How many figures in a collection? Is there a 'right' number? Avoiding too many?

[FifteensAway]

I posted the below in the Why So Many Figures thread and am reposting here in a new thread based on a response in that thread and the opening of the post, some edits here and some additional text:

Not sure if this should be in this thread or if a new one should be started - and I fully realize there is no specific 'right' answer, but a carefully considered and thoughtful answer might be of great value to some.

And the question is what is the ideal number of figures to have in a collection?  And it does matter.

Case in point, yesterday I ran an AWI game using Rank and File for five players and we had just shy of 500 15mm figures on a 5' x 6' table.  That didn't quite crowd the table but it did provide some traffic jam issues but as intended, I wanted to force the players to have to do some maneuvering before engaging in combat and it seemed to work.

I would say the number of figures in that game was an upper limit of what can be put on that much table space for that size figure, for smaller figures, perhaps higher numbers, for larger figures, smaller numbers.  And, of course, the number may vary for someone with regular access to larger tables - or smaller tables if that is all that is available.  So I guess the number is relative to table size.  So maybe keep the 5' x 6' table for the purposes of discussion.

And the way it relates here is this: if people have a good idea of the upper reaches of a particular sub-collection for a specific historical period (may still apply to fantasy and sci-fi but I am focusing on historical) maybe that will provide a broad guide of how many figures is too many figures to collect for a given period - keeping in mind available table size for regular play.  Obviously, for conventions and other special events, there may be much larger tables available.  But how many of us would have adjusted what we own if there was such a 'magic number'?  And, again, it matters and can be discussed despite the slippery element of pinning down such a number.  Think of it as more of a broad guide versus a hard and fast rule.

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Part of why I have so many figures is in times past I could count on 8-16 players in a game on 16' tables.  No where near as many players available on a regular basis anymore and table size is more in the range mentioned above but can sometimes double the table size.  I suspect if I had a more well-defined 'ideal number of figures' to shoot for when I got started I'd probably have somewhat less than half of what I do now, maybe only a third; still be a lot of figures but somewhat more reasonable.  And, of course, my enthusiasm far outstripped the realities of getting that many figures painted - and this from someone who has painted 1,000+ figures for four years running. 
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So, understanding there is no perfect number or answer, there can still be a reasonable range that works most of the time for most people.  The 500 number above was for a battle level game, 26 battalions in five bridges in an attack on a fortified position scenario.  Had it been a meeting engagement with more open terrain, perhaps 600 figures would still have been workable by adding a sixth brigade for a more balanced scenario. 

I just believe knowing a number, or a limited range, will help people to stay in bounds rather than going too far overboard - something I've done too many times.  Maybe this discussion will save some of us some money and some wasted effort on the painting front - at least in the sense of we will never get even half the painted figures into a game; imagine having 2,000 figures for that above game that only needed 500-600 given consistently available table size.  Sure, a little extra for variety, but quadruple what fits on available space goes beyond variety and deep into excessive.

My collection, far, far into the excessive, can be a very stark cautionary tale.

Your well considered, thoughtful responses on this side of the equation of 'so many figures' appreciated.

[Moriarty]

Sorry, you lost me at ‘thoughtful and well considered’ :-)
I plan in advance, usually, and end up with the number I need for the purpose - two ‘typical’ field armies for the Austria-Turkish war of the 1730’s; three DBA armies to cover those of the 1066 campaign. Figure size is commensurate to the size of the planned battlefield, on a 6x4 or 8x4 table (although I have now eschewed ‘braille scales).
Occasionally I’ll add to the plan for specific scenarios, for example 18th century boat men for river crossings.

[Michi]

First of all to answer is the question what do you consider "a collection".
A buyer of antiques told me he isn't a collector, because the range and variety of pieces of interest for him is indefinite. Therefore he would't dare to talk of a "collection".
Following this results in your own definition of possible collectible scope.

"28mm WW2 British" is rather indefinite, due to a vast number of theatres, manufacturers, etc.
"An entire battalion of French voltigeurs for Waterloo in 15mm" is very clearly defined.

If we are talking about the complete number of miniatures in one's possession, there won't be a consent answer, though. Why do you ask?

[Dubar]

When you ask yourself "Why did I buy so many figures?", then you've hit the number.

I've got too many wild west, medieval, and pulp figures, I'll never get around to painting them.

[HerbertTarkel]

The number of figures in any given collection = “yes”. 

[FierceKitty]

I suppose if in two years I'm not tempted to get a force out of the cupboard, it might be said not to be earning its pay.

[Elbows]

I think you more or less identified your own answer in your post.

When you have too many figures (or duplicates of units) that they'll never be fielded on a table in a single game...everything else is actual wasted time (a rather precious commodity for most of us I'm sure).  Sometimes we get swept away with..."wouldn't it be cool to see X"...and the answer is yes, but not at the cost of wasting time/money.

Now some people let trivial minutia push them past this.  While considering starting some of the Warlord 'Epic' civil war stuff, I told my buddy...we're not playing historical games where units with a certain flag will be excluded because "technically the 32nd Louisiana Rifles wasn't here...", etc.  While that attention to detail is nice/fun, I'm not going to paint new regiments everytime we fight a certain battle because a single flag on a 12mm figure doesn't match!

I mentioned in the other thread, you often see comically large Warhammer armies, where guys have 20-30 of the same tank...in a game where you never field more than 3-4 of that specific tank.  To me that's a collossal waste of time/money/energy...just for some cool internet picture points. 

[ithoriel]

While there is breath in my body, money in my bank account and space in my house I reserve the right to collect as many figures as I wish without regard to whether they will be painted or played with.

I am a planner of and collector for projects that may or may not come to fruition. That's my hobby.

Gaming is a whole other thing.

How many is too many? I tell you, if I ever get there.

[FifteensAway]

By collection, I mean for a specific period, not the whole of one's collection of miniatures.  So, say for the AWI as in the example.

[Michi]

By collection, I mean for a specific period, not the whole of one's collection of miniatures.  So, say for the AWI as in the example.

If you limit AWI to a certain scale, say 15mm, and have an army size in mind, then I'd say that the maximum number of miniatures/units for the scenarios/campaigns you want to play plus reserves/alternatives, which means to me easily double the maximum number you would need.
In my terms: If I want to play a squad in 28mm, I'd rather collect a platoon equivalent of miniatures. Does that make sense?

[AKULA]

By collection, I mean for a specific period, not the whole of one's collection of miniatures.  So, say for the AWI as in the example.

Using AWI as an example, the Battle of Brandywine in 28mm (both armies) is on my todo list at a troop scale of c1:20

Might need a bigger table than 6' x 5' though 
 

[Citizen Sade]

Keep it manageable with Guildford Courthouse in 28mm at 1:10?

[carlos marighela]

The answer is probably 'never enough' as you wil always find more permutations you wish to cover.

The typical wargaming number is what ever you have arrived at before, inevitably, your interest moves to another project/ theme/ 'collection'.

[HerbertTarkel]

As with bikes, and guitars, the answer is inevitably “n+1, where ‘n’ is the current number of things owned” 

Although there is another formula, which is n+1(not to exceed level of wife’s tolerance)

[Harry Faversham]

'Traffic jams' sorting them out and getting everyone to where you need e'm...
it's wot sorted out the Greats from the also rans!