Mooseworks8 | 06 Aug 2016 7:06 a.m. PST |
There are several of you out there that I follow and read your blogs on an almost daily basis. Either through direct email updates or through the Feedly app. Some of you stick with only scale or period. Others work only in small scales starting at 2 or 3mm and capping at 10 or 15mm. Another I read recently scaled back to 5 specific periods across various scales. I've always admired the dedication that you have to focus on one area like those mentioned above. Doing so seems to allow others to create, craft and have more adventures. I however have so many varied interests in miniature wargaming that I am often stuck, for lack of a better word.
I do adhere to the excellent principle of keeping my armies small. However the temptation to sell off most of my collection and start over in one scale or one spectrum of scale is always tempting. Even the temptation to cull back to just a few periods. However it seems that I no sooner contemplate this than something novel comes along and WHAM, I've added another project. This must stop. It would be a pity to accumulate a vast collection that see's little use to only one day be sold in an estate sale.
I will use the remainder of the summer to decide what is culled and what remains. I want to have my hobby interest fixed by the fall, specifically by RECRUITS Con. I know there will always be something new that attracts attention but these things must be weighed against time and on-going projects. However my current projects must be scaled back.
As of this post my hobby interest includes: The Second World War 3mm Project 6mm Project 10mm Project 15mm Company Command 1/72 Skirmish Naval Warfare Weird War (Undecided on scale.) Fantasy Warfare 6mm Generic 10mm Warmaster 15mm Generic 1/72 Generic 25mm Warhammer 25mm Mantic/Generic Warmachine Middle Earth (Undecided on scale.) Game of Thrones (Undecided on scale.) Dragonriders of the Styx/Plastic Fantasy Toy Soldiers Generic Cheap Plastic Minis (Ragtag fantasy minis, from several sources including boardgames used to make fighting armies.) Ancients & Medieval 6mm Ancient Armies Project 10mm Wars of Alfred the Great 15mm Romans, Greeks & Gauls 1/72 Medieval Crusades 1/72 Medieval French-Greco States 1/72 Trojan War 1/72 Neolithic/Chariot Wars Chinese Ancient Battles (Undecided on scale.) 1/72 Samurai Battles Late Roman Warfare (Undecided on scale.)
Modern Warfare 6mm Prussia Imagi-Nation Arab-Israeli Wars 3mm NATO-Warsaw Pact (This covers a wide array of conflicts.) 15mm Chaco War 3mm Weird War One 15mm Great War 1/72 Great War in Africa African Bush Wars Naval Battles 2nd Italo-Ethiopian War The Rif War
Colonial-Late 19th Century Anglo-Zulu War Steampunk Wars Balkan Wars Russo-Turkish War Russo-Japanese War Boxer Rebellion American Plains Wars The Sudan Northwest Frontier The Boer Wars Italo-Turkish War 1st Italo-Ethiopian War French North Africa
Others 15mm SYW Imagi-Nations 1/72 American Revolution English Civil War (Undecided on scale.) Napoleonic Wars (Undecided on scale.) American Civil War (Undecided on scale.) 3mm Clockwork Civil War (Weird ACW) 6mm Sci-Fi 10mm Sci-Fi Spaceship Battles 15mm Sci-Fi Skirmishes 1/72 Asteroid Skirmishes 54mm Toy Soldier Collection 54mm Toy Soldier Wars Warhammer 40K Skirmish Epic 40K Battles 15mm Carlist Wars
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Grignotage | 06 Aug 2016 7:47 a.m. PST |
That is a lot of projects! I have culled my collection down before and found it rather liberating. It's getting a bit out of control again and a Great Reduction is in the works. |
Lucius | 06 Aug 2016 8:02 a.m. PST |
I'm starting to cull, not just anticipating a move in 3-4 years, but also trying to simplify my life. Here's the deal: If it isn't a complete matched army pair, I'm getting rid of it. If I don't have rules that I love for an army that I have, I'm getting rid of it. If I haven't used an army in 10 years, I'm getting rid of it. If I don't have terrain for a period, and have no plans on buying terrain for it, then I'm getting rid of the armies. If I make a new purchase in a new period, I'll only buy both sides, for a matched pair. I force myself to have have a scenario and rules picked out before I buy miniatures for a new period. If it is a book I haven't looked at in 5 years, it is going to go. All new rules must be .pdf format. All new book purchases must be Kindle or pdf. |
Murphy | 06 Aug 2016 9:38 a.m. PST |
I've got the following: 1: 28mm Pulp 2: 28mm Victorian/Colonial 3: 28mm Horror 4: 28mm Pirates 5: 28mm Old West 6: 15mm ACW 7: 15mm Modern Africa 8: 20mm Vietnam 9: So 25-28mm Fantasy I am going to be culling my 20mm Vietnam figs as I just have no desire to play them anymore, and the fact that they are the "odd" size out. I also have a buttload of misc. modern micro armor to get rid of… |
robert piepenbrink | 06 Aug 2016 9:40 a.m. PST |
And I thought I was in too deep!! No, I really was (and am) in too deep. Two questions, I think: 1. Which armies does one truly love? 2. What forces are necessary to fight all the scenarios one finds interesting? I'm trying to pare down to fewer scales and no overlapping efforts. My science fiction is skirmish, for instance, and my moderns (WWIII) are stand=platoon. Between them, there aren't many post-1900 ground combat situations I can't fight out, though not always with the "right" armies. I'll let everyone know if I ever get it right and done. |
14Bore | 06 Aug 2016 9:59 a.m. PST |
Wow that is a impressive list. I have always felt like a outsider with only 2 miniature collections, D&D for 6 munths then totally switching to Napoleoics for 35 years. My main military reading is in three areas (Napoleoic, ACW, WWII) but never started collecting for them. |
