"Do you paint both sides?" Topic

Almost always.
I started with 25mm Ancients. Yes, one paints his own armies for tournaments, but for the longest time, I supplied all the armies for local group play.
When I started with American Revolution, I did. But I've sold half to Guy #2.
Ditto British Colonials. Those I've sold to a friend, who added his own.
GASLIGHT. But there a few joined in to add their own. I've sold them to locals.
And more.

The thing is, everyone in our group has their own interests. I don't need to paint anything for Franco Prussian War, or Vikings vs Saxons.
I don't have to do anything for Galleys, Trafalgar, or Bolt Action. Each of those projects are held by one person. And many other projects are similar.
Three different people, each with different gaming philosophies, do 15mm Napoleonics, painting both sides. We just finished one campaign, with both sides painted or collected by Guy #1. As soon as we finish the current Zulu War campaign, owned, bought from me, and collected solely by Guy #2, we will play a different Napoleonic campaign. This will be run by Guy #3, who painted by both sides.
Guy #2 and I split the Plains Indian War project.
I had a few huge Flames of War armies, that would play vs other guys in the group, but I sold out. To them.

So. Do you paint both sides for your projects? With few exceptions, that's how our group operates. Flames of War was the only real exception.

Me? Pirates. SYW Kleine Krieg. SYW in Mexico. FIW. Etc.

Yes

I usually play games with more than two sides, but if I do host, I do provide all the minis. So I painted them.

Well, usually. Sorta.

I have a Greek WWII army for Bolt Action/Chain of Command and an Italian army to fight them. The Greeks are the ones I've concentrated on, and they have most of the boxes checked. The Italians are a very basic army, while the Greeks have characters, snipers, a variety of tanks and artillery, AA etc.

I have a Roman army to fight my Celts, but I haven't painted it up. It has been several years now. I have enough Celts that they can just fight each other.

Grelber

I'm mostly a solo gamer, so of course!!

Yes. If I want to play the scales and periods I prefer, it is the only way to be sure.

And beyond, painting many sides if available.

+1 miniMo.

It means that I don't have to rely on others to bring toy soldiers for a game.

Yes,

Tally Ho!

Yes. Both sides and any nearby foes of the first two sides too.

Yes.

Yes. If I don't, who will?

Dave

Yes – while there are many good guys in the local gaming group, we pretty much all paint both sides as except for ACW not a lot of common interests – works out well for our monthly gaming sessions

Yes. As said above, it is the only way to be sure.

Yes. I am greedy, I want to own every army I will ever game with… It's a disease, I tell ya' -- a sickness, even!

When I played historicals, back in the 1990's, I was not interested enough because I knew so little of history. The other players were intimidating in their knowledge of history -- they knew the year and month when the Germans came out with the 75, the 75L/M/whatever! There was no way I was ever going to get that deep into it, so I just showed up to push lead around the tabletop. I got the impression that I was a bit of a boat anrhor around their necks, to be brutally honest. They tolerated me, and they did, in fact, encourage me, but I just wasn't into it like they were, and I knew that would never change for me.

I poured myself into fantasy -- hard! I have more than a dozen different armies -- duplicates in race are not in that count. I have multiple Undead armies, too many different Human nation armies…

It's all good, in my book. I enjoy collecting the various armies I have. When my friends join in on my game, however, I do find it mentally challenging to allow them to bring out their own fantasy figures to put into my games. I have more than enough, with only a few exceptions… Cheers!

Heck yeah! Always.

Actually, I paint all the 'factions' that might have taken part in a conflict. My Hungarian 1848 War even has Serbs. If I could find good Wallachians, I'd add them too! :)

Agree with Sgt Slag – it's a sickness! However, I can think of worst sicknesses to have!

Yes

Yup. The only way to do it. You can't on someone else to really finish buying and painting the other side and if they leave then you can't play.

Yes, definitely, for all the good reasons noted above by others.

If you can't get other people to buy in to your project, that's a sign it won't have longevity in your group. Save yourself the time and money and let it go until someone else is willing to join you

No, so my Napoleonic allies fight themselves

Always. If you don't, your regular opponent either dies or relocates.

Multiple armies for each genre / time period that I play. I even have armies that no one has written official rules for.

Yes. Mostly solo play now, but for forty years I had students who would play regularly and enthusiastically with what ever toys I put in front of them. But the only time, for about ten years, I had regular adult opponents was playing JOHNNY REB, and each of the four of us had his own army -- but even then two of the four had plenty of units for both sides.

I think it is the nature of modern American society that we move a lot and things change and so a club where each can field an army for a common campaign is a good, even a great thing to rejoice in, but not anything one should ever count on being permanent.

Usually. Ideally, I paint a pair of armies that can fight each other or be combined as allies to fight a really big battle.

pjm

Always

Yes.

Yes, Alwyas have. With as many moves over the years I've had to make sure I had forces to play with

Of course.
Though the current project, which is Trench Crusade, I have only painted one faction. With TC being a skirmish game your total figures for a faction are not great. I have painted almost 20 figures, with about 8 or 9 to finish. Our TC group has six active gamers, and a few more being less active. All thus far are still single faction painters.

I have now started thinking of a second faction, so that I can host a game with a new player

A friend and I decided to do the Franco-Prussian War. He would do the Prussians and I the French. We played a few games over a few months then the next time I saw him he had sold all his collection. I asked why he didn't tell me as I would have bought them and he said he just had to get rid of them. I'm still bitter,he's still a friend.

Now I try to paint both sides. Thinking about this post I've realized that I have a couple of armies I don't have the other side for. War of 1812 I have Americans, Intro Armati to Medieval Irish no opponent, WWII Finns no opponent. The other 20 or so periods have both sides or more.

You should always paint both sides even if someone else in your group has figures, at least enough for a small game.

Front & back.

Always.

When I play tested a new rule system, i aintwd both sides

Yes,always, particularly having been bitten in two occasions when I didn't.

Ochoin – you beat me to it!

Yes, though my son often paints the other side to make the projects go faster.

Sometimes.

Yes, and beyond. Though now my adult son paints as well and takes up some of the slack.

Yes, very often, as no-one else seems to paint the opposition!

Usually I paint both sides mostly due to the fact I set up battle scenes on my table. I have painted just an army to fight others' once or twice years ago, though.

Yes

Not only do I provide both sides, I also have to provide all the terrain, multiple full sets of markers/tokens, all the custom pieces required for the game (special templates or measuring devices), enough cheatsheets to supply everyone and still have extras, and in the case of aerial gaming, the aircraft stands. If I want people to use dice trays (usually), I provide those too.

There is a rare exception: sometimes, for a game I help with, I provide no forces.

Terrain is reusable, so once in a while I'll offer to bring the entire battlefield if someone else brings all the forces and gaming detritus to play the game on it. This has been a great way to get a test or demo game of a set of rules I'd like to try, but have no miniatures for.

- Ix

Yes, that way if it's a genre I like to play I can host a full game. All players have to do is show up and have fun!