Collecting Gaming Miniatures

by | Nov 22, 2013


Problems and Solutions

The Gatekeepers are so lucky, as a game club.  We have a unique dynamic, one that's  basically unheard of in the gaming world.  The regularity and stability of the club, coupled with the fact that we are as close as any family, gives us a lot of opportunities that other clubs simply don't have due to the disparity and unfamiliarity of most club members.  As a private club, we have cultivated the demeanor that we alone share the Wargate and everything that it is.  I can tell it means a great deal to everyone, simply by the fact that even though active membership isn't as high as it was last year everyone is much more willing to work together to solve our dilemmas.

Recently, there has been a lot of grumbling about Games Workshop and what they mean to us in the hobby.  We've considered many paths to alleviate the alienation they have caused us, including the extreme measure of removing GW games from the club schedule entirely.  After several months of deliberating the consequences of any choice we made here, we decided that more direction is needed in the collecting of miniatures and rulebooks.  It's not that we were spending too much money, but due to the fact that everyone feels they need everything we're getting a lot of redundancy in miniatures.  It is no coincidence that it is GW models and rulebooks that are being duplicated beyond any reasonable use.

Therein lies the issue.  Everyone is complaining about the cost of keeping up with the game.  Now, in reference to GW - we have decided that the club shall keep pace with the game as much as possible.  Yes folks...as of right now, we're on board with Warhammer Fantasy Battle, 9th Edition.  So what are we changing that makes this not only feasible (going forward), but agreeable to everyone in the club?

It's the dawn of a "New" era here at the Wargate.  We are formalizing the "Collective" that we have been talking about for the last three years.  We have already all been working together to create terrain, purchase miniatures and furnish supplies - so much in fact that it's already integrated into how we do things here.  So we're taking it one step further.  From now on, we have a realized agenda we are working towards together.

The Collective allows us to store and keep track of the thousands of minis, as well as utilize them to the fullest.  You already keep your miniatures, rulebooks and supplies here.  So after three years of trial and error, we've finally sussed out a better method where we can both save money and have more armies across more wargaming periods.

Okay.  What am I actually trying to say?  Well, I'm inviting all current members to voluntarily join the Collective, but I don't assume to speak for anyone.  For those of you wondering exactly what this means, let me break it down for you with a brief rundown of what we provide for the club now, versus what we'll be able to do in the Collective and what it will require of you, the individual.


Current Club Provisions
  • Venue and Web Resources
    • A place to game and a place to hang out on the web to keep in touch during the week.  Both of these form the most important facet of the club - a cornerstone that is always accessible.
  • Voluntary (Non-Existent) Club Fees
    • There are no club fees currently.  There is a tithe jar that is collected yearly, and there are special projects (such as the Bones Kickstarters) that members can contribute to if they wish.
  • Shared Terrain Inventory
    • The club provides all terrain needed for the games.
  • Storage
    • We currently store the overwhelming majority of miniatures that every club member owns.
  • Guidance
    • We teach how to play the games, what miniatures to get, help create army lists and discuss tactics, modelling, character building and every other facet related to our games.  Currently, members are responsible for acquiring the rulebooks that pertain to their armies and all miniatures for their armies.  
  • Model Supplies
    • All material concerns are addressed by the club, and all such materials are stored here for all members to use.  This includes paints and basing materials, but also specialist materials such as Quickshade.
  • Shared Projects
    • A old idea that will receive a new initiative next year, on some Game Days we will work on various projects as a club.
  • Shared Rulebooks and Miniatures
    • Rulebooks and miniatures stored here are readily available for use by club members.  We trust each other implicitly - no one's going to wander off with something that doesn't belong to them.
  • Painting and Modelling Services
    • Any assembly or painting of models is readily available for those who find themselves overwhelmed.  The painting is a little slow (because it's just me), but we're going to pick up the pace next year.  This is free of charge, except for any materials you wish to be used or if you wish a "rush" to be placed on the project.
  • Purchase Power
    • Though we are not a retail outlet, our connections mean that the club itself is the best place to procure the materials for your next project.  You can simply let the Project Coordinator (myself) know what you need, and we can probably procure it cheaper than a retail outlet.  In some cases, payment will be required before the order can be processed, but your piece will be here (most likely) the next game day.  We also handle eBay auctions for unneeded materials.

