Problems to Avoid in Wargaming 

Thanks Jay for specifically calling me out for only finishing my Eldar half of Eldritch Omens

Jay: do not have pile of shame, you can always buy miniatures. Gw: these cool miniatures exist until stocks last, tomorrow they will dissapear forever.

The most important lesson I've learnt is that paints, gear and cool new models don't make you a better painter, Painting and love for the hobby does

50 secs in and I’m already attacked

I don't know why - but this has slowly become one of my favorite things to watch. I like the host genuinely and I think I could be friends with him - and I mean that in the least creepy way possible. It's like watching the lovable nerd I used to hang with make youtube vids. Pretty good content.

I call it my Table of Opportunity! Calling it a pile of shame automatically sets a negative tone. You gotta get the right mindset!

Jay is the type of friend that i always wanted to have. like i could nerd out on ludicrous level without getting shunned

Thanks for this video! My husband and I are getting into Warhammer after being away from wargaming. He originally wasn't planning on joining me but I'm slowly convincing him. I might collect a loner army as I get further in learning the rules.

I don't get the " Pile of shame " thing. There is no shame at all! I just have a pile of awesome stuff, that when I look at it, I'm filled with excitement ,knowing I still have all these amazing kits I get to dig into whenever I choose. Why shame? I bought it, and I'm happy about that.

some thoughts: Pile of shame: 1) periodically go through it and sell what you know you will never paint or doesn't inspire you anymore. 2) have bit boxes, for your extra parts. There is no reason to keep them on a sprue and in the original box plus when you want to kitbash everything is organized (i.e. sword arms in one bin, armored head in another) you would be surprised how much can be condensed. For limited runs its usually best to get it when its first up if you really want it or prepare to pay extra down the road but they should fall into the periodic trimming of the Pile Brushes: All true, only thing I would say is its ok to have more then a few brushes if it is the cheap ones, I buy my cheap workhorses in packs of 50 just so i don't have to go out and constantly replace them I get a new pack like once every year and a half. Tool: Yep review before you buy Wargaming: ya If you are LFG in the area and its hard to find games maybe don't start out by making a 4000 point army and start with one of the skirmish games like Killteam or Warcry. Also there are a lot of games now that do have solo rules so you can get a hang of the mechanics while you are LFG Comparing to others: only should be comparing your paining to your last paining. Keep one or two minis from when you started and then compare them to where you are now you will be surprised how much you have improved.

My pile of shame goes back to the 90s, its never going away..

I love my pile of shame, I very easily get bored with painting certain colours so I love bouncing around things, or sometimes I have to wait for a delivery before I can finish a project so I have something else I can move onto. Its also easy to become disheartened with painting one thing and you need something else to get over the hump. Dont let it get too large, but having some hobby options is good, imo. But I am currently sitting on KT: ITD, half of the Votann army box, a couple of units of Ravenwing Bikes, Tau Combat Patrol and a lot of old stuff that has been stripped / needs stripping. So yes I don't practice what I preach. Also Jay: What are your thoughts on Stap speeder bikes for Star Wars Legion?

"you can always buy miniatures" Cries in Indomintes box set

The Army Painter brush set is a great way to start. Their handles are awesome, the bristles are tight and stay pointy. Rosemary & Co is great if you want sable fur brushes. A vortex mixer will save you time, and cramps in your hand. They can be had for under $50.

Nothing makes me happier lately than that intro music. Thanks for keeping me sane with the awesome content.

About brushes; I have some *very expensive* natural sable ones that I use for finishing touches (and I've used the same 3 for years), some middle of the road synthetic ones for basecoats and the cheapest ones for oils that get absolutely destroyed (and after that they are used for technical and texture paints). Ps: just counted them, I have 17 brushes and one huge brush the size of my hand 🤣

i love when my brushes hook, allows me to do edges really cleanly

My hobby resolution for this year is to have more finished models than pile of shame! I jumped head first into Sisters of Battle and RPG terrain when I started last year and bought too much too quickly 😅

Brushes are a thing, totally agree. I own the complete series of both the black Citadel and the white Army Painter brushes. (Except the citadel scenery ones, they dont make much sense) Combined with a pot Master brush cleaner, wich i truthfully use after each painting session, this all combined should last long enough. Im completely done with cheap synthetics. They are ok-ish when theyre new, but go bad really quick after little use. I was fed up with it, so i pulled out 100 euros and solved it all at once! One of the best moves i made hobby-wise!

