Lead Adventure Forum
Other Stuff => General Wargames and Hobby Discussion => Topic started by: Quendil on June 05, 2014, 11:00:17 AM
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I am considering taking a break from the hobby (Lack of motivation, other hobby of classic cars and probably a particularly bad couple of years), my question is should I clear house and sell all my stuff or should I pack it away for a while. I haven't made a conscious decision to take a break before so just after your thoughts. Thanks
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I'd say definitely just pack it down - I've sold lots of what, at the time, I've thought was 'excess' stuff, only to regret doping so later.
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Don't clear house!
I did the same a few years back, and there is still stuff i regret of selling now! Especiially fully painted and ready to play armies, if you get back in, you are going to be happy to have something to use right away!
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I sold lots of stuff during the nineties when i had a break from the hobby.
Dont do that. You regret it later when you start again. Keep your stuff.
Cheers
Björn
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Pack it away for a period that you define. (one, two, five years - whatever)
Review it occasionally. See how you feel.
Get rid of stuff that doesn't give you a memory. It will probably never be used anyway.
I took a break of ten years and when I returned I had a little "seed" to build from (unpainted figures, terrain, etc).
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Flying against the herd here...
If the break included significant economic factors or physical (say, from a split in relationship/marriage and hence inadequate storage space for a long period while you rebuild your world) then selling is an option to consider.
As for multiple years, well my old 25 mm figures are 'too small" in today's miniature world for some people so it's a crap shoot if your figures will be what you want in the future.
Keep the core stuff if there is a reasonable chance you will "return" and sell the rest is certainly an option but make sure this is not a knee jerk emotional response to whatever motivates you to leave.
Gracias,
Glenn
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Thanks guys. Its not an economic factor so it may well be next just to pack things up for a while. Its really a feeling that the hobby has given me more downs then ups and having tried various things (Inc Kickstarters which were a bad idea) to get my enjoyment back I think an absence of the hobby will do that. As its nearly summer I should be able to send more time outside (In the rain) and get back into things in the winter. I will no doubt keeping checking this forum as it is probably the most enjoyable part of the hobby for me at the moment.
I will have to take stock of what I have got and may sell some of the newer stuff but I will keep my older stuff as I find the older stuff more enjoyable. I have to say that the new plastic boxes that have come out have actually lessened my enjoyment. I find all the parts to fiddly and annoying to out together o_o
Thanks all
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I say give it a year. Then get the hobby stuff out and see if you want to keep any of it.
I go through phases where I'm spending my free time on different things because my interest waxes and wanes and is drawn in different directions all the time. If there's a pile of books or mins I haven't bothered with in years I then try to get rid of them. It's a cleansing experience, but only because I wait until I'm pretty sure I won't miss the stuff I eject.
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I say give it a year. Then get the hobby stuff out and see if you want to keep any of it.
I go through phases where I'm spending my free time on different things because my interest waxes and wanes and is drawn in different directions all the time. If there's a pile of books or mins I haven't bothered with in years I then try to get rid of them. It's a cleansing experience, but only because I wait until I'm pretty sure I won't miss the stuff I eject.
Sound advice that pretty much sums up what we all said. Let emotions settle then evaluate and getting an honest (not a "friend's sympathetic") opinion from any other gamers you feel close to (not just we LAFers) may give you perspective too. Too often we alternate between hoarding stuff we bought on a lark and throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Gracias,
Glenn
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Things come and go.
I've had multiple breaks over the years. This is one hobby I've always come back, though others I have left for good (at least so far).
Don't get rid of stuff immediately. Pack it away and consider selling/donating it at a later date. Especially stuff you've worked on! I find I don't mind selling off unpainted lead but I can't bear parting with stuff I've painted. I'd rather give it as a gift to someone who will appreciate than sell it to someone who will just strip it...
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I've also got a car hobby (and being Alfa Romeo's they take a bit o' cash to keep going!! - NO WISE CRACKS :-[).
Nothing beats top down driving but is a summer hobby and the in Winter the car hibernate's and then what will you do if you've sold all your stuff?
I decided to pack in my regular club of more years than I can remember and do my own thing, potter away with a 28mm vanity project or two and game what I want, when I want. I feel better for it and enjoy the higher quality games I do play, than the low grade cross table 2 hr club games which would never really get resolved properly. Its your hobby, do it the way you want.
Sometimes you need a change, but you'll always be a wargamer!
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Hey mate,I'm in a similar boat(right down to the classic cars ;)), keep your stuff,have a break; they will still be there when you get the bug again. Life is too short...
