Or, perhaps, just a little bit obsessed?
The reason for these soul searching questions are my most recent purchases for the Pulp Project
Now I am a Scotsman and genetically wired for meanness, so it will come as little surprise that I own very few Foundry figures (vastly over priced) and that the bulk of my large collections comprise eminently cost effective figure ranges - Old Glory, Ebor or hard plastic figures by Perry or Warlord (generally purchased from Caliver for the lower cost and free postage!)
So what am I doing buying figures, that, including postage, come out at around NZ$9 (£4.50) each?! Its because they are what I "want/need" for my Pulp collections!
Here they are, see what you think - do I have a problem?
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Products Ordered: 9
Product Title: Saburo - Meiji Japanese Officer
Manufacturer: Reaper Miniatures
Price Each: $4.49
Product Title: Xiang Lung - Chinese Villain
Manufacturer: Reaper Miniatures
Price Each: $5.49
Product Title: Concubine
Manufacturer: Iron Wind Metals
Price Each: $3.79
Product Title: Oyuki - Geisha
Manufacturer: Reaper Miniatures
Price Each: $5.49
Product Title: Ziao Liu - Female Monk
Manufacturer: Reaper Miniatures
Price Each: $2.79
Product Title: Midori - Female Monk
Manufacturer: Reaper Miniatures
Price Each: $4.49
Product Title: Yuri - Female Monk
Manufacturer: Reaper Miniatures
Price Each: $4.49
Product Title: Deadlands Noir - Femme Fatale (2014 Edition)
Manufacturer: Reaper Miniatures
Price Each: $5.49
Product Title: Xiufang - Femme Fatale
Manufacturer: Reaper Miniatures
Price Each: $5.49
Product SubTotal: $42.01
Shipping: $16.52
Total: $58.53
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Plus these from Hasslefree .......1 x HFH157 Countess
Mia -
£5.00
1 x HFC006 Meiying - £3.34
1 x HFC013 Hanako - £4.17
Subtotal £12.51
Delivery £5.00
Total £17.51
I have even considered paying £15 (plus postage) for this single Dark Sword figure....
Not sure I could do as good a paint job but it would be fun to try!
Ok thats my lot tonight - the next War of 1812 unit is basically ready so will probably be posted tomorrow - so you will have to be in quick if you have an opinion on my latest spending activity and what it says about the state of my mental health!
I have spent a small fortune on figures and don't mind shelling out a bit more for quality, but 15 pounds for a 28mm figure is beyond what I'm prepared to pay. 5 pounds makes me pause, but I suppose I'm still happy enough around the $5 dollar mark.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lawrence, I am of a similar mind I suppose. Its all relative. For a long time, when my kids were growing up, I had very little disposable income, so I had to keep a pretty tight rein on spending - its a bit better now but I am still flabbergasted when I see people are prepared to pay £8 per figure to have someone else paint their armies - I cant imagine spending that, even if I could afford it!
DeleteMad as a hatter 😀 my wife tells me many times that I should stop prevaricating when I try to find something I want a few pence cheaper. Other than monsters I think the most I have paid is around £10 with postage think it was an ex show free by but hard to get hold of.
ReplyDeleteLOL - the truth shall set me free, Matt! I have bought some Reaper figures before, for my Frostgrave project, and some of the female gunslingers were on the pricey side too..... maybe I should just get over it, as your wife implies - mind you, would she be happy if you were spending £40 on nine little metal women?! (ok technically, a couple of them are male, but lets not split hairs!)
DeletePhew, I thought at first a Poe inspired story was coming. The Reaper connection is easy, the website is just enough work that when you total the order up (always US$90+) you sustain disbelief --bones are supposedly cheaper-- and power through the checkout, only to find that 'yes dammit, it was as much as that.' I prefer OG, Bob Murch, and Perry because you take the hit on each bag/pack/box but you know up front you are buying a bunch of stuff to paint.
ReplyDeleteBut how much is a 'craft beer' these days? Or a round of golf? How much a new power tool for the shop?
Just finished upgrading two units from 12 to 18, the pile of shame is reduced by 18 soon to be 36 figures I purchased over 8 years ago. What other hobby does that? You buy the figures, you have a plan, you play the game.
Me? In 1200 or so figures I have to decide what is the next big project. Enjoy & maybe stay away from the ala carte websites!
Thanks for your considered response Joe - it doesnt help me of course that I have to add a considerable postage fee on top! Now, I just have to hope that Fedex can do a better job than USPS at getting the figures to me - then, I will be able to enjoy them, as you suggest!
