Repaint or Move On?

I've heard it said that miniatures should never be stripped and repainted. "Keep them around as a reminder of your earlier work. You'll be able to see how much you've improved."

I'd like to think I've gotten better at painting. Or maybe I just got better at photographing miniatures.

On the other hand, some examples of my earlier work are subpar. I've repainted miniatures before. There are a couple of examples on this blog. For example, I painted this Reaper Chronoscope miniature way back in 2011 and repainted it in 2021 - ten years later! Why? I wanted the miniature to match the others I was using in my Five Parsecs From Home game. It seemed worth the effort in that case.

This is the before and after of the miniature in question.

I can see both sides of the issue. The miniature is already painted, likely to a "good enough for tabletop" standard. It's irritating to see the mistakes I made on a miniature, but is worthwhile in general to start over with it? The effort might be better spent on my extensive collection of unpainted miniatures.

The way to resolve the conflict between these views might be to repaint selectively. Rank and file miniatures used in groups? Tabletop standard is fine. Hero miniatures intended as centerpieces or display? It depends. Have I learned enough since then to make a difference? Is stripping off the old paint necessary? Does it just need a touch up? A little wash or highlighting?

There's a couple of particularly annoying offenders in my display cabinet. I see them every day. Revisiting them would be a chance to see how I've improved since calling them done.

Maybe after I've knocked down my pile of shame a little.