Problem I fall into is trying to paint the models to the level of the marketing. Now Im forcing myself to only get to "battle ready" level, and I can add more later when the army is done. A basic painted army will always look better than an unpainted army.

" You're not buying models, you're buying spues" is going to stick with me for a while.

Two decisions I've made: 1, I'm not buying any new kits until I've built everything on my to do list (which isn't my entire pile of shame, but it's all the things I currently wish were on the table), and 2, my new year's resolution is to do at least *some* hobby work every day. Because even if I'm not feeling it on a given day, if I force myself to sit down for five minutes, I inevitably get into it and will spend at least the next hour happily hobbying. You've also given me an idea - I run a school club and I worry about parents' budgets. What I'm going to start doing now for new members is send a letter home actually explaining all of this. Finally, as a counter-point, you say 'I don't blame GW, it's just the world we live in' - I'd argue that this is only the world we live in because of the choices people/companies make...!

Such a realistic, grounded approach to the reality of the situation. Obviously they exist to make money, but so many big companies now prey on you to squeeze every penny out of you.

It's not just the money and the time but the space. It takes up so much space once assembled, not counting all the tools and supplies that go with it. The way to store it, transport it, an area to play it. All the books, dice, rulers, mats, terrain, etc. It's very easy to be unprepared for that side of it since it's so well packed in the boxes. I don't think they do enough as a company to provide answers or foreshadowing to that part of it. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to sell an army of Tyranids to make room for some more compact models of GSC because the Tyranids are just so all over the place.

It's an interesting difference between Warhammer models and, say, old school model planes or model tanks. Those were always "You go out, buy a single model, take it home, build it, and paint it, for as long as it takes, taking your sweet time until you're satisfied." Maybe you're done in a weekend. Then, next weekend, you can go out, buy a different tank, and do it again. It was a slow, casual sort of hobby, and you also had no pressure to spend money. A Sherman tank is a Sherman tank and will always be a Sherman tank. There's no meta or game system to go with it, no FOMO boxes, no points that require you to buy more to assemble an army. It's just a model you build for fun. Warhammer, though, has constant releases, changes to its game system, NEW game systems, more factions, constant value boxes, points changes, and it's all really just in service to get you to buy more and more plastic. Instead of having fun, you're piling up a mountain of sprues because "Oh, this was on sale! I have to get it!" or "This'll be sold out in 30 seconds!" or "They just changed the rules for this." Or "It's a new faction!" Or "It's an old faction!" and so on and so on. They really do know how to manipulate a consumer's psyche.

For GW, consumerism is the hobby. For the weak, consumerism is also the hobby. Buying a box of plastic is not the hobby, you’re not a hobbyist-you are a consumer. Cycles of hype and FOMO are tools to short circuit the consumer. Buy a box, build and paint the box, THEN buy the next. Don’t be a consumer, be a hobbyist. You can be a fan and you can spend money but just don’t let GW hustle you.

Same experience. I'm an old figure painter and I can't resist painting these to a very high standard. It takes me forever to paint a set of these, and at times, I've switched back to 54mm figures or building a 1/35 scale tank for long periods of time justto get away from WH. It's just too much.

Two things that have helped me massively with my backlog is having someone to "hobby party" with, where we just chat and chill while painting and building minis; and setting painting goals for myself, usually one unit per week. I don't always succeed at it, but it keeps me focused.

I think the phrase "I was lucky I didn't buy a lot these past 6 months" already tells a lot of the story. And you're actually right, they market you those nicely painted models, but we're actually buying unassembled unpainted plastic, that will require a ton of work and time to get to look nice. Much more effort than just getting excited and buying yet another box of miniatures.

There’s a old concept that relates to coupons and sales. If you walk into a store with a plan to spend let’s say $30 on items that you do need but you see a bunch of on sale items that you don’t need and end up buying them, spending let’s say $130 total, you’ve just lost $100 not saved any. It’s the same thing with the combat patrols, a sale or low price is only actually a low price if it’s something you would have bought at full price

I do think part of the issue with models taking forever to paint is caused by the size of new models and the insane level of detail. I can remember the 25th anniversary of 40k, I took part in a speed painting contest where we 15 mins to paint one of the old push fit tactical marines. Everyone managed to get their's finished within the time to a decent standard (even me and I was like 12). More recently, I was at a store birthday and took part in another speed painting contest. Again, we had 15 mins but this time the model was the stormcast line infantry from the 2nd ed AoS starter box. I actually won it, not because mine was the best painted but because I was the only one there who had managed to get four different colours onto the model within the allotted time.

I want the Combat Patrol magazine because I am splitting it with a group of friends. If I was getting it alone I would only buy 2-3 of the armies. So get a group of friends to paint and play with.

