Blackhorse MP | 20 May 2016 4:43 p.m. PST |
This is strange. I think I have all the figures and models I'm going to need for my wargaming needs. My main periods of interest are Ancients, ACW and WW2 and I'm satisfied with the forces I have or the small handful that I need to complete them. My lead pile is more like a lead mole hill and even so I'm finding I have no desire to add anymore to it. It's proving a chore just to finish off the forces I already mentioned. It's time to take all the time I usually spend making units and start using it commanding them on the table top. I've been wargaming since the very late 70's and there hasn't been a time since that I haven't been painting figs and building models(my army career permitting, of course) and looking for new stuff. But now the urge to acquire and paint is gone…**blink, blink** Has anyone else ever reached this state of finality? Judging by the stories of some of the legendary lead piles out there I suspect I am probably in the distinct minority on this one. |
Korvessa | 20 May 2016 5:02 p.m. PST |
Thought I had a few times it always passes |
KSmyth | 20 May 2016 5:07 p.m. PST |
Nah. I'm 60, been painting since the 70's. I love every minute I'm painting. That said, I still have a very busy working life and find it hard to play many games and am looking forward to the magic year I'm free to retire. While I don't actively seek out new game projects, sometimes they just fall in my lap. Hopefully Blackhorse this will pass. K |
Bashytubits | 20 May 2016 5:13 p.m. PST |
Never underestimate the power of some book or movie to suddenly "inspire" you to want a new period. |
Murphy | 20 May 2016 5:18 p.m. PST |
Do you have any Pirates?…Pirates are cool…You'd like Pirates…. |
EJNashIII | 20 May 2016 5:19 p.m. PST |
yep, books are evil ;-) I end up starting a new time period, type or region. Been crazy on a WWII Eastern Front for a year, but finished Prescott's Conquest of Mexico last month and been thinking about Conquistadors and pyramids ever since. My biggest issue is usually getting thru the buying and painting to actually playing before it happens again and I'm off on another direction. |
ochoin | 20 May 2016 5:41 p.m. PST |
Depends on if you like painting. If so, you'll find new figures to paint. |
Ghecko | 20 May 2016 5:42 p.m. PST |
Yes, I'm in the same boat Blackhorse. Gaming since the 70's; amassed everything I wanted (including Pirates Murphy) and having recently retired, now find myself with little to do or finish off. I must admit that it is a funny place to be after all these years. |
Murphy | 20 May 2016 6:00 p.m. PST |
How about Cowboys?…Root'ing tootin' Yippee Yi Yo Ki-Yay…..!!!! You like cowboys right?….RIGHT? |
Patonius | 20 May 2016 6:11 p.m. PST |
Murphy – they have groups for people like you. |
Terry37 | 20 May 2016 6:27 p.m. PST |
K, Don't believe it. I'm 70 and played my first wargame, as such, in the mid 50's. Grew up with Airfix figures and armor, then discovered Scurby, Bussler and SAE and of course today it is a booming business compared to back then. My pile of armies awaiting the paint brush has never stopped growing and don't really see it doing so as long as I'm able to pick up a paint brush. Now, that doesn't mean I'll get them all painted but part of the fun is putting the armies together. Terry |
jefritrout | 20 May 2016 6:37 p.m. PST |
My dad is pretty much in the same boat. He only has a few things that he is still interested in painting. His problem is that he loves to paint. However he has been painting figures since 71 and has pretty much done what he is interested in painting. |
spontoon | 20 May 2016 7:39 p.m. PST |
Well, I'm getting more discriminating about the figures I buy. I often go to shows and buy nothing lately. |
Extra Crispy | 20 May 2016 8:52 p.m. PST |
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Blackhorse MP | 20 May 2016 9:57 p.m. PST |
While I don't actively seek out new game projects, sometimes they just fall in my lap. Hopefully Blackhorse this will pass. Maybe, but the thing is I don't feel bad. Maybe content is a good word. Never underestimate the power of some book or movie to suddenly "inspire" you to want a new period. Well that has hooked me in the past. Time will tell. Do you have any Pirates?…Pirates are cool…You'd like Pirates….How about Cowboys?…Root'ing tootin' Yippee Yi Yo Ki-Yay…..!!!!You like cowboys right?….RIGHT? Murphy, I think you'd be the guy handing out beers at the AA meeting. I'm getting close… That's what she said. Sorry, couldn't resist. It was right there. |
Cyrus the Great | 20 May 2016 10:05 p.m. PST |
@Terrement, You need to read the OP again. I wish I could be in that position! |
Blackhorse MP | 20 May 2016 10:10 p.m. PST |
Cyrus, Don't despair, there's always tomorrow… |
timurilank | 20 May 2016 10:32 p.m. PST |
Funny, the same thoughts crossed my mind when I passed the workbench to make the morning coffee this morning…"these will be the last ones." Blackhorse MP wrote: "It's time to take all the time I usually spend making units and start using it commanding them on the table top." That is the main reason I began a blog seven years ago, to bring all my collections together and begin campaigns. The blog served as a collection point for my research to include illustrations, maps and links to other bloggers of like mind. Good luck with your journey. |
