"Have you thought about what will happen to your figures ..." Topic

I was looking at an auction on ebay of what looks like mostly Hinchliffe SYW figures and the seller says (excuse their caps)

"I AM SELLING THIS FOR A FRIEND HOW HAS GONE INTO A HOME"

The things we have lavished love on can seem to lose their value as we don't need them. Have you thought of what will happen to your collection?

I have. I've started to catalogue it so my heirs will have some idea what's what and what it may be worth. My guess is that they may keep bits as mementos but most will be sold off or given away.

I too started cataloging everything. I'm putting the figure line, army name, and estimated value in each storage box.

I told my daughters to start selling it whenever they see fit, and not to hang on to any of it.

Yes. Kids have first choice, then a couple of named beneficiaries. Then sell or dispose of the remainder.

Mike

I keep saying I'll mark up the more valuable items (mostly long OOP boardgames).

I'd prefer it didn't all go in the bin – but if that happens I'll be dead so, hey-ho.

i dread to think, but my wife and children will have extra cash!

One gentleman I game with regularly suggests the following:

You get together and agree with your buddies who takes what. Each agrees to write a check to the widow/family/estate for a collection and then sells it off. So, for eaxample, I pledge to take your 25mm Austrians and French at $1 USD/figure. You pledge to take my 15mm Civil War and Vietnam at 50 cents per. Keep, sell, trade.

Trying to keep getting rid of scales and periods and trying to complete things which work with dim eyes--and limited space in case I don't succeed in dying in my present home.

But I've also spoken with the next generation about dealers for books and castings, and which castings ought to stay with the group even if he isn't paid for them. No guarantees this will pay off, but I'm doing what I can.

I'm reluctant to let my wife know what my collection is worth. 😳

(a) What DAF said;
(b) Which is in any case WAY less than what I THINK my collection should be worth…

Alte, don't tell her what you think it's worth--for one thing, it might not be, all sold at once. But do tell her who to contact after you're gone to get top dollar. That gets her the money, and ensures the figures will go to someone who paid enough to value them.

The "going off to a home" worries me more. It happened to a friend a few years ago. He sold off all but one battalion to remind himself that he was a wargamer, and sometimes the locals would pick him up and drive him to a game. I was out of state at the time. When I visited him, I realized he'd done in his life what he'd never done on a tabletop, and given up too soon. He had a nice room and some shelving. He could have had a 3x3 and maybe a 4x4 table up for a game. But as an old 30's player he couldn't imagine anything under a 5x9. We wound up building him a couple of Morschauser horse & musket armies.

Guys, we none of us know what the future holds. Keep something around you can game on a card table. No, it won't be as spectacular as a 6x12, but winning feels much the same.

It will all go to my son. He is a history buff just like me.

Yes – a number to my sons who game, some of the really good ones to a local museum, the rest to my friendly local gamers

Given away, a slight chance some will be sold.

They have given and continue to give me much joy.

Apparently my missus has a phone number for a local skip service ready for that day.

My Mrs says she'll stack them all up and put my coffin on the top for my funeral. Everyone who turns up can then help themselves at the end of the service, with what's left given to charity.

Are you sure it isn't just to weight your coffin down so you will stay put? 😝

My kids might want to keep a few pieces, but they are still kids, so we don't talk about how they should sell my collection. My plan is to die well into old age, by which time I will have already sold off most of my figures and books to keep my children from being burdened with the task.

Nice idea @extracrispy

I suspect mine will end up in the trash.

I plan to start selling off at 70. Sooner for some things. All my naval is going on the block thus year.

Having mates to take it assumes a certain level of organization….

I know my relatives don't want or need any of it. I imagine my gaming buds would end up with it. They just better have some good cardio, cause getting all that stuff out of the basement is going to be an all day job!

My son is a wargamer but there's no way he could ever store more than a fraction of my stuff – his problem, it's in my will, they go to him.

On the other, I'll probably be dead by then so not going to worry too much about it.

Yes I have started to think about this problem. I don't really know what to do with them. No one else in the family is a wargamer, and I don't know anyone who would have enough storage space for all of my toys. I would like them to go to somebody that will use them and not let them decay in some storage unit somewhere. My wife & daughter don't know what my stuff is worth (or I'd probably have been killed in my sleep already).

I'm currently helping my parents decumulate. I have resolved to leave less of a chore for my son. I plan on getting ahead of the curve and selling/giving away stuff at some point. Not *now*, of course, but at some point.

I like EC's idea, too.

My ex decided to preemptively start selling off my gaming stuff. Just in case, you know. Never saw a penny of it. Nor did I even know that she was doing it…

There is a reason she is my ex now. Some pretty significant trust issues now…!

Damon.

This is bumming me out…

@ Extra Crispy: selling off at 70- waaay too soon. I'm 6 months off and still buying, painting and, most importantly playing. i've told my kids I intend to be around for another 40 years at least!

I'm sure at 70 I'll still be buying and painting. But I'm honest enough to know when things move in to that "I don't need to own that anymore" category. At 70, the discipline will be fierce to unload stuff I won't use again…

I am trying to keep it to a minimum at home. I don't seem my kids really wanting any of it. If I ever have to bring all my stuff home from our gaming club, I will have to sell it off then. If I pass before then, it's my friends problem.

