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Does any one here mainly just collect and paint 40k models, and never take them to war?, it could be you are very anti social or many various reasons that stop you from taking them to war.


edit - At the moment im painting and collecting only.



I really want to take them to war eventually though. But that might never happen since im so anti social or shy.

Whilst I take pride in painting my focus is gaming. I don't consider myself a collector at all really. I buy models to play, and they get painted.

The main reason for the hobby is to play for me. But I'm also a collector fur sure, when I'm starting an army I'm tempted to get all the minis that have been produced for that faction (still scouting ebay for some 2nd edition plague marines, for example...)

I’m all about the painting so far, which I find quite relaxing / therapeutic.

I will game eventually, once I have a suitably sized force completed!

I feel you OP - I spend a good amount of my time building and painting, and I've acquired a large collection of models. I've also played a grand total of one game of 8th.

It's partly because I'm much more into it for the modelling aspect, but also because I didn't have any opponents lined up. The mates I knew who I could have played against were in a different part of the country, and I didn't really know anybody locally to play. I'm not the sort to just go into an LGS and play a game against a stranger.

But recently I've been invited into a gaming group locally, so I may actually get the dice out from time to time. I'm effectively a noob with large nicely painted armies at this point!

If I couldn't play, I'd sell of my miniatures.

Model's are bought and assembled because the game requires it, not because I want to collect a massive collection.

Model's are painted because they look better on the table painted than plastic grey. (I actually hate painting, despite being rather good at it. I consider it a necessary evil.)

My focus is on playing with friends. It's what brought me into the hobby 15 years ago and what's keeping me in the hobby.

 MinscS2 wrote:
If I couldn't play, I'd sell of my miniatures.

Model's are bought and assembled because the game requires it, not because I want to collect a massive collection.

Model's are painted because they look better on the table painted than plastic grey. (I actually hate painting, despite being rather good at it. I consider it a necessary evil.)

My focus is on playing with friends. It's what brought me into the hobby 15 years ago and what's keeping me in the hobby.

Almost exactly my thoughts, although I don't 'hate' painting. Whilst I read Black library too, my favourite content is the sort of thing you get in a Codex - condensed fluff with matching rules. Acting out those in the game is where it's at. Who doesn't like it when an assassin gets a head shot or a knight explodes killing everyone nearby

At the moment I'm barely painting, but still buy the occasional model or ten. I haven't played a game since 8th dropped.

Work and sleep get in the way, along with relocating back to my home city after living in Shanghai for a few years. I played a few games of 7th in Shanghai, but mostly painted.

Why is there no just play option?

Click paint and play then. Or just don’t click.


40k has always been gaming with friends first and foremost. Building and modelling is a close second for me.

I paint because I like the finished result, though I generally find the process to be tedious and “take more time than it should”. I don’t enjoy painting, but I enjoy the sense of pride that comes with the result. I often wonder, if I could afford it, would I pay someone to paint my minis? Would I still enjoy playing with them? I’m not sure.

I haven’t bought minis for 40k proper in quite some time, though I’ve been buying Kill Teams like nobody’s business and loving it. Though I hate painting Orks, as it turns out. I don’t use the term lightly, and that’s from a guy that doesn’t enjoy painting. I could never play an army of them, which is too bad because I like the models and their fluff. Unless I paid some poor bastard to paint them, but man I’d feel guilty about inflicting that on someone. Respect to the painted Green Tide players. You have truly suffered for your art.

I paint collect and go to war, but there is a galaxy wide armistice at the moment, haven't gotten round to playing a game in a month or two.

I honestly think only a few minis from GW would be worth it if they did not have a game. I may have picked up some of the new slaanesh daemons. Maybe some of the gene stealer cults.
But there is such variety out there I would ignore GW completely if not for there games outside of specific minis.

Enjoy play. Enjoy building and modelling. Enjoy painting. Enjoy getting better at all of those aspects. In for a penny, in for a pound.

Collect, paint, play.

In that order of importance.

I mostly paint. Couple games a year at most, though I used to attend the odd tournament (40K, Warhammer and Heavy Gear) and frequent local GW stores for pickup games.

These days yeah, just can't really be bothered with the long slog into the city, also does not help that I work away from home most of the year so hobby time is hard to come by for gaming.

Paint/collect only[i]

I sometimes do demo games of various tabletop games and that´s it.

 greatbigtree wrote:
Click paint and play then. Or just don’t click.


40k has always been gaming with friends first and foremost. Building and modelling is a close second for me.

I paint because I like the finished result, though I generally find the process to be tedious and “take more time than it should”. I don’t enjoy painting, but I enjoy the sense of pride that comes with the result. I often wonder, if I could afford it, would I pay someone to paint my minis? Would I still enjoy playing with them? I’m not sure.

I haven’t bought minis for 40k proper in quite some time, though I’ve been buying Kill Teams like nobody’s business and loving it. Though I hate painting Orks, as it turns out. I don’t use the term lightly, and that’s from a guy that doesn’t enjoy painting. I could never play an army of them, which is too bad because I like the models and their fluff. Unless I paid some poor bastard to paint them, but man I’d feel guilty about inflicting that on someone. Respect to the painted Green Tide players. You have truly suffered for your art.

