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Author Topic: How many sides do you build and paint?  (Read 6963 times)

Offline The Great Mahoo

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Re: How many sides do you build and paint?
« Reply #30 on: January 13, 2021, 04:13:07 AM »
When I was big into the hobby fresh out of college, we had a good gaming group and mostly everyone provided their own armies/gangs/etc for what we played. With playing long enough, I ended up expanding to multiple armies just to help give me variety, but we would all let others play our armies if someone wanted to try them.

Nowadays, life has gotten in the way and I am just back into collecting and painting over the last 6 months or so.  I don't get to play much, but do it solo, so I get to collect and paint up everything myself.  MAybe one day I'll have time and opportunity to get back into a gaming club once stay-at-home restrictions are less and what not, and can go back to being social in my games again.

Offline Elenderil

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Re: How many sides do you build and paint?
« Reply #31 on: January 15, 2021, 11:45:11 AM »
Way back when I only painted one side, then I found that I was often restricted to non historical opponents as no one had the right opposition available.  This was made worse by the cost of 25mm figures and poor student finances!  now I use smaller scales so it isn't expensive to create two or more armies as matched pairs plus as others have said in these days of enforced isolation without having both sides I can't play any games.  It helps that i enjoy painting.

Currently I have 6mm armies for Late Imperial Romans with opposition from Early Sassanid Persians plus Dacian/Carpi.  I'm working on adding a Hunnic and Gothic DBA army with Early Franks in mind as well.  I have Middle Anglo-Saxon, Strathclyde Welsh, Welsh, Pictish, Scots Irish and Viking for the Viking Age period and i'm extending my Early Byzantine's to give options for the Sassanid Army to fight.

I'm just a sad old completist!
I came into this world with nothing...you can guess the rest

Offline eilif

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Re: How many sides do you build and paint?
« Reply #32 on: January 17, 2021, 01:33:36 AM »
Genrally try to have two sides for any game I want to play.   It helps that in the club we used to use alot of generic rulesets so I generally wasn't buying figures that would only see use in one game.
10mm Sci-fi
28mm Fantasy Skirmish
28mm Sci-Fi
28mm Mecha
28mm Post Apoc
28mm Fantasy Platoon
40k
NEcromunda (almost all the gangs...)
etc,etc..
Wasn't always necessary within the club since most folks bought figures for most projects. but we always tried to have enough figures to lend to any visitor.

The only exception I can think of for not owning two armies is Konflikt 47, and if we'd kept playing that I would probably have finished up my Brits and started a Finn force.

Offline Colonel Tubby

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Re: How many sides do you build and paint?
« Reply #33 on: January 17, 2021, 02:00:34 PM »
I was intend to complete both sides, that way I can play solo or throw down a quick game if a friend comes around (at least pre-Covid)

Completion tends more depends on the type of game! Skirmish or large scale battle.

The completed armies that spring too mind for large skirmish games that I have completed are the English & French (Lion Rampant) with a half-complete Scottish and a British & Pathan for NWF (TMWWBK).

For larger games I only have a 1/4 done Union army (Black Powder) and a nearly complete late war British for WW2 but no opposition for either (yet!)

In most other cases I have both sides (painted or ready to be)!

Online Ben Waterhouse

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Re: How many sides do you build and paint?
« Reply #34 on: January 18, 2021, 02:21:53 PM »
Both, as I am a solo player.
Arma Pacis Fulcra

Offline Moriarty

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 311
Re: How many sides do you build and paint?
« Reply #35 on: February 14, 2021, 12:50:47 PM »
So, it seems ‘both’ is a common answer, but I wonder if this then has a knock-on effect regards the size of the forces? Does the need/want to provide ‘both ends’ mean smaller battles?

With DBA et al, the small number of minis needed is a help. But my 18th century armies are only about a dozen battalions a side, because I do both Austrian and Ottoman. Is this a blessing, or a curse?

Offline fred

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Re: How many sides do you build and paint?
« Reply #36 on: February 14, 2021, 01:42:49 PM »
So, it seems ‘both’ is a common answer, but I wonder if this then has a knock-on effect regards the size of the forces? Does the need/want to provide ‘both ends’ mean smaller battles?

Unfortunately not!

Over time the forces all seem to approach ‘large’ in number. There are definitely armies that are bigger than their opponents due to a preference in collecting one side. Eg. My WWII British are probably double the quantity of Germans. But that’s not to say I don’t have plenty of Germans.

Offline Vanvlak

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 5289
Re: How many sides do you build and paint?
« Reply #37 on: February 14, 2021, 02:46:23 PM »
I usually do the front, the back, the left-hand side and the right-hand side, as well as the top - if the bottom means the bottom side of the base, I don't do those. For some vehicles I also do the inside besides the outside.

Oh.
Not what you meant.
 ;D
No sides! I buy multiple sides in most cases (except historical, where I end up getting one or maybe two), and never finish any.... well, not in years, anyway.

Offline dadlamassu

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Re: How many sides do you build and paint?
« Reply #38 on: February 14, 2021, 02:57:33 PM »
So, it seems ‘both’ is a common answer, but I wonder if this then has a knock-on effect regards the size of the forces? Does the need/want to provide ‘both ends’ mean smaller battles?

