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Author Topic: Downsizing Due to Age  (Read 7128 times)

Offline pixelgeek

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Re: Downsizing Due to Age
« Reply #45 on: August 08, 2020, 10:25:38 PM »
I have had a general rule that with a few exceptions, anything that I don't use for a year or two gets sold or traded away. I recently did this with most of my AoS and 40K stuff.

I am trying to make sure that I don't end up with a huge lead pile for anyone to have to dispose of

Offline SteveBurt

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Re: Downsizing Due to Age
« Reply #46 on: August 13, 2020, 09:27:15 AM »
And the often undiscussed element.  If I had all of my collections fully painted, all the buildings and scenery finished, and I was fully retired, how would I find time to play all the periods, at least fourteen, as well as maintain an interest group of like-minded gamers?   

The collecting was fun and worthwhile for me personally, expense notwithstanding, but reality does need to rear its head to retain a semblance of sanity.  Though some say that boat has long ago sailed!  :D

I’m in the position of having most of my collections of figures all painted up and complete. I may add the odd unit, or replace older figures with newer ones, but it is basically all done. But how do I play with about 12 different ancients armies, Dark Age, ECW, French & Indian War, Pirates, Napoleonics, ACW, Old West, Zulu War, WW2 (all theatres) Galleys, Age of Sail, WW1 ships, WW2 ships, WW1 planes, WW2 planes? It can be several years before I get back to some periods!

Offline warrenpeace

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Re: Downsizing Due to Age
« Reply #47 on: October 06, 2020, 02:33:03 AM »
My collection reduction started with cardboard wargames. Sold a mass of them in the early 1990's. Then sold another mass of them almost a decade ago. Silly me, I bought a half dozen more of them last year, but at least my collection of cardboard wargames is still small.

Got into miniatures almost 20 years ago, and it was a major shopping addiction. Too many books. Too many miniatures. Far too many of the miniatures remain unpainted. I moved around for years, and often this excessive lead mountain was in storage. Finally have a house, a big game room, plenty of storage racks, a great painting buddy who built my game table and got me painting again a few weeks ago, and plenty of people who are happy to play.

But I realize that I've got too much stuff. I sold off my Wings of War to another gamer who had lost his collection in a house fire. I sold my 1:72 scale Russian tanks at the regional historical miniatures wargame convention. I gave a box of painted 1:300 scale airplanes to a friend who I know will use them. But I've got more stuff that I need to pass on. My own brother and nephews are unlikely to use any of it.

At the same time, though, I need to focus more on painting and making terrain and setting up scenarios, especially for Pulp Alley, rather than focusing on getting rid of books and unpainted figures. Selling things takes time too. And time is the thing most in short supply.
« Last Edit: October 06, 2020, 02:36:51 AM by warrenpeace »
Sailors have more fun!

Offline GrahamC

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Re: Downsizing Due to Age
« Reply #48 on: October 06, 2020, 05:21:29 PM »
I've spent the last few years reducing the collection. Like others on here I spent two years getting rid of a colleagues collection of books and figures after his untimely death. He was the nominated person to get rid of mine!

Anyway my son challenged me to go through everything painted or not and be realistic - some painted armies I hadn't played with for 8-10 years some unpainted stuff longer. So I've gradually gone through everything and rather than be sentimental I've been realistic. I've kept quite a lot of 15mm - can paint quick and don't always need a large table. I own Crann Tara Miniatures so my main 28mm collection is those most the rest has gone including books and buildings - I shocked myself at how much I've earned from the sales. ( In excess of £15k) some has been sold through shows and ebay but a lot has gone to individuals who buy collections yes you get less per item but everything goes in one go. Bottom line is I feel a lot better and I'm a lot happier focussing on fewer things.

Offline Jemima Fawr

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Re: Downsizing Due to Age
« Reply #49 on: October 06, 2020, 06:24:42 PM »
I think we need a list of downsizing wargamers broken down by age and sex... ;)
Suffering from insomnia?  Too much excitement in your life?  Jemima Fawr's Miniature Wargames Blog might be just the solution you've been looking for: www.jemimafawr.co.uk

Offline manic _miner

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Re: Downsizing Due to Age
« Reply #50 on: October 07, 2020, 06:39:22 AM »
 GrahamC I am one of the people who have bought from you at show's in the past and hope to in the not too distant future.

