"How Big is Your Lead Mountain?" Topic

Been buying lead since I was a wee lad in 1978. I think I must have at least 10k of figures in 1/600, 1/300 & 6mm, 15mm, 20mm, 25-28mm, although I wouldnt be surprised if I have way more than that. Of these minis, I probably have 10-20% painted.

My mountain is getting big enough that I hear banjos, Hillbilly's keep trying to give me rent. I am a collector of 15mm and I would say I have 10,000 unpainted troops. The biggest pile is American Civil War troops that I keep getting at flea markets for around half price. Like many of you I am waiting to move and "rule set inspiration". No one is currently interested in ACW right now. Someday I will lay them all out and realize just how stupid I was, but for now they are a nice dream.

"That is insane. Really.

I mean who buys something, takes it home and then instantly dumps it and forgets about it?

"Hey look, groceries from a decade a half ago.""

Raises hand hesitantly. Hey it happens, I've bought stuff at shows because I was caught in the moment, and also because of oh look shiny and then completely forgotten them not long after getting home. However I love it because it means any time I start digging through my pile it could turn any day into Christmas – oh look, damn forgot I had those, awesome!! Lol

I've had a bumper run and cleared some 60/70 of my 20 mm vehicles off the ol' mountain……….got a suitcase (literally) of goodies shipping in on 26 th December…so all I've done is make room………..

Oh. My. God.

I have enough unpainted lead (and plastic) for my next ten lifetimes. Some of it dates back to the 70s, honest to Jeebus. And some of it dates to only last week.

Next to some of you I feel so unworthy!

I need help, just added more to the mountain, I feel good for it's not in the thousands, but it is getting closer to the triple zero mark! :o

I'm afraid to count it!

This is an excellent topic.

Honestly I have taken the same journey that many others have on here.

I lived an apt. for over 12 years before finally having an economic crisis that forced me to move in with roommates for two years. I now live in a modest but comfortable trailer home that is about 650 sq. ft. but with plenty of storage for armies and terrain.

I made the mistake while living in an apt. of treating it like it was my own house. What I mean is, I had this grand plan to do every scale in historicals; 6mm, 15mm, 25mm, as well as trying to do a full collection of Warhammer armies, AND also trying to do terrain for ALL the scales and time periods.

The crazy part of it was that I'm much more of a hobbyist than a gamer, and I don't really do tournaments. My gaming consists of close family and friends and solo gaming. I enjoy reading rule books for historicals much more than I do actually gaming with the rules. But I was preparing as if I was going to be a tournament circuit gamer and I totally lost control of what I was doing to the point where I wasn't enjoying it any more.

My little apt. was stuffed, every closet and space over the cabinets with unpainted minis and projects.

I got into serious trouble with debt during the time I was doing all this, which contributed to the crisis I finally had. It was one of those things where I was looking around and realized I had spent probably $15,000 USD or more on Zulu War, AWI, Napoleonics, Civil War, in three scales, while at the same time having accomplished the task of making a huge collection of really high quality terrain for Warhammer. And 90% of it wasn't painted. The only thing that was painted and finished was my Warhammer armies which was several hundred miniatures. Everything else was just stuffed away.

When I finally had to move in 2011, the reality of it all hit me. It was one of those epiphany moments. Something that I loved had become a monster. I truly lost control of it.

In the end, I had to make some genuine choices based on what I really wanted.

I'm also a Civil War reenactor so my tiny apt. space was also holding reenacing clothing and gear. Amazing thing was that I managed to make it all fit like a jigsaw puzzle and had it all out of sight! Trouble was when I wanted to take anything out of a closet, it took a half-hour because I had to take out 15 things in front it just to get to it.

So, lo and behold we come to 2015.

I realized that I will probably never do historicals, it's a pipe dream. Just isn't going to happen logistically or time-wise. Just caused more stress to try to accumulate all the stuff with the hopes that some day I might get to it. So the historicals all went, but I kept all the rulebooks and reference books so I could still enjoy reading those.

In the end I settled on just maintaining a small collection of historical models. I have a unit of 28mm AWI British and 28mm AWI Continentals on display, about 60 figures total. I have a small display group of Star Wars models from the original movies, maybe 8 models or so total. Along with this I have some of GW's The Hobbit miniatures on display, it's just highlights from the book; Bilbo, the dwarves, Gandalf, Beorn, the great eagles, and some of the adversaries; the three trolls, the Goblin King, the wood elves. And that is the extent of my display collection.

I have a modest collection of Osprey books, perhaps 30 or so titles along with one full book case of historical books and wargaming rules. Most of my gaming book collection consists of warhammer, along with all the historical rule books which I never played. I also have maybe two shelves of vintage D & D and other vintage roleplaying games.

