Brace yourselves, dear readers, wall of text incoming...
I'm in another one of those 40K funks, and it sucks.
You see, I tend to get into a "who the hell cares about 40K?" frame of mind every once and a while. it typically coincides with massive levels of stress in my life. I know what causes it, and that it will pass, but just can't seem to fix it before it runs its course.
Symptoms are a general apathy about the game, and the hobby in general. I get into this "I don't play more than three games a month, so why bother playing at all?" mindset. I try to jump start my enthusiasm by starting up a new painting project or playing a completely radical army list, which sometimes works and sometimes does not. I have trouble summoning the energy to paint, or even scrape mold lines.
This current funk is pretty deep. I'm considering liquidating all of my Space Marine back stock. I sat down in the living room one day early last week and went through everything I have sitting unbuilt in boxes. Off the top of my head I ran up three Rhinos, a FW Vindicator kit (sans Rhino), a Whirlwind turret, half a squad of AoBR Tac Marines, a metal Techmarine and Servitors box, a Land Raider with ALL armament options, a metal Legion of the Damned box plus a couple blisters, three or four Scout Bikes, a Landspeeder Storm, a Landspeeder, a Dreadnought, an early multipart Tac Squad, and a metal Chaplain. That's just one plastic storage tote! Stashed in an armoire I have two or three Terminator boxes, a box of Scouts, half a Command Squad box, and two Drop Pods. If I jump into my bitz storage organizer, we're talking another 10-15 AoBR Terminators, 10 or so Scouts, 10+ Tac Marines, 15 or so jump packs, Marneus Calgar in metal, 10 or so metal Veteran models, parts of Antaro Chronus, a pair of old metal Techmarines with servoarms, a metal Dreadnought, 4-6 old style Scout Bikes, several old metal Attack Bike sidecars, the limited edition Web Store veteran, the limited edition Army Box Veteran, and a plethora of Marine bitz.
I've amassed all that over the years by making impulse buys at the FLGS, buying people out of their collections via Bartertown or eBay, or just deal-watching for rock bottom eBay auctions. Counting all of that stuff out and inventorying it doesn't make me feel better because I have everything a Marine player could ever want, it makes me feel worse because I know it will take years to assemble and paint it all.
The weight of my amassed Space Marines is crushing the life out of my motivation. Add in my new interest in Tyranids, and it's overwhelming.
I think it might be high time to put a full stop on Space Marines. I tinker with the idea of inventorying and liquidating all of the Marine stuff in one go, just to be free of it. Every time I've thought about it, that little voice in my head says "But you might use that someday!" or "But the next codex might mean you need those kits!". I need to send in a Deathwatch Kill team or some Genestealers to kill that voice.
Is anyone else out there in the same situation? So much stuff backed up, not enough time or motivation to use it all, but a nagging voice that refuses to let you free yourself of it all?
What I need is a plan, and it looks like this: count up all my main Marine body and armament bitz. Keep X parts to build about 20 Marines total. Count up my Scout parts and armaments, and keep 10 total Scouts with a variety of armaments and a heavy bolter (as much as I think it'd be cool to run an all-Scout army, it won't ever actually happen!). Count up my Terminator parts, and keep enough to build two heavy flamer and two Cyclone bearers. I won't ever actually build my Ultrawing force, especially now that they have changed the makeup of Deathwing forces. Keep the drop pods (one was a gift). Bundle up all the Land Raider stuff into the one box and find it a new home. Keep the plastic Dread, get rid of the metal one. Keep the Rhinos and the Vindicator kit, think hard about the Whirlwind sprue.Keep the Techmarine box and one servo-arm Techmarine, plus a full compliment of Servitors. Liquidate the extras. Shed the Legion of the Damned stuff (I love them, but they're pointless for now), and the Storm. Keep the regular Landspeeder kit, and anything bike related. Liquidate EVERYTHING else.
