Parting with a huge amount of half-finished models

[Evil Eye]

Simply put: I'm burnt out. I'm moving house very soon with my wife and son to the middle of nowhere in rural Norfolk (the British one, not the US one) and having packed up my mountain of unfinished miniatures, I realize I'm just not feeling it anymore. I've started more projects than I will ever be able to finish, and frankly, I can't see myself ever actually getting to play a game again between my glacial painting speed, social anxiety, my FLGS closing, the isolation of my new location, IRL commitments and the simple fact that I just don't enjoy modern GW games. So I'm making the difficult decision to unburden myself of the vast majority of my wargaming stuff.

 

There is a bit of a snag though. Due to my shocking ADHD and the plethora of issues it causes me, I have started a whole host of projects, and a huge chunk of my collection is half-built and half-painted, which significantly decreases the likelihood of being able to shift it. At the same time I'd hate to just chuck them in the rubbish, as that seems incredibly wasteful.

 

So, what should I do? I do have a fair bit of stuff still on sprue I could probably sell/donate as well, but it's the half-finished stuff I'm not sure about what to do with. Any thoughts?

[EmprahsStrongestGuardsman]

Sell them on ebay. Make some money.

Edited December 2 by EmprahsStrongestGuardsman

[DemonGSides]

Ebay, expecting to take a hit on it.  Don't expect to sell for MSRP, offer lots of models for good discounts.

Also, I've found local facebook marketplace to be a great way to shift to someone local who's probably into the game.

I'm sure people here would be happy to help offload, though shipping might become bothersome.  There might be a local frater though!

Edited December 2 by DemonGSides

[Grotsmasha]

If they don't sell, maybe gift them to a FLGS? 

[Sky Potato]

If they aren’t selling, maybe donate to a local school or youth club?

 

As your UK based, also try Troll Trader - they buy models and collections, you’ll probably get more if you spend more time splitting everything up and listing it yourself, but it’s an option.

 

You’d be amazed at some of the stuff that does sell on eBay though. Try selling as a themed group rather than just a scattergun approach. Selling a tank platoon or a codex legal detachment - even partially painted - will probably sell quicker than just a random selection of units.

[phandaal]

eBay. You will have to take a cut on the price because of the models being half painted, but it will move. People love buying old collections and adding it to their own pile of shame. 

[EmprahsStrongestGuardsman]

If you are going to use ebay it might be to your advantage to look up any particularily old or unusual models you have, some of them go for ridiculous amounts.

 

But you should do some research about using ebay as there are lots of scams going, from sellers and buyers. E.g. buying something, claiming it never arrived and then demanding a refund. It can happen, so you need to learn how to protect yourself from that.

[Mendi Warrior]

First of all, I wish you to get better. Don't hesitate to seek professional help. It can have a positive impact. I see it with my wife who is burnt-out also. I have myself recently been diagnosed with anxiety and depression, more bore-out than burn-out in my case.

 

We moved house a couple years ago. At that time, I packed all my miniatures. A few cubic meters I think. I would say about 95% is unfinished, with less than 2% being "painted". My last real game took place when I was at university, roughly 25 years ago. I have boxes I bought then still wrapped in plastic, never opened. If anything, I am more a collector than a painter, and more a painter than a gamer. I am also convinced that I have too many miniatures and projects to ever finish all of them. I feel I can relate to you for some of the elements you raise. This said, I still buy new stuff, Legions Imperialis in particular, which I tend to build quite rapidly, contrarily to some older stuff I have.

 

If I were in your shoes, I am not sure I could take the decision to unburden myself of the vast majority of my wargaming stuff. What if my hobby mojo were to come back later? So if storage space is not an issue, I would probably keep some, if not most, of my stuff, and, now and then, revisit some unfinished projects/miniatures, building them further, maybe applying a bit of paint, occasionally even finishing some. Building them further is primarily what I have been doing for the past decade, with bouts of frenetic miniature building lasting from a few minutes to several days, encompassing chasing the odd bits that might allow me to build some stuff further.

 

Providing the decision to downsize is taken, I would probably go for selling the stuff still on sprue. Selling on eBay would seem the most logical way to go, there might also be some FB groups, direct sales to other wargamers, maybe some stores buying bits, maybe setting a bits selling shop, or even putting a box of stuff at a local auctioneer. I would probably first look if any of the stuff still on sprue could help finish some of the unfinished miniatures or not.

 

With regards to the half-finished stuff, I would first try to assess rarity. If rare, selling might be a good option. If common, selling remains an option but might be less easy. Donating is another option, maybe to local wargaming clubs at schools in your area.

 

I hope these ideas/thoughts can be of some use to you.

[skylerboodie]

If you really do want to part with them (though Mendi Warrior makes a good case for not rushing into a decision in case you have regret later), and don't want all the hassle of selling on ebay yourself, then you could try the likes of https://www.the-outpost.co.uk/reload/ or https://www.themonstermerchants.com/buy-and-sell#SELL who you can tell them what you have and they'll quote you a price to buy them off you, for them to then sell on. Sure, you won;t make as much as selling youself on ebay, but depends on whether you have the time/desire to do lots of listings/packing & posting to make maximum return.