What Implementing the Collective Requires of Us as Individuals and a Club
  • Acknowledgement
    • Joining the Collective simply requires an acknowledgement that you are part of it.  From that point on, the Project Coordinator will pay close attention to your armies, narratives and characters in order to see the army completed, painted and on display on the web.
  • Co-Operation
    • Once you join the Collective, you will be prompted to a project of your choice (modelling, painting, terrain or web articles) from a list of what we need completed that season - every season.  This will allow us to spread our work around at the same time we focus our efforts.  This is a hobby, not work - but sometimes it's easy to get overwhelmed and stall in the face of the enormity of the task.  By cooperating on priority projects, we're going to make sure everyone gets the satisfaction of a job well done. In addition, this method will allow us to complete more projects next year than ever before.
  • Minimal Mandatory Contribution Fees
    • This one is tricky, but it's not as bad as it sounds.  First of all, let's clarify - the Wargate is funded primarily by two individuals, and our commitment to that is stronger now than ever before.  We have resolved to buy all relevant materials for the club for a lot of reasons, but the primary one is storage.  Multiple copies of the same book aren't doing anyone any good, and it doesn't do the club good to need those rules when we have the models, but they aren't here.  Therefore, the club will buy and retain the ownership of these rules.  The only mandatory fees we are instating is this:  a small donation during the pre-release of your army, and when a new edition of the game is released.  This spreads the monetary investiture around, and gives us all a sense of ownership.
  • Answer the Calls
    • Hobby Event days will occur once per season next year.  These will have associate articles called "Call to...".  Check out our upcoming article "Call to Paint:  Reaper Bones", coming soon.
  • Team Spirit
    • If you're not enthusiastic about this whole thing, you do not have to join the Collective.  All the benefits of being a club member will still apply to you, but the Project Coordinator will be focusing on completing the projects in the Collective exclusively.
  • Storage
    • Storage space will be reduced as armies owned by members of the Collective can share the same case.  For example, we have two Necromunda cases that carry all the forces for all members of the Collective - rather than having six individual cases with unused room, or placing the smaller forces in cases with larger ones (thus obscuring their location in the lockers) it will all be centralized and easy to locate.

The Benefits of the Collective
  • Improved Venue and Web Resources
    • The Collective will see improvement of the most important parts of the club through the implementation of the other points on the plan.
  • Individual Monetary Investment Decrease
    • Despite there being the mandatory contribution fees, they don't always apply to everyone and are entirely subjective.  This means that if you don't buy any models, you'll only have to contribute $5 or $10 every couple of years.
  • Improved Terrain Inventory
    • We will be able to both purchase and build the planned terrain for the three current tables much quicker by splitting the costs for materials and sharing the projects.
  • Improved Storage, Cataloging and Sharing of Models and Resources
    • It will be easier to find models and we'll have more storage space in the lockers.  We'll never have duplicated codexes or too many of the same redundant model we can't find any more uses for.  However, we do ask that you donate cases of the appropriate sort when you need one.
  • Coordinated Guidance
    • In addition to the guidance we already give, we will use the guidelines currently in place to list armies in the Collective to enhance everyone's play by making everything ready to go at a moments' notice.  You'll receive a versatile set of tools you can modify your army with, by augmenting it with similar forces in the Collective. 
  • Model Supplies and Other Shared Resources
    • This remains largely the same, except that more tools, paints and materials will be available.
  • Painting and Modelling Services
    • Painting commission speed will increase, and members will have guidance in painting their forces up for the website.
  • Purchase Power
    • Under the Collective's ideas for completing projects, most forces you purchase will be listed long before you actually drop any cash.  In this way, we can reduce the painful process of collecting a new force to bite sized chunks that are themselves projects and showcases for the website.  Under this method, you will design an army with the Project Coordinator so he can build a timeline for your project and create a custom case.  Usually these will be broken up into three or four blocks to be completed one per season.  That means that from scratch, you'll go from an army plan to fully painted army in an absolute maximum of four seasons in that game.
  • Subsidized Army Building
    • There will be several options available to members who want to game, but either can't afford one, don't have the time to be here every Game Day, or are simply daunted by the prospect of modelling / painting.

