"How many figures do gamers collect?" Topic

Hi all, Curious to know how many figures are considered an "army"? It would depend on the rules you play, but how many models does everyone feel is "ENOUGH" (to paint, to transport).
Thanks

How many stars are on the sky?

How many grains of sand are in a desert?

How many drops of water are in an ocean?

How many boards can a thread be cross-posted at?

For a true wargamer, there is no such thing as having enough miniatures.

It depends not just on the rules, but also the faction, the scale, the basing, and the period/genre.

The simple answer is that it is never enough. One reason I like DBA is that the system actually puts up an upper limit, so I can get that amount, feel good about myself and move on. Not like the other armies that just keeps slowly increasing over the years.

I'm more likely to leave an army on the back burner due to finding a new army/period/scale than feeling that I've had enough.

Too many, if Mrs Sage is to be believed

As David Bowie said, Too much is never enough.

It's the same as asking how much to cook for supper! How many guests are there?

I collect enough minis to play both sides of a game, for whatever set of rules I am using, in case I can't find an opponent with minis for it. Then, I start by adding more for other players to use, and hopefully THEY will start to build up some themselves, once I get them hooked and reeled in… :)

For ACW, for example, I collect a brigade for each side, plus some artillery, command figures, and maybe some cavalry. After that, it's expanding on that base.

I measure my Arthurian collection by weight…30 pounds and growing.

My AWI, I try not to think about, 3 scales and way too many figures.

For Moderns I just ranked up my 15mm andwas surprised at what a good start on playable forces I actually had.

And then there is one of every pre2000 Skaven model ever from GW and anybody ewlse I could find.

Not to mention all the stuff in storage.

Maybe when I have enough to do every war that ever was or ever might have been or ever will be in 1:1 I will call it a rest, but then somebody will do another must have sculpt and I'll be off again.

The sa part is I don't even think my collection is particularly large…

I try to stop them, really I do! But they have a way of growing beyond my control. The joke btwn me and LordAshram is a statement I made years ago…

"ok sol I'll get maybe 2 more militia units, 2 more british line units, and thats ALL I'LL EVER NEED."

30 units later that collection is only on hiatus but not yet done.

When I started my ACW I said, ok 15 units of 20 per side and Im done. 84 units plus artillery, cav, and support later and Im still going. "All I'll ever need," still alludes me. :)

Sean

42

I have on occasion given my friend my wallet when we attend wargames shows to stop me from buying more 28mm Napoleonics. (70 French and Allied Battalions now)Unfortunately Ebay keeps tempting me and I can't resist some of the figures there.
There's a good anecdote in Harry Pearsons (Acthung Schwienhund" where a wargamer responds to his friend "How can you have toom uch of something you don't need?"

Thanks, one and all.

"Enough?" "ENOUGH" HE SAYS?!!!

HERESY!!! HERESY!!!! A WITCH!! A WITCH!! BURN HIM!!! BURN HIM!!!!

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

I refuse to answer on the grounds my wife may see it.

Yet another waste-of-time-post.

Kaze No Uta. Specify your parameters and you will get intelligent response.

Ooooh

Handbag.

Run everybody, it's the forum police.

One can never have enough figures!!!!!!

Why do I have the complete German and British battlefleets, including battlecruiers.? Because it's there. By the way I am currently working on the cruisers and destroyers. As my son would say you never have enough Zulu's!

Tom

One is too many and a thousand never enough…..

Apologies for not being specific. The intention was to find out if players think that a lot of miniatures must be better than the minimum needed (for their game, scale, genre or time period. I'm glad to find members take this seriously. I feel it is a worthwhile question and did not wish to cause offense. Will put brain in gear first next time.

REMEMBER THESE FAMOUS WORDS…..He who dies with the most toys wins.

You also cannot die while you have unpainted lead. Nearly 10,000 pained, 15mm, Napoleonics and not a kaiserlich in the bunch. Gotta rectify that in the next 10K…

Mininum about 80 figuers a side for 15mm.

20 for 28mm for modernish.

You can have an ok gladatoral/ Tank vs tank type games as well.

about 35,000 and still growing

When the closet gets full… again :)

Even DBA,in its basic form of 12 elements, is neverending. How many people have every army,with every variant that is possible to have?

The question seems pretty straight forward to me.
What do you consider a war games army? For the purpose of playing a war game.

When I plan a new army I work on about 150 to 200, 28mm castings and 300 to 500, 15mm castings. Counting rider and mount as 2 castings.

Unless it's a skirmish game, then 20 to 60, 28mm castings.

The current plan for the 15mm Italian wars (for which I want to do both sides for some fairly large battles – large in number of stands, that is) would be each army of about 500 figures. Seldom would all be on the table at once, however.

I would say whatever amount that you feel are needed to properly represent the period your gaming. For example, I have two 15mm TYW armies (French vs. Spanish) that each have approx. between 350 to 400 figures; allowing me to fight some rather medium sized battles.

For Western skirmish, less than 50 is "enough" for almost any purpose except a huge mob scene (and we tend to avoid those in skirmish games).

For modern zombies, that same number is usually adequate for most games. But, if you really want your horde on the move, you could certainly get by with 200.

To answer your question regarding my PERSONAL gaming habits, though, I would say I usually carry around about 25-35 cowboys for my Western games.