That should bring in some good money no matter what channel I use to sell it (eBay, Bartertown, or local). It'll pare my backlog of Marines to a manageable level. The biggest thing I have to deal with is the doubt. The feeling that all this stuff might be useful "some day." A new Marine codex WILL be released, and it likely will make some of the stuff I'm shedding awesome or fun. I'll have to deal with that as it comes. Hell, with the money I'll have made from liquidating my backlog, i can afford to buy a new box of Marines if I want something new, obviously. It's the hoarding, the mass buying that will murder me. I'm already seeing it with my Tyranids. I've bought several things already, and only one set of scything talons have paint on them, and even that is a work in progress. I have to stop amassing a backlog, ASAP!
I'm getting motivated just planning this out, so maybe I'll spend tonight watching the Bruins game (debut of Jagr in black and gold...), inventorying, and pricing things out...
I get what you're going through. Had the same thing happen to me twice now, but I've always managed to get through it, somehow. Best of luck to you, whichever way it goes.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if you are going to go through with the aforementioned plan, I'd appreciated if you could maybe drop a link on your blog or maybe even e-mail me a link to your eBay auctions/trade posts. There's a number of things in the list that interest me.
Cheers,
Lupo
I think the big difference for me this time is that I have an alternative army that I'm slowly working on, and it's really exciting to do something other than Marines for the first time ever. I tried to build a WHFB Orc army once, but it never got off the ground.
DeleteI'll be sure to do a posting when I get everything sorted. Wasn't able to get to it last night due to other things requiring my time.
I've been in a funk since like November...and of coure with all that funk going on is the big event Thor is working on...which sort of implies a need for Ultramarines to be there. And hey, I'd love to get a Rhino and that Vindicator kit if you want to offload it...
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to get something going by changing up how I paint stuff. Picked up the painting guide to try to understand the new painting system stuff works for GW, maybe file away the oldest marines I have and replace them with some new stuff.
Ming
I'll be sure to post when I have the inventory list available and priced out.
DeleteI know exactly how you feel. I have a hard time getting ONE game a month. I tend to hit that funk at least once a year.
ReplyDeleteI recently sold off some of my old Necromunda and Eldar models, some were still in the blisters, and it felt pretty good. It cleared out some unpainted models I'll never use and brought in some cash to fund the new Rebel Grots. Next I'm planning to liquidate my Sisters of Battle. After that I may dig into the Ork and Marine backlogs as well.
It's actually liberating to let go of those models because not only do they loom over your mind, they try to dictate where you go with your army. Sure, you'd love to pick up shiny new unit X but you still have another Y sitting around and you feel like you should use that instead of buying more stuff. By selling off some of the stuff you might have a use for later you can pick up some stuff you definitely have a use for now. And if GW releases a new book that makes a unit cooler there is a good chance they'll release cool new models for it too. If you've been hanging on to the old models you are now stuck with those when you'd really like to use the new ones instead.
In short I know your pain and urge you to let go of the dead weight. You'll be glad you did!
"It's actually liberating to let go of those models because not only do they loom over your mind, they try to dictate where you go with your army. Sure, you'd love to pick up shiny new unit X but you still have another Y sitting around and you feel like you should use that instead of buying more stuff."
DeleteI thinkt his hits the feeling right on the head. I've been asked a few times "Why don't you buy a Stormtalon/Storm Eagle/Stormraven?" My response is always "I have too much stuff already sitting in boxes. I have to paint that first."
Dumping all of these units that I don't have any current desire to play will free up the "guilt pile" and allow me to go forthose few Marine units I am actualyl still interested in.
I say pick a few models to round out your squads now or if you don't have any already (like maybe the scout bikes) even if you don't think you'll use them soon and get rid of the rest. Use the money to fuel new nid models or just go out and do something with the wife and/or kid. Having too much backstock can be overwhelming. Cutting it down to having only one or two things to paint for marines and your nids it will give you clarity.
ReplyDeleteThat is part of my inventory plan. I have to assess what I currently have built, and line up the possible upgrades and additions I might like to have, then sort from there.
DeleteI didn't get any inventory done last night,a s I was ambushed by some important real-life stuff.