"Excuse to order new figures. How many battles before?" Topic

One could say that I have five times as many AWI figures as I "need", so there is no excuse to order any more. Poppycock.

Look at the British Army list. 105 regiments. I am nowhere close to having that many.
Do I have a browncoat Continental regiment faced green? Nope.

Suppose I plan to "do" King's Mountain. A cursory look at the background shows that the Over Mountain Men speedily arrived, mounted. None fought mounted. However, there is always the possibility of a screwy scenario option where reinforcements could arrive late, or redeploy. I bet I could run this at least twice.
Then consider Lord Dunmore … burning a Whig plantation. Just because. I already have some "Ethiopians" on order. Why not have the Whig militia arrive on the battlefield helter skelter at random? That's a third "need" for mounted militia.
OK. This is now becoming economical to order the Perry figures to go with my Mad Anthony Wayne Kaintuck mounted men. With Kings Mountain heads, of course. Plus some Fife and Drum when they become available. And Minden mounted gentry…

Speaking of the ethiopians, I have Old Glory Voodoo warriors and Black Seminole Maroons coming to me. Plus some Perry.
I "need" to run at least two battles with these.

And let's not mention all those Foundry Copplestone SYW hussars I got for Gloucester Point. Not painted yet. Maybe the first batch has been half painted for years.

and Jacobite Highlanders…

Question is, how many battles should a new unit be capable of fighting before you spend hard earned cash to buy them, and valuable painting time?
(Remember that for a second battle, these units will be "free". You already have them. I know. Self deception at its finest.)
So. Can you justify getting, with all that entails, new units that will only fight once?

Only a single one. If you want to play that battle and you need the unit, then you need the unit. I'm not sure what needs to be discussed on this point.

Depends on the battle. Battle vs engagement vs skirmish.
Many units were formed for specific tasks. For example, the Mounted Hessian Troop in South Carolina was tasked to patrol and guard supply convoys. If you like them, get them.

For pre-1900 I arrived--decades too late--at the following program:
1. Try not to build a historical army unless it fought in at least six battles you can wargame. (Strays go into the "generic horse and musket" armies.)
2. Armies should either be to "One Hour Wargames" standard--10 units, of which six will be used in any one game--or "Grant Standard"--16-20 units, mostly using about 12.
3. Armies are built in at least pairs. Try for more only if they really fought each other, and if it gives you different weapons and tactics and not just different uniforms and flags.
4. If you go nuts anyway and build the entire Royal Westphalian Army at 1:20 in 30mm, don't brag about it where the wife can hear.

I get any unit I want. I don't care if they fought in no battles or 10 battles. If there is a unit I don't have, I will get it sooner or later. They all will eventually fight in MY battles. I like variety and color on my battlefields.

Robert P's list includes some very good advice. After decades of spending a lot of time, money and effort on doing historical scenarios, I have about come to the point of just opting for generic armies that can be used in a multitude of battles without the necessity of re-basing, re-organizing and/or re-labeling. So, for example, although my AWI armies are based on the Southern Campaign, and Guilford Courthouse in particular, I don't limit them to just that. It's a lot easier, and ultimately much more productive, to build generic armies that can be used in a multitude of different scenarios, many of which will be "loosely based" on a historical battle.

I'm sure I'll break down sooner or later and buy those 2 packs of Perry Queen's Rangers hussars.
Then I'll manufacture excuses to use them.

I'm with Doug. So many different uniforms that you can have fun collecting and painting them all. I have so much cavalry, you would think it was 7yw or Napoleonics.

I just enjoy painting and setting up nice looking games.

OFM-
I'm surprised that you have so many, after the great advice you gave in your "Starting Out in AWI" post.

I'm with Pictors, if you want them get them. Having said that, I mostly play modern-scifi in skirmish/warband sizes (at least all are single based) and I don't have any that are painted as a "unit". I usually don't buy minis that will only see one game ever, or are so specific to a scenario that they don't make sense in anything else.

I'm surprised that you have so many, after the great advice you gave in your "Starting Out in AWI" post.

My advice says nothing about when to stop.

Couldn't care less

I do imagi-nations so it's a moot point.

Recently completed a four year project for The Princess of Saxe-Burlap und Schleswig Beerstein's Life Guard. 18 figures trooperettes, officers, NCO's and troopers for her army, complete with Kettle-drummers, Trumpeters, standards, and One girl band with bass drum on back, keybord at side, and enormous jingling Johnny of Cowbells and triangles. (completely) imaginary. The figures are the Surens Madame Foures lady dressed "en Hussar" in white with pink breeches, facings, and shabraque and white horse leathers and boots. pink plumes. The one girl band is riding on a "unicorn"

They'll be in every battle. O they aren't a combat unit! They have no combat value. They are there simply to look good.

Next unit up is finishing off the battalion guns for each regiment of the army. These are perfectly useless as they too have no combat values. They are there simply to fire off fireworks and stars at the Princess' Birthday Celebrations. They are an element of fierce competition between the regimental colonels as each bankrupts himself in designing new and special "gala" uniforms for that event. Thus there are Napoleonic British Horse Artillery, Royal Marines, Manchu bannermen, American Indians, Ancient Greeks, Lady Pirates, Cooks and chambermaids and Punchinelli and Punchinello as gunners. Some also look like Mayan priests with feathers – Think Mummers. This is how I use up all those one off boxes I bought during the year, and spare figures that don't fit.

As many as SWMBO will let me play.

Are you a collector as well as a gamer? If your only a gamer then go generic. If a collector then go for it. I can't help myself, if the Perry's make it and it is in a scenario then I am probably going to get it. It's a disease with no cure.

OFM-

True.

John, do you already have the unit in your collection? If no, then you need it to fill the hole. That is how collections work. That some day you might need it for a scenario is a bonus.

The most "useless" unit in my collection is Dabney's Virginia Legion (10 mounted). In the scenario books they only appear once (the cavalry action at Gloucester) and even then arrive right at the end of the battle, at Turn 10 (if you get that far). But as Dave says, they are in the scenarios and so had to join the collection.

One of the advantages of having far fewer units than you have John is that I don't have to try hard to justify more. Want to trade places?

Want and Need. What's the difference?

Commit to running a game at a convention, using the figures that you have not painted yet. It tends to concentrate the mind and getnthe brushes moving.

Anything Queen's Rangers looks cool, and that justifies getting them and using them.

The original advice in "How to start AWI" was excellent and well-reasoned. It is a very good plan. Like most advice, we don't need to follow it for ourselves. And it is still a good plan.