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So basically life is forcing me to take a bit of a hobby hiatus; I will be going off to University in September and been having some financial troubles due to lack of a job. I figured that now would be the best time for a break anyway, I had been getting quite disillusioned with wargaming and really need a fresh start in the hobby, with a wallet full of cash, not completely empty. I have two important questions...

Should I sell my armies?
What is it like coming back into the hobby after a long break?

Keep your stuff; just store it away... if after University you find you aren't feeling like coming back to it then maybe sell your armies.

No.

Great.

 MetalOxide wrote:
So basically life is forcing me to take a bit of a hobby hiatus; I will be going off to University in September and been having some financial troubles due to lack of a job. I figured that now would be the best time for a break anyway, I had been getting quite disillusioned with wargaming and really need a fresh start in the hobby, with a wallet full of cash, not completely empty. I have two important questions...

Should I sell my armies?
What is it like coming back into the hobby after a long break?

I might not be the best person to ask, because maybe I have a neurosis or something, but I never sell my models. If I dispose of models, I do so via trade or I give them away. There have been lots of games that I have come back to and enjoyed, and you never know when something is going to be useful for something else.

I find it very satisfying to see a new game or something and to be able to dip into my extant model collection and either put together what I need or create a solid base that doesn't need much supplementing. You also might wind up chopping up old models for as yet undreamed of projects.

If they take up so much space that it interferes with your life, then you should get rid of them, because they are a problem. If not, meh, what can it hurt to keep 'em around?

1) Sell the army if it is getting in the way of your studies. you can always buy back plastic crack. Though if you can afford to keep them just stow them somewhere safe so you dont have to start over again.

2) come back was interesting from middle school to full time employment. realizing how terrible my older models where compared to what i could do starting fresh.

Personally i say sell the models. less temptation to start again while in school and there is nothing like starting fresh with a new prospective and a decent budget.

Thanks for the advice guys!

I'm thinking that I might keep my models stored somewhere safe for if I get back into the hobby and still have the same attachment to them as before I took the break.

I found that I got back to some hobby-related stuff 2nd and 3rd year.

Once you are settled and have a good circle of friends, there is very little that can beat a good, fun multiplayer boardgame with some booze thrown in...

 Pacific wrote:
I found that I got back to some hobby-related stuff 2nd and 3rd year.

Once you are settled and have a good circle of friends, there is very little that can beat a good, fun multiplayer boardgame with some booze thrown in...

This is the best response so far. I easily forget what it was like going off to college out of state. I think first year college jitters might be exacerbating the issues with wargaming, in which case it would be a very good idea to hang onto your models.

If you're going to store your armies, make sure they are well labeled and your folks know about them.

I've seen so many armies for sale at yard sales by unassuming parents that it warrants the warning.

 gunslingerpro wrote:
If you're going to store your armies, make sure they are well labeled and your folks know about them.

I've seen so many armies for sale at yard sales by unassuming parents that it warrants the warning.

Criminal!

This is actually really funny because when I was helping my mother organize her attic a couple of weeks ago she made me go through piles of stuffed animals and old toys and things to 'see what I wanted to keep.' Apparently I pitched a huge fit about her selling some prized action figure at a yard sale when I was very young and she had been keeping...everything...of mine since then. Most of it went to the trash or a new home, but my 3 year old was very excited about a decades old Clifford the Big Red Dog.

Really don't sell your armies, I've done that and it is a pain to get back in after a while if you've nothing to play with, would be much easier with armies

Alternately, if you are cash strapped sell the extraneous items but keep your favorite army around for when you return.

 Pacific wrote:
I found that I got back to some hobby-related stuff 2nd and 3rd year.

Once you are settled and have a good circle of friends, there is very little that can beat a good, fun multiplayer boardgame with some booze thrown in...

This was my experience, though D&D 3.5 was our poison.

My hiatus was 30 years....wish I had more of my old stuff and NOT given most to my son 15 years ago!

 MetalOxide wrote:

Should I sell my armies?
What is it like coming back into the hobby after a long break?

1. Depends greatly on how many armies you have, how many systems you collected, and how much you really need the cash.... If you REALLY need the cash, I'd sell some of it, but definitely not all of it.

2. I've been "out" of the hobby for about 2 years now, and looking to get back into the gaming side of it (I've still been painting things, just not gaming), so on the one hand, it's weird because I see sticker price, and it makes me want to just stick with painting, but at the same time, I know that theres some new systems out (as in new editions to the games I did play), and new stuff to learn

Don't sell anything, unless you really don't want the stuff anymore, you'll regret it if you ever want to play again.

Take some time off, relax, do some other gak for awhile and one day you'll open the box/closet/area you keep crap in and realize how much fun you had.

Side note, you'll never be 'out of the hobby', once a gamer always a gamer. Unless you lose your hands or something.

 MetalOxide wrote:
Should I sell my armies?

If you're having financial troubles ? Definitely. Especially if you have larges armies, or more than 2 of them. Just get rid of the excess stuff.

 MetalOxide wrote:
What is it like coming back into the hobby after a long break?

All in all, it's better. Especially since I had almost nothing in my high school life appart from WHFB.

Game wise, it's much, MUCH better. I have a more laid back attitude now, and I'm more open to new systems.

However, I really enjoyed painting and was like "oh, I bought something, I have to paint it NOW". Now, spending 1h on a mini and having 20+ more of them waiting sounds like a chore.

 MetalOxide wrote:

Should I sell my armies?

I'd take the opportunity to have a good look at what you've got and actually want to keep. Store the stuff you want properly and sell off the other stuff, as it'll help with uni. I made a small fortune getting rid of the stuff that'd realistically never leave the shoe box.

If you're worried about hobby time and money, and assuming you've only been playing the one game, then have a look at some of the smaller games out there to give you a change and keep your hobby going without costing you so much (Look at X-Wing, Malifaux and Infinity).

40k might be too big to carry around and store in college. Check out a game that requires less figures and books, like X-Wing or Infinity. Much more college friendly because finding time for a proper sized 40k game will be difficult.

Nothing wrong with a hobby hiatus. I took one when I went to university and on reflection that was a good thing. When at uni you should really be trying other things anyway.

I would say however do not sell your things. Just box them up and put them in the attic, that way in a few years when you want to return to the hobby they will be there waiting for you. The prospect of having to buy it all again (and who knows how much prices will have risen in that time) will almost certainly be a barrier to re-entry.

Don't sell your gak. When things improve for you and the Warhammer bug bites your ass again, you'll totally regret selling your glorious legions, and no longer having models that are possibly vintage at that point. I stopped playing many years but never got rid of my armies, then a couple years ago started up again and BAM was neck-deep in the hobby again because I kept all my gak.

Edits - Major grammar fails today, ugh.

I probably won't be gone completely, just scaling back the time and money spent on the hobby to accommodate the expenses and time spent on university.

Most people take a break during college. I can't even count the times I heard people say "I stopped in my teens, then got back into it when I got a job and a salary". It's textbook.

And I can tell you I'm VERY glad I didn't throw away/sell most of my old Chaos stuff and my ~40 issue WD collection during my 15 year "hiatus".. Those old models are awesome to put into a new army.

They are also probably more valuable now than if you had invested the money in gold or bonds, in terms of resale value

(Although, not sure how much longer that will be the case for!)