"Downsizing" Topic

Just moved into a new place and have to cut my hobby space by 2/3. Need to take a hard look at what to keep and what to throw away. Any legit advice?

Keep what you truly love.
Give the rest to your friends if possible…that way you can still play with those figures.
Don't expect to get top dollar back on what you sell, maybe even give some stuff away.

My policy for the past ten years has been if I haven't played with for 5 years, get rid of it.

I think I'd look at keeping what gives me the most enjoyment.

Depending on what the projects are, I might consider dropping down in scale.

After maybe a ten years out of the hobby I decided to become a "born again wargamer." I got new paint, a new painting area, new GW miniatures: the whole lot. It was a complete start over.

The old man cave is still there and I've raided it since. Consider selling it all and begin again!

This subject holds special importance for me. At 76 with a limited timeline ahead of me, I don't want to leave anything for my wife to get rid of. She hates lead. I have been selling off a number of collections, primarily unpainted at this time, but that will expand into painted as well. Some of these collections were not so long ago, almost impossible to think of selling. However, as time passes, I find it is easier to part with them. Despite this, during the last few weeks, I have been obtaining 25mm Minifig SYW painted in an "Old School" manner which warms my heart. I am also starting to reduce the size of some of my painted collections. Once I started this process, it has become easier. However, I have some projects that will remain near and dear to my heart after so many years. However, it is time.

@Mr Elmo, I really don't consider that to be a too radical of an idea. If I was to start again, I would certainly do things differently.

I would say that you should decide what armies you love to game with – and what ones you are likely to use – and shed the rest; also pass on lead that you will never paint to someone who will!

I decided to shed everything, so I built a shed and put it all in there.

Love is a factor. So are table space and storage space. I'd say when in doubt choose the smaller scale--or at least the smaller minimum playing area, which is not necessarily the same thing--and try as much as possible for terrain which will serve multiple armies. I find that terrain tends to take up as much storage volume as the troops it supports. Worth remembering that mats, hills and water work for multiple scales within a climate and season, even if bridges, trees and buildings don't. (Go a little old on buildings. Patton drove tanks past buildings suitable for the Hundred Years War, but it doesn't work in reverse.)

I don't know your age. The older you get, the better an idea it is to consolidate projects rather than have entire armies and battlefields to create before you can have a game.

A more helpful reply:

There are collections that get lots of use, and those that get little or no use. Get rid of the periods you just don't play, whatever the reason(s).

If I had to cut way back, I would concentrate on periods which meet these parameters:

Compact storage. Armies need terrain, and terrain takes a lot of space to store. You can reduce the storage footprint by switching to a small scale, but I find that even my 6mm terrain takes multiple boxes (and fair warning: adding a Hexon collection has drastically increased the amount of terrain storage I need). Trees and hills are just bulky in any scale, and buildings take a lot of cushioning. If I had to drastically cut back, I might become a naval gamer – I could play on a single cloth, and pack all the fleets of an entire world war into a few plastic boxes. With a single bookshelf I could span all the eras of naval gaming from the dawn of oared warships to the Cold War.

Players. You might be fascinated with the 38th Russo-Turkish War, but if nobody else is, it's going to be hard to game with the figures. Pick periods and genres for which there are already interested players in your area. This usually means the most ubiquitous subjects (WWII, ACW, Napoleonics, Medieval, Imperial Romans and enemies, etc.), but most of these common topics also have a wide variety of games, scenarios, tactical systems, etc.

Rules you enjoy playing repeatedly. Some rules are fun to play over and over, but most are only fun once in a while, or just too much work to organize a game. If you have to cut back, choose gaming systems that get the most use and fewest complaints from the player crowd.

Collaborators. This one is optional, but a huge bonus if you can get it. Any period for which there are other gamers in the area so enthusiastic they are already building their own collections and running their own games, the gaming will be more frequent, more varied, and more enjoyable.

- Ix

Ywah, what people said … whatever brings you joy.

So that should definitely be gaming an opportunity to get them on the table.

There's also nothing wrong with keeping minis or terrain that you have nostalgia for, or some other special meaning. They're horribly painted and I could give a crap less about getting them, on the table ever again (though I do fairly often) – I'm not chucking or selling the first set of minis my dad bought for me.

You might want to consider nice display cases. That might increase your "storage space" when the minis are also home décor.

You might also want to rent some space for extra storage. Nothing motivates critical analysis of need for something like paying extra money to keep it.

May seem obvious, but I'd say prioritize what you can actually play with. A lot of us could trim substantially by passing on incomplete armies--meaning not enough for a game or maybe a decent variety of battles--forces without opposition armies, periods where you've never found a set of rules you're really happy with, or games needing an opponent you don't have.

Oh. Possibly useful. Buildings. Of course they're a cube ratio: a 28mm building takes up eight times the volume of a 15mm one--same thing is true of trees--and Yellow Admiral is right about the cushioning. But there's an out. PDF on foam core is very sturdy and can be just tossed loose in a big plastic bin. Worth thinking about if you're above 15mm I'd say.

Do let us know how things work out.

A trick for storing trees. I use Woodland Scenics trees. I use the same trees from 25mm to 10mm games. Not the real big version. I'm not home so can't measure. Anyway, base each tree on a large painted and flocked fender washer. Get a Really Useful Box. Line bottom with a magnetic sheet glued in. Put trees in box. You can pack them in real close. They won't move. Useful for storage and easy transport. BTW soak the tree flock with their matte glue.

Thank you all for your well thought out and helpful suggestions. I really appreciate it. Great ideas, both practical and philosophical. I'm 53 and looking forward to this fresh start.

Im seeing quite a few topics of this kind around recently, relating to lack of storage space and advancing years and collections that are far too big.
Is it indicative of a greying hobby that so many of us are stricken with realisations of mortality?
Im going through this process myself, not an easy one, but Ive been having some reasonable success on E Bay, even taking into account fees and posting.
Its relative however and I doubt that you ever get sales that reflect the time and effort you put in, but Im not a professional.