Wargames logistics

Recently, I have been reorganising my entire wargames collection. This has been a very cathartic but useful experience, as I have been able to track how many projects I have (definitely too many), and have taken steps to properly organise it all. It has taken quite a few Really Useful Boxes (RUBs) plus a few tray inserts from SHQ's Foam Laager range.

This reorganisation has partly been inspired by my friend and fellow guest on the Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy podcast Chris King. Chris has limited hobby space in his house, and as a consequence, he is very organised. I began to envy his level of planning and logistics. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

When Chris plans out an army, he does so meticulously and makes up a chart of exactly what he needs, which he then uses to mark progress and completeness. I tend to paint a load of miniatures and then work out how they fit together. I guess I enjoy painting up the individual miniatures and only afterwards consider if I have enough or need more. Quite different approaches!

I do have some level of cohesion to my wargaming. A while back, I sorted out my dice collection. It started as a single tin, then a 4-litre Really Useful Box, and now it is a 9-litre box! The box has compartments for all the components I need to game; dice, tape measures, pens, playing cards, tokens and, of course, smoke! It also comes in handy if anyone at the club needs to borrow a tape measure or some dice.

My first port of call in my ‘great reorganization’ was to sort out my painted and unpainted sections of my collection. Now I have boxes protecting my finished minis and other boxed for my work in progress. Next on the schedule is the basic materials for my hobby, namely paint, glue, basing materials and tools. I used to have bits and pieces all over the place, the result being I could never find anything! By taking stock and assigning a set place for each, there is a danger that I might find what I need quickly in future.

Even though a lot of work has been done, I still have much to do. My basing materials are currently in several different boxes, so they need to be collated into one place. Likewise, my brushes need to be sorted, and <shudder> I need to consider binning the worst of them.

I'll return to this subject in future blogs and let you know my progress.