[crimsondave]

Lots of good advice, but I’d say just be sure you want to get rid of them.  If you have the space, it won’t hurt anything to keep them.  It would be really expensive if you change your mind later.

 

About 20 years ago, I sold my WFB High Elves.  I have no interest in playing Old World but I still wish I had my old minis back.  They weren’t all painted either.

[Tyriks]

4 hours ago, Evil Eye said:

Simply put: I'm burnt out. I'm moving house very soon with my wife and son to the middle of nowhere in rural Norfolk (the British one, not the US one) and having packed up my mountain of unfinished miniatures, I realize I'm just not feeling it anymore. I've started more projects than I will ever be able to finish, and frankly, I can't see myself ever actually getting to play a game again between my glacial painting speed, social anxiety, my FLGS closing, the isolation of my new location, IRL commitments and the simple fact that I just don't enjoy modern GW games. So I'm making the difficult decision to unburden myself of the vast majority of my wargaming stuff.

 

There is a bit of a snag though. Due to my shocking ADHD and the plethora of issues it causes me, I have started a whole host of projects, and a huge chunk of my collection is half-built and half-painted, which significantly decreases the likelihood of being able to shift it. At the same time I'd hate to just chuck them in the rubbish, as that seems incredibly wasteful.

 

So, what should I do? I do have a fair bit of stuff still on sprue I could probably sell/donate as well, but it's the half-finished stuff I'm not sure about what to do with. Any thoughts?

I've sold a LOT on ebay at this point. Stuff that is half built, poorly painted, half painted, broken, whatever. All of it sells if the price is right. I usually start around 75% of msrp and if it doesnt move knock a couple bucks off. I sold some stuff for a profit, most goes for a bit less, but I never expected any of this to be an investment so thats no issue. Anything on sprue I sell for a bit more. Stuff that has real issues like poorly built or primer went on wrong I take a little more off. Overall very easy way to recoup some money.

[Lord_Ikka]

This is advice if you truly want to sell. @Mendi Warrior made several good points.

 

Like the others have said, eBay is always an option. You will definitely take a hit due to models being build/painted, but if you want to get rid of them you can just price aggressively and see what happens. Sometimes big lots of miscellaneous models/bits can get a quite high price in the auctions vs trying to sell them off individually.

 

What I did with a bunch of old minis was sell them to Noble Knight games, which offered me either cash or a 15-20% more in store credit. They then turn around and try to sell them through their dedicated eBay store/physical location. I got less than what I would have got through eBay, but I didn't have to deal with the hassle of...anything really. Noble Knight wanted a list of models and pics so they could give me a base sell/trade-in value, then gave me a shipping label and I sent off my stuff. A couple of days later I got an updated value, accepted the payment option and was done. For me, simple and easier than dealing with eBay. I'm sure there are stores/sites like that in the UK that have a similar business plan if you seek them out.

[N1SB]

4 hours ago, Evil Eye said:

I'm moving house very soon with my wife and son to the middle of nowhere in rural Norfolk (the British one, not the US one) and having packed up my mountain of unfinished miniatures, I realize I'm just not feeling it anymore.

 

Brother Eye, don't throw it out, because you're saving it for your son.

 

You're moving to a new area.  He's going to a new school, he has to make new friends.  Maybe the kids there are talking about Warhammer.  Sounds like there won't be much of a meta there, it'll be like a desert.  Your son is going to be the kid in school whose cool dad has ALL the Warhammer.  Suddenly, they will want to be friends with your son.

 

In case you need to explain to Mrs. Eye, boys are different than girls.  Girls can make new friends just walking and talking.  Boys are so bad at making friends walking and talking that they invented golf instead.  Now we have Warhammer.  Boys need some sort of project to work together on.  That's what you're holding the minis for.

 

Btw, like you, I don't love the game now.  I do love my meta, they're hilarious guys.  You're right, I don't play for the game, I play for my meta.

[firestorm40k]

Sorry to hear you're feeling this way - if your feeling of burn out is hobby related, then absolutely taking a break from it, and parting with unfinished projects that cause you to feel a bit stressed or anxious thinking about completing them is absolutely the right thing to do. I did the very same thing 10 years ago - stepped away due to feelings of being burnt out with painting and the game; I had about 4 years away, did other things (some sensible, adult stuff like pass some IT exams and move house ), and was drawn back by Kill Team. 

 

First thing I'd suggest - you might not be a fan of the way the game(s) work at the moment (I fully sympathise), but I'd argue most of us spend more time building and painting our miniatures (even if most don't get finished) than playing - so before you divest, I'd consider this:

 

Is there one particular army or project that is your 'favourite'? Maybe, one that was the most complete; or one that has some kit bashes or conversions you were particularly proud of; or maybe it's just your favourite faction in the lore. Well, I'd suggest you keep that one army/project, if nothing else. Because after a break, you might find yourself drawn back for whatever reason - a new edition of a game, a new release, or meeting other people in your area who are in the hobby which could rekindle your interest/enthusiasm. You'll still have one army that can be your way back. I always give this advice to people who say they're selling their armies - keep one that's your favourite for the event that you find yourself drawn back. 

