"Why do I bother with minis." Topic

I am due in for Surgery on Monday so clearing off the Mancave table the unfinished battle as I won't get back up here for at least 8 weeks.

In my current condition is a pain clearing it all up. So I thought great idea replace the minis, but what would I replace them with?

Infantry well they are almost top down illustrations anyway as most are prone so not much to gain unless I could print colour top down flats on card, but even then the base would not match the Noch grass of the battlefield. A marginal gain but not great especially, as a few sitting figures help identify support weapons. I have just commissioned a load of 1/144 M79 gunners, not quite flats to identify them more easily.

The big potential gain would be vehicles but that does not offer as much gain as I might hope. Oure rules and games make it better to have stuff at model scale height, as opposed to ground scale height, to help visualisation, can I see over the hedge? So I need as block about the same shape. I need tanks to have turning turrets, so now its a block with a turret block on top. Now I can 3D print hyper cheap blocks, but how do I identify them? I could put a hull picture on top of the body block and a turret picture on the turret block but unless the turret block is shaped a square turret block would obscure the hull picture on the bottom making identification harder. OH wait, If I use a mini I have an identifiable bottom block and an idefiable turret block. Bummer no escape!

Bit of a blow that, there is really no better effective alternative, the other alternatives are not as effective as playing pieces. AH well back to the slog of putting it all away. Same with the trees, you need the height and a cylinder standing up still needs to be put out.

Mind you the new 2D cruciform trees are faster than my 2 piece vertical flats and go out faster so there is some hope for later on.

How do you view your minis?

How do I view my miniatures? I see them as my friends, UshCha. Some of them I've known for decades.

But in your case, I'd print out prone infantry, base color as close to the grass as I could get, and use printed out figures folded to have two good sides for the support weapons.

AFVs are trickier, but basically a block, a disk and a rod of some sort attached to the disk. Surely not impossible, and then you can just write the vehicle type on the deck.

Unless you'd really rather have miniatures.

Sorry about the surgery, and the pain. But would the non-miniatures actually be easier to clean up?

Good suggestions and I hope all goes well re: surgery

I actually paint a lot more than I game – I like my minis to paint – have to admit, I often paint things I will never use and wind up giving them away to someone who will

Here is hoping your surgery goes well. Miniatures of all types and scales (and periods) have always been welcome in my house. Never know when the bug will bite for painting something in another period I am not currently in. I've even tried paper minis from Peter Dennis thinking I can field a lot more in shorter time but found myself spending hours cutting them out around the printed image- might as well be painting a fully "round" version.

There are some periods that I have collected figures in multiple scales. "I" may be the only one with armies for both (or at least 2 sides) in each scale in hopes I may run across a like minded person for the same period and scale I already have. (…and can never have enough!)

May your surgery be successful and makes the pain go away! That would indeed be a very welcome Holiday gift that will empower you to fully enjoy your hobby again!

Print your infantry images onto clear plastic so that the terrain shows through. Easy enough! ;-)

Best wishes for a successful surgery and a rapid recovery.

Like Frederick, I am more a painter than a player, so I'm not much help here. But Robert's comment about whether non-minis would be any easier to put away resonates. I suppose you could just grab handfuls of blocks and toss them in a bin, but if you put much effort into making and painting them, you would probably want to be careful with them, as well.

I have seen small scale gamers represent all foot troops with counters and only use castings to represent the vehicles.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Why minis? Because for some (like me) the modelling/painting is part of the hobby and the gaming is an enjoyable way of appreciating the collection with others in different arrangements.

First good luck on Surgery
Think I see my minis like a coach would his team. Try and keep them in order, out of trouble and win or lose its a good game.

First of all thanls for the messages of good will that was extremely kind of you

Zephyr1_ "Nothing worse than a Smart A*se, especially when he's right" (Douglas Adams – Hitch hikers guide). Print on clear plastic, I could use Printable decal film and get that onto thin plastic. The only problem is my printer does not print white so it depends on how dense the colour ink is but it has to be worth a try, thanks, clever idea.

robert piepenbrink naming vehicle blocks is really a none starter at my scale, 1/144, you would never see the writing 3ft+ away, so perhaps minis are the only way for AFV's.
I had looked at vertical flats for AFV's; but again it make life harder placing them if they are 2D. Great for height but not for width and a turret is problematical.

Thanks for all the help and good wishes.

UshCha, perhaps you could use more visible symbols rather than official designations? I hate to see you stuck with something as painful to you as the use of actual miniatures.

Best wishes for your eye surgery.

I would be tempted just to make it work with some nice big counters as best you can, in your case with a two-part counter since you are wedded to doing separate turret facing.

Maybe your game is just waiting to be converted into a boardgame and will be bigger than ASL?!?

Here's wishes for a successful surgery and a smooth recovery.

As for miniatures, they have a certain visual and tactile appeal.

My gaming is a mix of skirmish gaming, for which I find flat counters to be very unsatisfying, and Ancients mass battle, with the occasional foray into the early gunpowder era. For these latter games flat counters would serve as well for game purposes as it is primarily the footprint of the unit that matters. I still prefer miniatures, even for my 2mm games with Irregular blocks. That little bit of color and texture just brings something to the table.

I used to love painting figures, but lately have been playing more with paper flats. I find cutting them out to be a good meditation time.

From what you describe of your gaming, I tend to agree with you that miniatures remain the best fit solution. For infantry miniatures or counters may serve equally well, but the aesthetics of miniatures give them the edge. It sounds like the physical characteristics of the model vehicles play a significant role in the mechanics of your games. That being the case any object meeting the shape and form requirements might as well be a model vehicle.

I'm afraid I don't have a better solution for you.

I find clearing up after a game to be my least favorite part of the whole hobby. Sweeping everything off the table into a box just doesn't work with models you have put even a tiny amount of work into. Setup at least gives the creativity of replicating the landscape and the puzzle of deploying the troops.

I do enjoy map and counter boardgames and that hybrid blocks on a map that is Commands & Colors. But they are a different experience to miniatures, no matter how nice the maps and counters.

I can't understand someone who plays with miniatures and despises people who paint them. 🤷

John the OFM, Again where did that come from? I don't paint but my friends does huge amounts he does 1/135 scale models. I don't like painting but I have no reason to despise those that do, why would I. It's a different hobby, unrelated to me so what would I know of its attractions to comment either way?

Oh, from past comments about people who waste their time painting. 🙄

Best of luck Uscha; bit of a confession there are times when I'm only playing to justify the minis I've painted. Gaming per week 2.5 hours max, painting per week if I were healthier possible 30+ hours

Oh, from past comments about people who waste their time painting.

I kind of recall him saying something like that. I think the point he was attempting to make is to paint your figures to an acceptable level of quality, as he does. The additional time spent painting your figures to a museum-level quality could be spent playing the game. He'd rather be playing than painting. Some choose painting over playing. To each his own.

Good luck with the surgery.

Wolfhag