Cyrus the Great | 20 May 2016 11:14 p.m. PST |
I will die with a paint brush in one hand and a miniature in the other painting a new project I just started last week! |
gamershs | 20 May 2016 11:19 p.m. PST |
Did you see those new support vehicles for your WW2 units :> I have put a halt on new periods but I am always a sucker for something new in periods I am in. How about a 1946 air raid with B-35 Flying Wings supported by F-80 shooting stars and Glouster Meteors vs ME.262s |
Veteran Cosmic Rocker | 20 May 2016 11:25 p.m. PST |
Yep I am with you – just a few things to sort out on my WW2 naval and then I am done. I have also been wargaming since the late 70s and it feels strangely satisfying (strange because I have always been building and painting armies and I thought I would miss the drug of acquiring and collecting) to have reached this point. |
Martin Rapier | 20 May 2016 11:38 p.m. PST |
I have also been doing this a very long time, and for several years I have been extremely selective about buying any new stuff. The days of grand New projects are long gone, but there is always an extra unit you can add in here and there. It is quite relaxing really. It has taken me a very long time to realise that the more stuff you have, the less it gets played with. Blindingly obvious really. |
Whirlwind | 20 May 2016 11:39 p.m. PST |
I am nearly there too (although I haven't been playing and collecting since the 1970s!). I intended to collect all the armies and fleets I wanted to by the age of 40 and I am on course to do that before the end of this year. After that, I want to concentrate on the occasional small additions to the existing ranges, or very small skirmish forces, but mainly on playing games, writing scenarios and (maybe) writing rules. |
Blackhorse MP | 20 May 2016 11:59 p.m. PST |
I intended to collect all the armies and fleets I wanted to by the age of 40 and I am on course to do that before the end of this year. Ah, so you actually had a plan. I never thought of that. Probably wouldn't have stuck to it anyway. |
Whirlwind | 21 May 2016 2:23 a.m. PST |
Ah, so you actually had a plan. Well, I definitely didnt when I started: painting up the first pair of armies seemed daunting enough! The plan occurred to me a couple of years ago as a way to not go down the route of having multiple armies over multiple periods in multiple scales and not have time to actually use them all. So I went for paired 6mm armies, thus: Late Republican Romans vs Gauls/Ancient Britons (Ancient) Saxons vs Normans (Early Medieval) Yorkists vs Lancastrians (Late Medieval) Royalists vs Parliamentarians (Pike & Shot) Napoleonic French vs British & Allies (Horse & Musket) WW2 Germans vs British (Modern) I figured this would be a good spread to proxy any battles that I didn't have the exact figures for and it has worked out well so far. So that, plus a smattering of larger figures for various skirmish games, is that. |
ACWBill | 21 May 2016 2:27 a.m. PST |
While I don't buy like I did in my 30s and 40s, I still add missing essentials to my existing collections when they do come out. I find most of my creativity going into new releases for my own company. |
robert piepenbrink | 21 May 2016 3:47 a.m. PST |
I was very, very close once, then eyesight problems put me back in the game--5mm figures for focus problems, and 54's for general deterioration. Right now I have hundreds I need to paint--and thousands I ought to get rid of. But I don't plan to stop--just to have a more leisurely pace. Creating miniature units and armies is a pleasant activity in itself. I don't NEED to listen to music, read novels or enjoy a good dinner out. As long as I have the figures ready I need for the next game, my lead pile is a comfort and not a problem. |
138SquadronRAF | 21 May 2016 7:07 a.m. PST |
My conclusion after 46 is I'm about done with my current projects. Last week I was about to order a who slew of Prussians for the Befreiungskriege when I thought 'sod it' I don't want to be spending the next two or three years one something new. I'll finish out what's work-in-progress then stop. |
skippy0001 | 21 May 2016 8:58 a.m. PST |
Wait until you start gaming then you'll want to paint up regiments that don't break and run so much…. |
Blackhorse MP | 21 May 2016 9:05 a.m. PST |
Wait until you start gaming then you'll want to paint up regiments that don't break and run so much…. I don't think I can use that standard, I'll end up replacing 90% of my units! Unreliable #%&@#!&'s! |
vonLoudon | 21 May 2016 9:20 a.m. PST |
Finally got a boatload of figures for different periods. Now it's time to downsize. |
Kleist13 | 21 May 2016 9:37 a.m. PST |
If you are looking for a painting project – why not try out flat figures for a civilian or semi-military theme. Berliner Zinnfiguren (www.zinnfigur.com) is a good place to start – everything from Santa Claus' workshop through Siegfried's entry in worms to a Landsknecht camp or the Retreat of 1812 is there. |
Codsticker | 21 May 2016 9:37 a.m. PST |
Sort of… I have very little that I want to buy, the odd few models here or there to flesh out existing projects. Now I just have to paint what I do have (which I am very much into these days, almost more so than gaming). |
Timmo uk | 21 May 2016 10:01 a.m. PST |
