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So today an accidental plastic glue eruption claimed one of my new chaos raptors. There's 1/5 of a $33 boxed set down the tube. Who knows how much else I've ruined by after 10 years in the hobby if I had to put a price on it around $200.

Anyone have any particularly harrowing stories of dollars/ quid going up in flames in pursuit of our beautiful game?

I spent about 600 dollars on my chaos army, and then sold it for 150. I have over 400 dollars worth of paints, and I sold them for a computer mouse. I'd say 40k as a whole was a big waste of money and time. I could've bought a new computer, or a Dakimakura and a whole mess of figurines.

If you want a serious answer, I primed a raider with expired primer, and it was totally ruined...

I have a new theory that if I'm not in dire economic straights I can hide my armies away in a drawer and eventually the GW price hikes will allow me to sell secondhand for what it cost me retail.

This is perhaps hopeless optimism but hey there will always be a market for this stuff.

What I had prior to my Salamanders in 3rd edition has been lost over various moves, claiming bits, and my brother purloining it for his various projects.

This included Chaos, Ork and Tyranid armies from 2nd edition. Chaos and Ork were roughly 1000pts each, Tyranids roughly 1500pts. Also my Dark Eldar, which included the stuff from the 3rd edition starter, a Raider, some Incubi and a lord.

Also Warhammer Quest. My brother and I had the base game and a few of the extra characters. As far as I know, it's completely gone to the mists of time. And Epic. I had a rather large Tyranid army for Epic, as well as the Adeptus Mechanicus from Titan Legions, which all disappeared as well.

Thankfully, not much. I lost one Terminator model (~$10), one Necron Destroyer model (~$23 - I also lost the Ork torso that was attached to it ), and one Space Marine Scout model (~$5). All three just kind of vanished over the years, no real answer as to where they got off to.

Thankfully, I'm usually pretty careful about my models. They're more in danger of going years without getting painted than getting lost or destroyed.

Bought a Blood Angels furioso Dreadnought thinking I could convert it into a Dark Angels dread. It didn't come with the weapons I wanted on it and the Blood Angels insignia was all over it. I should have known better and was quite stupid.

Thankfully I work mostly with metal models but there have been a few broken pieces that were in such bad shape they needed replacing. I have lost quite a lot of time painting then stripping models though.

Well, Im not sure, I have bought Models I donte use, But im not exactly sure.

lol I go through armies quicker than anything, spend $400-$500 getting a nice 2k army painted up, play a few games, then sell for less than half for something new. So far has been vanilla marines, orks, tyranids, blood angels.

At the moment have gk, but really want to start dark eldar. However for a first will just have two armies.

tuiman wrote:
lol I go through armies quicker than anything, spend $400-$500 getting a nice 2k army painted up, play a few games, then sell for less than half for something new. So far has been vanilla marines, orks, tyranids, blood angels.

At the moment have gk, but really want to start dark eldar. However for a first will just have two armies.

So why not just buy some trays from battlefoam or KR or something and just keep them stored somewhere? you're selling at such a huge loss, that it's not really worth it. Just store them, in case you get the urge to play that army again.

 -Loki- wrote:

tuiman wrote:
lol I go through armies quicker than anything, spend $400-$500 getting a nice 2k army painted up, play a few games, then sell for less than half for something new. So far has been vanilla marines, orks, tyranids, blood angels.

At the moment have gk, but really want to start dark eldar. However for a first will just have two armies.

So why not just buy some trays from battlefoam or KR or something and just keep them stored somewhere? you're selling at such a huge loss, that it's not really worth it. Just store them, in case you get the urge to play that army again.

Yeah thats the plan from now on, but to be old and wise you must first be young and stupid

Also this was before I got a full time work so had to fund my new army somehow, I have no intention of selling my knights, but picking up some dark eldar soon for a mix of playstyle

Does being robbed count?

2000 points of painted Dark Eldar + Battlefoam big case
3000 points of painted Warriors of Chaos
1000 points of unpainted, metal Sisters of Battle
50 points of Retribution

All from a break in that hit multiple people in my apartment complex. They happened to be close, expensive looking and boxed up.

 curran12 wrote:
Does being robbed count?

2000 points of painted Dark Eldar + Battlefoam big case
3000 points of painted Warriors of Chaos
1000 points of unpainted, metal Sisters of Battle
50 points of Retribution

All from a break in that hit multiple people in my apartment complex. They happened to be close, expensive looking and boxed up.

Ouch, Im real sorry man, I hope you had insurance on them

tuiman wrote:

 curran12 wrote:
Does being robbed count?

2000 points of painted Dark Eldar + Battlefoam big case
3000 points of painted Warriors of Chaos
1000 points of unpainted, metal Sisters of Battle
50 points of Retribution

All from a break in that hit multiple people in my apartment complex. They happened to be close, expensive looking and boxed up.