By the way, I only game one size/scale: 25-32mm (those danged Black Scorpion minis are really too big, but they are just so darned COOL). This makes it possible for me to move figs between my Western games and my modern zombie games (hey, in Texas, a lot of people still dress like that).

I`ve always thought of an army as being about 12 battalions, 3 regts of cavalry and a few guns- the number of figures will depend on the rules being used. For me, its 12-16 man units, so 200-250 is an 'army' for me.Most players I know seem to feel the same.The real problem is deciding how many armies to have.
ps this is for Horse and Musket

By George (thePug), I've been beaten, both to it and at it. I'm only at 28,000 and counting and putting a reasonably firm lid on it at 30,000. I hope.

I would agree with Prinz Ferdinand that 12 infantry and 3 cavalry regiments are enough. This echoes what Brent Oman once said in MWAN, i.e. any army can be adequately represented with 12 infantry units.

The other parameter is table size. I don't want to have all of my army lined from one end of the table to the other without leaving room to maneuver and have some open flanks.

I have about 2,200 painted 28mm figures and am still adding about 500 per year. I can field armies from many periods.
I play on a 4ft x 6ft table. My armies are 28mm figures.
I tend to stop when the table looks full. This varies according to the period. Although, I do not have any size limit here are some examples

WW2 skirmish – armies are between 30 and 50 figures with support vehicles.
Medieval – armies between 60 and 80 but many troops are generic so I could combine to make 100 per side.
Ancients – by the time they are finished I will have 150 Celt infantry, 36 cavalry and 6 chariots. I have a similar size Roman army although use less of them.
Zulu War – I have circa 170 Zulus and 70 British.

I do also have larger WW2 German and British armies in 10mm scale.
Mick

Enough? Enough? I don't think I'm familiar with that word.

Re "Enough? Enough? I don't think I'm familiar with that word"

There is a quote from the "Engineer's Song". Fortunately not offensive out of context.

"Here comes the tragic bit.
There was no way of stopping it"

There is no such thing as enough figures but if your house collapses under the weight of them then you probably have too many ;)

FWIW about 20,000 15mm ancients and 300+ 15mm tanks plus 500 or so infantry and growing.

Sorry,no offense, but its a nonsense question. Depends on your rules. some folk here say 12 btns + bits and bobs…(I'd say that was a real minimum, but thats just me)…if those are 12 man btns, chuck in some cavalry and artillery you end up with 200- 250 casting.
If you play with say 36 man btns, then you are tripling that figure…personally I'd call the latter a corps for 1 player…and would want 2 or 3 times that as a minimum for an army. Horses for courses.

Hello, I'm Tom.
I'm a wargamer.
I have the worst form of the addiction 'ancient miniatures'
I never mean to buy more than one army…
I promise not to look at trade stalls…
I won't read books about different wars…
….

Jeremy Sutcliffe- ha ha, I haven`t heard the Engineers Song for yonks- had quite forgotten it!

Ebay the bane of my wallet!

I think the question should read – how many figures do you buy, paint and wargame with. At present I have now finished with my 28mm FPW, done most of my 28mm WOTR Gondor, and working on some 15mm Napoleonics to get my eye in before finisheing a load of 15mm for a couple of friends (Sorry for the delay Steve and Chris!)

I also found one of the old GW giants that was 1/10 done, and am using him to mess around with shading etc, some VSF tanks from Tobin in Germany as a sideline, not forgeting the 20mm plastic ACW project to finish, HYW/ War of the Roses, some more Polish Hussars and a draw of Foundry and OG Italian Wars stuff!

Tally Ho!

Too hard to say. Depends on the rules, scenario and how many guys are going to play. Most of my games: Ancients, ACW, and Napoleonics require at least hundreds per side. I game in most scales from 6mm to 40mm. So for me an average game would have each player having easily 100 plus figures. Ad that to about 8 players per side and you get darn near 1000 figures on the table at a time.

I do play F&I War, Cowboys, Pirates, Pulp, Horror etc at a skirmish level but even then you are looking at about 60 or so average figures per game.
VR
James Mattes

Well, Mrs. Frederick would agree with Mrs. Cold Steel and Mrs. Sage

Depends on the scale and period – agree with Prince Fred and Fritz, for SYW 12 infantry units, 3 cavalry units and a couple of batteries are good

For my ACW armies, so far about 70 infantry brigades per side, 15 cavalry and too many batteries to count and still growing – but the armies were very playable when they had 20 or so brigades per side, no cavalry and 8 batteries

For 28mm, again depends on the period – I have about 40 WWII Fallschrimjaeger, and that is about all I will ever have

Now, for 6 mm Nappys – don't get me started

I will only finish when I own every figure on the planet. World domination…BWAHAHAHAHAHA

'How many bees do you own?'
"60,000"
'and how many Hives have you got?'
"12. How many bees have you got?"
'Oh, a Billion'
"a BILLION? How many Hives?"
'Three'
'THREE? A BILLION BEES? IN THREE HIVES?"
" 'em, they're only Bees."

A Mazillion give or take a few, can't be sure!

I have about 10,000 painted 28mm ancients and still growing! Mike Adams

2500 painted 28mm ancients; 3000+ unpainted. My rate of expansion is slowing down, though; I'm running out of space!

…..500 less than I really need. Forever, regardless of what has been bought, it's the same answer. Wives don't understand.

I am really luckey! Maty [ my wife ] does understand and supports me and my hobby! Mike Adams