I was pretty much in the same zone as OP but then my interest in an older project reignited and I've now started working on a significant addition. Enjoy having it pretty much all done but I'd say don't rule out the possibility that at some point you might revisit and start painting large numbers again. All part of the fun of the hobby. |
(Leftee) | 21 May 2016 12:14 p.m. PST |
Addicts love an addict. No-one seems to have said "Congratulations! Now have fun gaming!" So I will. |
wrgmr1 | 21 May 2016 5:05 p.m. PST |
I've been gaming since the early 70's, and just sold a whole bunch of 15mm desert war figures. I've still got lots of other scales and periods to paint. I like painting, it's quite meditative, and we game weekly so I somehow don't think I'll ever be done. |
Blackhorse MP | 22 May 2016 3:26 a.m. PST |
Thanks brucka. |
Fred Cartwright | 22 May 2016 5:57 a.m. PST |
Of course you have to be careful and keep a few figures to paint otherwise you will succumb to SWDS or Sudden Wargamer Death Syndrome. The shock of realising that all your figures are painted and there is nothing left is too much for even the strongest constitution to take! Seriously well done. I wish I was there. Having said that a couple of guys on the Society of C20th Wargamers have reached the same stage as you, but are repainting their old Airfix models from 30 years ago to bring them up to their current standard. So maybe painting is something that never gets finished. |
Blackhorse MP | 23 May 2016 4:36 a.m. PST |
Thanks Fred, I hadn't heard about SWDS. I guess I'll play it safe and keep a few figures, in a glass case with a little sign that says "In case of emergency…". |
Sgt RV | 23 May 2016 6:44 a.m. PST |
Every time I think I'm out THEY bring me back in…..buddies… Just like a Hobbit always looking to fill in the corners. Oh my how many corners to fill in !!!!! Game on boys…. |
trance | 23 May 2016 11:00 a.m. PST |
you risk throwing the universe out of Kilter. An extinction level event,Volcano's ,Rivers of fire and blood , Zombies total hell unleashed. Don't ever say anything like that again! seriously enough miniatures Mole hill for a lead Mountain …you selfish horrible person. |
mbsparta | 23 May 2016 12:07 p.m. PST |
Only a wife would say you have enough … Mike B |
49mountain | 23 May 2016 1:11 p.m. PST |
I don't think a naval wargamer is done until he has a model of every ship ever built and a few that weren't. |
Gabriel Landowski | 24 May 2016 5:38 a.m. PST |
Now is a good time to get others involved in gaming. You can easily turn that pile of lead into painted and fielded soldiers if you find the right person to get excited about the project. I myself am fircing a halt to painting as much as possible – I need to spend way more time olaying the damned games instead, and as it is I've been painted and building for months if not years with a game few and far between…. You'll be alright, just find new inspiration and someone to share it with. Great time ti get interested youths involved…. |
Cold Steel | 24 May 2016 9:03 a.m. PST |
Being a lifelong sufferer of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Gaming (ADHG), I am having trouble understanding the original question. Been collecting toy soldiers since the mid-60s and doesn't look like I am slowing down anytime soon. |
Bob Runnicles | 24 May 2016 9:18 a.m. PST |
"Being a lifelong sufferer of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Gaming (ADHG), I am having trouble understanding the original question. Been collecting toy soldiers since the mid-60s and doesn't look like I am slowing down anytime soon." This. I didn't start until the 70s but I also include massive boardgame and RPG collections along with all my minis, of which there are thousands :) |
valerio | 25 May 2016 2:15 a.m. PST |
I am in a "consolidation" period. Selling painted stuff that I never used. Buying small packs of stuff to complete the 5-6 projects I am almost done with and actually use. No interest so far in other periods – excpet that one project that I am thinking about, but am still resisting without much troubld. I wish I continue to just complete my current advanced projects, play with them as long as I can. And maybe in the future start something else. The point is, I just realized – as another poster said – that the more stuff I do, the less I play with them. |
Sgt RV | 30 May 2016 6:39 a.m. PST |
Cold Steel I too am a sufferer of ADHG!!! At least she herself says so. Game on boys…… |
Vespasian28 | 31 May 2016 11:42 a.m. PST |
I don't really suffer from the lead mountain syndrome either- all my odds and sods of unpainted fit very comfortably into a small shoebox. Saving up for my next painting project for 2017 but I needed something to paint this year so having a go at all the plastic figures that come with the "War of the Ring" boardgame I bought 10 years ago. Cheaper than buying a new 15mm army but don't tell SWMBO I had to buy acrylics as enamels are not so good on plastic! |
jwebster | 31 May 2016 2:33 p.m. PST |
"I am just learning how to paint," Pierre-Auguste Renoir said in 1913 — six years before he died.
link
At the end of his life, French impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir continued painting — using a brush tied to his arthritic hand
Does this sound familiar to anyone ? Of course I am no Renoir :( John |