Maca is 100% correct on this long time problem. I've been guilty of this in the past. It is sickening to me to see this kind of addiction culture becoming more and more common.
@@chaseherringtonoh yeah, Kickstarter is as bad if not worse with $129 boardgames with 15 optional KS exclusive expansions and $1,000+USD "All-in" pledges. It's all FOMO marketing tactics, and consooomers bragging to each about how many thousands of dollars in unfulfilled Kickstarter games they're waiting on. Buying ONE of those mini heavy "All in" games with all the expansions is more game than someone will ever be able to play. Folks are spending $1K on a game they never played, because they'll NEVER be able to get the "complete experience" outside of Kickstarter.
Bro I needed this so much you don’t even know. I’m 18 and in my last year of higschool, play the game very regularly and am completely addicted to buying shit with the money I get from my job, I need to get my shit together before I hit the real world this summer
At your age, your whole life is ahead of you, you can get ahead in life now if you focus and commit yourself to achieving. Nothing will fall into your lap, you have to go and chase it, upskill yourself, make yourself desirable to companies for hiring, and when you've earned it, you buy your hobby to reward yourself.
save up to buy a 3d printer. dp the health and safety stuff and youll have all the warhammer models you could want while saving thousands of not tens of thousands.
@@TheOuterCircle 🫡 I’m of a similar age, and problem- I’ll do my best to follow that advice too. I think I’ll start a small, obscure TH-cam channel, detail my pile of shame and record each project. Not for attention or to try to become a TH-camr, just to keep a record and keep myself on track. I might join the discord at some point, too, and ask for some of the advice and wisdom of the older members of the community. World’s getting darker out there, and I won’t be of use to anyone around me if I stay like I’ve been living for the past few years. I need to stop being a coward and move.
24 yr old here, totally agree with macca, focus more on real life. Honestly this hobby is more for old men with too much time on their hands. You will have plenty of years too sit around 😂
Buddy I would honestly make-do with what you have already. Accept it as a challenge, even write a fluff if it helps you but keep your money in your pocket. Definitely try to save up at least ten grand and put it in the bank as a safety net for yourself. The next ten years will see you take risks, new jobs, new opportunities, new girlfriend, getting married. Everything costs money. Once your career is on its way you will have disposable income. Good luck.
There is a big issue with this on Instagram warhammer painting accounts. All this "OMG YES, I NEEEED THESE LOL", "BUYING THREE BOXES WHEN RELEASED" etc. Then they pose holding them while doing some gurning face, maybe see a model or two painted and then they move on. Zero control or critical thinking.
I would do that only if I’ve already painted the model like I want to do a pale Angron then classic red but I would never buy two models at once for that
God I love that this channel breeds killjoys and people who can't have fun unless they're regurgitating into their own mouths now I can avoid it for good
I'll be honest, I've found myself planning my finances until the next payday AROUND an upcoming GW purchase. Heck I've found myself checking the Warhammer Community page multiple times a day to see if any new releases are coming out. Once I managed to take a step back I started realising that it was the same psychological process I had when my drinking was a problem (teetotal now) and it sunk in that I was just replacing one addiction with another. You're a solid lad Macca, and I genuinely appreciate your willingness to speak out about these topics.
I have to admit that I too exhibit some of these behaviours. Buying stuff I won’t finish Sidetracking to armies and units that I won’t use Getting obsessive about collecting a bunch of stuff But fortunately, I have the dumb luck of background. Being taught to value and not waste money, to try and be humble and to care for others as much as for self. I don’t live up to such values fully, but trying saves me from the worst. What is worse though that I couldn’t imagine how prolific this issue really is! Thanks Outer Circle from highlighting this problem. I will try to fix my bad behaviour now. Gentlemen! Let’s slay some grey!
"D-daddy can we get food today?" "Shut up Timmy and get back under the stairs, can't you see there's new Jetbikes I need for my glorious Imperial Fists!"
The worst part is that it's had become a very common problem. Personally I like to pre plan what I want to do and why. For a recent example I've bought a new guard kit, Krieg veteran squad and a catachan squad for 3 guardsman kill teams based on historic conflicts. You should focus on what you want to do and ONLY that don't get sidetracked with other things.
Agreed. I'm focused on my current armies and the things I need to finish them. Plasma Cannons, Spears, etc. Buy what you need for your projects, not what you think you want in the moment.
Probably not. It's ok if you're home online scrolling through TH-cam, not so good if you're ignoring your partner or you're supposed to be at work when you do it!