I totally agree with everything you said, except for the vortex mixer. They can be had for as low as $35 on Amazon now and they are totally worth it, especially for contrast paints. I blame my family for my current pile of shame, my wife sent my wishlist out to people before Christmas and now I have 3 different combat patrol boxes, two Rhinos, and the Black Templar Grimaldus and retinue box to paint :D

You can get a cheep nail polish mixer to mix paints. That’s what I use :)

i love those duble boxes. cause i love to use the small armies to make small battles with friends to get them into the hobby. also i used them to get some things started which i was excited for ( like deathguard ) and i was able to passive build and paint a 2000 point space marine army with a decent unit option. the only project im probably never ever gonna go and finish is my adeptus mechanicus, even tho i took a day and painted / re painted / optimized all my current models except 3 which werent even build. .

This hook can actually sometimes helps to get into this one hideous corner:)! I have one such cheapest brush with hook, bought just to see how it will hold. Now using it mostly for metallics, but I had situation or three where it was just right shape. For the time it's hairs were straight, it was just allright brush, I even liked to paint with it. Though it lost straight shape really fast:).

I feel very lucky knowing that my friend loved 40k before I even met him, and now that I do know him, we’re working together on starting out this hobby, which I’m very excited for. 😃

The constant close ups during the "pile of shame" speech reveal the unopened box of Carlos Vasquez and ice dancers... It's hilarious in hindsight

On the pile of shame, I think that the only things you should buy while knowing you wont immediately get to it are things that you know wont last long. Core army units should be fine if you wait, but speciality units or kits are more on the fomo. So avoid diving into other armies if you still have kits to finish unless there’s kits like Battleforces that actually save money in the long run and you plan on playing them. Other thoughts?

Already failed number 1. Trying to finish what I have (BL Chaos, Ultra SM, Necrons, Skaven) Still have my first set of Skitarri to assemble... haven't even opened my Death Guard Battleforce,...and I'm still contemplating buying Boarding Actions. I love this hobby!

I don't have a pile of shame, i have my own exclusive personal store 😅

"You can always count on it to hook to the left."

The best thing in the hobby is buying things , sneaking it in to the house, avoiding parents or the Mrs . Hidding it in your model stash and never taking them out of the hidding place unless the rest of the family is visiting the grand parents or is on vacations, then you maybe get to assemble a squad or a vehicle

Extremely wholesome vid. Bit of a psa vibe " manage your spending, socialize". Very cool.

Jay's Bulletpoint Timemarks - 0:36 Point 1 3:42 Point 2 6:38 Point 3 10:56 Point 4 14:46 Point 5 16:44 Point 6 Funnily Enough I was mid way making a E Payment for individual gear parts for Warhammer while listening to this list, then slowly took items off my cart as I was listening. I was also about to commit to a vortex mixer, and by the end of Eon's Video Im just staring at my shelf of shame going... Ohhh...

Cincinnati in the house! Thank you for this video, it's nice to hear somethings I've thought about reinforced by your video. Wanted to kick myself for not taking every day last weekend to read rules but glad I didn't. Chilled on 1 day and came back at rules a day later. Felt refreshed.

I feel the sudden urge to buy some Star War Legion STAP-Speeder bikes. Curious.

One thing I can say I am proud of is the paint buying. I bought most of my paint 5ish years ago when I started painting minis for D&D and I am only JUST starting to replace them now. Except for the primer and the varnish rattle cans. Those I’ve replaced a few times XD.

I like the idea of no pile of shame. But the put things out and take it away too fast and then you miss out on things you would have loved to own.

Your dos and don’t lists cracked me up!!! Thanks gents fantastic as always!!

12:18 Really thought your advice for finding people to play games with was just going to be “don’t be married” 😂

I feel comparatively happy every single time I shake a paint on my vortex mixer, then when I see my painted Magnus in the showcase. For me that thing brings pure joy. I am Marie Kondo - ing the sh**t out of it.

