I'm really interested to know how others make the decision to part with not unsubstantial amounts of money on models/figures etc. that one day, they may get round to doing something with.
Every year,(usually following the "Euro's"), I have an inexplicable urge to buy things that I know full well will never see a brush from my hand and will probably be re-sold on ebay for a fraction of what was paid out!!!
Is their a cure for this ailment?

Confused.....Steve

I try to spend mine wisely on booze and loose women. Anything I've got left goes into the rapidly expanding grey army!

And no. There's no known cure. :-(

Just look at your grey army stash and convince yourself not to spend anymore money on new figure purchases.

I agree, there is no cure. Within a couple of minutes after seeing a new release, if I start forming a plan on how I would paint it and do I have at least some skills/chance in doing it justice, I usually, "pull the pin" on it sometime soon. I look at it as a way of treating myself if I have a good month, week, day etc. It doesn't matter where it is in whatever genre, If it has what some refer to as, "the wow factor" I'm game. My advice is to accept this part of the hobby. Don't beat yourself up about acquiring more than you can humanly paint in a lifetime. In between painting sessions, some days all I have time for is a quick pass and review in my own hobby shop. It never closes and it always has everything I ever wanted.

Tom

I'm still open for the odd glass of plonk but my advancing years make loose women a distant memory.
I'm sure half the problem is buying a figure and not starting it as soon as it comes through the post box...then some blighter on here shows how it should be painted and reality sinks in that my version just won't look like that!!!

I have a carefully planned 2 year build program that goes straight out the window when a new release that really catches my eye comes out. I know I'll eventually get to the bottom of the stash, I just need to be re-incarnated

I have a couple of specifically-themed collections, and I buy figures that fit into those themes. Of course, I fully intend to paint them all, which I may achieve. But I also want to make up some large displays with those figures, eg, a part of the Battle of Minden, a parade of the Kaiser's guard infantry, with military and civilian spectators, a Prussian camp in the Seven Years War. I may never get to building those displays.

Prost!
Brad

I always try to paint what I buy,i have completed 77 pieces in the last 10 years,i did purchase 2 more busts than I had planned at euro,so i'll just have to kick on with them,trouble is i'm a slow painter

I cant put my finger on why we do it,it just happens,i could say the same about my wife,she'll spend anything between £40 and £100 on bottles of perfume,some she'll only use once

Buy her a bigger bottle then she will be able to get two dabs out of it.

Mick

Chailey.

That's the hobby for you, there are so many must haves, that we'll buy them regardless of whether they'll get painted or not.

Malc

As I average about 30/40 models a year I usually keep enough models to last me about 2 years.
I tend not to impulse buy but I always like to have a choice in my stash of what to do next..

Yeah, that does not work!
I usually try to stick to a budget for the hobby and focus on figures from the periods that interest me the most.

No cure known to modern science or faith healing.We are damned.....and have one hell of a time with it.

Oda.

Answering the question, my eyes (i must close them. Is better for my pocket), the heart, the pose of the miniature, accuracy and wow. I have some historic ages that are in my interest painting. From WWII till the present. Is very very difficul i buy something of this. Napoleonics aren't very lovely for me, but some pieces i watch are so good that are in my wishes list. I'm tired of middle age now, but earlier or later i'll come back to paint monks of the war. I know. Horses take me a lot of extra time and desperate me. So no horses, thanks. The rest of the history, and a lot of thing os fantasy are in my brushes range now. I try to buy for painting in a reasonable time. But being so slow painting (over 5 miniatures for year) reasonable time is a big quantity of time... and had a no wrotten rule. No more of ten pieces in my GA. But now there are twelve. The problem maybe this forum. Too much good news of brands that i didn't know, to add to the good news of the brand i knew. So choose is difficult, and the money run away from me quickly...

I don'r really have a grey army in the true sense.When i buy figures i work on them as soon as i can,and if i go off them i just flog them already primed and ready to paint.This can all happen in a matter of weeks and sometimes days.I've even flogged partially painted figures/busts if i go off them.If i know i'm not going to finish something i want rid of it asap.Out of sight out of mind,and with the bonus of buying more with the money i get for them.
Sounds weird,but i've always been like that, and so it's very normal for me.
Brian

He has been known to buy a figure at Euro and sell it on before he leaves Folkestone ........ rumour has it even before he got up the stairs in the Leas

Excuse me for being a bit thick, but how does the "Quote" work, I have tried writing my reply then hitting the "Quote" tag and also have tried hitting the tag first, then writing the message, neither seems to work?

place cursor to left of quote and click , then click the quote tag and bingo.

I've found that I have a number of things that save me from purchasing to many figures. Firstly, geographics, being in Australia everything seems a bit to far away to get your hands on it but if you over come that part don't worry the conversion rate and or postage should then put an almost certian dampener on it.
If by some chance you're willing to ignore the steepness of price, don't worry the fact that you have someone at every turn with their hand out wanting you to cough up. Mortgage, insurance, school fees, electricity bills, gas, fuel, food, kids sports, kids and the wife it never ends.
But then the SOB that always seems to get me in the end is 'guilt ', it gets me just about everytime and plans that have been put in place the few bucks I put aside here and there always seem to end up staying in the pocket and then end up going towards some extra groceries or something that needs getting. See it's easy to abstain from adding to the grey army
Chris.