Definitely not.  Some armies do end up larger than others and that is sometimes due to representing a variety of units/troop types or because one side is composed of historically larger numbers or is of lower quality .  For example my Gauls outnumber my Romans and are often found adding numbers to my somewhat smaller Ancient British army when needed.  My Ancient Germans as well as making up a small army serve as mercenaries in the Gallic army and as foederati for the Romans.  My Zulu army is considerably larger than the opposing Imperial forces.  For WW2 my British, German and Soviet armies are all "large" and about the same size. This pattern is also found in my Modern (Fictional) Africa, AWI, fantasy, Indian Mutiny, Darkest Africa, Pulp, post apocalypse etc.
The only ones that seem to stay "small" are those that were built for a show or a passing interest - Jacobites - Redcoats, Pirates, Stargate,  Doctor Who, WWW2. 

Game size is more limited by space.  My older armies tend to be the largest as back then I had an 8 feet x 6 feet table set up until the family came along and we needed the space.  So the table was temporary one propped on the kitchen table until a few years ago when I was able to have a wargames room again but the room size limited the table to 6 feet x 4 feet.  Thus some early armies are too large to deploy on the new table table. 
'He could have lived a risk-free, moneyed life, but he preferred to whittle away his fortune on warfare.'
-- Xenophon, The Anabasis

Offline Cat

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Re: How many sides do you build and paint?
« Reply #39 on: February 14, 2021, 04:20:27 PM »
So, it seems ‘both’ is a common answer, but I wonder if this then has a knock-on effect regards the size of the forces? Does the need/want to provide ‘both ends’ mean smaller battles?

With DBA et al, the small number of minis needed is a help.

Nope, not around here.  Even with DBA, our club plays big battles with 3 or more army multiples per side about as often as we play regular small single army battles.  My most basic builds are pairs of historical opponents to cover all the time periods.  The largest force I have painted up is 5x Polybian Roman. 

My preferred collecting strategy focuses on providing 8 diffferent sides for tight historical themes.  That way I can bring those to a convention to host an historical mini-tournament with armies provided, and players are welcome to bring their own army if they have one that fits the theme.  The starting block of 8 is also built with an eye towards armies that can serve as allies with each other for big battles, and then central armies in the set can be built to a double + ally.  For the Punic Wars period, the number of sides available is well above 8, and with 5 triple armies for big battle with various ally options available.

The smaller armies certainly makes it more tempting to start new additions and allows them to begin hitting the tabletop sooner; so that is a big enticement.  But invariably leads to "and then I could add...."

Offline Emir of Askaristan

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Re: How many sides do you build and paint?
« Reply #40 on: February 14, 2021, 05:01:50 PM »
Usually both or to put it better one side and one of its opponents or its opponent in a theatre. This can often expand to other theatres or campaigns

For example
SYW British and French for the Caribbean....not Flanders. Now adding Spanish.
Late 16thC Scots civil war .....adding Irish
Ancient Indians and Macedonians - with enough to do expand to cover Seleucid and Pyhrric armies

Offline Mindenbrush

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Re: How many sides do you build and paint?
« Reply #41 on: February 15, 2021, 01:17:42 PM »
Both sides as I put on games at HMGS conventions and enough figures for 6 players as that is the size of the group I regularly play with.
The exceptions will be Chain of Command as it is one on one, Clash of Spears and Barons War will only be my warband/retinue.
Wargamers do it on a table.
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Montreal Historical Wargaming Club

Offline warlord frod

  • Mad Scientist
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Re: How many sides do you build and paint?
« Reply #42 on: February 16, 2021, 03:02:12 PM »
Maybe the better question here is by painting and collecting both sides of a conflict do you find yourself collecting only one or two historical periods. At one point in time I took pride in the fact that I had a game option covering just about any period of military history (board game or miniature collection) I certainly could not have done that if I stuck to miniature games. Do you find yourself collecting one or two periods and a variety of rule sets for the said period or are any of you crazy enough to be building large armies for dozens of periods of conflict (If so are you independently wealthy or a super fast painter  lol lol lol)

Offline Cat

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Re: How many sides do you build and paint?
« Reply #43 on: February 16, 2021, 03:26:43 PM »
Maybe the better question here is by painting and collecting both sides of a conflict do you find yourself collecting only one or two historical periods.

Nope!  I've been at this for a very long time; and have a basement that overfloweth with many armies for many periods.  Still in progress of the Herculean task of cleaning and reörganising said basement to make room for some new projects and expanding some old ones.
: 3

Offline fred

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Re: How many sides do you build and paint?
« Reply #44 on: February 16, 2021, 05:36:02 PM »
There is always another period to dabble in! Most of my figures are 10mm, so they are cheaper and paint quicker. But you tend to end up with more of them!

While WWII and Fantasy are my two main ‘eras’ with lots of different forces, I have lots of other interests, where I often do just have the two protagonists. Some of these keep growing, others are stationary (I hesitate to use finished, as new rules or something will re-trigger the interest).

 

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