 Murphy  | 23 Dec 2025 6:04 a.m. PST |
I'll admit. I have way too many ongoing projects and halfway started/non finished projects and projects I want to do, but never honestly will; as well as games that I have that I will never play.
My collection needs to be culled for some room. I'm planning on a flea market table at Little Wars in April. Board Games, some miniatures, and a lot of scenics and some terrain. So are you going to cut down on "your stuff" next year? |
 ColCampbell  | 23 Dec 2025 6:22 a.m. PST |
I think about it every year, but whether I'll actually carry through is debatable. Merry Christmas to all and a joyous New Year! Jim |
| forrester | 23 Dec 2025 6:23 a.m. PST |
Already did, in the approach to a downsizing house move.
I still paint new models but its very tightly focussed. |
| Murphy | 23 Dec 2025 6:23 a.m. PST |
I've realized that I have a massive collection of Starship Troopers stuff that I will never ever get to. So that's gonna be going. |
| PzGeneral | 23 Dec 2025 6:27 a.m. PST |
Yeah, downsizing. I'm going to be 65 tomorrow and I realize I'm not going to be here forever. Been selling things already at Flea Markets, I assume that trend will continue. What has really helped with downsizing was my purchase of my 3D printer. Bought zero pieces of terrain and few miniatures this year. I just printed what I want. I did recently purchase though Guards of Trators Toll, but I bought the miniature less bundle. Will use the minis I have for Guards, I'm printing the Villagers and the buildings and clutter myself….. Dave |
| 79thPA | 23 Dec 2025 6:27 a.m. PST |
I started a sell-off this year. I will continue it into 2026. The problem is that I keep finding cool stuff that I am interested in. |
| Tacitus | 23 Dec 2025 6:48 a.m. PST |
The only thing that keeps me from being on an episode of Hoarders is that my hobby is mostly small, 28mm figures. I will try this year to slow purchases and try to find new homes for some of my stuff. |
| KSmyth | 23 Dec 2025 7:00 a.m. PST |
The short answer is yes, I'll do some downsizing. But I'm not sure what I'll part with. I don't think it will involve dealing off a major project, but I probably will identify some items I'm never going to get to and offering them up to a better home. Part of my problem is that two of my closest friends passed away in the last three years and I took on major pieces of their collections for deeply personal reasons, and it has exceeded my ability to safely keep them and access them. I've already begun parting some things out but more will have to go. |
| advocate | 23 Dec 2025 7:11 a.m. PST |
What ColCampbell said. More urgency due to health issues though. |
| advocate | 23 Dec 2025 7:13 a.m. PST |
PzGeneral, Guards… was a game I bought into this year. Haven't regretted it! |
| Shagnasty | 23 Dec 2025 7:26 a.m. PST |
Need to, want but my efforts are feeble. 80 is not an age to expand or even maintain as the end is nigh. |
 KimRYoung | 23 Dec 2025 7:32 a.m. PST |
I have probably been adding more since I retired 4 years ago. Also have "inherited" several large collections. Have one son and several grand kids that may be interested down the road, if not I'll be looking for some youngsters that I can give everything too. Way too much stuff to spend my time selling anything, It will all be given away to hopefully a future generation. Kim |
 20thmaine | 23 Dec 2025 8:07 a.m. PST |
No. I've decided to keep going until I get fatally buried by large box game sets. It's how he would have wanted to go will be put on the gravestone. |
 McKinstry  | 23 Dec 2025 8:26 a.m. PST |
Yes, sort of. Less books, fewer scales/periods but more in the remainder. |
| nickinsomerset | 23 Dec 2025 8:56 a.m. PST |
No, next silly question? Tally Ho! |
| Col Durnford | 23 Dec 2025 9:11 a.m. PST |
I've been on that path since retired in 2018. I use it to fund my War Department. I started with all the stuff that I bought for someday and also did make a major dump to Noble Knight. I've now moved into
Items painted and never played. Most of the funds were used to enhance the core collection. A good example was my spaceship collection. Several fleets were sold off. The remaining 3 fleets had some ship classes sold off and others increased. |
| Grelber | 23 Dec 2025 9:14 a.m. PST |
