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Taking Inventory; Hobby "Disaster"


Fairbanks

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I'm not exactly the greatest/fastest painter, elite tournament gamer/game breaking list-builder, or even have the biggest or largest hobby collection. I tend to minimize buying big models and almost never buy repeat models of the same unit. Hell, as of late, I've made it a habit of only buying Two-Player Boxes, then never proceeding to build them. There's still a sizable collection of models that haven't been built yet, including some that I bought as far back as the start of my collecting project (more on that another day).

Every year, I take roughly one-two weeks to set out and take inventory of every model in my Age of Sigmar hobby collection, and re-evaluate where I want each army to go/stand. Here's all of it, sitting on a queen sized bed, in all it's poorly stored and unbuilt glory:

inv.jpg.381184a757a8109107bdf3919cecfb1d.jpg

Yes, it's a lot to cover. I may even share it on this here blog when it's finished. I say "When" because it was progressing smoothly until last Friday night, when my wife woke me at 1:30 in the morning to let me know that she was pretty certain that her water just broke. Eighteen hours later, our two beautiful "Hobby Ruiners*" were born, taken to the NICU, and we've been stuck here at the hospital since (helps to get a sleeping room, and then be snowed in during the biggest snowfall here in over three decades). We're hoping to take one home tomorrow and another a day later, and there's a part of me that's been both longing for hobby time again, and feels a pit of guilt that I could ever want to hobby instead of caring for their precious little souls.

For now, au revoir Hobby Time!

* I kid, I love them considerably more than 75,000 points of plastic army dudes.

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Give it 5 years or so and you can start to train them in battle tactics and basic painting theory. 

Give it 8-13 years and they can start supervised building of their own legions

Give it 15-20 years and you should have a pair of ultimate generals able to not only build and paint you through your insanely huge (after another X number of years growing it) backlog; but also able to have a pair of serfs to carry the army to the game venue and then a pair of generals advisers for the battle.

 

 

Taking stock in the hobby is a good thing, its ever so easy to start the year "clean" and finish with a mountain of plastic untouched. Not only can clearing out free up some hobby space and money, its mentally cleansing and I find it can reinvigorate the drive to get other stuff done because now you've not got the mountain of guilt sitting of you. Plus the less you have unbuilt the more each finished item counts as finishing things.

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4 hours ago, hughwyeth said:

That WHFB sealed box tho!

I have had that one for a good five years ago when I was just starting this whole collecting thing. I thought it would be a good place to start for both Empire and Greenskins. But then I got an Empire army on the cheap, and the previously opened Fifth Ed Box I bought, (check the pictures before you buy), landed me a smattering of Orc Boy parts that kind of completed that army, so I’ve just been hanging on to it.

2 hours ago, Overread said:

Give it 5 years or so and you can start to train them in battle tactics and basic painting theory. 

Give it 8-13 years and they can start supervised building of their own legions

Give it 15-20 years and you should have a pair of ultimate generals able to not only build and paint you through your insanely huge (after another X number of years growing it) backlog; but also able to have a pair of serfs to carry the army to the game venue and then a pair of generals advisers for the battle.

And in 30 years, one of them will become the President of San Marcos.

53310651-6BF3-4218-9BA6-244530E582CA.jpeg.b060882d0042bde6701b5adbd5b4f7d4.jpeg
 

2 hours ago, Overread said:

Taking stock in the hobby is a good thing, its ever so easy to start the year "clean" and finish with a mountain of plastic untouched. Not only can clearing out free up some hobby space and money, its mentally cleansing and I find it can reinvigorate the drive to get other stuff done because now you've not got the mountain of guilt sitting of you. Plus the less you have unbuilt the more each finished item counts as finishing things.

I could not have said it better myself. It’s also a great opportunity to get everything down on a spreadsheet for ease of tracking. On what I’ve done, I found that between last year’s inventory and recording my purchases through 2019, it has lined up exactly.

I also know what armies I need to add to, or watch for new stuff from (Fyreslayers, IDK, OBR), what I don’t need to add to (SCE is pretty full minus a big thing, Cities is somewhere around 12K with all the ‘counts as’, Skaven and STD are among those above 3K, etc), what models/units I might be missing, what’s close to a core number (Maggotkin and DoK are both near the nice goal of 2000pts), and what I can fleece without creating an army hole (ex. There’s somewhere upward of 120 Clanrats).

Happy Hobbying!

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I just had a day off this monday, which i used to "play puppets" with my elder hobby ruiner. She was sitting at the table playing with her dolls, i was sitting there painting mine and we had a wonderful 4 hours of joint enjoyment ;) she's just about to turn 5, so you don't have to wait forever. She also demanded me to paint a gryphhound for her in her favorite colors two years ago, my wife couldn't deny me the painting time till it was done either :D

Edited by Lucur
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20 years ago I moved to a new city with my wife and two young’uns (4 y/o and 6 m/o) to start a new job. Money was tight, and I was needed at home evenings and weekends, and that’s when I returned to painting my little plastic soldiers after a five year hiatus.

It was actually pretty productive, hobby-wise. I didn’t play at all, but got a lot of painting and conversion time in, and was always around my girls.

Hobby-wise it was a blessing in disguise... I had enough time to practice painting, enter a GD and win a Slayer Sword.

So... I agree with the people who say pick your favourite army or two and purge some stuff. Put the money away for your kids, maybe a bit towards a rainy day fund for growing your army. Have a dedicated painting table, even if it’s just a small fold-up TV tray, so you can hobby in those short breaks between baby naps and feedings. 

And do not feel guilt (unless you’re ignoring the wife and kids :) ). Humans need mental health breaks. Painting is a “zen” thing for me, helps me relax and tune out the challenges of being an adult for a while. As long as you’re not ignoring your family, it’s good for them too because you’ll be happier and calmer in the long run. 

I just moved into a smaller home last month, and even though I’ve got boxes to unpack still for some rooms, I desperately need painting time to de-stress after all the commotion. So I’m stealing it when I can, even just assembling models on the couch. Life’s too short to give up hobbies completely.

Good luck!

Edited by Ravenborn
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Let me also add my congratulations!  Being a parent is hands down the most rewarding thing!  And when you start being able to hobby with your kids is a truely amazing moment.  My daughter (age 4) shows everyone who comes to the house her Tomb Banshee she painted and says she wants to paint just like daddy!

Edited by Koradrel of Chrace
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