Do Over!!!

[Mr. White]

An idea came up over in the "What are we doing here?" thread that I'd like to explore a little. Knowing what you know now, how would you engage with the hobby if you were to start over. Not as a bright-eyed teen, but whatever age you are know with all your experience. All your hobby stuff went up in a fire. Nothing was saved. How deep do you get back in?

For me, my first thought would be the dread at the cost of rebuying all the paints! That first barrier might give me pause.

But, let's say I pushed through and committed to get back involved. Which, tbh, is highly likely. Would it be to the same level? 20RUBs of models and terrain? No, I don't think I would. I probably don't need 10 Blood Bowl teams, for example. I have painted teams I've never used.

I think I would try to keep everything down to a 3 RUB collection. Easy to store and would be pretty timely to complete so I could be back to the feeling of "mature" projects sooner rather than later. I'd probably do something like this:

2 RUBs - 15 or 10mm Medievals/Fantasy - I'd probably source my new collection of these sort of models from Copplestones Barbarica, Wiglaf, and the new Hornblower from Northstar. Going smaller should allow be to store two Lion/Dragon Rampant warbands in one RUB along with some other critters and characters for other skirmish based rulesets like RoSD or FFoL or revised Ronin or something. One RUB for the unit/character models. The second RUB for the terrain.

1 RUB - 28mm odds and ends - Despite being more into independent games and models, Blood Bowl will always have a seat at my hobby table. It's what got me into this mess in the late 80s and my area has a very strong tournament and league scene so I can always get a game in. The decision would be to either just buy one team that I favor or just buy whatever starter is available at that time and stick to those two teams only... no matter if they're current favorites or not. I'll learn to enjoy their strengths and weaknesses. This 3rd RUB would also have the occasional warband/posse/gang whatever for other games that other people host. Games that I wouldn't look to build out a table for. Games like Dracula's America, Silver Bayonet, or Burrows and Badgers. So, this would be a RUB basically giving me an "in" to play games others organize.

Outside of those three, I'd probably spend a fortune to get all the Classic Dungeonquest boxes. Coming up out of the 80s, the oldhammer flavour is one I enjoy. Currently that's satisfied through my post apoc collection that is centered around the Dark Future 20mm models. If that were all gone, and no way would I rebuild, I'd just get DungeonQuest and paint up those handful of 80s citadel fantasy models.

So, yeah, I think that'd be it.

TBH, it's quite enticing to think about.

I don't think I'd start selling off or pare down to that now, but the thought of a do over and staying smaller in scope does appeal.

So, how much are you back in for on a do over?

[v_lazy_dragon]

It's a good question, and one I've pondered a few times... I'm a 'sole scale' gamer after 1 point about 10 years ago when I had near identical 'stuff' in 20mm, 28mm and 40mm... (Ooops!)
I stuck with 28mm as it was the one I was most heavily invested in, particularly in terms of scenery (on that note I try to keep to one 'universal' set of scenery that works with all my projects).

I might be tempted to switch to 15mm (or atleast chunky 18mm's) or maybe 20mm's for the better space usage.. .I think though that'd still end up back where I am in terms of 28mm, autumnal/fall scenery. I'd probably focus more on just one or two periods with really complimentary terrain, and maybe frame my purchases better - knowing I struggle to get uniform units done and I really dislike painting horses...

[Dice Roller]

Simple.
Since I can't buy it all again and have it painted instantly, what I would do is start with whatever it is that I fancied a game of. In whatever scale I fancied doing it in.
And since that can change then at this moment in time I couldn't say exactly what that would be, but that's how I'd go about it.
Then, like the old collection, I'd add new figures, and new periods as the mood and motivation took me. What's the rush?

[Tactalvanic]

I might drop down a scale, 10 or 15mm, But would be just small party games eg 5 parsecs/frostrgrave etc. rather than mass battle etc..

choose a sci fi, fantasy and maybe historical style skirmish rules set and collect accordingly.

