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It occurs to me I've been doing this hobby for just over two decades now. Whilst I've never given much thought to quitting, I don't think I would have imagined that I'd still be painting miniature fantasy/sci-fi soldiers at the age of 34. When do you think you'll stop?

By "the hobby", I mean collecting, modelling, painting and gaming with miniature soldiers of any variety. I am not referring to any computer game equivalent that is or may become available.

You've left out the 'I have no idea' option. That's me. Im enjoying the hobby now, and im getting more games than i used to, so it's all good. What i probably will do i stop buying models at some point, but keep gaming, but other than that I guess i'll keep going get bored. When that will be, I have no idea.

As you wish I've added an option for "I've no idea"

I've been playing with my father starting me with little plastic soldiers and I do not think I'll ever stop. as it gets more advanced, I'll be there for the long haul. My biggest fear is that everything goes to pre-painted minis with no slae of unpainted to the public... that would be disasterous for me as I love building and painting just as much.

I've no idea how the pre-painted minis industry works, but surely that's got to be fairly labour intensive and therefore not worth the wage costs, even if they outsourced to China/India?

But yes, it would be turn off.

I'll still have the models and the books forever I assume, however buying more somewhat directly relates to being able to play with them, thus requiring other players around me.

I really like playing anything tabletop. The notion of while I can plan for everything and make a list to be the best it can be, If i keep rolling 1's for, say, my railguns (did that one game :( ) then it really doesn't matter.

Randomness is one of the main reasons I enjoy playing. It's also one of the main reasons I dislike playing the same person with the same army a lot.

FOREVER!!! lol

Well i will love this hobby till its bankrupt if that ever happens..im a perm member

xVoid

Been at it for 22 years, worked for GW no less than 3 times, and this week alone have spent £34 on it.

Yeah, looks like being life long for me!

Probably forever. Even if I don't have the money, I'll keep my stuff. So probably forever, yeah

At this point, they can have my paint brush and X-acto when they pry them out of my cold, dead fingers!

I figure I'm in this for the long haul. There are so many games, so many models, just so many ways to enjoy this hobby that I can't see myself getting bored of it any time soon.

I think I will contine at least the next 20 years, but probobly longer. It is my favorite hobby now, and I cannot see that changing.

Well I'm personally new to the hobby (but I did read a lot about the background & stuff) so I have the ''I'm here for the long haul, ask me again in 20 years'' feeling

When I retire I will launch the biggest, longest campaign game ever.

sadly never

Well, I've given up on 40k partially because of the new rules, and mostly because of the local group. I'm becoming rapidly disenchanted with 8th edition Fantasy.

Granted, I'll always be interested in Battletech as long as it's around though.

I think, for me, it's less a matter of when I'll quit as how deeply I'll be involved at any given time. Regular play isn't really an option for me right now, but I'd like that to change in the future. I paint at a snail's pace, so there's still a backlog of naked gray models to keep me busy for a loooong time, even if I don't have the funds to expand my armies beyond their current size. I've been living on next to nothing for some time now and I haven't resorted to selling off my models, yet, so I don't foresee that terrible fate, either. Before I managed to get my first models, I futzed around with recycled crap and made terrain.

At some point I'll be gaming, at others I'll be painting and/or modeling, and I'll occasionally have periods during which I do neither. Who knows, I may move from GW to other companies' games and models. I may have nowhere to play and shift towards dioramas and military models for a bit. I can't imagine myself dropping this type of hobby all together, though. Even if it gets put on the back burner every now and again, it's simply a temporary lull, not "quitting" and "returning."

I have been gaming for over 30 years and will probably be playing the day I die.

I've been building and painting models for as long as I can remember. I will probably continue building and painting them as long as I have working hands and eyes.

I don't know how long I'll continue with GW. Mostly that depends on how well their pricing is balanced out by their quality. Lately it has seemed to me that they've been raising prices faster than they have improved their quality. My work has also involved moving back and forth across the Pacific ocean every 3-4 years, and shipping entire armies so they don't get broken, all the bitz I'm hoping to use in future models, airbrush, compressor, etc is starting to get old. Especially since these last 3 years I've lived within travelling distance of a Japanese GW shop and though I frequently pop in there I haven't bothered to play a game this whole time.

I'm going back to the US in a few months and we'll see if that doesn't reignite my interest. That is, if I can find a way to ship my beastmen without getting all their lovely spears snapped off.

I put down 5 - 10 years however I've just found out that the baby that me and misses is expecting is going to be a boy so that'll give me somebody to introduce to the hobby in 6 - 10 years.

I can't imagine parting with something I've spent so much time and effort on. Hell I still have all my SNES games, and I hate giving away books and vidya gaemz.

I'm not a hoarder though, it's just I hate losing things that I invested so much time in.

So I'll keep playing for at least another 38 or so millieniums.

My interest has always ebbed and flowed, but I've kept coming back to this hobby in one form or another for the past 16 years, so I picked "Ask me in 20"

I like the many and varried ways I can approach miniature wargaing. From 40k, to generic post apoc, spaceship gaming, mech gaming, all at varied levels of scale and complexity.

I didn't get into the hobby until I was almost 30,so my chances of "growing out of it" are fairly slim.
I'm assuming I'll continue to collect my little men until I am to blind to paint or to senile to tell the difference between an Ork and a bowl of oatmeal.

My story is similar - played at school and my wife dug out the old minis and got me AoBR, which she now regrets (have a look my gallery and you will see why, it chews a lot of my time!)

At 34 I think my chances of growing out are negligible, although other priorities do take over, I think games may get rare but will have the figs forever.

My Mystery your post answers the question whether the GW staff ever cruise Dakka for ideas or feedback. Hopefully some good developments come from all the time people in the hobby put into idea generation here.

Gamer for life for some reason you can never leave these type of things once your so far in so I will probably die gaming lol

Like other people have said, the level of involvement ebbs and flows, but I've been wargaming on and off since I was 13, and I'm now well into my forties , so I guess the hobby is stuck with me...

Until something in my life no longer permits me the luxury.

I started playing 40k and Fantasy about 10 years ago when my bestfriends got me into the game. Since then he and the other people we played with have quit playing but it's stuck with me. I love pretty much everything about the game and can see myself being involved in it untill they either stop making it or I'm dead and burried. Besides my rguby team it's my favorite hobby.

My husband played when he was in college and fell out of it after, and we just started together about 8 months ago. We're both 32, and I can see us drawing our son into it when he gets old enough to participate. No idea how long we'll all be into, but I figure it will be for a pretty good while.

I plan a very long time. It is such a rewarding hobby, and you meet all kinds of interesting people. It has also inspired me throughout all my art, and nearly most of what I like in one way or another.

I'll quit after I win my 5th golden demon...