"How many unpainted figures is too many?" Topic

Or to put it another way, at what point would you stop buying new figures or start selling off the lead pile? Dozens, hundreds or thousands?

There is no upper limit. I have probably something like $30,000 USD worth of unpainted figures around.

You cannot die if you have unpainted figures.

When it ceases to be a collection and becomes an accumulation, that is the point for a change in your acquisition scheme.

Going on 37 years and never did the hording, I buy,paint then buy more.

mmessenger 21 Feb 2018 2:36 p.m. PST

When it ceases to be a collection and becomes an accumulation, that is the point for a change in your acquisition scheme.

Does my wife post here?

Do you have plans to paint them?
Then you're good.

The hobby is as much about collecting as it is gaming and painting. I feel the unique aspect of our hobby over others is the fact that it is multi functional with so many aspects.

Regards
Russ Dunaway

the number would obviously vary from person to person. I say at whatever point the collection becomes a burden, overwhelming, depressing to contemplate, or something like that.

Wish I had kept my pile a little smaller

Though still buy new figures to fill in gaps as I get inspired – but have developed some restraint as well

Restraint? Isn't using that word grounds for DAWGhousing!!

3.78, why? Because decimals are cool.

For the record I have thousands of unpainted figures, maybe 10s of thousands. Painting for all I am worth as well as downsizing.

I've been selling down for almost two years now, including some unpainted lead and plastic--not that I haven't bought and painted more over that time, but the trend line is down.

One factor is looking at a pile of castings and realizing that they will never be an army on a tabletop. You can't complete the army. You can't buy an opposition army. You have other armies which cover the same ground. You don't even want to paint them, and there are others you would enjoy painting. At that point, rent yourself a flea market table and send them to the replacement depot.

I have been collecting figures for the very British civil war for about five years. I have over 1000 painted figures. I have multiple hundreds of unpainted figures, mostly civilian militia types, and I keep buying more :-(

I think I would call myself a collector of wargame figures, even when not painted. When Bob Murch, or Footsore or Ironclad or Tusba or Warlord Or Artizan or sloppy jalopy (To name a few) come out with a new Set of figures Which can be used for VBCW I'm compelled to buy them.

How many unpainted figures is too many

For me, 1.

Or to put it another way, at what point would you stop buying new figures or start selling off the lead pile? Dozens, hundreds or thousands?

I think of it in time. I used to have it so that my limit was I could paint up my entire lead mountain/plastic pile in 2 weeks, if I took them off work and did nothing else. A couple of years ago, I reduced that to one week.

I have at least 20 packs of GHQ figures not painted (or opened) but since they are 6mm perhaps they should count as a quarter of a fig for counting purposes. So hundreds or thousands depending on how you count it.

At least 10,000,000

When friends see the shelves of your hobby room, and sincerely observe that you could start a hobby shop, you might have too many unpainted boxes of figures.

I believe in Australian law we set the limit to your own body-weight. It might explain a lot of what I see at conventions now I come to think on it.

The same law decrees that fielding one unpainted figure on the table-top it too many.

According to my wife: one. According to me: it depends on how long I think I'll live and therefore enough time to get them all painted.. If I buy more, my wife will probably make my remaining lifetime too short to get them done.

If you have to pay for postage to Australia, then you have plenty of incentive to buy in bulk to (1) spread the postage cost; (2) take advantage of any discounts for bulk purchases (to help offset the postage cost). I bought three boxes of OG15s/Rank and File FPW (at least 200 packets) but I'm now down to my last 15 packets. When they're done, I can paint the Battle Honours French Revolutionary Wars stuff (that I also bought in bulk). I have also bought figures that have been offered cheap on TMP and figures that are out of production. I intend to paint all of the figures that I have, so no problem.

There's nothing in the pile that I can't see myself ever getting round to.

In a post Apocalyptic world, when the lights have gone out, Zombie cannibals walk the Earth and the sky is permanently black, you will be glad you planned ahead and bought those few thousand extra figures.

Few tins of beans might not hurt either

More than I can reasonably paint in my remaining life. So that is why I'm downsizing a lot of my stuff. Yes I do occasionally buy figures but not nearly as many as I had before.

scaled my buying way down…In fact, over the last 2 years I have spent maybe $250.00 USD in lead and terrain. On the other hand, have sold off $3,500.00 USD of the lead pile including a hand full of painted stuff.

My move 3 years ago inspired me to down size…went from 19 tubs to 5…5 holding the figures and terrain dear to me that I will paint. Also, I have painted 90% of my purchases over the last 2 years…will continue that trend. Finally, pulled out 15mm hoplites I have owned for 20 plus years and have painted 60% of them…now that was a good feeling.

One night, a fortnight ago, I painted 2 draught horses, one Austrian general, five French skirmishers, and a couple of artillery men, (not a partridge in a pear tree) all at 10mm scale. The diversity was explained by these being the very end of my 10mm Napoleonic lead mountain. It was the first time in nigh on 60 years I had exhausted a supply of figures. It was truly a strange sensation. The feeling did not last long however, next morning several hundred new figures dropped through the letter box

For me I only allow myself 2 projects at a time and stop accumulating for all others (right now it is 15mm Eastern Renaissance and 28mm ECW).

All projects have a plastic box where I keep the figures to be painted. If it is full I get no more.

Stopped worrying about what I can plan for ages ago.

I've ended up doing well on new projects over the last 6 years or so and am steadily getting back to incomplete projects that have been around for longer (OK, some a LOT longer).

I'm pretty much done. I painted everything that would make a whole unit and gave away everything else. I have a box of Krakus that would only make half a regiment and some odds and ends but I'm pretty much done painting Napoleonics. Colonials on the other hand…

Great responses, thank you! My question was prompted by realising that, at my current (very slow) rate of progress, I have enough 28mm Napoleonics to keep me going for several decades so no good reason to keep buying more. But Perrys and Three Armies keep producing new stuff that I really want…
For those with more willpower, I admire you. For those who keep buying stuff, it's encouraging to know I'm not alone.

3

I don't understand the question….

I like to have at least a years worth of painting in reserve. That way I always have a substantial amount I can start on whenever I want. I paint in batches of up to 150 or so. So at least a thousand 28mm figures in reserve, but generally more. Being in New Zealand I order in bulk lots anyway to save on postage so it works out well. I rarely see the point in getting figures I don't plan on painting within a year or two, an exception being if I think they may not be around for purchase later.

I may be reaching a critical mass. My house is beginning to sink from the weight. I have to keep buying to maintain a level floor so the house sinks without listing.

The problem is, if you wait before you buy, that range (like mine) may well be gone before you do. I cant keep pumping money into new moulds for figures that dont sell.

this last year, i sold off about 50% of my remaining collection. about 10 years ago i got rid of about 75% but then bought back a new period.

I have my next 5 years of painting planned. when that is done, we will see if i want something else. Until then, none.

Anymore figures than I can comfortably paint in 12 months is too many.

I have always lived by the rule that the number of unpainted miniatures must always outnumber the number of painted regardless of the number that have been painted.

Unknown.

The problem is that if one puts off buying figures of interest the supplier may die, drop the line. go out of business, etc. Or a given deal on ebay or TMP may be too good to pass on.

Therefore it doesn't matter what is currently at hand one has to strike while the iron is hot.

The heirs can worry about what to do with the unpainted (or even painted) figures.