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I have some in-box space slann that I want to add to my collection (I did not own either of these two previously) but they are still in their 1987 box. I want to paint them so bad, but I don't want my 40 year old self to hate my past self because he can't sell them for hundreds of dollars. Can someone who is more venerable about this stuff give me some insight? Also I have two genestealer patriarchs in the same situation, I don't want to paint them now, but once I have amassed enough hybrids and get the last missing magus model I don't know if I will be able to help myself.

Will I hate my self 20 years from now if I open the boxes?

I'd hate myself for no using them.

Open them up. Paint them. Use them in games. It's why you have them in the first place.

Certain my make a unique army, I have 1987-1989 tterminaitors ands they look so good!

Nope, assembel, paint and play with them. Enjoyment will soon follow

I have some in-box space slann that I want to add to my collection (I did not own either of these two previously) but they are still in their 1987 box. I want to paint them so bad, but I don't want my 40 year old self to hate my past self because he can't sell them for hundreds of dollars. Can someone who is more venerable about this stuff give me some insight? Also I have two genestealer patriarchs in the same situation, I don't want to paint them now, but once I have amassed enough hybrids and get the last missing magus model I don't know if I will be able to help myself.

Will I hate my self 20 years from now if I open the boxes?

Depends on how old you are now. If you're in your 20s (or younger), the odds of a Slaan miniature being valued at hundreds of dollars twenty years from now are... pretty slim. The odds of them being valued at hundreds of dollars now are likewise slim, as they're not worth much more than 20 GBP now, and 40K is still around. 20 years from now? GW will probably be out of business and the IP in the hands of someone else.

I've sold some vintage stuff recently, and I can tell you that no matter what state it's in -- NIB, primed, painted, etc. -- it still sells for a pretty penny. So maybe you'll lose some value by opening it, but as long as you keep the models in decent shape, they should still retain the majority of their value.

 PaperworkNinja wrote:
Open them up. Paint them. Use them in games. It's why you have them in the first place.

So many times this. I can't stand people who buy up collectable stuff and sit on it "because it's collectable".

Every time I go to a car show and see some beautifully tuned sports car from the 60s get wheeled off its trailer into the display spot my heart shrivels up a little. You know the owner never actually drives it. What's the point?

Tangent aside, models are made for assembling and playing with. Assemble and play with them.

If it helps...

look around ebay at old models still in the blister. I'm pretty sure *none* of them are selling for "hundreds of dollars".

Even IF they would be worth that, the value of assembling, painting and playing them would far outweigh any potential resale value. Especially if you've had to move them around a few times while they sat in a box at the bottom of a closet year after year. During which time your future wife / significant other asks why you still have that box "of junk" and wouldn't it be better to get rid of your "toys" so she could use that space for something more important...like shoes.

For perspective, I'm in my 40s.

Its never going to reach black lotus value of vintage

at most 50-100ish ever.

You might as well paint and use it. most people with jobs can deal with a 50-100 loss.

If I wanted to make investments, I’d talk to a stock broker. If I want to have fun with toys/games/hobby stuff, I’ll buy minis. If you are treating it like an investment, that’s fine. Just keep that frame of mind. The NIB minis are just like stocks and bonds, they just look cooler and the market is a bit wonky.

Resale value wasn’t on my mind when I was assembling my RTB01 marines. A sealed box of those might sell for a pretty penny today. But what I did get was 25 some odd years of fun with them. Even adjusted for inflation, that’s money well spent.

I started playing MtG at the start. Pulled alpha cards out of boosters bought at normal retail. I never used card sleeves. Did it hurt their sell value? Yup. Still had fun playing, and still got some nice coin from them when I did decide to get out.

If I could go back in time and give advice to my younger self, it would not be “don’t play with your toys”

Life is short, do what you enjoy.

YMMV, I am by no means a financial expert. Or even someone who keeps track of the value of minis. But I am someone who loves putting vintage lead on the table.

They do look impressive.

Something fun about having something most do not have, got metal termies, tac squad, a sister of battle and apochery

I just picked up some of the old Imperial Guard officers with the fancy breastplates to use in my AM army. Put Cadian arms on them, totally destroyed their collectible value.

Here's my reasoning: If your retirement plan hinges on selling miniatures for huge profits, you need a new retirement plan. They will probably increase in value over time. Or they might not. The only things that really grow in value a lot are the NIB full games that are out of print. If they get to hundreds of dollars in value, it will only be because the value of a dollar has fallen. When you sell them for $300, you'll be spending $25 on a gallon of milk.