GW has one other problem that nobody seems to address: Their products are not perishable. I've collected WFB (and some 40k) for 30 or so years now. I STILL have the first models I ever bought (back when they were much cheaper) and painted. Even though I don't play anymore, I just can't part with them because I enjoy assembling them and painting them that much. But GW hasn't made a dime off of me in over a decade. I bought the collections of several friends when they left the hobby over the years, always for close to a 'just take them' price. I bought more on EBay for a while. Many are painted, some are not, but you can see the problem. After my initial purchases, GW hasn't gotten any of my money except for the core rule book and the army books. Because my models will last forever unless I sell them or trash them for some reason.

It is also: big box set. You need to spend too much at once. Everything is disguised as a good deal if buying a bundle but you still need to buy the bundle

This is all so true. I found that every time I played the game, I would think, "if I only had that unit, I would have done better", and I got this big pile of shame. I also bought a lot of the big box sets that came out. So, for the past six months, I have stopped playing and I'm just building and painting. It's very restful when you aren't chasing the meta and not falling for FOMO. Sometimes you just need to step back from it all.

In their defense, the drip feed method is literally the modern market. Every industry wants this business model. Not only does it make them the most money, it's literally a means of addiction development. The pleasure is being in a constaint state of what's next rather than being able to enjoy what we have.

Paint what you have before you buy more is a really hard rule to live by, but it's a good one. It takes a lot of discipline but it can be rewarding. Schedule what you're going to build and when and eventually you'll get into a rhythm and know exactly what to buy and when. You have to make your hobby a habit. Eventually, you'll catch up and have a good, regular output and can gage exactly how long each project will take. At that point, you'll be able to plan and schedule everything out between the preorder and the arrival of the box so that when you get it, you know exactly what you're going to do. Just as planned.

I really think this is something a lot of new hobbyist go through and it's something that just falls to your own personal responsibility. In the past 6 months my wife gave birth to our daughter and I've still painted over 2000 points of death guard, almost 1000 points of ossiarch bonereapers, a cerastus Lancer, and I'm about to finish a vampire blood bowl team before I move on to flesh eater courts. In the last year, I've painted almost 10K points of total models but I had this same realization last year when I came to the point of realizing I owned over 10K points of unpainted minis and having a daughter on the way helped wake me up. I've slowed down on buying stuff even if it's within budget and even if it's limited availability. my next 6 months of painting are spoken for so the only way I buy soemthing is if it's going straight from the store to my desk, not the pile. And to be honest, if you haven't painted a single box set worth of minis in 6 months you might not enjoy painting as much as you think you do or you might need to learn how to create deadlines for yourself. I play about once a week right now. My friend group is starting a blood bowl league this coming Friday and that's what's pushing me on these vampires. Then the GW store I play at is doing new year new army which I'll be painting flesh eaters for. I have til the end of the week to do vampires before I then get 1.5 months to do 1K of flesh eaters. I'm not trying to rub anything in anyone's face or be condescending but I'm saying it's worth reflecting on your own circumstances. Do you play regularly? Do you have social groups to share your painting with? Does all this plastic actually bring you happiness or do you just enjoy the dopamine realise that marketing uses to prey on consumers? It's really hard to tell the difference and I think it primarily comes down to do you have a friend group you share this hobby with frequently.

Great video. I'm 51 and I love GW. I basically have an unlimited budget and you should see my pile of shame. They really are great at marketing. I bought several of the big boxes this year and most aren't even built. I agree that stepping away and trying not to follow all the releases is a good idea. I check the forger world site several times a day. A model will come back into stock and before I know it I'm buying it. I have a FW shame pile over 10K. I've really had to force myself to stop looking at FW site and when I do to realize that I don't need to buy something just because its been out of stock for a long time.

Nice video, cheers! I started WH this year, it is a whole lot of fun building and painting and I'm now trying to focus on what I've got and soaking that in. Models will pretty much always be available in the future if I really want them.

I’ve just gotten back into 40K and have so far avoided buying more than I can paint. I have two rules: 1. Nothing goes on the table until it’s FULLY painted and 2. No more than one thing in my waiting pile. Looking to get into Kill Team as it seems like it would allow me to just paint a cool thing one at a time without always needing more or different.

Good chat!! audio-book + paint is one of my favourite pass times :)

You have taken your first step into a wider world, you can indeed love the hobby, the games, the universe without having to buy everything, it is hard because everything they make is fantastic but also a big commitment, that's the plan to maintain you almost in a state of panic trying to "keep up". Welcome to the light at the end of the tunnel.

Thank you so much for this. I’ve actually recently hit a point of burnout with the hobby purely because of this endless stream of new stuff that just got overwhelming for me, especially as I think I have ADHD which makes trying to focus and resist FOMO even harder. Glad to see it’s not just me that had these issues

As someone who has only gotten into this hobby in the past year - I really underestimated how long it takes to get models painted to a level I'm happy with, and also how easy it is to let motivation slip and make no progress for long periods of time... I do however highly recommend audiobooks while painting!