PS Should I add a Bugeye Sprite or a Sunbeam Alpine to my (1/1) collection?
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Nothing beats top down driving but is a summer hobby and the in Winter the car hibernate's and then what will you do if you've sold all your stuff?
Top down is the way to go!
I switched to MX-5 when I got tired of fixing my Porsche and haven't regretted a single second of it...
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Hey mate,I'm in a similar boat(right down to the classic cars ;)), keep your stuff,have a break; they will still be there when you get the bug again. Life is too short...
PS Should I add a Bugeye Sprite or a Sunbeam Alpine to my (1/1) collection?
It would be a Sunbeam Alpine for me.
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I'd say definitely just pack it down - I've sold lots of what, at the time, I've thought was 'excess' stuff, only to regret doping so later.
I agree with this. I dropped the hobby about 8 years ago picked it back up only a couple of years later and regretted a lot of the sales.
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If you feel like you have to get rid of some stuff maybe get rid of a bit of your unpainted lead. Particularly stuff that you can get again easily if you change your mind. I wouldn't sell anything that you have painted or any rare or unusual models as these are the bits that you will most likely regret parting with.
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If you have the room and dont need the money: DONT SELL ANYTHING! lol
How many people on this board are re-buying figures they had 20 or even 30 years ago! So my mantra is never ever sell anything unless you have to for one of the above reasons. That way even of you take a long break, you will not have to start from scratch and re-buy everything at about 10 times the price you paid for it originally. Two words: Rogue Trader. 'Nuf said.
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If you have the room and dont need the money: DONT SELL ANYTHING! lol
How many people on this board are re-buying figures they had 20 or even 30 years ago! So my mantra is never ever sell anything unless you have to for one of the above reasons. That way even of you take a long break, you will not have to start from scratch and re-buy everything at about 10 times the price you paid for it originally. Two words: Rogue Trader. 'Nuf said.
Space and/or cash, that's all there is to it really.
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Put it away but leave some shiny rule books around as stimulation......
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Never sell anything if you do not have to. That will only lead to heartbreak and misery. And you will end up rebuying everything when you pick the hobby back up.
Even if you end up never picking the hobby back up. The lead mountain will shield you from nuclear radiation when the bombs start falling. And in the post- nuclearapocalypse world you can melt down the lead minis and make bullets to keep the nuclear mutants off you lawn.
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Sell only if you have to. Best to appraise what you might want later when you engaged. Chances are, 6 months, a year, a few, you'll get back into it. I've taken a couple of long breaks but have come back keen.
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This thread actually made me look for a mini I sold off a while ago. arkhan the black, GW undead liche. Manage to get one for cheaper than I sold it (although postage then cost me more than the mini lol) still happy it's on its way to me to sit in my lead mountain doing nothing.
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I sold lots of stuff during the nineties when i had a break from the hobby.
Dont do that. You regret it later when you start again. Keep your stuff.
Cheers
Björn
^^^ This.
Many years ago, just after college, I transitioned from board to miniatures gaming. I sold off my board games which I had collected between elementary school and college (circa 1980 to 1988). A lot of classics were in that collection. Now I have boys of my own who are gamers and I wish I could introduce them to those fine games. I've re-acquired a few but there are far too many MIA.
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Put it away but leave some shiny rule books around as stimulation......
This is good advice. Rule books are awful for making me buy stuff! Especially the newer books that seem so nicely produced. Heck, even the old DBA book practically made me buy stuff with all the lists!
Shiny books keep me interested though :)
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Why not have the best oif both worlds? Pack half of it, sell the other half, then regret what you sold, and also what you kept?
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If you are possibly keeping the same scale, should you return, be extra careful.
Since I am changing scales (from 25/28/30 mm to 15 and 6 and 3 mm,) where ever possible I find it liberating to unload 25+ mm figures and terrain. so add scale/size change to finances/space as reasons to sale. If you think that you might come back to the same scale/size then be very sure about what you sell; it won't be cheaper, as a rule.
Figures are genre/era specific but (most) non-building terrain is generic to be sold last.
Gracias,
Glenn
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I find it easy to exchange failed projects or ones that I have lost interest in for the latest (gaming) shiny things and almost never regret it.
Very rarely do I sell anything but, you know, needs must sometimes.
Do what makes you feel good.
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I am with most everybody else.
Just store your figures.
A year from now you may want them.
As an example,
I am going back and painting Indian Mutiny figures purchased in 1988.
Am so glad I did not sell them.