"Is miniature wargaming a real addiction? How do you cope" Topic

… with collector's mentality?.

"I've been a long time fan of miniature games. I got into them over 10 years ago in high school and have played many different games since. I have a really serious question for you all though. I have never really settled on one particular game. Initially I was big on Warhammer Fantasy. Dumped all my money into it, painted a bunch of stuff, etc. Then I guess I got bored and did 40k for awhile. I then got bored again, offloaded all my minis and got into another game. This has gone on a few times. I'll play a game for a few years, get bored, and sell all my painted stuff and start again.

I don't have tons of money to blow on miniatures anymore so I decided that I wanted to stick to one game. Instead of a wargame, I got an expandale miniatures board game. It's fun to play, the minis are fun to paint, but I am feeling that boredom again. I promised myself it would be the last game I buy into and I would keep at it, but now I don't know.

I've always been more of a painter than a gamer. That's why I tried transitioning to miniature board games, especially those that can be played solitaire. Still, I get that itch all the time now of maybe getting back into Warhammer. I mean Age of Sigmar looks pretty cool. Or what about Warmachine? They have nice models, I didn't really like the few games I played in the past, but new edition is always good right?…."
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Amicalement
Armand

Well, I'm generally opposed to calling every unwise behavior an addiction, but the guy clearly needs to learn from his mistakes. If what he really enjoys is creating miniature armies, but he has little use for them afterward--and I understand the feeling--then he needs to buy cheap, paint and sell. I doubt he'll actually come out ahead, but the cost of his hobby will be no worse than, say, golf or kayaking.

But if there's a wargamer buried under the painter--individually mounted 1/72 or 28mm figures are satisfying to paint, look good when they're done, and give or take some movement trays, can accommodate a variety of levels of combat and rules. Do them right once, and you don't need to do any more.

We all do, of course. But we can quit any time we want.

I think no matter what your hobby at some point you get bored or just need a break. Golf or kayaking are seasonal for the most part also there's the playing a different course or paddling a new lake or river to shake things up as well as experimenting with a new club or boat.

If your more of a painter than gamer it only makes sense that once you finish the army you'll look for the next one to paint. To save some money you could look for second hand figures that are a deal or paint for some one else and use that as a source of income. Don't be too eager to sell off painted stuff to fund a new project because replacement value is too high.

Maybe the next army to look at is one that can be used in several different systems so that when you want to try a new game or the people you play with move away you don't have to buy and paint new figures.

Play Historicals you'll always need one more unit and will have plenty of rules to choose from.

If you are painting the miniatures you purchase should you not be coming out ahead as you sell them on ????

Regards
Russ Dunaway

From what I have seen painting miniatures only gets you ahead if you do it on commission. Painting them and then selling them always seems to go for no more than bare metal would.

My experience matches Dynaman's, Russ. Shipping painted and based figures isn't cheap. If you go north, you're looking at a ferocious customs charge. Selling them at a convention is a 1,000 mile round trip and gives up half a day of convention time. From the buyer's point of view, the basing and organization are often not quite right. You'll need a few castings to finish up and (ahem) the manufacturer has reworked the molds, so you can't quite match the figures. You may net something more than you paid for the figures--if the scale and period are popular--but on an hourly basis, I suspect you'd be ahead bagging groceries for tips. A break-even is how I figure it: I can get back what U spent on them, adjusted for inflation.

Might be different if more wargamers disliked painting.

I'm an adict… (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Every army I had that I painted myself and then sold I made substantial profits on, and this includes my days years ago before I owned OG so my expierence is diffetent.

it's hard to admit for me…but it is!!! :-)
if seeing a moovie, choosing something to read, visiting a foreign city i always think about something useful for a wargame miniature source…. also, as tonight, choosing an icecream at the supermarket i was thinking on the most appropriate circular cup to use as the base for scratchbuilding a 28mm native hut

I don't agree about getting bored. Yes, possibly so if you're just a gamer, but as a Wargamer there is all of that history to read about and inspire you. If I'm not gaming, I'm reading history and that's always interesting. I can never get bored with that.

Why suffer from the insanity? Just enjoy every minute of it!

Dan

Addiction seems to me a pretty strong word. Is it compulsive, does it get you in trouble, does it cause you to make poor decisions. If it does those things then you've got a problem. There were times in my life when I might have said yes, but I feel like the writer isn't addicted, he has other issues--like finding his niche. Maybe he enjoys painting most and should just be a commissions painter as others have suggested. Play with other folks' figures until he figures it all out.