 I have started to thin out my collection.

 In answer to Jemima Fawr I an 50 years old and male.Been collecting miniatures and other things most of my life.Like most on here i have loads of old projects that i will never get around to.So time to move them on.

Offline Harry Faversham

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Re: Downsizing Due to Age
« Reply #51 on: October 07, 2020, 07:36:07 AM »
I'm 63, never throw anything away, and have just finished a project I started in 1969!!!

::)
"Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

"I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

Offline Belisarius

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Re: Downsizing Due to Age
« Reply #52 on: October 07, 2020, 08:53:45 AM »
Harry , spot the well known phrase or saying . “ retentive anally “ . 😁 This applies doubly to moi , btw .

Offline dadlamassu

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Re: Downsizing Due to Age
« Reply #53 on: October 07, 2020, 09:57:41 AM »
I'm 63, never throw anything away, and have just finished a project I started in 1969!!!
::)

Finished?  FINISHED?  Good grief, I don't think I have any projects actually finished.  The longest running is my 20mm WW2 started in the early 1960s which still uses Airfix Infantry Combat Group (as British) and the first series Airfix German Infantry.  I added a tank a few weeks ago. 
'He could have lived a risk-free, moneyed life, but he preferred to whittle away his fortune on warfare.'
-- Xenophon, The Anabasis

Offline syrinx0

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Re: Downsizing Due to Age
« Reply #54 on: October 08, 2020, 05:30:56 AM »
I have started to thin out my collection.

 In answer to Jemima Fawr I an 50 years old and male.Been collecting miniatures and other things most of my life.Like most on here i have loads of old projects that i will never get around to.So time to move them on.

Not as old as Harry but I have started downsizing.  If only to keep my kids from dealing with it and I from whining about how they under priced that figure..   lol
2024: B: 0; P: 148; 2023: B:77; P:37;

Offline tallyho

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Re: Downsizing Due to Age
« Reply #55 on: October 10, 2020, 11:37:15 AM »
I'm 47 and have just started my last wargames project I intend to do.

After that it will be a couple of units a year to round off existing collections.

Alongside boardgames, even with weekly gaming, my club down the road, friends close by, and a gaming girlfriend, I'm just not getting through half of my stuff to use every 2 years.

Offline Mr. White

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Re: Downsizing Due to Age
« Reply #56 on: October 12, 2020, 01:30:28 PM »
^ This is about where I am. I turn 46 in December and have been in and out of this hobby, mainly in, for about 35years.

Several years ago, I sold off _all_ my models thinking I was finally out of the hobby. I came back..., but I've cut way back on projects, and unloaded many unpainted models and games that just weren't going to happen. I've got a few 'bucket list' projects I want to tackle over the next 2-3 years. Then after that I'm hoping to put the brushes into semi-retirement. I'll do a few models a year casually, but no more deep dives into a new title or setting. If any new game comes up its gonna have to be mini agnostic and use what I've got painted.

For the record, I've laid out these next few 'push' years as:
* Paint all the Blitz Bowl teams and all the Blood Bowl teams I'll likely play in tourneys. BB has been the main constant game throughout my life so it deserves top treatment. I doubt I ever run a true face-to-face BB league again, but that's where BzB comes in. BB will be reserved for tournaments, but I'd like to have about 5 complete teams. That's enough variety to keep me going
* 20mm Post apoc table centered around the Perry Bros' Dark Future minis. this was the first line of models I really fell in love with. I want to have a healthy collection of them painted and adventuring in the wasteland. I intend to use them and other 20mm minis for game such as Zona Alfa, Last Days, Gaslands, etc.
* 3-4 Dracula's America posses
* the big one...a full fantasy table. I've long admired Warhammer 3rd edition era, but never put in the time to make a fleshed out fantasy table or gone into rank and flank games, my life has been filled with skirmish. Well, I think I'm going to capstone my minis career with a very nice fantasy table to play Oathmark and Rangers of Shadow Deep on.

