If you collect Warhammer 40k, or any miniature game, chances are very good that you have a backlog. We model makers are an enthusiastic bunch, and new project ideas present themselves faster than we can finish them. But with a house move looming at the start of September, I’ve got to shrink my backlog really fast. Here’s how I’m gonna do it.
I’ve been collecting Warhammer 40k and other miniature wargames on and off since I was eight. The photo below covers maybe 50% of the collection, and doesn’t show the 3D printer review units I have on hand. While I’ve sold, traded, and lost many models over the years, my collection has still grown in leaps and bounds.
There was a period of bad depression when I used ‘bargain hunting’ as a coping strategy; gifts of old Warhammer 40k factions and Warhammer the Old World armies from school friends who’ve quit the hobby and know I’m still the ‘Warhammer guy’; review samples now that my day job is writing about games.
I’m moving house to a larger property with no garage: I’ll have a nicer hobby space, but a smaller one. After four years living in a house that’s just too small for the number of humans inhabiting it, I would rather have space to share with friends and family, than rooms overwhelmed by stuff. But how am I going to make everything fit?
Here’s how I’m tackling my Warhammer pile of shame:
Define success
At the start of September, my family moves out of our home and in with my in-laws until the purchase of our new property completes. So I’ve picked early September as my deadline to ensure all my completed minis, anything as-yet unbuilt, and all my hobby supplies fit into a new home office that must also contain my work computer, gaming rig, and ridiculous Warhammer 40k gaming chair.
I’ll be frank – I want to take as much of this stuff with me as I can. Some of it I have to keep, because I’m still planning a review or feature on the game. But I don’t want my hobby space and home to be dominated by a looming pile of shame. I’m not even sure I remember everything that I have in there. Success will be the feeling that I’m in control.
Actually painting all the minis… that’s a job for later.
Plan
It’s no good downsizing unless I know what I’m downsizing into. I’ve sketched a plan of my new office, taking account of the computer desk and chair I know are going to use up part of the space. Doing this has revealed that our current Ikea Ivar living room bookshelves will fit perfectly into one corner and wall. So that’s my target zone.
I think the most efficient way to store models is to ensure they are built, have magnetised bases, and are racked on magnetic trays. I’m eyeing up Greenstuff World’s army transport cabinets for reasons I’ll get into below. Note that I don’t actually know if they’re going to work, but I don’t really have time for second-guesses. If I waste hundreds of dollars on a failed racking solution, I’ll let you know.
Magnets
What’s all this about magnetising? For a long time, ‘magnet cases’ were a DIY storage solution. A small but potent neodymium magnet glued to the bottom of a model’s base will keep it securely fixed to a magnetic surface. I’ve lined several Really Useful Boxes with magnetic rubber sheets, and they work okay for some of my painted minis.
Recently, hobby companies have started to make dedicated magnet rack solutions for both storage and model transport, and it feels like the choice for me. Really Useful Boxes have fixed heights, which means there’s dead space above minis, and though they’re see-through, they’re all too easy for me to stuff full of unfinished projects and forget about.
My collection and my storage solutions have grown organically, but – like an untended garden – they’ve run rampant. It’s time for the cold logic of magnets.
Rationalise
I have many, many unfinished projects. I’ve bought plenty of bits bundles, end-of-line miniatures, and failed resin casts, to convert monstrosities from. I often build minis in sub-assemblies to make painting easier. Sometimes I just get partway into a project and stop. All of these bits on sprues, and trays of part-finished builds, are a space-eating mess.
This is where I have to get hard-nosed with myself. Everything’s getting built, based, and magnetised in six weeks – or it’s going.
Reduce
My tendency to hold onto kits and bits “just in case” I get the time or inspiration to finish a project with them is completely at odds with the amount of space and time I have. Stuff has to go.
I’m finding a Marie Kondo attitude helpful: looking at each item and asking if I really need this kit, game, finished model, or tool, more than I need the space? If the answer isn’t a resounding yes, it can go.
I’ve been selling stuff for a while – a small Salamanders Space Marines army went last month – but that’s a slow and laborious process. It’s also not an option for every model I own. I feel queasy selling minis that were given to me as gifts, even if the original owner no longer cares, and it’s a breach of journalistic ethics to sell review samples.
But giving stuff away is an option. Teachers who run clubs at local schools are the ideal recipients for boxed games; the local hobby club and FLGS can use terrain. Giving things to individuals often makes them want to pay something back for it, which I can’t accept, so I ask them to pay it forward – give something to someone else, or buy something for the community.
Child labor
This isn’t an option for everyone, but I’m blessed with a daughter who really enjoys building miniatures. This means I can spend quality time with her, which always take priority, and still work on reducing my backlog of unbuilt miniatures.
I’ll let you know how this goes, if not in a follow-up article then at least on Wargamer’s Facebook page. If you want to tackle your own backlog but you’re dealing with hobby burnout, Wargamer’s visiting psychiatrist Dr. Joe Stammeijer has an excellent guide on how to get your hobby mojo back.
Source: Wargamer