Preach I love this. My goal for 2024 as a blood angels player is to build my pile of shame. Resist the Death wing assault box set and wait for the next blood angels releases! I feel I’ll get more out of the hobby and have a kick ass army at the same time

I just started 40k tabletop like 6 7 month ago. Started painting them like 4 month ago. I Finished Eldar / Orks Combat Patrols, 1 Dark Reaper / 1 Guardian Squad / 1 Banshee / 2 Autarchs / 1 Vyper / 1 War Walker / 1 Dire Avenger Squad / 1 Striking Scorp / Maguan Raa / Eldrad / 2 Warlocks / 1 Shroud Runner Squad / 1 Ranger Squad. Working on some Eldar tanks now. Tbh I think I am very slow and take too long. I still have loads of stuff to build and paint since I kinda went full Mid life crisis on this game :) Most important thing is I do enjoy building and painting the models. Sadly I only managed to play like 4 games only until now but was very enjoyable.

This resonated with me so much dude,I have bought so many models this year and it's nowhere near how much I actually wanted to buy, but my thirst for new models is nowhere near compatible with the volume of painted models I output. thank you for this you have earned yourself an new fan and subscriber

I absolutely resonate with what you’re talking about. The breakneck pace of reveals and releases has felt overwhelming the past year or two, and I am someone who works at a pace similar to yours. I’ve found it best to just focus on a handful of current hobby goals and think about that every time I feel the urge to pick up some shiny new set. I realize most of this stuff never gets painted or heck even assembled, and just ends up on ebay a year later when I’m trying to free up space. Thankfully I’ve also managed to restrain myself quite a bit in 2023. I think the only new kits I picked up were the Leviathan Dread and the MK3 marines for HH, and some secondhand Lumineth for AoS. That’s not to say I haven’t been tempted by half a dozen boxed sets this year, us plastik addicts can rarely resist a “deal”😅

A voice of common sense. Subbed. When i was a teen in the mid 90s all my models were painted, i couldnt get enough to paint so painted for friends and even the gw shop... Now i have money for models but little time, i dont have a huge pile of shame, but it is a challenge 😅

You buy hobby debt. You buy backlog. Add up the amount of work you'll need to do to complete your backlog. It can be a very humbling experience. If your backlog will take 5 years to clear, how do you feel about that? 10 years? What if you own so much that you'll never complete it before you die?

I remember when I got back into 40k about 10 years ago, I went to town and bought all the models I wanted when I was 12 and the sad thing is 90% of those models have either been sold or given away. This is because I got too many models and I didn't know how to paint/build, so they ended up looking horrific. Now I plan ahead on my spending usually getting a couple of boxes every two months.

I just started collecting and playing 40k. I rushed to get my primary army painted, and now I am taking a break from painting to learn how to play. I have played a few games and I am improving and having fun. I already know what my second army will be, but this will not be as much of a "rush job".

You’re bang on with your observations. I think GW is aware of the realistic limit to who is actually going to buy. I mean there are many players but not as much sales are there players. I think that the “small batch” or “conservative batch” roll out of new products, stops them from overreaching.

One of the best Warhammer channels out there, very balanced commentary between GW criticism and community criticism.

is a really valid point. I've started a Lamenters force maybe, what, almost 3 years ago now? and I have 10 assault marines, 5 tac, one lib dread, 3 eradicators and a terminator. These are all painted up to a degree I'd be happy with yet the amount of models I've collected from GW, Tortuga and friends/eBay to kitbash, say firstborns have made me not buy anything from them in the last 6 months. I'm like you and can happily paint all day (I've started Cursed City last year and am trying to finish the set, highly satisfying tbh) and it's like a never ending conveyer belt at times unless I'm trying new methods, styles or with a friend while doing it.

I’ve got a massive pile of shame but every single one is still sealed and I’ve told myself no box openings for me until I’ve complete the current project. This has given me some motivation to complete what is in front of me before moving to the next item. Doesn’t help with the fomo, though! Good vid!🤙

Recently got back into the hobby after nearly 30yrs and there's two things I think is a real shame they stopped doing: One is the little blister packs with just one or two regular sized minis in it. They were great because you could buy them with your pocket money (price was like £1-3 I think back in early-mid 90s) and spend a week or two painting them without being overwhelmed by a pile of sprues. If you mostly liked painting and weren't so interested in building an army, or just wanted some variety in your units, they were perfect. The other thing is having cheap boxes of plastic minis that were aimed at those who were mostly interested in gaming. They were great because they were less detailed, less varied, and so quicker and easier to paint up, as well as not breaking the bank when all you wanted was to pad out your army. You could then spend the extra time and money on your characters/special units instead.

This is the first video of yours I’ve watched. This really hit home, I’m guilty of my FOMO gland in the last few years. This year I plan on buying less/hardly anything and concentrating on my backlog.

A clever marketing trend I've noticed GW Community adopt, was rebranding the 'Pile of Shame' into a 'Pile of Potential', further encouraging buying more piles of minis.

Honestly, man, i think a lot of us, myself included, needed this. I had been practicing better spending and tempering my own desire and consumerism. It's nice to see others in the hobby in a similar spot. Earned a sub, God bless.

