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.