Have enough for the necessary monster encounters etc, and done.

It would be enough. Especially if I had lost all of it.

Even if insurance covered some of loss, I would not be investing back into the same collection I have now with the idea of like for like replacement.

No pressure no rush, plenty of other things going on.

[Sunjester]

20RUBs of models and terrain?

Sorry, are you a beginner?

Seriously, I would not rush in to replace everything with like for like. Most of my collection is 28mm, yeah OK, apart from all the 10mm stuff. I would probably stay with 10mm for massed battles and maybe drop down to 18mm/15mm for skirmish games. Which ever scale I went for, I'd concentrate on stuff for games I, and my regular gaming groups, are playing now.

[Dolnikan]

Stupid question, but what's a RUB?

If I were to fully start over, that would be pretty awful. Of course, the minis that I bought for projects I never completed won't be bought at all, but I would probably get to buying, assembling, and painting again. But this time, I would avoid getting such a huge backlog! And I would focus on the things that I know I enjoy painting and no longer get the things that seemed fun at the time but actually weren't that much fun at all.

[Fat Wally]

Really Useful Boxes

[Fat Wally]

I am solely a 15mm gamer of AWI, SYW, ACW and some WW2, with most buildings 10mm.

If I were to start again I would probably go 10mm for figures AND buildings.

[Khusru2]

I would give 25mm ancients a miss and collect 6mm armies. I have some already in 6mm along with Napoleonic, renaissance and WW2.
I would keep the 28mm skirmish/fantasy/sci-fi collections and upscale my 15mm Wild West to 28mm.

[FifteensAway]

I'd pick one main period, two minor periods - and keep the collections for all three 'in bounds' rather than go overboard.  Stick with same rules, Rank and File and Fistful of Lead.

American Revolution, Old West, and probably a "pulpy" Colonial setup.  And call it good. 

Maximum of 1,000 figures for first, and max of 500 each for the other two - and try, very hard, to keep the numbers well below that.

That would be more than enough. 

[jon_1066]

I would do something different.  I couldn’t face replacing like for like so it would be Samurai in 10 mm, WW2 in 28 mm and probably Frostrgrave.

[robh]

10 to 15 years ago I would have said restart big battle Napoleonics, Renaissance and Ancients but in 6mm rather than 15mm to match my WW2; one set of scenics and much easier storage. I would probably also not bother getting back into 28mm apart from very small Gothic Horror and Congo RPG-lite collections. Definitely 28mm Fantasy and SciFi/PostApoc would be abandoned.

At my age now, I would walk away from the wargaming hobby completely and stick to painting 1/9th scale busts or 75mm figurines, which is what I mainly do these days anyway

[ithoriel]

I'm pretty sure I'd dump tabletop wargaming and go over to reading, boardgames and computer games which are my main pursuits these days anyway.

If nothing else my kids would be pleased to have less clutter to sort through when I'm gone.

[Hobgoblin]

I know exactly what I would do. I'd buy a black spray can or Pebeo gesso for undercoating,  some MDF or acrylic bases, the Zorn palette (black, white, yellow ochre and vermillion), plus a bright blue and three metallics (steel, silver, bronze) from Vallejo. And then I'd begin with small groups of miniatures painted as opponents to each other. I'd probably start with some Nick Lund classics from Forlorn Hope (dwarfs and goblins, probably) or some Essex or Tin Soldier UK miniatures, and then gradually buy more as I completed them.

The aim would be to get some Song of Blades-type skirmish forces done fairly quickly, but I'd base most things on 20mm squares so that they could easily be bluetacked to DBA/HOTT bases for massed battles.

I reckon I could get going on £50, give or take a couple of good brushes.

[dwbullock]

Create a budget and 100% stick with it.  Honest.  No fingers crossed.

Then when I broke that budget on day one, I'd probably start a vicious cycle.