Mature Projects... What Now?!

[Mr. White]

Splitting this topic off from the "Burn Out" thread...

I don't recall who, but someone in this fantastic forum (maybe Pattus Magnus?) referred to projects that are pretty much all painted up as "Mature". I was originally calling em "Done", but Mature is a much better term, as projects can _always_ have more added even if it's the occasional model here or there. So "Done" isn't the right term. Mature makes more sense. You don't really _need_ to do anything more, but you might want to from time to time.

I guess these sort of tabletop games would then become closer to board games. No need to do any work, just pull them off the shelf/out of bins when you wanna play.

So, for those of you with mature projects, do you find you're still interested in gaming with those toys years later? 5 years later? 10? Or does the excitement of the new, upcoming ruleset/model/event drive us to do our painting and hobbying? Is "new" required to stay invested here or has anyone found peace just hanging out and playing games with what they’ve already done... no more heavy lifting.

[FifteensAway]

The ideal is to have a 'mature' project for each period delved into.  My SYW is fully mature, maybe even balding, and I am content to just pull it out now and again for a game.   

As to maintaining interest, for a couple decades my main focus was ACW but after realizing the extent to which most of the writing on the subject was from the 'lost cause' crowd, it became harder to maintain interest.  Still have the figures but am likely to let them go at some point - though hardly a mature project, just languishing.  I will finish painting a certain amount to improve the collections marketability and might keep a modest portion just in case.

I think, in my case, I would be content to just keep on playing with mature projects - with variety coming from having so many different periods.  The main reason a collection might 'go away' would be storage space.  And getting older and realizing time to downsize dramatically.  And then just keep a small core of highest interest.

As to adding, once mature, most periods I already have what I want/need - just not matured for most.  I might add for Pulp or Old West and - maybe - Star Wars but after that, I have far more than needed.

[Hobgoblin]

I don't really recognise the concept because I don't have any miniatures that I use for just one game. So nothing's ever 'done and dusted', and everything can be repurposed or expanded.

So I still get a lot of use out of miniatures I painted a decade ago (and I've played quite a few games with miniatures I painted in the early 1990s, though most of those will gradually be stripped and repainted). For example, in the last couple of months, I've played both Mordheim and Song of Blades and Heroes with some of these fellows (ones that are now rebased on MDF squares). I painted them in 2015, I think:



And, now I come to think of it, I have some of these guys rebased on squares too (I painted them in 1990 or 1991, I think - they could do with some touch-ups, but they "do"), and they've seen action in Kings of War and To the Strongest this year.

But I don't think of either lot as "mature" projects, in that they're just orcs that can be used for umpteen different games - skirmishes, Rampant or Saga-stye "large skirmish, mass battle and RPGs. And I'm always keen to paint up more - in part, to facilitate bigger games, and in part because I enjoy painting (especially in company and when combined with podcasts - my son and I are slowly, inexorably exhausting The Rest is History!).

One step I have taken is to reduce the amount of different basing schemes I use. I don't mind different forces having different basing schemes on the table: that's pretty much the wargaming norm. But I do like figures on the same side to be consistently based. So I've decided now to have all metal fantasy and historical figures on the flat earth/buff/rocky square bases I use for my mass-battle stuff, regardless of scale. That means that, for instance, 28mm goblins work as trolls in 1/72 or 15mm, and so on. The exceptions are plastic skirmish figures (better on GW rounds, I feel, as they gain 'grip' through the raised base to compensate for their lack of heft) and 15mm sci-fi, which get based on pennies to give them more weight and solidity.

So, to get back to the question, I'm more than happy to pull out decade(s)-old paint figures to play either a new ruleset or an old one. I'm a better painter now, I think, but when the figures are on the table and in a game, they look OK to me!

[dadlamassu]

I very much agree with Hobgoblin.  Most of my collection is multipurpose.  Parts of my 20mm WW2 toys have seen action in WW2 (obviously), Post WW2 real and imagi-nantions.  Various parts of Darkest Africa, fantasy, scifi, ancients, mediaevals and more cross over into all sorts of games - Ancient Egyptians in Sci Fi (Stargateish), Crusaders against undead, African tribesmen in fantasy right up tp current, near future and wars yet to come.  My Martians (Parroom) have invaded earth in ancient times, moddle ages, victorian period.  That said I do have some armies boxed and seldom used.  Not because I cannot see a use but because of lack of storage space.  And, of course, Doctor Who, dinosaurs and Zombies appear anywhere that the grandchildren or I feel like.

My WW2 collection spans models from the 1960s to the present day, my fantasy figures from the 1970s onwards, other collections generally span the decades with very few exceptions (Maxiliian Expedition, Indian Mutiny and Pirates spring to mind).  I mix figures from from all time periods of history and manufacture as required.

Only constraint is my imagination and that of the children and grandchildren.

[syrinx0]

Completed projects (usually armies) that I have not used for years eventually get sold. My painted skirmish & RPG miniatures so far have made the cut no matter their age.  As my miniature gaming frequency seems to be decreasing every year that those may get thinned out soon too.

[jon_1066]

I don't have much that could be considered mature.  The WW2 6 mm stuff is mature in the sense that I have two sides that can play a variety of scenarios in NW Europe between British and Germans but ...  it is just a standard British Infantry battalion and a standard German one.  What about German falschirmjaegers? British airborne? British commandoes? US troops? Different supports?  How many panzer IVs is enough? What about other theatres and times?  Anything WW2 can never be considered mature as there is always something you can add to it.

I'd say the same with Napoleonics.  So many combatant nations, troops types, different units, uniform variation over time, theatres, scenery, etc.  It may be mature but can always be added to even for a colossal collection.

A smaller war or more uniform set of combatants could be considered done.  eg US Civil War is generally blue vs grey with a few colourful units chucked in early in the war (or ragged ones towards the end). 

Again though once you have the forces there are many different game scales and rule sets you can explore.  So those 6 mm WW2 could be used at company level, battalion level, brigade level, divisional level or even at army level.  I just need to paint a few half tracks and I have everything needed for a few scenarios from the game Eisenhower.

I think this is why I like historicals so much.  Once you have the forces painted then there is almost infinite variety.  You are not tied to a particular rule set from a particular manufacturer that is being constantly updated and altered.  The figures do not go out of date.  With a bit more imagination I guess the fantasy stuff and sci fi I have could be adapted to various rule sets but I find I don't want to have to create all that background fluff.  For history there is just loads of source material.

[Freddy]

To me projects never mature, making them game-ready is a great milestone, but after that they keep growing, they more likely intermingle or spawn side projects. Being the same scale helps a lot in this, there are lots of bitz I can use for 2-3 projects.

[Easy E]

I am still using the miniatures I first bought in 1988 or so!  Eldar pirates from GW if anyone is interested.  They took the field last year for several games of Kill Team.  However, I have a lot of generic rulesets, periods, and armies to go with them.

For example, I have used my All Quiet on the Martian Front Tripods for generic Sci-fi rules frequently.   

[v_lazy_dragon]

I usually find that when I run out of things that I want to buy/add/develop on a project I lose interest and end selling it