I'm one of the folks who posts on The Pledge every month, showing how I really am trying to get rid of my unpainted figure pile. No, really. I'm a bit different in that I also list the number of figures sold off, since this is also a decrease in the number of figures in my unpainted pile. This coming year, I have decided to get organized about the whole thing and have A PLAN. I can usually paint 200 figures in a year, so that's my goal. I'm going to try to limit my purchases to 150 figures. Bit of a decrease, but I think I can divert some of the money and effort to doing scenery and other things. Finally, I have decided I will sell off at least 50 unpainted figures. Maybe more, if I get enthusiastic. I visited Little Big Horn, the Rosebud, and Fort Phil Kearny three times back in the late 1990s and 2000s and was so enthused that I bought up figures for the wars on the northern plains. Unfortunately, I never got enthusiastic enough to paint them, so some of the cavalry will be first to go. After that, maybe my 15 mm Italians--nobody in my group wanted to do Flames of War, and I only painted one platoon. I have also started trying to sell off books, spending the money on new things, including a few books. I have even given away books to people who might actually make use of them. Hopefully, this will clear out enough space in my basement hat I can actually set up my table again and play a few solo games. Grelber |
| Martian Root Canal | 23 Dec 2025 9:27 a.m. PST |
Both my sons share my hobby, so no. They will inherit my vast piles of unfinished things. |
| DisasterWargamer | 23 Dec 2025 9:44 a.m. PST |
Did a reduction the last 2 years to narrow in on the periods I am really interested. Need to thin the book pile and lead mountain still a bit. |
| Grattan54 | 23 Dec 2025 10:04 a.m. PST |
Just did. Bunch of stuff went to Noble Knight. I also cull various projects from time to time. Mainly because I have run out of space. |
| TMPWargamerabbit | 23 Dec 2025 10:39 a.m. PST |
Why downsize….my sons or grand children will have all the enjoyment of handling the collections. It's their fate to read my written and video instructions on the collections, their contents, the huge library room of military and uniform subject books, and even the hobby supplies. Been clearly labeling the collections these past years to identify what is what and organized the library shelves. Just like Martian RC above it's their inheritance. |
| Buck215 | 23 Dec 2025 11:02 a.m. PST |
Yes! Will it happen? Doubtful… |
| robert piepenbrink | 23 Dec 2025 11:12 a.m. PST |
As with Col Durnford, overall volume has been decreasing since retirement in 2015. The 54mm AWI goes to the flea market come April. But I'm nearing the end of this phase. Maybe another two years of gradual thinning, and then it stops unless I have to move into a smaller space. Still a little building going on. But it takes a lot of 6mm Napoleonic Russians or 2/3mm armored cars to cause serious overcrowding. |
| Phillius | 23 Dec 2025 11:14 a.m. PST |
Most of the chaps I play with are of a similar age, e.g. retired. They are also the only people likely to buy anything I am trying to sell. So, downsizing is a non-starter, as all my potential customers are in exactly the same situation as I am.
A looming disaster for estates of wargamers as we all pass. Our beautifully painted armies could all be going to the dump. |
| Major Mike | 23 Dec 2025 11:15 a.m. PST |
Yes, been doing it slowly for the last couple of years. I take stuff to the flea market at the local convention and make great deals to sell off what I have brought. Board games, miniatures and terrain. If I find I have some odds and ends I gift them to friend that are currently gaming at that scale. I'd rather see the items get used and provide enjoyment than worry about making every penny I can from a sale. |
| evilgong | 23 Dec 2025 12:56 p.m. PST |
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| huron725 | 23 Dec 2025 12:58 p.m. PST |
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| TimePortal | 23 Dec 2025 1:25 p.m. PST |
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| robert piepenbrink | 23 Dec 2025 1:49 p.m. PST |
Phillius, don't let it happen! Talk to people. Find dealers. Make sure whoever is responsible for your estate knows who to talk to and how to reach them. our "beautifully painted armies" are destroyed regularly by fire, flood or sheet carelessness and ignorance. No reason to add yours to the loss. |
 ochoin | 23 Dec 2025 2:55 p.m. PST |
Can you imagine the pain you'll be inflicting on your estate's executors if they discover several thousand miniature figures & other paraphernalia in your home that they have to deal with? Better to shift as much stuff now as wait for the inevitable trips to the Tip. The Swedes have it right:
link |
