To the casual observer my wargames/toy room looks even more chaotic than it did this time yesterday, but the truth of the matter is that I now have a much better idea about what I actually have ... and I am beginning to formulate ideas about where and how things are going to be stored. I am also beginning the process of cataloguing my collection of wargames figures, vehicles and terrain, and once that is complete I will be in a much better position to decide what I will want to keep and what I will need to re-home or dispose of.
With a bit of luck I should have the reorganisation of the storage system well underway by tomorrow evening, although I suspect that it will take me a lot longer to everything exactly as I want it to be.
With a bit of luck I should have the reorganisation of the storage system well underway by tomorrow evening, although I suspect that it will take me a lot longer to everything exactly as I want it to be.
I started my database with a digital photo of everything tied to a verbal description. I really need to add a value for others to follow.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I have bought a ton of stuff since then so I'll probably have to start all over again.
Jim Duncan,
ReplyDeleteI had not thought of illustrating my catalogue, but it is certainly something that I will consider ... although, like you, I might need to ensure that it is regularly updated.
All the best,
Bob
This all sounds frighteningly well organised!
ReplyDeleteHi Bob,
ReplyDeleteWhen I left work some months ago sorting my toysoldier room was one of my priorities but far too often I've walked into the room, looked around and walked back out again. It's a daunting task!
I had a similar problem some years ago with books, which were piling up in mountains way beyond the capacity of my bookshelves. I started storing them in stacking plastic crates which I numbered and logged in an excel spreadsheet with columns for location, author, classification etc. Now I can do a search for what I want, see where it is and where to put it back. It has worked very well and is easy to keep updated.
Now I've discovered that our local Poundland sells a great range of transparent plastic storage boxes with lids so I'm finally getting stuck into the task and replacing all the battered old shoe boxes and carrier bags that have cluttered up the place for far too long.
Best wishes, Brian
Tim Gow,
ReplyDeleteWhat else would you expect from a man who seems to say 'Now I know it was here the last time I looked' far too often for comfort!
All the best,
Bob
Brian Carrick,
ReplyDeleteI did make a catalogue of most of my books a few years ago, and I have tried to keep it reasonably up to date. When I look at it I feel a mixture of pride ... and concern at how much it probably cost to acquire!
Funny that you should mention plastic see-through crates as I am just about to go and buy some more. I have quite a few, but I need two more to make the maximum use out of the space I have.
All the best,
Bob
I have been thinking about the task you have given yourself. I have also been looking at my own collections and at the projects that I currently have on the go, all in various states of completion as ever. It occured to me how little I actually get to play with much of my stuff, that is not to say the figures do not ever see the light of day, just that I dont seem to actually play. Take my WW1 skirmish collection, nicely painted 28mm figures and all that and they have been used at the club and for demos seven or eight times this year. Its just that I run the games and umpire. The more i looked at this situation the more I realised how often and with how many various games this happens.
ReplyDeleteIt gets worse, because I am building some forces and a locally based multi phased scenario for the new rules 'Witchfinder General'. I am actually building both sides, buying and painting all of the kit etc, purely so that the members of my club will get and interesting and unusal set of games. I will, of course, umpire the whole thing....between taking it to the club, setting it all up and then packing it away again. part of me cannot but help wonder if I have missed the point somewhere long the line??
Logically, a few of us would do this as a joint project, but here am I doing everything. Perhaps this is a carry over from being a solo gamer for so long? I have simply got used to doing everything myself. And then of course I wonder why I end up having large collections of everything.....and so we come back to Bob's toy room. How many of your games do you personally get to actually play yourself? How many are for the enjoyment and elucidation of others?
Just a thought of course, really do not want the other followers of your great blog thinking I am a selfish person or anything. Perhaps they have similar experiences?
See through plastic sounds like a good idea. I specialize in assorted sizes of opaque boxes 1/3 with no label, 1/3 with correct label and 1/3 with incorrect labels (which makes them all useless).
ReplyDeleteBring on winter! A good time for inside organizing!
-Ross
Leofwin Wargamerson,
ReplyDeleteThe problem with almost all wargamers is that we are great collectors and probably even greater hoarders. We also tend to go through ‘phases’ where we will buy and collect stuff for a new project … and then never complete it! On top of that we have a tendency to want to buy figures etc for both sides ‘just in case’ we cannot find anyone else who shares our current interest but who might be persuades to act as an opponent just so long as they do not have to buy and paint their own army. Your WW1 skirmish game sounds just such a project, but with the added problem that you are also umpiring the battles and not taking part (another frequent wargaming dilemma, I am afraid to say).
Your ‘Witchfinder General’ game sounds like it will be a great game to take part in, but not a project that will appeal to many as something they might like to commit to. You have hit the nail on the head when you describe your predicament. Are you doing it for your benefit … or are you just an unpaid entertainer of other people? I suppose that the answer lies in what you want to get out of the hobby. I like designing rules and fighting campaigns. I enjoy some aspects of the modelling process that achieving this entails … but I am not a great figure painter or lover of painting figures. I know some people who are the exact opposite.
In answer to your questions ‘How many of your games do you personally get to actually play yourself? How many are for the enjoyment and elucidation of others?’ the present-day answer to the first is ‘all’ and to the second is ‘as many as possible’ … but with the former being more important than the latter.
I did have a phase where most of my wargaming was in preparation for things like COW, SALUTE, and SELWG … but now it is almost all for my own enjoyment, but with the ability for me to make it available to a wider audience should I so desire it. This is not selfish, merely what I want out of my hobby.
One of the strengths of the hobby is its diversity. Doing what you want to do adds to that diversity; it does not detract from it one bit … and I suspect that you will find that there are quite a few people out there who think as you do.
All the best,
Bob
Ross Mac,
ReplyDeleteThe only things that I am not storing - as yet - in see-through boxes are painted figures and bulky items of terrain. All the rest have or will be transferred to see-through boxes in due course.
This is not a cheap process, either in terms of time or cost, but the end result will mean that I will be able to find stuff much quicker.
All the best,
Bob