When I got into this hobby it was because I found a few early Age of Sigmar sets really cheap at Half Priced Books, it was a hell of a find. I wanted to start small but then I just wanted all the things. Getting three 1000 point armies grew into an obsession. I then had over 20,000 points of stormcast but then I started Nighthaunt then Fyreslayers, then Seraphon, then Lumineth then I bought a whole Slaanesh army, the 3.0 came out and I bought all new Battletomes, I bought two dominion boxes and then I had the idea of starting Kharadon Overlords so I grabbed a start collecting kit but then I bought an entire Sylvaneth army..........I took on way too much. I realized that I would never get through all this and I had to downsize. So I did. I kept what I liked but I sold three entire armies and close to 8000 points of stormcast and now it feels more manageable. I am resisting the urge to buy whole armies and might even downsize further by selling one more army. GW sells models I want in whole box sets and I have been getting better about splitting up boxes with others so I don't accumulate as much stuff that I will likely never use. Some of this is my finding out the kinds of armies I like to play and how I want them to play. I now find myself being more selective about what I buy and doing less meta chasing. It's easy to fall into a trap where you need the best models out there when GW releases tournament stats and you want to replicate those lists with every army you have.........but rules and points change and those models you didn't get around to building and painting are now $1000 worth of plastic dust collectors. As got got more refined in the hobby it started to be easier to shrug off all that plastic crack. The stuff designed to get new players into the game achieves that but it also gets overwhelming very quickly.

Your commentary is on point

As someone who has had a cripling Magic the Gathering addiction for about 8 years and as someone who's studied psychology for almost 3, it is important to resist addictions. We can't get rid of them but only replace them. Love yourself more than the hobbie. It's only fantasy and games.

I definitely had a feeling similar to this as I saw the Christmas Box set reveals. With the Space Marine army box having pushed me away from increasing the size of my force at all this year. I have over 2000 points of gray assembled Marines that I don't even currently game with, for what purpose would I realistically buy more? I can't fool myself into thinking that I'm going to build and paint them anymore as I stare at my cabinet full of gray each morning.

I subbed to the Hachette Imperium 40K magazine thinking I could cope with the 1 issue every week plan - and it was a good way to get into 40k. In reality it was 4 issues every 4 to 6 weeks, depending on postage, and surprise, to this date I have painted absolutely none of it. It could be because the paints that accompanied it were released in bits a pieces over the weeks (I don't have many Citadel paints) or it could be because I have 101 other projects on the go (I'm into painting historical minis). The sub is complete and frankly I don't know if I'll start it now or just put it on Ebay.

Truth is you CAN keep up, but it demands some discipline and good planning (in fact, since it needs logistics as well, you could consider it a war on itself! Battle the Grey Tide!). The first step is to decide on a color scheme, which is tied to, in this case, the space marines chapter you want (I always suggest an unknown successor so the rules won't hold you every time a codex drops, and so you can make as much background as desired for several successor chapters); in this it's better to choose one that has a base color of an already existing rattle can for priming (so you base & prime at the same time); the second step is to either grab an airbrush or a second rattle can that stays between the base color and a much clearer version (easiest scale is black primer, gray cenital spray, white drybush), apply color details (metalics, weapon extra colors, some decoration, etc...) and apply an ink to finish it off. The objective here is to pain a base troop in less than 1-2 hours, which can be further optimized by apllying the same step to several models at once, which is not fun, but makes the battle against the grey tide feasible. Also, try not to buy *everything* released... most of the time you don't need it.

Its especially disconcerting if you are a completionist. The feeling of missing out on sets can weigh on the mind. Ive really had to just take a step back and focus on the models I truely love, bacause the hobby is becoming too pricey. I fear Warhammer is going down the same route Magic the Gathering did where instead of a new set every 3 months, its something new every week. Burns out your interest and the wallet.

Great video! I recently seen my pile of shame grow to new heights and finally made the call to start selling off what i cant handle ( levithan ). Its only a sale or deal if you were going to buy it in the first place.

This is quite interesting perspective. My own experience is that there are a few things that can help to stop a person from being overwhelmed. The first is stop having FOMO. You cant get everything, so stop worrying about not getting everything. Probably easier said than done, but at least acknowledge you can can't have it all. The second is too limit the number of games and or armies you play. You can only play a finite number of games. So having 8 different armies means if you played every week for a year, you will only use an army a dozen times at most. I do have a lot of factions, but I limit myself to 2 or 3 factions per version. This helps with painting and learning how to use the faction to get the most from it. Third, I would say try not too build up too big a back log of mini's. I have a pile of shame, but it is not too big, and I know I will clear most of it down before I start any new armies

This video blew up. Awesome man !

This is the exact same reason i started 3d printing everything, i sold almost all of my unopened boxes of models and now I'm trying to approach projects one at a time. I still have a pile of shame, even thou is mostly digital, but instead of 40 boxes now i just have 9 huge models waiting for me to be painted, and i kept just a few GW minis in case i want to jump back into warhammer. Not having that mental load or having to follow the FOMO at every cost has been a blessing, i really should just paint more now!