You the best bro! You never sugercoat stuff, you say what you think. People dont like hearing some one being real, thats why some rather put unconstructive comments so they can bring you down to their level. Keep it up man! I watch all your videos!! Looking forward to the how to build your hh2.0 army heretic part. Take care!
Absolutely correct. Self control is a hard but learn able trait. Coming from a guy who use to have none and was able to loss 100 pounds once I developed that self control. Same goes for the impulse purchases!
I often see piles of shame like it's a dick measuring contest, like folks it ain't that impressive. It's fine to have a box or two on the shelf, but when you've got dozens there's a problem.
I'm fat as well Macca. I don't think being fat has anything to do with training. If you eat less, you lose weight. You won't get ripped or buff without working out. But you won't lose weight unless you take in less energy than your body is using. I'm trying to eat less at the moment. Down a couple of kilos this week. Fingers crossed I can keep it going and lose another 10-20kg.
@@Paint_at_Dawn I'm trying lite'n'easy at the moment. I'm not eating anything other than what they provide plus tea and coffee. Weighed in last night which was about a week of this weight loss attempt. I'm down about 4kg. So it's nice to see I'm trending downwards. Think I've jumped on the wife's peleton 3 or 4 times for 20-30mins plus eating only the 1500 calorie food plan. It's expensive to buy food like this but how much is your health and wellness worth?
Whenever I need to lose weight I just stop eating while the sun is up and cut out all the sugary drinks, booze, fast food etc. and it works like a charm. I don't think it's for everyone, but it works for me and I've known other dudes who did something similar to good effect so it's worth considering.
The truths hurts. But you can not discount that it IS the truth. I sold anything I didn't need, built the stuff I was going to use, primed it, dry brushed and washed them. I am chipping away at them and haven't bought a new model since and wont till I am done with the back log. Loved this upload.
Very good video - with points many don't want, but need to hear. It's alarming to think how bad I used to be in regards to just buying for the dopamine hit - hoping that something new and shiny would throw off the melancholy. You're completely right that it can't replace a void in your life, but I just want to highlight how insidious it is; as it does work for a day or so - just long enough to make you think it was worth it and do it again. I've found just adding everything you wanted to the shopping basket and then waiting a week seems to stop me pulling the trigger on purchases. 99% of the time I come back, see the total price and realise I don't actually need any of it. The other 1% of times I still buy it; I find it's something I genuinely wanted, will actually use or get lasting enjoyment from - not a one day distraction like an impulse buy would be.
You're so right mate. The bit that stuck with me was making purchases emotionally, absolutely 100% correct. I just lost my dad and I kept thinking about getting a tattoo in remeberence for him, but I know I should keep the money back that I got from his will because times are hard ar the moment and he wouldn't want me to waste it he'd want me to use it towards something more substantial
Honestly, I think the best thing is the rule of three, you as a hobbyist should only have 3 projects in reserve to work on max (a project being what's in a self contained box or equivalent). So many people just buy, buy, buy what they don't need and end up with huge piles of shame, which ends up being a budget drain that doesn't make the hobbyist feel better and instead worse.
For me the shame is having painted a unit and then moving on to something else. I need to get the whole army painted before I can start the next one. I just buy all the projects first so I can mix and match parts, base opposing forces in my other armies corpses and so on. For example, in 2022 I bought my first kit in years. It was Palanite Enforcers. I loved the detail. I figured that since my friends who were still into 40k just played silly fun games and the local clubs are all try hard competitive types, I would just collect a fun little force to do as I pleased. So I got another few boxes, a few of the Subjugators kits and I ordered the FW character. As I daydreamed about making a riot suppression force I figured I could use some of the servo haulers. Unfortunately, I didn't take advantage of a clearance sale a few years ago and missed out on buying them for $25 a set so I ended up ordering a few of them off eBay and then picked up few weapon bits to mount on them. By the winter I had them assembled, free of mold lines and even converted a few small things. Then I set them aside to await the Guard codex to see if they would get bolters or shotguns as options. It took a while but it's paid off as it seems I'll be able to run them as imperial agents! However when I set them aside I made the choice to also start an Ork army. Something to really work on with love and care. I know it won't be painted for a few years but that's not important to me. It will be just be nice to have that single beautiful Ork army that everyone likes to play against because I just like playing, winning is not even secondary. BUT! I also love the sisters models and with Christmas bonus money I picked up an army. Just cause I want it down the line. I plan to paint them strictly for display. I'm basing them as a group so they all look like they're marching in a parade. AND I picked up a few Space Marines cause I can paint them very fast and have something to play