Ouch, Im real sorry man, I hope you had insurance on them

Nope. This happened about 6 months ago.

But I didn't worry! I had a friend who was just about to ship me my newly painted Dark Elves! (I have nerve damage in my dominant arm and painting is a near impossibility) and he put them in UPS...

And UPS lost the package.

3000 points of Dark Elves lost about a month after the robbery.

Maybe $150.
A number of vehicles that had run-ins with family dogs, cars or big clumsy feet.

I haven't had glue explode over models, paint leak over models, or anything else like that.

funnily enough the one that springs to mind is raptor related like the OP. I planned to convert 10 to seraphim (i know, i know). The attempted head removal went really badly... I ended up giving them to a friend who runs chaos anyway. Hopefully the new dex will power up raptors a bit. This mistake probably cost £20 or so.

I really had to think about this one. Over the years, maybe I've lost some bits here and there, but I don't believe I've ever lost a whole miniature due to carelessness, thievery, or my own forgetfulness. Now, I did sell a Space Marine army about ten years ago that I wish I could have back. I got a good price at the time, but I just wish I hadn't sold them

I lost a single ripper from a ravener kit and being super OCD it drove me mad till I bought one from eBay and pretended it never happened aside from that I have never lost or destroyed anything beyond repair!

I dropped a Dire Avenger off a balcony once onto this hill behind my apartment, and didn't want go get it because 4 girls lived on the first floor and I didn't want to look like a peeper.

That's about it.

I've started up a few armies only to sell them off, ideally near their cost. I've still got a Tau army that I spent probably around $170 all told on, but they're sitting in a box until the Tau get a rerelease. I'll either start them then or sell them off when people want them.

Hard to gauge really because I don't consider the paint collection I've accrued waste but I have started many armies only to lose interest to the point that I now refuse to collect an army and only paint the stuff.

It's probably approaching a thousand pounds over the years, which isn't too bad I suppose over 5 years. Many people blow their student money on booze, I blew mine on plastic crack!

Generally, buying pre-painted nonsense off e-bay that is just too thick to redo and soaking just doesn't quite get all the paint off. Had some Nids that sat soaking for so long the plastic itself started to lose it's form.

Oh boy .

My entire Eldar collection a few years ago consisting off :
2 Farseers
4 Warlocks
40 Guardian Defenders + 2 Weapon platforms
16 Storm Guardians
9 Jetbikes
6 Rangers
10 Wraithguard
10 Howling Banshees
12 Fire Dragons
10 Warp Spiders
3 Vypers
10 Swooping Hawks
3 Shining Spears
2 Fire Prisms
1 Falcon
1 Wraithlord
3 Vibro Cannon platforms
3 Wave Serpents
2 Carry bags

In total about 75% painted .

Left it with a "mate" to keep in his basement whilst I was out of town on work for a few months . Turns out he upped and moved somewhere else , and the landlord turfed all the stuff in the basement into the skip . Not happy .

Every single model I have ever bought has been a complete waste of money.

Hobbies are all simply WASTES of money.

As for destroying.... I think for 20 years I wrecked maybe 2-3 figures total. Since Finecast came out, I would say I have destroyed around 15 models in the last year. Dropped and exploded, snapped, distentegrated etc... Finecast is designed to make you REBUY your models. Dont believe the detail shyte they spew.

On a cherrier note though... I do not regret wasting my money =] (Except for the Finecast, I may never buy another model except 1 Slann MAge)

I don't consider any money spent on my miniatures as wasted. Not really broken anything, at least not anything that could not be easily repaired.

Wasted plenty of money in off-licences and pubs though. Which is why I stick to buying miniatures if I can.

10 boyz dissolved on me so about $30 so far. Didn't like the starting paint scheme so I ATEMPTED to strip them. Those brave lads :(

The Easterling spearmen have crappy spears that break or bend if drop them from 30 cm on a carpeted floor (that I can drop my metal Daemon Prince from, by the way, and not have any damage - from nearly 2 metres!). I've lost half of them - about 12 of them? - because of careless people stepping on them or something. That would be (I assume) 12 bucks, but since you get 2 in a box of 10 . . . Now they're waving some crappy sticks around. And considering that part of the Easterling aesthetic are spears . . .

I only consider the money wasted if i never paint the model. That's why I sold everything and am starting again, one model at a time.

I "lost" a box of chaos marauders once. They were sitting on my desk in the process of being painted/ assembled when I got really upset one day and threw my sneaker down the hallway. That's when I found out that sneakers tend to bounce if you throw them hard enough, as I got to watch my shoe plow through the entire unit of Marauders. I never had the heart to fix/continue working on them.

I totally nuked a unit of beastmen gors by spilling liquid poly a while back.

That was an ARGGHH moment!