DeleteNuts. Like the rest of us. I’ve resorted to selling a few of my unwanted units to recycle the cash - which takes some of the sting out of new purchases.
ReplyDeleteThanks JBM - I am in good company then! I did sell soem of my really old crappy 80's figures about twenty years ago, to the fund the start of this second round of madness, but I would be loathe to sell any of the stuff I have now, even though, like most peoples collections I assume, 90% of it just sits ion boxes, month after month, and is never used in a game!
DeleteHaha! Obsessed for sure! I don't tell my wife about new minis shipments :))
ReplyDeleteThanks Michal - I imagine we are all in the same boat on that one!
DeleteThe cost of these figures is above my pain threshold but keep in mind you need only a handful for this project. Foundry figures can still be found occasionally for a buck each second hand. Your order is still less expensive than ordering figures and never receiving them. By the way, if you can paint like that example then perhaps you could have a new career. Amazing brushwork on the Dark Sword figure.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jon - all good points, although the $1 Foundry figures would probably end up being $3 b y the time we paid shipping fees from the US! I had another try yesterday at asking Lon at Brigade what hes going to do about my July order thats still missing - will see what he comes back with.... and unfortunately, no, I do not think I could replicate that paint job on the Geisha Assassin :)
DeleteHi KIETH,
ReplyDeleteOh-dear...judgement got the better of me when I shelled out $50 for one single Citadel Dwarf (from e-Bay)...seems I just had to have the Dwarf Lord which I had thirty years ago. My Sci-Fi Ground Zero Games figures are very affordable at 1.5 GBP....I'm happy! Stay well and safe there in NZ. Cheers. KEV.
Now that really IS a lot of money for one dwarf Kev - but as others have said to me, its one figure and if getting it in your army gives you pleasure, why not?
DeleteYou are clearly crazy Keith…
ReplyDeleteYou wouldn’t catch me spending money on little bits of lead, plastic, resin or MDF…
Just because I needed them!…
No!…
I buy them because they are essential 😂
As a ‘luxury’ in life it’s still considerably cheaper than… racing cars, flying, scuba diving etc etc….. and have you seen the price of craft beer 😲
Keep up the good work sir…
All the best. Aly
You make a valid point too Aly! I find beer an interesting measurement of the cost of living. In my first job, tail end of secondary school and during university holidays, I was paid GBP 1.82 per hour (funny the things you remember!) A pint of beer in a pub was about 24p. Cans in an off license were about 18p each - so, roughly equivalent, given the cans were only about 3/4 of a pint. I dont know what its like in the UK now, but here, we can buy an average beer (lest say Heinekin cos its VERY average) for $20-$25 a dozen - so $2 a bottle max - in a cafe, restaurant or bar, that same bottle will cost you $10 or more. The minimum wage here is $20 an hour and the average may be $27 or something like that - so whereas in 1980, I could buy 7 pints of beer in a pub for one hours pay as an 18 year old student, today in NZ I can buy two 330ml bottles - I am genuinely surprised any you people can afford to drink in bars and clubs!
DeleteI'd rather buy for the same money a bit fewer figures but what are likely to be painted than more miniatures what will be definitely left at shelves in cabinet.
ReplyDeleteAnother very good point Dmitry - thank you!
DeleteI don't mind spending a bit extra on specific figures if I need them. Much less likely to pay extra for general foot sloggers
ReplyDeleteThats me in a nut shell Neil - I had looked at getting some of Barry Hiltons G|NW Swedes for my collection, just for a bit of variety, but I could never justify to myself that the 18 man regiments would cost literally double what the Ebor regiments cost - and the Ebor are great figures, so its not a quality v cost argument, the Warfare Miniatures are equally nice but not worth twice the money!
DeleteLol. How much is the next hit worth to an addict? 😀
ReplyDeleteI assume we’re all grown ups and fiscally responsible. Gone are the days when we were all starving students ad had to choose between eating out and doing laundry at the laundromat.
I do not think my wife would agree that it is fiscally responsible to even CONSIDER spending £15 on one single Geisha Assassin Stew!
DeleteI think you already know the answer?
ReplyDeleteHahaha - what, forking out half my disposable income on little lumps of metal and plastic that I then spend hours painting and basing so I can store them away in card board boxes never to be seen again Ray - sounds completely like normal behaviour to me?
Delete