 

Secondly, although you're moving to a remote, rural area, I wouldn't write off that you'll find other hobbyists. I live a county down, in deepest, darkest rural Suffolk  Typically, we're at least 40-45 minute drive to 'civilisation' (though there are two small market towns 15 minutes away). Despite that, I've been involved in setting up two gaming groups locally, one of which is youth-orientated and meets at a youth club in the grounds of the local high school. Putting notices on all sorts of local forums and social media places, it turned out there are a LOT of people living locally who are in to the hobby. Well, more than I was expecting..! 

 

It's worth talking to the local schools or any local youth groups too - as @N1SB points out, there could already be 'Warhammer Clubs' at one of these, or there may be a teacher or youth worker happy to set one up - and the miniatures you've set aside for your son are just what they need to get it going 

 

Anyway, I hope the move goes well, and a break from the hobby helps clear your head and relieves your feeling of burn out. Hopefully the advice of the Fraters here is helpful and of some use to you 

Edited December 3 by firestorm40k

[Firedrake Cordova]

Firstly, I hope the move goes well and you find yourself in a happier place soon.  

 

As you mentioned social anxiety I don't know if it's a non-starter, but I don't know if you have an FLGS with a "for sale" board?

 

++EDIT: I would agree with the others - just make sure that you're OK with getting rid of them and won't miss them, i.e. you're not interested in using them with alternative systems (One Page Rules, Inq28, 5 Parsecs From Home, etc), etc.

Edited December 3 by Firedrake Cordova

[Antarius]

First off, I hope you feel better soon! I know that life can be pretty overwhelming at times, so on the one hand, I won't tell you what to do, but on the other hand I'd like to suggest that you might not always feel this way, so I personally wouldn't pull the trigger on your collection right away, if I were you. But that is, of course, your decision to make.
Apart from that, I too have way too many minis (realistically speaking that is, emotionally speaking even too many minis are not enough... If I were in the UK I'd probably offer to buy some of yours  ) and I also know the feeling of having to "clean house" every once in a while.

From personal experience, selling via facebook groups or similar is pretty ok, if you don't want to bother with ebay. Everything will (eventually) sell, if the price is right, the folks are generally nice enough and I've never been cheated (nor have I ever encountered anyone who wanted me to send the minis before receiving payment).

That being said, I'd definitely pick a project or two to hold on to; even if you never get back in the hobby it might be nice to fondle them once in a while (shut up, it's perfectly normal!) and think of your hobby memories. Plus, if you do feel the urge to do some hobby stuff again, you're not starting from scratch.

[Cleon]

Depending on where in Norfolk you are moving (it can take forever to loop round the broads to get to places that even look close to each other) there are a number of games stores and groups in Norwich, varying form those who are all in on modern GW, to those who like the retro games reborn to various historicals and other non GW games (and I've heard rumours there is at least some life in King's Lynn, but who knows) so you might find a spark of inspiration. If you aren't hammered for space either in new home storage or in transit I'd always suggest putting things aside and letting yourself get re-established and re-centred in your new location rather than rushing in to selling things you might miss or pay more to re-acquire later.

[Evil Eye]

Thank you for the supportive comments, everyone.

 

Having had a good think about it, and having had a chat with some good friends of mine, I think I'm realizing that I'm mostly suffering from house-move-stress-induced urges to get rid of stuff I will probably regret parting with once I'm settled in. I'm still thinking I might shift some of it, or at least store it away, but I'm no longer in a "purge it all" mindset. I'm probably going to try and focus on one 40K project and one non-40K project for now, and have the other stuff on hold.

 

Regardless, I really appreciate all the advice!

[roryokane]

On 12/2/2024 at 9:22 PM, Evil Eye said:

Simply put: I'm burnt out. I'm moving house very soon with my wife and son to the middle of nowhere in rural Norfolk (the British one, not the US one) and having packed up my mountain of unfinished miniatures, I realize I'm just not feeling it anymore. I've started more projects than I will ever be able to finish, and frankly, I can't see myself ever actually getting to play a game again between my glacial painting speed, social anxiety, my FLGS closing, the isolation of my new location, IRL commitments and the simple fact that I just don't enjoy modern GW games. So I'm making the difficult decision to unburden myself of the vast majority of my wargaming stuff.

 

There is a bit of a snag though. Due to my shocking ADHD and the plethora of issues it causes me, I have started a whole host of projects, and a huge chunk of my collection is half-built and half-painted, which significantly decreases the likelihood of being able to shift it. At the same time I'd hate to just chuck them in the rubbish, as that seems incredibly wasteful.

 

So, what should I do? I do have a fair bit of stuff still on sprue I could probably sell/donate as well, but it's the half-finished stuff I'm not sure about what to do with. Any thoughts?

I mean, what do you got? eBay is your friend!

EDIT: Just read you last post. Am glad you aren't chucking anything, but still... whatcha got?! :P

Edited December 5 by roryokane