with while I paint the other projects. And of course I needed terrain. I found cheap deals on eBay. So... Maybe $3000 spent in total but that includes a few other weird purchases for collecting purposes like the old Red Gobbo and stuff. Now it may seem like I've just bought way too much. But I stopped painting to type this. I've got 15 Marines complete, Tor Garadon, and most of a Leviathan painted. I'm working on 5 heavy intercessors and 3 Aggressors right now. I can get 10 Marines done in 2 nights of painting (god damn yellow!!!) So I'm expecting to have this army of 2k points done by mid March if I'm unable to paint each night at work but late Feb if I can. I do actually get my models done. I've painted almost one of every army at some point. Even completing an Eldar army in under a month as a challenge (by hand). My problem is generous friends. In addition to what I've bought above, the other day I couldn't pass up on a FB market place offer of $400 for $1800 of Ad Mech. Turns out I knew the guy and he threw in a few other things like Saint Celestine (yay!) Then the same day an old friend contacted me and offered me his Space Marines, Chaos marines, Chaos Knights and some other stuff because he was downsizing projects. Then he saw some Votann (I forgot to mention, THAT was an impulse buy) in my pile of "shame" and offered to trade for all the Cadians he just bought. I said sure and he immediately when to the local shop and bought the vehicles and stuff he needed to round out the force. I won, he won, the local store won. Now I may be a special case, but I don't see having spare fun laying around as a bad thing. If I was wasting money on car parts or sports equipment that I wasn't using or had bought with no real plan that would be shame. I see my stuff as a collection but as a means to an end. My quick army to play asap. My beautiful army that will take time. My personal army that will be more of a diorama. My army of conversions and personal lore. A bunch of future trades and or projects. So I do have more than 3 projects but I do agree with your logic.
@Voice_of_Terra it really is, it's the exact reasoning to take issue with when it comes to spending habits of people in the hobby, like sure you can have a large collection just actually complete stuff before moving on.
@@oliverp3545 why can't I do both? Finished a squad of heavy intercessors lastnight (and a few more Leviathan parts). Traded a Wraith Knight, a box of Dark Reapers, Autarch, box of Jetbikes, and a hemlock for... Looks like... Giants Ghosts, 2 limited edition Catachan heroes, 2 sets of Kreig, the new Cadian Army box, Leontus, another set of the new big artillery... Some more Kasrkin... Pretty good trade. Tonight I will complete my Aggressors and the Leviathan and maybe get some work on the Eradicators done. Should have 1500 of Imp fists finished by Sunday morning. Then I'll flip a coin to see if I should start on the guard or Orks next. All 3500 points of Orks are in sub assembly waiting for base layers.
Myself I'm a strong proponent of customer self control. I feel nothing be showing what you've bought. What I've painted is what I'm proud of, however, the essentials in life are and always will be significantly more important. In terms of spending I got quite a nice stack of boxes I wanted at Christmas. So I won't be buying squat until it's all painted, doesn't mean I'll immediately buy something else. Its in my opinion a mental health issue. As a society we do not have a good approach to mental health. Feels like we either coddle bad behaviour or abandon people leaving them to fester.
And now that gw have announced their yearly price rise for March you can bet there's going to be people rushing to buy things while they are a bit lower. Perfectly timed video Macca.
price increase is just another arrow on geedubs bow.(fear of spending more) once or twice a year there is a price increase on some trumped up reasoning to cause an extra spending spree, and then over the summer they bring out their next huge releases (last year it was HH this year its going to be 10th edition) and then they close the year off with some fomo christmas boxes. between this all its all kinds of releases world eaters, necromunda, the lion returns,killteam spacehulk etc etc etc i don,t have it fully under control yet but im dialing down from it , i have too much stuff already and although its not a problem to me its becoming one for me. the problem of having too many big projects is always something i have to fight in my life.
Good ol’ impulse control, something I had to learn ages ago. I’m in my late 20s now and let me tell you, I’m probably not gonna buy another mini in a very long time. Only because I have such a huge stockpile that I’ll probably be married by the time I get through it all. That being said, I am still gonna try getting through it all.
I must say this, thank you mecca a lot for bringing this up and opening my eyes way back when the sisters of battle came out. I usually don't buy armies but when sisters of battle came I went after the hype train. But then you released a video about willpower and that we should wait a week or two to see if we still feel the same. I now do this all the time and haven't bought any minis for couple of years. GW actually shot themselves in the foot by showcasing minis one or two months before release so the hype cooldown is easier. Now I have painted a lot and my pile of shame is halfway done. Thank you again mecca. Hope I was not the only one mecca helped
Thanks Maca, people gotta remember that it's a toy solder game. There's always new toys. I was really thinking of getting the Iron Hands Christmas box. Then I took a look at my 2000 points of unpainted CSM and decided it wasn't necessary.