This was a great video dude. I needed to see this one.

it took me around 2 months to do cadia stands. sure i did paint a few other things as well as it but still it took me ages. in all honesty the amount I can build and paint depends on complexity and if i have to fix issues along the way

Really sensible video, and an issue that affects us all, but is rarely discussed. I am absolutely going to be following this advice this year. My pile of grey isn’t *that* big, but I’m not adding to it till I make more progress with what I already have.

Excellent points mate! 2023 was a blow to me because I've never purchased so much, while feeling so behind in my hobby. It's time for me to balance those scales. Your vid helps with inspiration for exactly that!

I think speedpainting techniques need to be popularized more. It feels to me like a "Step 1" that most people skip. I can get an entire small army painted in a single day, and looking pretty nice on the game table. It's really quite easy, just spray them the main colour, pick out a few strategic details (faces etc.), apply some washes with a big brush, if you have an airbrush apply a cool highlight, done. It's really a breeze if you treat it as an assembly line and do each step on all minis together. You have a finished army, ready to play, they really look nice together, 100 times better than a mix of bare platic, painted, half painted etc. And you sacrifice nothing, cause now you can pick out your special characters, generals etc. and start the usual painting process, adding details etc. to the level you're happy with. I've been in the hobby since the early 90's, and I've never had a "pile of shame".

I think that's why i love buying off-hand, half-priced, pre-painted/primed minis. Someone has already done the depressing part, mounting the sprues, sanding the mold lines and all.

The amount of people that just buy plastic and have it sit there is insane. I have been painting for around a year and a half now and don't even play the game. I just like models. I see so many people buy these giant boxes while still having 3 of similar sized boxes still waiting to be painted. For me, at most i have a box waiting and maybe one or two single character models in my backlog. I will never understand "piles of shame." Unless the box/model is being retired or you got a extremely good deal. Then that makes a bit more sense.

As someone who enjoys painting textures for VRChat Avatars, I see this as an absolute win. Painting textures prepared me for painting miniatures, and painting miniatures has improved my texture painting skills likewise.

This video hit me hard. I started in 2021 and I really feel that compulsion to buy more models, despite having enough to keep me busy for years. This video is a VERY important lesson to remember in this hobby.

I’ve slowly reconfigured my relationship with the hobby to be similar to that of someone restoring a car, filming a movie or writing a novel. Work in every section (model) to the best of my ability and over a few years complete an army with the intention of keeping it forever and handing it down generations. I take summers off (kids at home) and December off (silly season) and this rest period really focussed my desire for the next few months. I’m currently starting a zero outside year having sold and swapped my pile of potential down to only one project. FOMO just leads to sadness because of the disconnect between my output at the release schedule

You hit the nail on the head with the amount we can paint/use v the amount we are being tempted to consume.

As someone who is just getting into buying minitures / painting (lore fan for a number of years) I can certainly relate to the fomo experienced. Hearing everyone talk about their pile of shame is ever-present in mind also. Constantly asking myself is this the box I want? Or should I wait for the next rumour. Happy to listen to your thoughts. I couldn't imagine what it's like being a corpse god fan 😅

It has been ages since I've played a game, but I went along to a games club in the area I've moved to recently, just with some models to glue together, because my more complete armies are in storage, and it really clarified that I want to play games, and so I have to choose to concentrate on a single army, for a single game, so that I can do so. While I was there I also saw a Baneblade (want), some Knights (want the Cerastus Castigator), a game of Legions Imperialis (want), and heard some people talk about The Old World (was one car repair away from pre-ordering a bunch of stuff), and it's hard not to send myself off in loads of different directions. Even with the Ork army I'm currently working on, I'm really enjoying the warbiker models, but yet I'm spending a lot of time thinking about buying some Killa Kans, or a Deff Dread, Battlewagon, Gorkanaut, Dakkajet or one of the various buggies. It's hard to simply do one step at a time.