I'm glad to hear #3 brushes get a shoutout. I keep hearing from people that for mini painting, a #2 is best. But I just love how #3s feel and that's my choice type of brush. Also, for the comparing oneself to others, joining groups online helps dull the feeling that everybody is a god tier painter. I'm in a couple of groups and it's nice to see other people who are on my level of miniature painting. Plus, they're also stoked to share their work!

There was a board game club at my work some years ago. Their ad read: "The games we play have no war or conflict." Never went...

i buy the 7$ pack of 8 brushes from hobby lobby and use those till they get too messed up to use and i use brush soap to extend the life. I recently bought the army painter master drybrush set since the artis opus ones are a bit cost prohibitive and theyre just about the only brushes i use any more. Also that comment about the hooking of brush bristles was funny cause i absolutely keep a few brushes that develop a hook to paint the inside edges/surfaces of hard to reach places and edge highlight using the curve for sharp highlights since im bad at doing the edge hilighting without dry brushes lol

I like a size 4 with a nice tip or the brush that comes with the army painter paint sets. Good belly and a good tip will take you a long way

Honestly one of the best hobby videos Ive watched! This is actually really good!

I don't have a pile of shame, but a box of opportunities. And I decided that there will be no more plastic crack this year. Until a majority of the box is empty. Basically, it's a golden opportunity to improve my painting skillz. It won't stop me from buying more paints😏

I usually only have like 2 or 3 models unpainted at any given time. I currently have a few more than usual due to Christmas but they're almost done :)

I see both sides - I don’t want to get overwhelmed in a pile of undone stuff, but I like having a few choices for “what am I painting next?” Right now, I’ve got a unit of 10 OPR minis I could start, or I could do some one off “burrows & badgers” models for a game nobody really plays here but I just love the models and had a friend who played a while ago, or I could do a one off Templar Marshall.

“Don’t get in on war games alone!” *Cries in friends only playing 40K*

This episode of Eons of Battle is brought to you by STAP Speeder bikes!

I've had my pile of shame so long there are metal miniatures in it!! Great video!!

The appreciation of your own stuff is true. I painted my blood angels purple and green, and others said that was stupid, but I like them

The pile of shame... I was always "that guy" that had way too much, still do. I have so many things that never even left the box. I just got done going through some old "bits", and found that I probably have enough in there to start an entire space marine and eldar army. Like, entire units of just bits. I was so into kitbashing that I would buy an entire kit just for the pieces it came with so I could add them to other kits. I have 6 incomplete Viper Jetbikes because I would convert the turret into the pilot seat of the older pewter War Walker. I have a copy of Warhammer Fantasy (not sure what edition), completely unused, and was only opened just to check the contents. I bought Gorkamorka stuff because I was convinced I was going to start an orc army (what the hell was I thinking on that one, I couldn't even finish my Eldar or Space Wolf armies). I have several of the Inquisitor models, most still in the shrink wrap. Lately I have been looking through it all thinking I should start offloading it to people that might appreciate it. I just don't see myself returning to gaming; GW was my favorite system, and no one I know is willing to support them anymore.

I’m kinda new to painting. Known about 40k for a while. But sadly I have built up my pile of shame as a beginner painter. Got the black Templars army box, the space marine side of the indomitus box, Grimaldus, agressors, Bladeguard veterans and the BT castellan and the death guard Christmas box. It’s a lot and will probably take me a year or so. But I’m a painter and not a player… yet. My goal is to paint them up before 10th edition and before the rumoured dark angels models come out as I definitely want to do a DA army

Me: I want new models Jay, not stopping the car: You have a pile of shame at home

When it comes to shaking paint , I use Vallejo, but if you have an electric screwdriver, put a piece of poster putty on the end , then a piece of cardboard, then put your paint pot on that with another piece of poster putty. Then spin it horizontal qnd vertical for about a minute. It's not high speed and you'll still have to shake some , and it'll fly off eventually, but spinning it a minute with the tool seems to help.

I think Jay really likes the speeder bikes from Star Wars Legion.

I got better with getting stuff done, my pile is down a bunch, started the year pretty good gonna have 23 done by this weekend. What I like about it is I can bounce around thru my different factions and it keeps things fresh.

