First, head over to the AWI page link above and check out the post at the bottom of the page (May 23, 2014).
Resolve grows stronger still. It is certain that the AWI, the Old West, and The Steeplechase will stay in my collection. The French and Indian War isn't leaving and still is priority one for getting painted this year. The Mountain Men are going to be folded into the Old West and stick around since it is a pretty small group of figures. After that, everything is on the table. Most likely I will scavenge through all of the other periods for items I want to keep for one reason or another but primarily because it is useful in the periods I am keeping. And then, at some point, much of the rest will get sold off. Still possible some of the other periods will stay. But going forward the periods listed earlier will get all of my miniature hobby focus. It feels good to have settled on this decision. The only thing still swirling around undecided is what period to keep that relates to the Steeplechase to some degree, most likely that will be the Boxers since it is a relatively small collection.
On the still to buy front - a bunch of fences from Musket Miniatures, some roads from the former Scenic Effects (under a new company now), some more rail cars from Peter Pig through the local store to round out my Old West trains. One more order from Blue Moon to finish off the Mountain Men. And, maybe - big maybe, an order for some stuff from Donnington for my castle, if it stays. Robin Hood and the Musketeers are the most likely periods to hang around as "distractions."
So, what is in the good-bye quay: Vikings, Pirates, Indian Mutiny, American Civil War, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, and French Foreign Legion. The ACW and Pirates have lots of painted figures so have higher value than the others. That big sell off is out there in the future at some unknown point - just in case.
Where playing with toy soldiers is the whole point - and sharing the joy of doing so. And keeping a record of what's been done and what is still awaiting completion. A note of caution for those unfamiliar: this activity can be remarkably addictive and take over your free time. Well, now wait a minute, it's so much fun that shouldn't be a problem. Oh, that's right. It's not! (title with asterisk in bar below is newest or most recent modification to a Page topic)
Friday, May 23, 2014
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Moving Forward by Stepping Back
So, here is my current thinking on the whole reducing the miniatures collection:
One primary period, two smaller subsidiary periods, and two or three considerably smaller 'disctraction' periods.
Picking the primary period is really easy - American Revolution. The other periods are a bit harder but if I use something I mentioned many posts ago then Old West certainly is on that short list based on how often I've posted on that page (even more than on the AWI but the revolution wins because it allows line of battle games which I've recently realized is my core interest). Then comes the Steeplechase under that method of selection. The big down side here is that none of the figures for those three periods are painted yet. The upside is that the two subsidiary options provide a wide range of scenario diversity.
Of course, if I start selling stuff off then the painted stuff has the best return value. Selling the ACW, while a little heart wrenching, is realizable - I love to read about the battles but I got into gaming it based on groupthink rather than real personal choice. I do have to consider, however, that ACW is the other strong line of battle period I own. Pirates was a spur of the moment idea that grew to absurd proportions. However, it is certainly a possible distraction period where I would select a certain portion of the collection to keep and sell off the rest. The other large group of painted figures is for the French and Indian War and that is a solid interest but too large for a distraction period - and is supposed to be this years primary miniatures focus that has been seriously interrupted by an AWI redesign that started with the Polly Oliver re-release. Maybe, just maybe, this can be considered a sub-set of the AWI since it is so closely allied in time and many of the figures are interchangeable to one degree or another.
Continuing with the number of posts per period's page, there are four contenders for distractionary periods - Robin Hood, Musketeers, Indian Mutiny, and Boxer Rebellion. If I hold hard to the number of figures in the collection then that leaves the first two but, naturally, I can keep just part of a collection rather than the whole.
Other considerations are period and geographic diversity. As in, to select for other periods of history and other geographic regions? Or, do I plumb for as much homogeneous time and geography as possible to allow easy exchange of figures from one period to another?
For certain sure, decision time draws closer and closer. If I make it to the one major, two subsidiary, and three minor periods that means I cut the number of periods I have in half. And that, over time, means more use of what I choose to keep.
One primary period, two smaller subsidiary periods, and two or three considerably smaller 'disctraction' periods.
Picking the primary period is really easy - American Revolution. The other periods are a bit harder but if I use something I mentioned many posts ago then Old West certainly is on that short list based on how often I've posted on that page (even more than on the AWI but the revolution wins because it allows line of battle games which I've recently realized is my core interest). Then comes the Steeplechase under that method of selection. The big down side here is that none of the figures for those three periods are painted yet. The upside is that the two subsidiary options provide a wide range of scenario diversity.
Of course, if I start selling stuff off then the painted stuff has the best return value. Selling the ACW, while a little heart wrenching, is realizable - I love to read about the battles but I got into gaming it based on groupthink rather than real personal choice. I do have to consider, however, that ACW is the other strong line of battle period I own. Pirates was a spur of the moment idea that grew to absurd proportions. However, it is certainly a possible distraction period where I would select a certain portion of the collection to keep and sell off the rest. The other large group of painted figures is for the French and Indian War and that is a solid interest but too large for a distraction period - and is supposed to be this years primary miniatures focus that has been seriously interrupted by an AWI redesign that started with the Polly Oliver re-release. Maybe, just maybe, this can be considered a sub-set of the AWI since it is so closely allied in time and many of the figures are interchangeable to one degree or another.
Continuing with the number of posts per period's page, there are four contenders for distractionary periods - Robin Hood, Musketeers, Indian Mutiny, and Boxer Rebellion. If I hold hard to the number of figures in the collection then that leaves the first two but, naturally, I can keep just part of a collection rather than the whole.
Other considerations are period and geographic diversity. As in, to select for other periods of history and other geographic regions? Or, do I plumb for as much homogeneous time and geography as possible to allow easy exchange of figures from one period to another?
For certain sure, decision time draws closer and closer. If I make it to the one major, two subsidiary, and three minor periods that means I cut the number of periods I have in half. And that, over time, means more use of what I choose to keep.
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