I am now in the process of finally completing what I really wanted to complete all along, which is Warhammer. I reduced my terrain collection probably by more than 90%; I now have two fully terrained, modular gaming boards that I made along with a very modest collection of basic terrain of trees, hills, rivers etc. along with maybe 4 or so GW's own terrain pieces, along with maybe 7 village models and a couple watchtowers, etc.

I am painting up five core armies for Warhammer; Empire, Dwarves, Orcs & Goblins, Ogre Kingdoms, and Skaven. All told perhaps 500 miniatures give or take.

And that is about it. Took me 15 years to finally figure out what I really wanted, and I must say I am infinitely happier that I got control of it and focused on the most important things to me.

Baranovich
I too or should I say we hit really hard time back in 09, we truely lost everything and only in the pass couple of years have gotten back on our feet, I thought long and hard about getting back into gaming and collecting, that's when I pick to go with the 15mm range for many of good reasons. Cost, Space, ablity to move, flexibility of play and storage.

Currently I just added more to my mountain (56+)

My lead pile of 25/28mm figures is certainly in the thousands and closer to two thousand than one (and possibly closer to three).

As for 15mm again I have over a thousand there; and also a large number of 10mm figures (somewhere between 500 and a grand, I think).

I used to work in a game store . . . and I bought lots and lots of stuff . . . heck, what else should I have spent the money on, eh? After all I got an excellent discount back then (40% off retail).

-- Jeff

We'll if I spend an hour a day for a year; I might be able to paint all I own to better than tabletop. But it's week between painting. All my lead pained and not, fits in 7 copy paper boxes. So I have a modest pyramid.

Too.

If it's any clue, when referring to my stash I generally use the term… Alps.

On a budget and quite disciplined so not much more than a tussock or very small hillock.

100 zombies, 30 survivors…that is it, all 13,000 plus are painted and on the shelf. But I hardly play since I am always painting and building…

Tom

The first rule of Miniature Mountain Club is:We don't talk about Miniature Mountain Club.
The second rule of Miniature Mountain Club is:Miniature Mountain Club…………….. LOL

Hmm…painted

About 5 40K armies (2nd ed), 4 Warhammer fant, BFG fleets, WRG 7th armies (15mm), God alone knows how many DnD figs going back to Grenidiers from the 70s, Couple thousand 15mm Napoleonics, micro armor and WWII ships. 2 Bolt action and half a dozen flames of war armies.

Unpainted…about double that in historicals of all eras, a few more Warmaster armies, over 100 SFB starships….sigh…and it goes on…

Oh wait…new project (Read obsession) All zombies for first 2 seasons of Zombicide painted and Toxic mall. Still working on season 3 zombies (50% done) then will do survivors.

After a marathon concentrated painting effort I've at last finished off all of my wife's 28mm WW2 Germans, Vikings, Confederates, Egyptians, Dark Age and medieval buildings, WotR and Wild West chaps (and the odd chapess)- not to mention her 20mm WW2 Indians, Canadians and Brits – I've been able to DO MY OWN STUFF at last. When I've completed my British paras (and I'm very nearly there) I won't have a lead mountain at all!
I honestly never thought the day would come. Since I don't like painting as much as I like a good rub-down with sandpaper or even a simple kick in the head with a Rugby boot the day has not come soon enough.
What's depressing is that after nearly 50 years of painting I'm still utterly rubbish at it.

I am completely shielded from fallout.

Shoot I have figures I bought in the 1970s I haven't painted.

Shoot, I managed to sell on eBay some figures from the 1970s that I hadn't painted.

Haven't seen this thread is a while.

If mine falls off the wall over my bed at night while I sleep I'm a dead man.

3 years ago I was back visiting a friend in the states, and he reminded me that he had a big box of my 70s-era leadpile. Joy!

Over 300 unpainted (or badly botched painted) Dragontooth minis, maybe 400 or so painted minis, maybe 600 unpainted of various sorts.

In addition to the 200 Foundry vikings & saxons I haven't got round to yet, the megaminis ratmen, dwarves & goblins (though I've nearly finished the thieves guild and the townsfolk) and the couple hundred other nibs & bobs in the leadpile here in France.

Sounds like it still pales in comparison to some of you lot, though.

Cheers, --- Phil aka Wheldrake

Should finish my pile in the next couple of days. Down to ten figures that I am working on right now. Must admit, it feels good.

wow your comments have made me feel so better just got back into war gaming after a long time apart.now i am collecting both Alexandrian Macedonians and pulp eras as well as looking through my old lead pile.