jambo1 | 06 Aug 2016 10:02 a.m. PST |
Got rid of loads of stuff i was never going to paint and found it very liberating, still more to go which lets me concentrate on about half a dozen projects that will keep my interest and let me hopefully finish a project!! |
Jamesonsafari | 06 Aug 2016 10:02 a.m. PST |
I consciously stick to a few scales so terrain can be used for multiple projects/eras. I already had 15mm company sized ww2, so when I did platoon level Chain of Command I stuck to 15mm to use the same vehicles and buildings |
John Armatys | 06 Aug 2016 10:46 a.m. PST |
Resist the temptation to cull unless you are incredibly short of space. You never know when you might want an army that you've sold off (for not much cash) and will then have to replace it (which will take a long time and probably cost more than you got for the one you sold). The same applies to part completed projects – I've spent the first three years of what I hope will be a long and happy retirement reducing the size of the lead mountain by painting it bit by bit (and there is plenty left to keep me going). Remember that you will never see your estate sale! Having said this try to avoid having more than one or two projects "under construction" at a time. |
attilathepun47 | 06 Aug 2016 3:50 p.m. PST |
Jeez, I think you should change your "handle" from Brigadier General to Army Group General, to cover all that stuff! |
79thPA | 06 Aug 2016 8:49 p.m. PST |
As others have said, I found getting rid of barely or half started projects to be very liberating. |
PrivateSnafu | 06 Aug 2016 10:49 p.m. PST |
Where you have 3 "small" scale projects and 3 "large" scale projects like WWII. Could you get by with 1 small and 1 large? Such as 6mm and 1/72, ditch the rest? |
Whirlwind | 07 Aug 2016 3:30 a.m. PST |
Wow! That is a big projects list… What have you actually got now, useable, in your collection? |
Mute Bystander | 07 Aug 2016 6:40 a.m. PST |
I found reduction and scale consolidation (if 3mm aerial, completed 6mm SF and two small forces of 6mm fantasy, 15mm VSF/SF/Fantasy/ historical, and 25mm legacy Fantasy/Historical/SF/VSF can be called consolidation) to help me reduce by giving away 100s of miniatures that would be not be ever played/painted very liberating. I still have more 25mm figures being readied for sale/give away but currently everything fits in foam cases for my 38 KR Rushforth cases with foam trays to spare. |
Mooseworks8 | 07 Aug 2016 7:50 a.m. PST |
So far… I've hauled off three sacks of printed wargame rules and notes. Gave away a large box of terrain to my son and his friends. Emptied out 2 notebooks of rules I don't play anymore and recycled the sheet protectors with my new 5Core stuff. Decided to kill off 3mm WW2 and use those models for other 20th century conflicts. End my One Hour Warhammer Project at it's current state and sell off all extra models for it. However a duplicate scale conflict exists with the 10mm Warmaster stuff. WW2 will be done in 6mm for Brigade/Division. The 10, 15mm and 1/72 scales are still being looked at for 5CoreSk or 5CoreCC. Either the 10 or 15mm will be 5CoreCC which leaves the 15mm or 1/72 for 5CoreSk. One scale will be out. Which will take a strong effort of willpower since I have some nice models, based and painted that will need to go. |
Mooseworks8 | 07 Aug 2016 2:48 p.m. PST |
I have further reduced my projects on paper. The Second World War has been reduced to 6mm Brigade/Division, 10mm Company Command and 1/72 Skirmish. My 15mm models will be moved to eBay. |
Cold Warrior | 08 Aug 2016 4:40 a.m. PST |
I have culled quite a bit, basically down to four scales and mainly focusing on 20th Century conflicts. 28mm Modern Police-SWAT Gaming Vikings Fantasy Gladiators Heroclix 15mm Balkan Wars WWI WWII Cold War Modern SF 1/600 Cold War 1/2400 Cold War and Modern Naval with 1/1200 aircraft Recently dumped my 15mm Colonials, large X-Wing collection and a number of smaller projects. Not starting on anything else until I get some other projects fully completed. |
nheastvan | 08 Aug 2016 2:39 p.m. PST |
I've just completed a cull. I'm down to 54mm late 19th century, 15mm WW2, 15mm sci-fi and 28mm fantasy. |
Early morning writer | 08 Aug 2016 6:15 p.m. PST |
Culling is good, getting to that point can be hard. I know I need to – not want, need. But actually doing so seems so elusive. At least I've got to the point of minimal additions – and mostly structures now rather than figures. Though I did just place an order for some figures to go with some buildings – but that is just filling a gap. And then one more order – and maybe, maybe, some custom made figures to fill another gap or three. But then: NO MORE!!! Besides the 'one more' I have everything I want from every existing range I am aware of – and then a lot, lot more than I need for pretty much every period. What I really need to do is reduce each collection except one or two just 'cause. At least I've avoided the multiple scale issue. And then there is the pull of that old and much enjoyed period – but that would require a new scale so I think I'm safe. The common thread in the culling I've witnessed is very, very few regret doing it and most are quite glad to have it behind them. Hope I can get there soon. Friday I prepped and primed 396 pieces, mostly people, and looking at that lot and thinking about the time to paint them – just to a game standard – was a bit intimidating. Might be the motivator I need to act re- the great cull. |