An interesting thing happened to me once I started branching out of GW and looking at other manufacturers. At some point I discovered Test of Honour, a small samurai skirmish game by a 2-man company. (Fun game by the way!) I initially went through a *flurry* of mini purchases - samurai are one of my favorite settings, and this spoke to me in a way Warhammer hasn't in a few years. So initially, I was buying way more models than before. (I can't bring myself to buying a new GW army if my previous ones aren't finished - and they're never finished!) However, once that calmed (Test of Honour is a small game so it's feasible to own the bulk of the entire range), my mini purchases have ground nearly to a halt. You see, once I had been looking at all the mini manufacturers and game systems out there, suddenly I realized, *the minis that truly speak to me are out there*, and I dont need to buy minis that are just *ok* for me. In the distant past, when I got into 40k, I picked Imperial Guard, but not because they *truly* spoke to me, but because they were the best of the options for my tastes at the time. But if I were making the decision now, I know that I dont need to settle for minis that I think are cool - if I give it time and searching, I can find minis that I think are the *coolest*. I only got this perspective when I saw the vast array of companies and model ranges out there. Surely Games Workshop makes some premium stuff, as far as detail and quality goes, but they are not comprehensive when it comes to all the minis out there. Not even close. Not even 2%. Once I saw Fireforge Games, Grey for Now, Crocodile, Warlord, Black Site Studios, Footsore, Oathmark, Relic Blade... I knew that there's so many options, and rather than making me buy way too much, it's given me the perspective to buy only what I *need*. Of course, this does require being willing to play something other than 40k/AoS, or perhaps playing with a group who's willing to let you proxy non-GW into those systems. For example, I'd love to bring my samurai into Warhammer Fantasy - the community-driven Armies Project has a Nippon army, but if I ever want to play official GW rules they'd probably need to be proxies for Empire or something. Hopefully I can convince my friends to let me do this! ;) Of course, I can also buy, say, Mierce Miniatures minotaurs and make a Beastmen army for Warhammer: The Old World. If I dont like the GW minis for a faction, I can support a small company and GW at the same time. And I dont feel the need to buy into the hype of the hip new thing, because I know there will always be something perfect for me out there. But there's also other game systems out there. Test of Honour was a godsend for me, because while 40k can be fun, it's also very dense. Sometimes switching it up gives the inspiration needed to paint up a new unit! Hope this perspective helps someone out there.

im almost done working on my guard combat patrol and it is difficult it took me ten days to build it all and i'm still not done painting

Youre right, there are far too many products. My local stores dont even bother ordering in things anymore because there is no room and no one can afford anything more than one box set a year. I picke done game system, HH, and stuck with that. But now I am going through a separation and might just sell everything I have. Thankfully I have over 7000pts well painted and just a few units on sprue because I was able to hold true to HH only

I know exactly what you’re talking about. It’s strange to accept that not buying the models is a struggle and a pretty substantially difficult thing to do. The biggest step for me is to only buy ONE of something that I NEED for a pre-planned army without going on a spending spree- as the barrier of purchasing something is broken.

Just recently having finished my 8th edition army box of the empire (after a long hiatus) ... the discount on these boxes are neat and especially if you start fresh or only have small army they're a great addition. but the mental workload and pressure from the pile of shame (or opportunities if you prefer) can sometimes be a lot.

I've made far to many purchases. Especially big purchases. I bought the Sisters of Battle launch box and literally wanted to one of the first to get it. Didn't even assemble any of the box until this last year cause life happens. XD I don't regret my purchases but definitely there is a feeling that "i don't have enough time" XD

GW has mastered the art of selling essentially plastic toy soldiers ... and making you assemble and paint them to boot at luxury prices. And then get you to rebuy it all in 2 years.

I can super relate, I preordered to the World Eaters box and now they have the Dark Angel's box with Belial and I want it so badly. Though I will say I only play 40k and only play WE and DA and really don't get hyped if it's not those two things. I'm super hyped for DA but considering how much money I've spent building these armies this year I'm probably gonna have to wait.

This video puts into words what i felt a few months ago during my period of burnout with WH. AoS is my preferred game of the 2 big ones. I have 3 armies in that. This is because, when i first started, it was peak covid. I did not realize at the time just how much STUFF this hobby has. I got into the games by myself in a leap of faith so i had no real warning about what you describe above. So i took the dive with beasts of chaos. By the time i had 1k points built and grey, lumineth reveals and preorders were up. They were also one of the main reasons i started playing, so i started purchasing and building them too. This was all in the span of maybe 3 months at the most. I had also purchased a Soul wars box for the Stormcast models around this time. My memory is hazy but the next big thing was 40k Indomitus. Necrons are by far my favorite faction in that and the new refreshes were amazing. So i started buying and building them. It was when i was trying to hunt down one of the new Monolith models thay i really started to notice that, there is just way too much stuff for one man to reasonably finish in such a short timeframe. Fast forward to today. After 2 burnout periods of several months each, i am now halfway through building my Guard army. But this time it is at my own pace. And even still i am overwhelmed with the constant barrage of new content. And most of it isnt even my vibe. I have a buddy who has over 10 armies because he is less picky than me. The way GW, or Wizards, or any huge "nerd" game, advertises their stuff is super predatory. They know its alot. But they dont really care how it affects the community in the long run as long as sales continue upwards. In fighting games (SF6/MK1) theres a feeling called a character crisis. You might LOVE how a particular character looks or sounds, but something about their intended playstyle just doesnt feel right. So after the initial hype of a new game coming out, you may find that you dont have the "perfect" playstyle and you may end up putting the game down to try something else while you wait. That happened with me in Warhammer as well. 2nd edition Beasts of Chaos are a completely different playstyle than 3rd edition. And unfortunately, I preferred the old one. But the vocal minority of beast men players were unhappy with how bad the army was performing in tournaments and the competitive scene. Whether true or not, I blame the social media presence for these changes. The constant need for balanced factions and the constant hype train of new products, dont allow enough time for Individuals to breathe and enjoy things at their own pace. Thank you for reading. The Emperor Protects. :)