So I say open them up. The value you get from painting them is far more than the value you'll get from selling them later.

I doubt they will be worth something in twenty years, but take a look at what happened to comic books and action figures. Nobody thought they would ever be worth something and now you can sell some of them for hundreds of dollars. You can never know for sure, so just do what you think is best if they fit your army and you really want to use them then go for it if your unsure then I might hold off for a while. At least until your sure about your decision.

Ohh yeaaaah, the air inside even smelt like late 80's. I need to google some rainforest treefrogs to get a good colour scheme.

Thanks for relieving me of my paranoia!

Ohh yeaaaah, the air inside even smelt like late 80's

I'm very, very sorry to hear that. It was such a terrible time.

Let them go to there natural home, the table top!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Psienesis wrote:

Ohh yeaaaah, the air inside even smelt like late 80's

I'm very, very sorry to hear that. It was such a terrible time.

The smell of strikes, discontent and awful fashion.

Yeah, if you are interested more in what they are worth on Ebay than what they are worth to you to paint up, then sell them.

But otherwise, they were literally made to have fun with. So do that!

You only regret the stuff you DON'T do.

So do it.
Take them out of their packaging, paint them, use them.

Collectors will pay insane prices for them regardless. One less in circulation only drives the rest of the others' perceived value higher.

Good choice - they are to be enjoyed. Paint them up, place them in your display cabinet and game with them.

Finally, join the Oldhammer forum, show off your retro beauties and get using them in games of Rogue Trader!

With the exception of a few duds (Pre 3e Tyranid models in particular look rather ghastly in a bad way) rogue trader era models are rather serviceable if a bit dumpy looking.

I think you made a good choice, because the most these models will ever be worth isn't really worth keeping them for decades. Few hundred dollars? Who cares? You can make that in a week or a few days or even less depending on your job. It's not really much of an investment. Much more fun to use old school minis to give your army/diorama/whatever some old school flavor.

 Jaceevoke wrote:
Nobody thought they would ever be worth something and now you can sell some of them for hundreds of dollars.

Yeah, the bare few that of course are going to be worth a lot of money, like the very first appearance of Batman or Superman from 80 years ago, and the original action figures from a sci-fi movie that slowly transformed into a cultural icon. Wargaming stuff is never going to reach that level of must-have, so if the choice is between, 'break them out and play with them,' or 'keep them in a closet and see if mint in box makes me money' you're never going to lose by going with the first.

Honestly would it be worth twenty years of storage and non use to possibly make a few hundred quid?

For sure take 'em out and use them! Think of the enjoyment you'll get out of having unique miniatures that you like. Isn't that worth more than maybe getting $100 in twenty years?
I think you'd regret NOT using them.

Paint them. You can't reduce their resale value by painting them, because they are metal. Metal. It is a material that GW used to make miniatures out of. Apparently it has other uses, but that is the most important one. A nice thing about metal (apart from it not being Finecast) is that it can be painted multiple times! If you don't like the paint job, or you want to sell it as unpainted, just dunk it in acetone and assault it with a toothbrush (preferably not the one you normally clean your teeth with)! Voila! It's brand new again! True, it isn't "new in box" anymore, but a lot of the old GW packaging looked naff, anyway. And why would you pay more for a box? It makes it very hard to determine a model's line of sight if it is still in its original packaging!

Those old boys bring back memories.
Play them! Armies with flavor are more fun to play with and against.
If you want more cash, work a little overtime.

Enjoy em! After all, miniatures are meant to be played with!

 dementedwombat wrote:
Every time I go to a car show and see some beautifully tuned sports car from the 60s get wheeled off its trailer into the display spot my heart shrivels up a little. You know the owner never actually drives it. What's the point?

As someone who owns such a vehicle, I can tell you there are times it doesn't get driven because its painfully expensive to maintain and drive

But yeah, there are certain things I can see collecting for the sake of collecting, 40k isn't really one of those things. Especially with metal models that are pretty easy to strip. Specialist games maybe, but even then only a "maybe".

But at the end of the day it's up to you. If you like the idea of preserving a piece of 40k history, box and all, sweet, personally I don't think it's really worth it.

Paint them. You can't reduce their resale value by painting them, because they are metal. Metal. It is a material that GW used to make miniatures out of. Apparently it has other uses, but that is the most important one.

Hey, I remember those days!