All this mostly applies to wargames, but we also have a huge collection of miniatures for use in roleplaying.  We have to divorce ourselves from the idea that as a club we have to be "monogamous" to a company or game.  Nothing could be further from the truth, and I believe that focusing on one thing to the exclusion of any other is highly detrimental to a game club.

Games Workshop is the primary provider for most of our miniatures (especially those dedicated to wargame armies), mostly because of our long history with them, but they definitely aren't the only company out there anymore.  Going forward, we intend to introduce more house rules for gaming, but one I can tell you about right now is that armies for GW games need not necessarily be GW models.  Though on the whole they are nice looking models, most GW models have a stylized, cartoony look - and some are just plain stupid looking (I'm talking about you, Space Marine Centurions).  Couple that with the most disconnected public relations, and the most utterly illogical pricing schemes in the industry and you understand why people don't want to start new armies.

We're going to fix that.  There are many alternatives out there, and if you're looking for one the Project Coordinator will be able to suggest the best choices for your army.  If you're on a limited budget you can still start an army!  Here are some of the other companies we use for 25-30mm gaming (those scales are close enough they can be mixed).  I'll talk about scales other than 25-30mm in another post.  For now, know that Battlefront and Plastic Soldier Company are the primary producers of the 15mm models we collect.  Currently, the only game of that scale being played is Flames of War.

Wargames Factory is one of our top favorites.  We have a lot of these kits, and only want more.  There are a lot of models that suggest themselves as obvious alternatives to GW kits, but these kits are more historical in flavor.  However, the plastic material is great and lends itself to conversion really well.

Reaper Miniatures is another fantastic company, and their new Bones line is taking off enormously.  I don't recommend converting Bones, but Reaper also makes a large line of fantastic metals.  All of these miniatures are affordable and have a high standard of quality.

Privateer Press minis have seen a rise in popularity here, both as armies and as individual RPG characters.  We're sure to see more of these minis appear, as Warmachine is one of the most popular new games at the club.  However, there are also plenty of great minis that would be awesome in the RPG collection - there are already a couple of Iron Kingdoms minis in there already!

There are a few smaller companies that make up minority sections of the collection.  A few years ago when we began plotting for Clan Strife, we bought a lot of the Legend of the Five Rings models when Valiant reissued them.  Astoundingly, there aren't many Ral Partha minis in the collection, but there are a few good ones.  Even though they are old, those Ral Partha sculpts are classic and we pick them up when we can.  There are also various pieces from lots of manufacturers and games, such as a few blisters from the old Warzone, but they don't make up a significant portion of the collection.
 
I have long hated pre-painted miniatures, but for RPG's my stance has softened somewhat.  The old D&D prepaints were utter garbage, and I hate them.  That said, the new Pathfinder plastic pre-paints are of a much superior quality.  I love those.  We've been talking about a club initiative that would provide us with a large number of Pathfinder pre-paints as they are released.  These minis are ubiquitous for many games, and can function across a wide variety of rulesets and settings.  Also, they are pretty cheap for something you don't have to construct, paint and base.

There are others that are on our list as well.  Warlord Games has a fantastic set of lines, Perry Miniatures make some fine historicals, as does Osprey.  Mantic has some neat models that are sure to find their way to the game table in one form or another.  These are all alternative sources for GW models.  Check out the Links column to the right for a giant list of awesome manufacturers.

Our collection is huge, and it's only going to get bigger.  By putting ourselves on the same page (figuratively) we'll be able to progress through projects much faster.  Completed armies are a source of much pride to the owner, and hopefully we'll see a lot more of those (and an even higher morale for the club) by the end of 2014.  See you on Game Day!