I just recently got into 40k I've been popping in and out of my local store and just recently got invited but all I have is a box of fire warriors and a box of stealth suites haven't been able to convince my friends to join in

I have a few really nice natural Raphael brushes and they are great but I get a lot more use out of the Princeton Synthetic Series 3750--$10 for a set of 5 different sizes on Amazon.

The best painters, converters and modelers have boxes and boxes of sprues. It's ok to buy tons of models for bits, inspiration and potential and only have one focused army or squad.

Get 6mm glass beads to put in your paint pots to help mix them when shaking. Who needs a vortex mixer?

Big ups to the community section of this vid. I started with AoS minis that were being painted for dnd. Moved and my old mtg group had all switched to 40k. If it wasn't for them, I guarantee I'd still just be a painter. Am now trying to get my old roommates into it with kill teams as per the channel recommendations here!

Wish I watched this video back in May. Basically did everything the was pointed out. Over bought on models, some that I don’t really want anymore (ie. assault intercessors) and bought way too many tools, paints, basing materials because I thought I need everything to start. Still enjoying the hobby, just wish I went about it differently.

10:04 I tried the whole chapest set from amazon and it just wasn't for me... Like day 1 of phscal painting it wasn't for me so I upgraded to Golden maple miniature and Tamyia brushes and love them so yeah sometimes it's best to upgrade.

My friend and I agreed to buy the Kill Team starter box together but once we got them he did not not seem interested at all. I had a hard time convincing him of coming over to work on them. I eventually payed him $50 for his half of the box and have been working on my orks since. I'm hoping to get some of family members to play games with me

Thanks Jay- getting through depression and tough times. Often your videos are the best part of my day- thanks for getting me through and all the content

Way solid video Jay some great pieces of advice. I got a ways to go though on getting a group together cause wargaming is nowhere around me for miles, and they only play cards at my local game shop. It's a lot of work but I've started two age of sigmar armies and haven't put my core rule book down since I got it, I just hope I can be enough of a spark to start a fire.

Having a box of aos squigs or 40k gretchin is great for those times when you aren't happy with anything you paint. Quick, easy models to get a win under your belt with. Also, on the vortex mixer, just use artist paints. You've got to fix their consistency with medium but you save so much money. Seriously, the cost per volume of hobby paint is the same as windsor and newton pro-grade ultramarine, a paint made with a pigment that comes from a single mine in Afghanistan. It makes no sense

Ghost brush is a fantastic work horse brush and they make one's with swelled grips I like for my arthritis

I threw out the nerd flag on my neighborhood Facebook page and found that one of my neighbors is an avid player. We may not have met otherwise and we play very frequently.

1. dont have a pile of shame! me: *agreeing wholeheartedly as I yeet a deathwatch veteran box onto my pile*

Instead of buying a vortex machine, back/muscle massagers do the job great. They're also cheaper and they can be used to massage your achy back after a hard days painting :)

Wait @eonsofbattle do you live in the cincinnati area?

My pile of shame consists of assembled unprimed models, and then another pile of assembled primed models, and the same two piles of terrain. I then transfer models into my desk drawer that will be worked on to completion… at least I don’t have any unassembled models on sprues still so there’s that.

15:50 That's true whileTT games consume most of my budget these days I normally don't feel up to doing any thing with them besides look at them and maybe work on my game.

I think the message is pretty clear.... buy Stap Riders for SWL 😎

Trying to work through my pile of grey at the moment. I have just started back up in the hobby and I want to have a force for AOS and a force for WH40k so I can start playing games.

i have a few hobbies that do not overlap, and GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) is a thing in all of them - mainly in my music hobby - synths are expensive :D but also in the minis hobby

Pile of shame… ✅ 20 or more brushes… ✅ Buy unnecessary tools..✅ Get into hobby alone… ✅ I passed the test! I agree with his list and managed to hit every point. Though I am loving the hobby. Great video and keep it going.

I find local hobby stores can be a great way to get discount paints. My nearby one has a bin of paints that don't move for next to nothing compared to regular, really good way to expand the paint collection.

Gots my vortex for 20 bucks! New in box from yonder ebay. It really does help with paint consistency. Good stuff if y'all find it for cheap.

Love my Rosemary and Co brushes, they don't get enough love, great value for a good quality brush. I still use synthetics for most of my work though.