When I hit this point in the next few years 100% of my models will be painted. The main reason to throttle back is, for me, there are some other artistic pursuits I've just never got around to developing in this short life such as playing guitar. Also, i've been good about my health, but maybe even focus more on it as I hit 50. But from time to time I might want to paint a new cryptid for Dracula's America, or a creature Oathmark/RoSD. Just light, casual, little time demand.
« Last Edit: October 12, 2020, 07:13:02 PM by Jack Hooligan »

Offline Compas

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Re: Downsizing Due to Age
« Reply #57 on: October 28, 2020, 02:31:46 PM »
I still drop some cash on new shiny things and make a half-baked start to projects that peter out but always with the possibility of being restarted down the line.

Offline Cubs

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Re: Downsizing Due to Age
« Reply #58 on: November 02, 2020, 12:53:34 PM »
I think we need a list of downsizing wargamers broken down by age and sex... ;)

Harry , spot the well known phrase or saying . “ retentive anally “ . 😁 This applies doubly to moi , btw .

Ah ... I might be misinterpreting ...
'Sir John ejaculated explosively, sitting up in his chair.' ... 'The Black Gang'.

Paul Cubbin Miniature Painter

Offline RSDean

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Re: Downsizing Due to Age
« Reply #59 on: November 03, 2020, 11:28:57 AM »
This is definitely a tough question.  Points:

1) I’ll be 60 in the spring, which is one of those “consider your life” milestone birthdays.  Happily my hands are still steady and a combination of optics allows me to see what I’m painting.  Retirement is on the horizon, which might allow some additional time for hobbies, including this one, and I expect that my ability to push toy soldiers around might reasonably outlast my ability to keep ice dancing.

2) My sons are both gamers, with my elder being a regular miniatures gamer, which is good, but they both now live at a distance.

3) I’ve been keeping track of how much I have managed to get painted for the past 25 years, and the most recent few years have been pretty steady at about 180 figures per year.

4) I’m still interested in all of “this”, and it’s been almost 50 years.  (I found rules for the first time at 10 in 1971.) So I don’t really expect that to change. 

5). This has been a bad year for games, so I’m currently only at 23 played for the year; the pandemic has suppressed the numbers by eliminating conventions, and I’m suffering from a bit of “Zoom fatigue” when it comes to getting remote games set up and played.  This year aside, even with work and all, I’ve been getting in ~40 games a year for a long time. 

Conclusions: 

A) I need to be more cautious about starting new projects.  A typical “battle” level project might involve two armies of about twelve units of about twelve figures each, or ~288 figures.  At current rates, that’s about a year and a half to see a new start on the table...IF I just painted that one project.  I currently have at least four new start projects on my docket.  It seems unlikely that they will all reach the table as envisioned.  Skirmish projects of less than 100 figures are less of an issue, but each one is a third of a battle project, so they add up.

B) I have enough figures in the hoard already to last the rest of my actuarially expected life, unless I paint faster and/or send some out for others to paint.  On top of that, my home casting mold library is vast.  Some of these probably need to be released back into the world...but which ones?

C) I have ~15 projects already at a playable level.  If I could keep up 40 games a year, everything out to be out at least once every other year, so perhaps that isn’t too bad.  But, you could easily make a case for less being more—five or six projects might be enough to provide variety and would each have their turn that much faster.

D) I need to find a way to get more solo games in; I enjoy them when I play them, but getting them planned and set up takes a fair amount of activation energy. 

E) Organization of my “stuff” needs to be a lot better.  Each hour spent searching for a particular misplaced figure, unit, piece of scenery, or mold is an hour not spent painting or playing.  The total amount of stuff is less critical if it is readily available on demand.

So, am I actually downsizing?  I did sell off a 500 figure painted project this past year, which hadn’t been out for the better part of five years.  There’s probably more of that coming.


 

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