What would you do if you had to start over?

[LeadAsbestos]

I'd do something else.

[carlos13th]

I would be a lot more focused and buy a lot less. Focus more on skirmish level games and avoid getting a bunch ofbnew stuff before I have even started painting the last project. I enjoy it though so I wouldn't give it up enterly.

[joroas]

I would concentrate on one area, such as Spain or North Africa, open enough for a variety of eras but using only one generic board, scale and scenery.  Rules would need to be reduced to one set per period.

[warlord frod]

If I were to loose it all it would be impossible to rebuild my collection amassed over 45 years. As someone else said I could not possibly paint that many figs at my age and to replace the collectible stuff would be cost prohibitive. If it were possible I would because I so enjoy this hobby.  Collecting painting and gaming with my collection has provided much joy. I have many friendships developed through the hobby and so I would absolutely do it all over again. 

If I could go back in time and start again there are a few things I would do differently. I would have started collecting the old stuff sooner (especially Britians)   I would never paint figs for others because I did that with 15mm Napoleonics for example and never painted my own. (I eventually sold them all realizing I would never get them painted) and lastly I would have bought into the smaller scales sooner so that my large armies would not take up as much space. Granted I do prefer the larger scales but with thousands of figs it takes up a lot of space. 

[Hammers]

I'd take up crocheting, assuming fellow crocheteers do not get worked up about Yarns Workhops latest idiosyncrasies on *their* forums the way people do here.

[zorg]

If I had to start afresh, and it was the early nineties again, I'd do something else. The only game in town back then was Warhammer, and I wouldn't want to spend that much money on that mediocre a game again. I'd rather spend my time working out, or learning a language.

If it was today, and I had access to all these glorious rulesets we have available, I'd concentrate on two projects, with versatile and simple rules, and buy and paint exclusively for them. Probably one scifi game (starships, probably), and something groundbased (either a scifi skirmish, or something like Dragon Rampant).

[Drachenklinge]

Well, if it was about jumping back in time ... I sure as hell will write down a few lottery numbers from throughout variuos decades (just in case) and start all over... REALLY big this time. 

[Imp522]

I meant it as in you had a collection then didn't.

Good thoughts here and gives me some things to ponder.

@ Elbows, gut punch, I'm going with the steel toed boot to the nuts.

I sadly lost my entire 30 year collection in December last year.Trying to figure out what and where to go with this hobby.

[Onebigriver]

I sadly lost my entire 30 year collection in December last year.Trying to figure out what and where to go with this hobby.

Ouch. Was it a burglary?
Is there a period you fancied doing but never bought or bought only a few figures for? I'd start there.

[jon_1066]

If I lost it all then I would probably just change tack.  So rather than Dragon Rampant with old Citadel lead I would probably start in on Chain of Command with WWII Germans and Brits.  I would also probably go with a Perry plastic Wars of the Roses or Hundred Years War army to use with Lion Rampant.

I certainly wouldn't want to replace the lost lead directly since to repaint the figures would be soul destroying - each one a reminder of what you have lost.

[sukhe_bator]

I wouldn't want to replace stuff I'd lost, but I'd certainly mourn all the lost work in conversions and scratchbuilds.
If I had to start over I'd certainly try LoTR in 15mm using some excellent historical proxies and 25mm fantasy for the monsters. It would give me more space for epic scale mass battles. I'd also go the way of others and do smaller scale Medieval/Westeros in 25mm using the excellent plastics that are available these days.
I'd also try therapy to curb the butterfly effect and not waste money and time on a new lead mountain.

[FramFramson]

I doubt I'd restart as well. Minis is one thing, but having to hand-build all that terrain again would be an even bigger coffin nail.

I wouldn't say it was absolutely out of the question to start again with a small skirmish game in a new genre, but it'd be less likely than not.

[Silent Invader]

I'm in a constant cycle of 'starting over': if I lose interest in a project I tend to recycle, sell or dump it. Thus I have a relatively small mini collection (if I had to guess, about 300-400 with a lead/plastic pile of 100-200: about 500 all in). In fact the biggest carry over is terrain, which seems a lot harder to sell and so I tend to hang on to it for recycling rather than just dumping.

I would add that I don't have to, I choose to.  I can't imagine that I'd lose the urge to continue but if I did, so be it: I'd certainly feel no obligation to pursue a hobby if I was no longer enjoying it. 

[Dr. The Viking]

If Reverse Santa came by and made my collection disappear I would probably start it all over again.

That said, I do have a lot of stuff that I wish I could get rid off... but the thing is - the work involved with selling stuff on the net is
too much for what I can get. And throwing it out directly does not seem a good option either.

[Conquistador]

Have a plan on paper.  Refer to it before buying anything!  "Will this buy directly achieve my plan," would be  a key decision maker.

Three "Rules of Focus" would power the implementation of this plan.

The first two aspects are interlocked but .

1)  Focus on limiting genres/eras.  

Historical - Aerial 1914 - 1973, possibly a "Linear Warfare" era army or two but not guaranteed.

Fantasy - mass battles reminiscent of LOTR plus some Dungeon Crawl/FRPG characters/games;

Wow, I just realized SF would need total re-tooling but planning before buying would be critical. TBD obviously.


2)  Focus on smaller size/larger scale figures using fast playing rules.

Historical - Aerial 3mm; Air War C21 and Air War 1918 rules.

Fantasy - 15mm (because replacing all those 25mm Der Kriegspieler, 1970s Ral Partha would be incredibly painful and costly,); THW rules.

Science Fiction - Company to Battalion 6mm combined arms including Power Armor but no Mechas for battles with some 15mm for Special Ops/Skirmish (because replacing 25/30mm FGU Space Marine aliens/Galactic Grenadiers would essentially be impossible,); Possibly THW rules.

Historical - 15mm and 25mm Gladiators using THW rules.

VSF - (Tarzan, Venus, possibly Tibet) 15mm.  IHMN rules.


3)  Focus on intentional whole unit buying instead of past practices of trying to accumulate small pieces of the plan.  Less armies, more complete and more coherent armies.

So much would not be re-built!