Interesting thoughts and you are right in that the hype and the lovely paint job pull you towards wanting an item. I also struggle with 'missing out' where a set is a good deal so you need to get it. I'll have to watch out for these pulls to buy in future. Subbed.👍👍😉

I think it really depends on how the individual looks at it. I have been modeling for 46 years. I recently started acquiring many Warhammer kits as it was something I had been resisting for years despite admiring the kits being released. My son in law, who is a big Warhammer fan, gifted me a Warhammer kit a couple of Christmases ago, which spurred me on to get more kits as I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of building and painting it. I normally build armour, aircraft, ships, cars, motorcycles, sci-fi, etc.... Having been a modeler for so long I have acquired a large collection of all genres, and would have to live another 500 years to get them all done! I do find the need here and there to "cull the herd" and sell items I may no longer be interested in but I enjoy the vast collection I have. The majority of modelers fall into this and unwittingly become collectors, accumulating many models which are continuously added to the stash. My philosophy is, enjoy your hobby any way you like, regardless of whether or not you get around to building and painting everything in the stash. If you're not feeling up to building or painting, you can peruse through your collection and "fondle some plastic", admiring the work that has been put into producing the miniatures and maybe doing a little planning of future projects. In any case, as long as your hobby does not come as a detriment to your finances, enjoy and have fun!

that ork looks so cool, are they available for purchase?

Just started the hobby, been thinking thag for while. Playing imperial guard makes it more intense having so many models to paint x)

It took me a few years to get over how intimidating opening a box and seeing a web work sprue. Now.. a few years in... I'm finally understanding and building...

My first army is Iron Hands. When i start them, i want as many dreadnoughts as reasonable (so, all of them, of cause), but then decide to collect battle company. 100 marines, some tanks, four or five characters and it is done. While my army grow, i saw very tasty and cheesy combo on Tifus and Epidemius. More boys in 3+ and some demons it is. It is 6st edition then, i was young and poor. Three army is more than i can bite. I sold all my CSM and start Chaos Demons, "I shall get all of them, all four Gods, maybe not every Character but at least one of each unit." Still not finished 10 years from then. But i almost there, just a bit more Slaanesh. Next! My dice betraying me 'coz i roll 5+ better than 3+. I need horde army. Orcs or Imperial Guard? Yes! Blood Axes use taktiks, they sneaky gits. Those cowards, everybody knew they not a true Orcs! After some comparing of books and rules, i come with list of models which i can use in both army. Platoon = Boiz Sentinel = Killa Kan Ogrins = Meganobz Basilisk = Mek Guns etc. So, when you have goal in the head, it always helpful. Set to yourself goals, limits, deadlines. Hobby must be source of joy, not frustration. My Marines? They all done, at is like 120-130 of them (10 squads + scouts and heroes). My Demons? I will finish then in a year or five. Orcs? I working on them right now. And my goal help me to spend less money, avoid buying stuff i do not really need.

This reminds me of an Airfix documentary where one bloke had his garage filled with unmade kits. It introduced me to the term "S.A.B.L.E.: Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy".

Many people do not realize that their hobby is not painting or playing miniature games, it's buying stuff. THATS why people have a "Pile of Shame", they don't like building the models (so thats why they're still in the box) they don't like painting the models either so they don't do that, but they can't admit this to themselves. They never miss the opportunity to buy new models though, because buying stuff and getting exited for new stuff to buy *is their actual hobby*. 40K or what have you, is just an outlet or a target for that dopamine hit of buying stuff.

Great content, i look forward to seeing you grow :) have subbed😊

One thing with all the releases is I believe very few people actually participate in ALL those game systems heavily. Most people participate in one or two, and even people that do participate in 3+ probably focus on one or two at a time, they just happen to have their old Blood Angels army in the closet. But even considering that, I do think the number of releases has gone up significantly. I think everyone has to ask themselves if they want to play the game competitively (rules are kinda dogshit a lot of the time so I don't recommend), or enjoy relaxing and painting things how you want to paint them (which also usually will save you a lot of money too tbh). If you want to be a competitive player, then you're probably gonna need to get many of the new releases to stay competitive because that's just how it goes. If you just want to make an army that looks cool, it's a lot easier to abstain from new releases that don't wow you and only spring for the real 10/10 ones.

Absolutely agree. I joined the hobby in 2020 and was sucked in immediately and tempted by everything. Now I’m downsizing but it’s very hard to let go an army you already built and partially painted…

I got back into it by buying Leviathan. I haven't completed the set yet. It's mostly all built, but I'm taking my sweet time doing it as well as I can, making sure to clean all mould lines, fill and smooth any gaps etc. I did give it a rest for a few months and only now have I got round to ordering some paint and my first airbrush. My mentality from the outset has definitely been to not buy anymore until I finish what I have. Guess it helps that I don't have anybody immediately available to play a game with.