Guess it is time to redo the inventory…

Lots of 25+mm I need to sell, trade or give away!

Lots (smaller amount) of 15/18mm to paint.

Moderate (ahem) amounts of 1/600th aircraft to send out for painting or paint myself.

Some 6mm WW1 aircraft (handful) to "do something" with.

A slightly larger handful (in numbers) of 1:6K ships to paint or send out to be painted.

Oh, yeah, terrain i several scales…

Yep, inventory time next week…

Okay I went to work on my lead mountain and instead ended up adding another few hundred to it.

So now my wife has stepped in and announced no more buy figures until I have painted all of the ones that I already have.

Do you know how old I'll be by the time I get them all painted!

P.S. just when you thought you got away from the lead mountain it always comes back

Bite the bullet. I identify the least likely to be painted and sell them. I have done this twice and felt fine afterwards as well as being in Mrs Artilleryman's good books. (Some of the money went on a meal out.)

However, it is amazing how the pile quickly regrows thanks to the use of sets of figures. Ahhh. Remember the day of the individual figure…….

I went from owning a large three bedroom house with a full finished basement as a dedicated gaming area, to a two bedroom apartment here in San Diego. I have most gaming stuff now in a storage locker that is full! I now own unpainted metal miniatures that I know will NEVER get painted… perhaps it is the time to start an ebay store to get rid of some stuff?!

Sale! Never! I will die under my mountain with paint brush in hand!

My problem is deciding which figures to dig out and paint next.

I am so glad there are so many others out there like me, I have hundreds of figures and models waiting to be assembled / painted. All sorts of scales, periods and types.

My trouble is I read a book or see a film, go off and buy figures / rules, etc and then a few days later I read something else and then go off and do the same again.

Furgie

Metal pile sits at 5 models.

I don't buy more than I can paint. I also don't play with unpainted, so if I want to play with the shinies, I must paint them.

Plastic pile? Who knows? Who cares?
It's plastic. It'll stay there until the heat death of the universe or until I manage to give the rest of it away.

Furgie, you and I have the same problem, see or read something then I have to hunt for the minis to make it happen next thing I know I'm side tracked on something else hunting for more minis.

So this yeah I will only work on only my zombie game and just the minis I already have for it and the terrain I will need for it!

You'll make it two weeks, tops.
I know I've tried.

Look, squirrel!

That's pretty much my situation :)

Squirrel! Where!

Counted (and labeling) 38 Kaiser Rushforth cases now being "sorted" plus many metal trays (magnetic bottoms on figures) already slated for sale/trade/give away/trash already.

I would reply to this thread, but I can't get over my lead mountain to reach my PC!!!

Terry

Whenever my office runs out of space I begin purging. My problem will come when I have to bring all my painted figures and terrain home from our gaming club. Hopefully the kids will have moved out by then so I have room.

2 large roughnecks. One filled mostly with GW Imperial Guard and another with various historical kits. Mostly plastic.

Currently:

Plastic Pile:
3 x boxes Perry plastic Napoleonics
1 x company of semi-painted 15mm PSC WW2 British infantry
1 x company of semi-painted 15mm PSC WW2 German infantry

Lead Mountain:
1 x company of Baccus 6mm WW2 British infantry
1 x company of Baccus 6mm 15mm PSC WW2 German infantry
a few Baccus 6mm Wars of the Roses spearmen
a few other Baccus 6mm odds-and-ends (e.g. 12 x Roman civilians, 6 x ECW Horse, c.40 random Napoleonic cavalry etc.)
4 x "Hour of Glory" female miniatures
a few other 28mm fantasy/WW2 female miniatures

I aim to finish most of these within the next fortnight.

I am going to a flea market at a game store on Saturday. I guess I'm afraid that I'll actually make progress on getting things painted.

Cu8rrently 2 figures – Colonel Kilgore and a surfer for my wife's US Vietnam collection. what's best is that I won't have to paint them because a friend has volunteered….well; I say volunteered…..

Okay I just spent a good part of my evening basing a couple hundred figures, military, survivors and zombies for a large zombie game I'm trying to put together for later this year.

I have a deal with the 'boss' I can buy what I like as long as I paint it so I have 6 buildings and some terrain to finish for 15mm Vietnam otherwise everything is painted and ready to game with.

I just dumped around 10,000 plastics in exchange for about 600 painted and returned. That gets it down to 3 dozen 1/72 tank/plane kits and around 1,000 metal/plastic figures that need painted.

It was hard putting that box (20 pounds, 2 ounces) in the mail.

Sigh.

Will pictures and a blog post do?

link

Sure a picture and a blog will do!

Well I finish priming that couple hundred figures for my zombie game now I just need to paint them!