Absolute Insanity (Miniature Wargaming)

So we’re at the point of my hobbying where i want to try something new and add something different to my miniatures collection. First off, i have too many miniatures that i will probably never use and am unlikely to finish painting. Some of them will end up getting cycled into other projects and will see double duty. These are things like my chaos cultists from Warhammer 40K getting painted up and used for a variety of Post Apocalyptic games where i can use some rad scarred human survivors. A lot of my space marines are getting sold because i just don’t need that many any more. Some small bits and bobs will get saved, and i will likely end up with a rule of three approach.

The rule of three dates back to old 40K where the Force organization chart would let you take up to 3 units that filled a defined battlefield role. For example, in a space marine army, i could take up to three squads of Heavy Weapons troopers. In those squads, up to 4 marines (out of a potential maximum of 9 plus the sergeant) could be given a specific heavy weapon. You also can equip the sergeant with a couple of different options, and i like to keep a couple of those options open. So what i end up with is more than the required number of models for a squad, but i can tailor that squad to the game i want to play that day.


So if i were going to rule of three this up, what i would end up with looks something like this.



3 Stock sergeants
3 Sergeants with a Power Weapon
3 Sergeants with a Power Fist
15 Space Marines with Bolters
12 Space marines with Lascannons
12 Space Marines with Heavy Bolters
12 Space Marines with Multi-meltas
12 Space Marines with Rocket Launchers
12 Space Marines with Plasma Cannons


Now, a bunch of you are saying “Oh god, why not magnets?” And you’re right. You can have a lot of versatility if you pick up the magnetic bits to magnetize the heavy weapons crew and the Sergeants. This also makes them a lot easier to store. I however have enough guys that i can do most of this (I need to pick up a few very specific weapons to make this work).


At some point soon, i’ll end up culling my collection down to things i enjoy playing with (My Vindicators, my Sternguard, a Battle Company of Marines). I also am looking at expanding into other games that i desperately love the aesthetic of, and there are a couple of those on the market right not. I madly enjoy Test of Honour as a fast playing skirmish game full of fun and cinematic action. I am so over the moon for Wild West Exodus that i am going to pick up a LOT of it at Gencon.


So between now and Gencon i am looking through my miniatures collection for things that are missing or things that i want to screw around with. This has three key areas of growth, and hobby things that should keep me busy into the end of 2018 and part of 2019.

Finishing out existing groups

There are a few army projects i want to finish up/tidy up in my Mini Wargaming experience. There are a few of these projects, and what i am currently focusing on for the hobby falls into the following three key steps.

Finish Assembling

I want to finish the assembly for my Test of Honour Minis, the last imperial Knight Titan, and clean up the Necrons i have. They need to get off the sprue and onto their bases.

Finish Priming and Painting

Oh boy...this is a big category and includes Adeptus Mechanicus, Chaos Legions, Deathwing, Astral Claws, Necrons, Imperial Knights, Test of Honor historicals, Battletech Minis, Seraphon and scenery.

Pick up the Missing Pieces

Each of these armies and projects is missing a few bits and pieces for me to consider them done. Now, in a perfectly ordered world, i would finish assembling, priming, painting and treat myself by picking up new units. Now because i am going to be at Gencon and looking for some deals, I will end up with a backlog to punch through to finish having fully painted and ready to play armies.


(I’ll put up my missing pieces list eventually, just so you can see what sort of scatterbrained idiot y’all are dealing with).

Play the Damn Game

I really want to get back into playing games again, and that’s also part of my plan for the back half of the year and the first half of next year. I have plenty of minis and almost a big enough table to play on, so i want to get back into the hobby and actually enjoy playing the games again.

So what are we going to add?

Now that we’ve rambled for a bit, let’s talk about what i actually want to add to my Wargaming collection. In my old age, i have started to look for things that i can use all multipurpose like. This means my collection has some oddities and we’re going to expand on that. It also means when i look at new stuff, i really like the stuff that pulls double duty. What am i talking about in a circumstance like this?

Two Examples

The Mouslings from Reaper

Honestly, i love these tiny little adventurers since i saw them for the first time on GMG with Ash Barker playing Frostgrave. Generic fantasy hero types that happen to be rendered as cute little mouse people? I am totally in for that. They don’t have anything specific that ties them to a specific setting or aesthetic, so i can literally use them for any fantasy project i have in mind, whether it’s a Skirmish game like Mordheim or Frostgrave or as the PC minis for a D & D game. I plan on picking up a bunch of these at Gencon, so there’s that. 

Wild West Exodus

This is something i am deeply fascinated by and i love this Sci-Fi Western aesthetic. The minis i can use for Wild West Exodus itself (a novel concept, i know), i can use them for a similar game like Dracula’s America, and for those days when i get to play Deadlands, i can use them as figures for that game. The other important consideration is that if i pick up the Terrain from WWE and some additional stuff from Tabletop Combat and Multiverse Terrain, i can fill a table with neat looking scenery. Also going to dig into this at Gencon, so expect unboxings.

Conclusions?

Honestly, eh? I don’t have a profound thought about anything right now, but i want to get back into the hobby side of things and finding something to work on. I want to finally be able to finish projects and have some fun games with people i enjoy playing with. I know what sort of things i need to pick up to make this happen, and Gencon is going to give me some opportunities to acquire some additional resources to make this more workable. Game On, Game Fans.