I actually like hooked brushes because I can with certainty do alot of straight line work because I know my hand is more steady than a straight brush normally allows.

And regarding brushes, I do not agree to an extent. I've been painting for a little over a year at this point and recently switched from bulk-bought brushes from Amazon to sable hair brushes for about 8€ a pop and the difference is IMMENSE. It instantly improved my painting because turns out I wasn't lacking skill to paint the smallest details on a space marine eyeball, I was lacking a proper tool. I do agree however that you don't need one of those 100+€ sets with like 10 different sizes of expensive brush.

1. I got a thousand sons army so I can get back into warhammer 40k. Seeing my space marines unpainted, I felt guilty and now I'm finishing em up! 2. I started wargaming to find new friends, and now I play battletech. Also I learned they're working on 40k models as well

6:15 i feel attacked since my desk is consistently that

My "pile of shame" is 2 sets, when I finish them, I'll get more. I buy multiple at a time or one box set. Then finish it

Eons of Battle drinking game: Take a shot every time Jay says STAP Speeder Bikes. Or, if you don't drink, paint a STAP Speeder Bike instead.

I have only been painting minis for about a year, and I kept buying D&D minis, which would come in a pack of 2 miniatures, but I would end up only painting one of them. Now I have a bunch of unpainted D&D minis that might never get finished. I’ve also recently gotten into Malifaux and spent a week building the whole Mercenary keyword, but Im definitely going to paint all of those because Malifaux is amazing.

Man your videos are so fun, relaxing, funny, and interesting. Thanks for all the amazing content and cool ideas 💡

Did I just get pile of shame shamed? Jay coming out swinging.

„It’s not about the size, it’s about how you use it“ sounds familiar

i have 2 piles of shame Unbuilt: The Votann Army Set, a Landfortress, the Ironmaster set, Team of Hearthguard, a Grimnyr, a Tau Broadside, and Ghazghkull, and my Kasrkin Killteam from Shadow Vaults, which i am building today, just setting up the workspace to do it now. The unpainted pile of shame is a Tau battleforce from a couple years ago(breechers, pathfinders, crisis team, pirana, cadre fireblade), the HQ on the hover chair with the 2 guards (i forget his name), a fire warriors strike team, a devilfish, commander shadowsun, A Broadside, Piles of drones, Kroot Killteam, Necron Killteam, Navis Breacher Kill Team, 2 sets of the Kill Team Terrain from the new sets, Ork Combat Patrol, and an Ork trukk The unpainted pile of shame is everything else i have that is built, but i do have everything i need to start painting soon, got an airbrush kit form amazon, going to try some zenithal priming on some old D&D figures and make sure i don't screw up too badly on my armies. the main thing that is stopping me from starting to airbrush was a water source nearby, and i'm having a utility sink installed this month to fix that problem and hopefully that's the last hurdle before i can start painting everything up. 😀 The first stuff on the painting Roster is the Kill Team Terrain, and then the Kill Teams...i want to get plaything that with some color, and then the actual armies will come in parts after that. Of the 3 Dwarves, Tau, and Orks, i'm not sure what is easiest.

I only have a pile of shame to have a selection to choose from when I do want to paint, makes it easier to break out of ruts

New drinking game: everytime Jay says "Step speeder bikes" you take a drink... XD

I feel so called out…. In many many ways… but nicely done thank you…. Looks at pile of shame, mini’s which I won’t use 😂

Reminded of leaf cutting things and immediately goes to buy one!

Immediately off the bat, there's nothing wrong with a "pile of shame", because (a) bot every model purchase can be a magical special experience, (b) sometimes if you force yourself to paint something you don't want to paint or you force yourself to not buy something you can't guarantee you will paint, that's a huge enthusiasm killer that will drain your will to hobby, and (c) the stuff in the pile of shame is Useful! I gave some of them to my nephew and he liked them more than I would, I've used some to practice new paint methods, and I carved and sculpted some of them to work in a game that I couldn't afford the actual models for, and I wouldn't have been able to do that if I didn't have them in a Pile of things I'm not invested in.

Getting in with people would be nice if anyone around me even played wargames. I think less than a handful of people play wargames in my area and I can't meet up at the times they play.

You're my favourite modelling youtuber such a wide variety of content, lots of videos and always interesting