"Ever painted/based miniatures but never played them?" Topic

Have you ever painted and based miniatures (from any historical era or fantasy/science fiction theme), but never actually played them in a tabletop game?

(a) Yes. I have done this (please specify miniatures and explain).
(b) No. This has never happened to me.
(c) _______________________

a. for me. I painted up some 54mm cowboys for my daughter but they are waiting for me to write the rules. I did that about three years ago.

However, I prefer to say I have not played them YET.

(a) Oh yeah. Who hasn't?
In my case Landscnechts.
GorkaMorka.
Sea Peoples.
Trojan War.

There are plenty of "played with once and sold" things too.
Irish Rebellion.
Orcs and goblins.

I am pushing my Jacobite project, to hopefully fit in neither category.

No.

A) – I have an entire British/Hessian army – just finished before we got fed up with 7 Years war style wargaming!

a. yes, all the time, with all sorts of things. I'm working on reducing the lead mountain and turning it into boxes of figures – they might get used one day. I've also quite a lot of role playing/skirmish figures bought on a whim, painted and then boxed awaiting a game (which might happen…).

Yes WWII Japanese and marines. Hittites. BTW does solo play count?

Yes, but there is always tomorrow…I will eventually get to play them. Sadly, there also many armies that have only been played once.
Off the top of my head, remembering I have purchased a double army- having forgotten that I had already a completed/panted army, I bought the lead for the same…
A) 1/300 WW1 planes, Silent Death Sci-Fi Space craft, 10mm Mongol (2), 15mm Samurai (2), Dark Eldar, 28mm SAS- DaK- Italians (North Africa), 20 mm Mujhadeen, 20mm Soviet, 1/35 MaK Sci-fi…😜

A. 28mm Napoleonics
Do you count using other peoples figures instead of yours? If not I have some 1/300 aircraft I haven't used yet.

Yes, all the time. Where to start? Three armies for Dirtside II. Two armies for Stargrunt II. How many DBA armies? Warzone armies? 40K armies? My entire Weird West project. My entire Imagi-nations project. Dozens of forces, hundreds of figures…

Yup

Yes, though in most cases they will be used at some future date.

Specifically (though not exhaustively), some of my 20/25mm Napoleonics (others have seen extensive service), some Colonials, some Old West, some 18th Century Imagination troops. Then there are the Seven Years Picnic Teddy Bears I paint for my wife, which are intended for display NOT gaming.

I have units that haven't seen the elephant.

25mm WWI. Finally came to my senses and will switch to 15mm. Selling off my 25mm stuff.

15mm NKE for DBM.
10mm Gauls for FOG

Sick of the rules by the time the armies finished. I did sell them for reasonable return.

Yes. Some 20mm Airfix French Sappers from the Airfix Imperial Guard Infantry box for a Napoleonics campaign that died stillborn (like so many campaigns do), so while the rest of my corps saw action the sappers stayed in garrison at home with some siege guns.

Most of my Silent Death fighters & gunboats. What little of Silent Death I've played was using the cardboard counters that came with the 1st edition boxed set. By the time I finished painting I'd stopped playing. I actually do like the SD rules but it's been difficult to drum up interest.

There maybe some assorted 25mm fantasy that have not seen action, but as I started my collection in junior high and had limited income pretty much everything I bought until college was used as I did not have much.

Plenty of times. I have often started a period that sounded interesting and then lost interest. I usually sell them.

That's all I do :)

I think of it as units that "Have never seen dice rolled in pleasure".

"Never" is kind of harsh. I prefer to think of them as "not yet".

And I think I only have painted additional units for bigger forces that are "not yet played with".

There are however various projects that are not painted…..

me and miniMo are of like Mind. They are done, just awaiting the opportunity .. so many just waiting the first shot fired in anger

10mm medieval Serbs and 10mm Mongols. Just loved the look of them. Need opponents for them.

Well, I suppose every unit I finish painting falls into that category (I don't play unpainted units; I would rather field surrogates.) until it reaches the field.

Generally, I try to get units done two months before I intend to field them in case I get delayed. Otherwise, most everything hits the table within six months.

I probably have some contingency units (reseves, alternate forces) that never actually made it to the table when they were waiting in the wings. That's probably only onesey-twosey per group.

yes. A whole bunch of B'Hoys minis stand out as well as two teams of American football players. Sigh

My Great Northern War project is the most elaborate effort that came to halt after a few months. I painted up about 2 infantry and cavalry regiments of Swedes and Danes and then got no further. One day, the inspiration will return, I'm sure of it …