Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So I made the decision recently to sell off all my 40k figures. Just finished sorting and packing it all up in neat bags. It seems that adult life (at least with a wife and kids) only has room for one or two hobbies in it. I've got a family who supports me taking time to do things I love, so I could have stayed an enthusiast if it was important enough to me, but in the world of all the things fighting for my time it didn't make the cut. (I feel like such a boring old dude choosing gardening over 40k but... that's pretty much what I did).

So I'm sending a box of plastic bags (random marines here, parts for a drop pod there, etc) with a friend at work who regularly makes the hour drive to the only gaming store nearby. He goes for MTG tournaments, but there's a decent 40k scene there and he said the owner would be happy to keep the box by the desk and sell the pieces for me. I'm not looking to bother haggling with anyone over the prices, so if the store owner thinks an offer is "fair" I'm happy with it. I'm not sure how much I'll get... but that's not really the point. It seems happier to have these models I loved out there being played with than sitting in my basement. ; )

Still, I got pretty nostalgic packing it all up, so I snapped some picture of a few I'll especially miss:


This was a vanguard set that I had a blast painting. It's not amazing work, but was definitely my best painting at the time, and I had fun with the multiple-color schemes. Sticking a jump pack on that old metal chaplain was fun too, and I always thought he looked especially cool.


These guys had a special place in my heart because I had some serious difficulty sticking with a single color scheme, and this is probably the biggest unit of models that all "looked good together". Modding the black reach dread in the back was fun, and if you compare the marine that's pretty "front and center" in that picture with the few off to the right side, you can see how my painting had come along. I was finally learning to shade/highlight (at least a ltitle bit). : p


This was probably the most fun I had modeling. An Inquisitor and retinue of 1, built from a mix of 40k, fantasy and off-brand bits.

But of course, as I'm packing everything up, there were a few pieces that I just couldn't manage to let go of! All of these are "older-ish", which I like, and they were all given to me by one of my best friends in high-school, before I owned any pieces of my own, so that I'd have a bit of something to play against him as he taught me the game. So these 11 figures will stay with me:


5 metal scouts. I think someone told me once that they're specifically blood angels scouts? My friend played BA, so that would make sense, but I don't remember. In the middle you'll see the only figure in this batch that I ever got around to painting. The rest of the models I'm keeping still have the paint they had when he gave them to me.


Anyone have any idea what era these are? They have too much of a "modern space marine" look to be any of the really old stuff, but they're still pretty basic compared to what was on the table when I started playing. Anyway, I'm excited to paint them up. Gotta figure out how to strip the paint without hurting the plastic. I know I saw a thread about that on here once...


Some kind of jump chaplain. Metal. I think he's LotD themed? You can see a bit of the flame design cast on his knees and legs in the picture.

So that's what I'm keeping. 5 tactical marines. 5 scouts. 1 Chaplain. Hey, 2 troops and an HQ, that's technically an army right?

The twist in all of this... is that the point of getting rid of it all was supposed to be me "getting out of the hobby". But now that I only have 11 unpainted figures (instead of a box full), and they're all pieces I especially like.. I'm actually more excited/determined to get them painted than I have been in a while! So... this might have had the opposite effect...

Now it's prime gardening season so it may be a bit before I set aside painting time. But that's okay. I want to take my time picking a color scheme that I won't get tired of (Brazen Claws, Howling Griphons and Exorcists are at the top of my list...) and then get all 11 of these painted to match. If I get that all done... maybe I'll decide to buy new figures again... ; p

Those ultramarines with the missile launcher are from the 3rd edition paint set, if I'm not mistaken. I think they may have been the first marines that I painted up myself.

I feel your pain.

I'm not fair off starting to sell my old chaos marines. Haven't used them in over a year.

I'd roll back. 40k for life.
It costs your money, it costs your time, it costs your life (wife).

 KorPhaeron77 wrote:
Those ultramarines with the missile launcher are from the 3rd edition paint set, if I'm not mistaken. I think they may have been the first marines that I painted up myself.

Cool! Trying to find pictures of that paint set to compare. Seeing some 2nd edition figures that look pretty similar too.

 Charlatan wrote:

 KorPhaeron77 wrote:
Those ultramarines with the missile launcher are from the 3rd edition paint set, if I'm not mistaken. I think they may have been the first marines that I painted up myself.

Cool! Trying to find pictures of that paint set to compare. Seeing some 2nd edition figures that look pretty similar too.

They might have found their way to a paint set, but they are famed for being the push-fit marines in the 2nd edition starter box.

First off, gardening is a legit choice of how to spend your free time. Life's a garden, dig it. Secondly, I don't know where you live, but you may not be able to be outside year round, so make sure you have your bases covered for when it gets cold outside. If you enjoy painting, keeping a small cache of minis doesn't take up much room, and you can bust them out when the mood strikes you.Lastly, family commitments tend to wax and wane as your children go through different phases, so just be aware that you'll have more and less time at various points of your life. Good luck to you

This is what i fear the most... Having to get rid of my hobbies because of Kids or something else... Part of the reason why I am nearing 28 and still don't have any...

Good luck with life though. It is sad to see when a fellow gamer leaves (toy soldiers, card games, video games or otherwise).

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/everyone-fking-hates-gardening-20160502108486

Congratulations on your decision, it ain't an easy one to make.

Though with so many video games and books now it is possible to spend a lot of time in the grimdark without ever touching a model.

Might want to keep one army though, just in case you come back...

 Charlatan wrote:
So that's what I'm keeping. 5 tactical marines. 5 scouts. 1 Chaplain. Hey, 2 troops and an HQ, that's technically an army right?

Put them on a shelf somewhere. It's a talking-point, and you get to spot a fellow-ex-gamer when the other parents come visiting.
Depending on how old the kids are, it might be enough to get them painting.

I am doing the same, but mostly because of the rising cost of 40k, severe balance issues... the game has lost its fun and is not worth the time investment. I'd rather spend the money taking the kids on vacation or buying an upgrade for the trans am. That is why I have sold all my kingsom death too.

However, even though I am selling 8k points of chaos, 4k points of grey knights, 10k points of demons, etc, I'm keeping my origional dark angel army. It will sit in my basement in its army case for the very occasional pick up friendly basement beer and pretzels game.

Otherwise I have found that shadows of brimstone, zombicide (and most cmon board games), etc, work far better with a wife, kids, $/fun, and time constraints. Oh and they don't have balance issues... nor do I have to buy a new rulebook every year or two, etc.

 Xerics wrote:
This is what i fear the most... Having to get rid of my hobbies because of Kids or something else... Part of the reason why I am nearing 28 and still don't have any...

Good luck with life though. It is sad to see when a fellow gamer leaves (toy soldiers, card games, video games or otherwise).

Just to cut the kids a break, I have to clarify that it's not like having a family means no 40k. I just have a lot more commitments these days. I'd easily have more than enough time to paint (and even drive the hour to play) if I made that a priority. It just hasn't been, personally, for a long time. So it's not the kids' fault. ; )


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Crispy78 wrote:
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/everyone-fking-hates-gardening-20160502108486

That's great. Literally laughed out loud. ; p