I don't much care for the model building phase, but I am generally neutral to kinda enjoy painting. I am the complete opposite to you when it comes to painting Orks though. I Really like Painting Orks for some reason. The best I can figure it is that the Ork slapdash, jury-rigged nature of their gear lends itself to treat the painting somewhat like it too. I worry far less about precision painting than I do with other models. Yet, I still think the final result looks pretty good. Sample of freshly painted Orks in the spoiler.

collect only, but that goes for more or less anything, and it is cuz of asperger.

For me, it's about building and painting my army/crew/whatever and then playing games with that armycrew/whatever I made.

I don't see much of a point to just collecting models. That seems like a waste.

I do see the point of painting them only, since that's a difficult task that you can take pride in and show off to others.

But for myself? I'm much more a gamer than a hobbyist. No shade thrown at those who aren't, but I'd rather play a game with grey models than spend that time painting mine.

I mainly just paint now. Partly because my main gaming friend had the audacity to move away for uni and partly because I really don't like 8th as a game. Most playing I do is when I meet up with my friend and we play 30k.

 JNAProductions wrote:
I don't see much of a point to just collecting models. That seems like a waste.

I do see the point of painting them only, since that's a difficult task that you can take pride in and show off to others.

The collecting part opens up a whole other aspect of the hobby, IMO.

The main object of my hobby is mindfulness. Focussing on the build is great. Focussing on painting can be a slog but when I get something done it feels amazing. Focussing on a game is great mindfulness.

But I also get to fart around thinking up little stories about my dudespeople, which I write down and accompany with silly pictures. I make propaganda posters.

I mean, it's all terrible crap objectively, but that's not the point. The point is that "collecting" vs. "here are my minis" presents more opportunity for mindfulness and - since ich bin ein nerd - it's all tremendous fun, too.

All of which is a longwinded way of saying I get why people focus solely on the collecting part. Different strokes for different folks, innit?

I collect individual models from several different armies that I have no intention of making full armies from, but I also have multiple full forces that are meant for wargaming.

I've dropped in and out of the game over the years and have painted while not actively playing but pretty much never bought anything 40k while not playing. I know it's frequently mentioned that GW is under the impression that many if not the majority of it's customers buys models and doesn't play but at least in my area I've never really seen that to be true.

Has there ever been any data to show that to be true or is that GW's double talk to justify not doing more to balance the game?

Gamer first.

Builder second.

Painter and collector about equal third.

HoundsofDemos wrote:
I know it's frequently mentioned that GW is under the impression that many if not the majority of it's customers buys models and doesn't play but at least in my area I've never really seen that to be true.

Same here, but if people were just collecting and not playing perhaps we wouldn't even realise?

 Excommunicatus wrote:

 JNAProductions wrote:
I don't see much of a point to just collecting models. That seems like a waste.

I do see the point of painting them only, since that's a difficult task that you can take pride in and show off to others.

The collecting part opens up a whole other aspect of the hobby, IMO.

The main object of my hobby is mindfulness. Focussing on the build is great. Focussing on painting can be a slog but when I get something done it feels amazing. Focussing on a game is great mindfulness.

But I also get to fart around thinking up little stories about my dudespeople, which I write down and accompany with silly pictures. I make propaganda posters.

I mean, it's all terrible crap objectively, but that's not the point. The point is that "collecting" vs. "here are my minis" presents more opportunity for mindfulness and - since ich bin ein nerd - it's all tremendous fun, too.

All of which is a longwinded way of saying I get why people focus solely on the collecting part. Different strokes for different folks, innit?

But then you're not just collecting-you're writing stories and engaging with them.

I mean, I'm sure there are people who DO just collect, never painting, never writing, never playing... And that's fine. It's their money, their time. But I don't get the point myself.

 JNAProductions wrote:

 Excommunicatus wrote:

 JNAProductions wrote:
I don't see much of a point to just collecting models. That seems like a waste.

I do see the point of painting them only, since that's a difficult task that you can take pride in and show off to others.

The collecting part opens up a whole other aspect of the hobby, IMO.

The main object of my hobby is mindfulness. Focussing on the build is great. Focussing on painting can be a slog but when I get something done it feels amazing. Focussing on a game is great mindfulness.

But I also get to fart around thinking up little stories about my dudespeople, which I write down and accompany with silly pictures. I make propaganda posters.

I mean, it's all terrible crap objectively, but that's not the point. The point is that "collecting" vs. "here are my minis" presents more opportunity for mindfulness and - since ich bin ein nerd - it's all tremendous fun, too.

All of which is a longwinded way of saying I get why people focus solely on the collecting part. Different strokes for different folks, innit?

But then you're not just collecting-you're writing stories and engaging with them.

I mean, I'm sure there are people who DO just collect, never painting, never writing, never playing... And that's fine. It's their money, their time. But I don't get the point myself.

Ah, fair enough.

I misinterpreted what you meant by "just collecting".

 Brother Castor wrote:

HoundsofDemos wrote:
I know it's frequently mentioned that GW is under the impression that many if not the majority of it's customers buys models and doesn't play but at least in my area I've never really seen that to be true.

Same here, but if people were just collecting and not playing perhaps we wouldn't even realise?

Probably not really. I don't need to be in the local store ever, I can buy things online and I can just paint at home. I've seen the local manager about twice so why would people know I'm there? It's like being a ghost but far less neat.