ago. I batch painted 14 of them. It was a slog. And it took me three months of effective painting time, instead of one month. Already my visionary timeline was looking sketchy.

Expectations had to be managed. With a baby and work, which also involves a fair bit of travelling, time management becomes critical. Once again, looking to the blog for inspiration I decided to aim for five painted minis per month. I also deliberately keep my desk organised and end every painting session by preparing everything for the next one. This makes even 15 minutes of painting time efficient. Furthermore, I bring minis along on work trips, mostly to do some basecoats or initial drybrushing if I have spare time at the hotel. Over time, I have become a better and faster painter (top tip: use a #2 brush, instead of a #0 brush). The graph of my actual output now looks like this:

Next summer I will move house. I would love to have my Empire backlog done before that time. Surely, there must be an accountability and productivity method to ensure I stay on target in a SMART way? Applying Hammer the Backlog-points and quarterly targets for what I had left at the end of summer this year, I came up with something like this:

I passed Q1 successfully, and I’m currently on track for my Q2 targets. Q2 is a big block of 5th/6th edition State Troops, with very welcome few details. The major Q2 hurdle is actually the Christmas break.

Will I get there in time for the move? At the very least, each and every character and unit left in my Empire backlog makes me feel great hobby joy. It is a huge motivation to see it all turn into a viable army. Sure, The Empire of Man will soon be released for The Old World, but it is not like the War Wagon is making a return. It is? … I better crack on.