When you discover that you can use your models in a variety of games, you can play older Editions of games, and get used to finishing projects it will really energize your hobby. You don't have to feel guilty about collecting models. You like them you bought them. Best to leave in the shrinkwrap until you're ready to commit to the project. Then push thru, you can take a break, but come back and finish those projects. Start a new one, finish an old one. I used to feel intimidated by a huge model or project. As you finish armies and projects you will gain more confidence. You know that you are capable of pushing through to get it done. You learn to do some research, paint some test models, come up with a paint plan and continue to refine it during the project. I've found that that project I abandoned 20 years ago, is quite fun to pull out, push thru and use in the intended game/Edition or use it for a different game. I will do 1 army per Edition of 40K. I will us the older armies for other games or Editions as needed. I also will sell off parts of my collection that are still NIB years later, they usually appreciate in price. There's always new things coming out, I'm looking at models and games of all types, Gamefound, Kickstarter, On Table Top and Wargames ILLUSRTATED are chock full of new games and models. Finding quicker ways to paint that still get quality results. I am very selective with GAMES WORKSHOP products though, they are very expensive.

It’s a pattern. Of having a collection of hundreds of paints, of which I consistently use about ten, during weeks long periods of (mostly) joyful creativity, followed by burnout, until I see a set I really want to paint, that gets added a backlog, while I push myself to finish my last project before I can get to what got me excited start back up.

Good video. I've not been into Warhammer/40k for about 25 years, with my modelling time now being spent with model railways. Its a different hobby with different dynamics, but I see a similar theme alot online in the model railway world, with people complaining about the price of models and fretting that the hobby is unaffordable and therefore dying. In 2023 most of my modelling spend was on plasticard, glues, paints, and tools. I brought very few model railway products yet spent 100s of happy hours railway modelling with plasticard, brass, and paint. I think you're hitting the nail on the head here - the difference between the zen and basic enjoyment within a hobby against a consumerist urge to acquire. Its about enjoying both the essence of a hobby, and being happy with what you have rather than getting anxious or angry about what you cant afford.

I got a bunch of stuff I still need to paint and I realized since I've bought so much that I'm only gonna buy 1 more thing and then I'll try to paint everything. I'm waiting for the new Dark Angels Upgrade with the new Deathwing stuff to come out and that'll be my last purchase for a long while. I have been hobbying more than last year but I need to step up so that I can actually get more stuff done.

Sadly, I will never afford the paints nor the figures. I painted Orks as a young teen, always wanted the Lizard men. I was going to get back into warhammer and finally get me some Lizards.... The I saw the prices of everything...

I’ve been hobbying for 2 1/2 years in warhammer miniatures. Maybe I’m the odd duck but I’ve painted 6500 points of Orks, 5500 points of space marines, 4500 points of skaven and 3 teams of blood bowl, several boxes of terrain and kill team as well as 3 boxes of battle tech mechs in that time. Honestly I’m proud of how nice they look too. You’re right to a point that if you bought everything listed here that is A LOT of money and plastic but not unobtainable.

I don't have this problem because everything I might want is about $15 to $20 out of my impulse buy range. The price is just high enough that I have to stop and think if I really want something. Like, where I might have blown 30-35 on the newest marine hero character just because it looks cool, they're starting to be around $50. I impulse bought some of the old $90 army starter boxes in the past that I never built, but there's no way to accidentally spend $160 on a combat patrol box.

The Old World Bretonia box is hopefully going to be my only major GW purchase this year, unless theres some ridiculous reveal, got enough hobby projects to keep me going for a year alreaddy

Well said! I remember years ago there was an open letter from stamp collectors to the Royal Mail about a similar issue. It was one of the saddest things I read. To paraphrase it wen something like: "We feel that with the volume of new stamp collections the Royal Mail are now releasing they are taking advantage of the vulnerabilities of our community. Many of us are distressed by an incomplete collection and have a very strong compulsion to buy everything that is released. This is now having a substantial burden on our time and finances. We would like the Royal Mail to return to a small number of releases each year..." yadda yadda yadda Overwhelming is the word!

Good video. I was into warhammer as a kid and my brother and I had a vast amount of the stuff that was around in late 80s/90s - the original Rogue Trader 40K book, the 2nd ed 40K box set, Space Hulk (and the expansions Deathwing and Genestealer), Fantasy Battle box set, epic Space Marine set, Blood Bowl, Lost and The Damned book, as well as the plastic Space Marines, Imperial Guard, Squats, and Ork boxes and a ton of the metal models. A lot of it never got painted because that adds up to 100s and 100s of models. Unfortunately my mum skipped the lot when I left home. I forgot about it for 30 years and got back into it during the pandemic. As an adult with bills, mortgage, car, and girlfriend I realised how expensive it actually is, and even then I started to accumulate a pile of shame. I now don't buy anything else until I've finished what I already have, but it certainly takes willpower to do that.

The mini wargaming mental health podcast I didn't know I needed. Thank you!!

"I promise you your not going to paint it..." . "Challenge Accepted." - Ash at Gorrilla Miniatures.

I have exactly the same problem. I only started the hobby about a year ago so I am still in the build up stage. I had to make a rule that primed and dry brushed meant table ready. Otherwise, it will be another year before I even play a game with them!!