Damon, Yikes! I have had an item mistakenly get donated or junked but never for profit. Of course I have made that sort of mistake myself when cleaning so I can't complain.

At 63 I've already started. Dead end projects, out of scale, and old games are on the block. The problem is my sales have resulted in more purchases.

Once retired, I plan to continue selling. If I live long enough, I may even get to actual collections.

My kids are grown and will take what they want, already discussed. The rest I have requested that they donate to the Missouri Civil War Museum here in St. Louis County Missouri of which I am a member. My painting is gaming quality only, so the only value would be in the fact that they are Foundry/Perry figs.

Hah… Had a painting service with my wife for a few years back east. She'll have everything boxed up and in the flea market before my ashes cool!

"I'm planning to live to a ripe old age?"
"I'm planning to start at 70?"

I was intel side, where we felt there was a difference between wishes and evidence, but believe me there is a difference between a hope and a plan, too.

I hope everyone lives to long and active old ages. But that is not a plan. If you want to see that your miniatures go to people who will appreciate them and your family gets back some of the money you've spent on the hobby, plan now against the careless driver or act of God next week. Make sure your family knows who to contact about buying books and figures, whether a dealer or your club, and that there is enough money to make it worthwhile. Everything else is going into battle without a reserve because how can things not go the way you anticipate?

Most of you read military history. Tell me how that works out.

Fate flips the table?

My mother is 86 and I am 57 and in fairly bad health.
I collect weird stuff, a lot of kickstarter. I can't even begin to wonder where this will end up. Like Allen57 said, they will probably trash the stuff.

I don't even have a will yet. But I do own a trailer thats very nice. I can think of one friend who could really use it.

I was wanting my mom to join me in getting living wills
so we never end up in nursing home. You know its depressing, when you are gone it wont matter where collections end up.you won't really care then.

I would suggest though giving them to kids or someone
quite a few years younger. I know a really nice couple.
I may put it to them but they live very far away and it might just be a hinderance.

I have made it know to my family that my stuff has value.

The local Half Price Books will be featuring quite a collection of Osprey books. The figures will probably wind up at Goodwill (half my stuff is unpainted anyways). That is, unless future grand kids are interested.

@steamingdave47 I love your optimisms, but ypu kids know you won't make 110 – lead poisoning will get you first.

ARRGH! Death is inevitable. Waste is poor planning. Rog, Dav--make wills. Otherwise--trust me on this--you're making trouble and expense for your friends and relatives which will go on for years. A will done up by a lawyer and notarized is maybe $200 USD-$300. A holographic will--look it up--costs nothing, but be sure someone can find it when the time comes. If you don't game with anyone and your family isn't interested, check here for a local group you can leave them to.

You do not own anything forever. You have lifetime custody, and need to see that the time and money invested in your stuff were not wasted.

Yes – it is quite a depressing thought – I have no children. My nephew isn't really interested and most of my gaming buddies are older than me so I guess they will all go in the bin – or they could be buried with me in an enormous tomb…

I have a plan.

Our estate docs are all in order.

I have a brief document outlining that I just don't want the stuff trashed. My daughter has sold with me before at Little Wars. I think she'd buy a couple tables and sell a lot off.

The family also know how to reach various gamers to give it away to.

Fortunately my collection is 99% painted, well organized, and labeled.

Not really, to be honest. My intention is to sell almost everything and retain just a few armies, painted, which will be carefully labelled. Then, I hope, my kids will take them with them. If I know my children, my guess is that my eldest son will take most of my figures with him.

As for my books, I plan to donate them to the library of my alma mater.

Better hurry up with those books….my father does consulting to university libraries on what their mission should be since providing access to books is becoming less and less important.

I tried to donate my books a few years back. Universities, high schools, libraries etc. No takers. Heck, it was hard to find a *charity* to take them (mine was all history, literary theory and philosophy so very little that would sell at, say, Goodwill any time soon).

Nothing specific, but I've lost some good friends in the hobby the last few years. I'm giving it consideration.

I just had an enjoyable afternoon gaming WWI in the trenches, felt great then this post bummed me out. We have no children. Most of the guys in our club are older than me. I plan to be gaming well into my 70s. Don't know what to do with the figures. But it's not just figures. I have considerable terrain and buildings.

I will donate my books to the museum where I am the Curator, not for the collection but to our store to sell. They sale used books as quickly as they go on the shelves. So someone still reads them. Proceeds go to the museum. Almost all the books are military history and a few automotive books.

sorry Rallynow to have bummed you out. I do hope this thread doesn;t mean we all flood the market trying to shed the stuff on the edges of our collection

Sir Able has predicted the future…has those of us with very large collections turn the corner, either into dotage or death, there will large masses of both painted and unpainted figures flooding like a tsunami wave out into the world.

Me, I don't expect to get there for a while (barring the unexpected) because my parents are both alive and 27-29 years older than me and doing fair to middling'. And I've taken much better care of myself than they did at my age. I hope to still be enjoying at least a rump of my collection well into my middle 80's or beyond.

Signing a new will tomorrow in which my wargame figures and books are distributed amongst a few close friends I know will apppreciate them.