You can cut that back to “marketing strategy is targeting people with no self-control” It’s not just Games Workshop… Look around you, its everything. Its not even the manufactures themselves, its the way advertising is delivered.
You're 100% correct, mate! I'm pretty in danger of becoming like this sometimes. And there are far too many people in all hobbies like that and they need help! And people have to STOP encouraging it!
This video was very helpful to me. as always your blunt honesty has made me question some of my purchases but for the better. I'm going to finish my huge project of my spacehulk with all my old kits I've put on hold or no longer use. thank you for always being honest
I certainly feel this one - I've got ADHD which I found is really common in the hobby along with other neurodivergent things like Aspergers, so my impulse control is a major issue in all aspects of my life. On the plus side I'm fairly smart and have a few things in place to kind of curb it a bit - I still have a massive pile of shame but here's some tips other than "just don't buy stuff" which is frankly like telling an addict "Just don't do heroin yeah?" - The thing is the pile of unpainted plastic isn't actually a problem. At worst you can always sell it and even make money of it if you were smart. The problem is when it impacts on your life in a negative way, and usually this is financially more than anything. So here's some unsolicited advice from my experience: 1. Before starting a new faction, write some army lists or rosters out, and only buy that stuff. Also look at shit like Boarding Actions or smaller game modes and write a list for that first, then expand on that once your smaller force is completed. 2. Also use these wishlists to plan birthdays and Christmas etc. That way I'm like well, I WANT the jetbikes but also I can put them on my birthday list and my girlfriend or parents can get me them later. Warhammer is quite good in that respect because unlike more expensive hobbies, there's always something you'd like priced at the casual gift level. 3. If you have disposable income you can get the hobby to pay for itself - work out which bigger boxes can be split for profit then just keep the minis you actually want. Flipping AoD boxes for instance was quite lucrative just after release, and that was selling at well below retail - no scalping required! Imperium Magazine has made me a fair bit too. My 2000pt Votann army including codex cards etc cost me less than £300 using the above advice. 4. Don't meta chase - in fact just don't pay attention to the meta whatsoever because let's be honest by the time you've got all this shit painted it'll be halfway into 11th ed. anyway. 5. Build and prime your models - don't worry about painting them beautifully (yet). You can build models anywhere - I do it on the train, on my lunch hour, when I take my toddler out in the car for a nap I pull into a layby and start assembling stuff while he kips in the back. Once you have a bunch of stuff built then prime 'em with rattle cans. Priming en-masse is a massive time saver. You can prime an army in an hour no problem. That way when the mood does take you to paint something, you can just select a model and start painting. You can also play games with them so it makes the pile a bit less shameful. Thankyou for coming to my TED Talk.
Good advice but how do you build minis in those situations without cutting yourself or spilling glue everywhere? I have ADHD myself and can relate in terms of general impulse control issues, but I would be way too distracted by what's going on around me to concentrate properly even aside from trying to put together tiny, intricate models while traveling in a moving vehicle lol.
@@doomguy9049 I dunno, I hyperfocus and I enjoy building minis so this isn't an issue whatsoever. Also note that I pull over to build them - I'm not sat in the back of a moving car trying to build haha! On the train to work it's fairly smooth going anyway but I generally just clip bits off the sprue and order them for later.
@@sonicwingnut I enjoy building my models too so I get that, but maybe I'm just clumsier than you because I can't see any scenario where I wouldn't lose important bits under seats or similar.
a bit odd that i was about to succumb to this issue and buy a few models when I have yet to finish the last one i bought, and here this video was recommended to me. Thanks for the PSA
Hey I'm a new subscriber here, I really appreciated the video about what broke the primarinios. But I can completely get behind the message you put out about self control and discipline it's something our society/gaming community needs to learn. Also thanks for your service in the military and I know a few guys and my family who have messed up their bodies and minds serving our nation.
100% correct. I've got loads of stuff to make and paint up in my 'pile of shame', and I've had to put my foot down with myself that I just will not buy anything new until I'm done with what I've got. Of course it's winter in old Blighty right now, so I don't really feel like spending any time out in my shed where I do my hobbies, but come spring, I'll be cracking through that backlog.
You can always assemble stuff mind - I find you can build models practically anywhere so I figure if I go mad building everything then I've got a load of half-finished projects ready to paint instead of a load of sprues where there's a good few hours' work before I can put paint on them.
I dont think I've ever bought a two army battle box, apart from perhaps the one with two imperial knights from a while ago. However I did subscribe to the first Hachette partworks 40k magazine, and when I finished it, I had a space marine army, which I knew I was going to use, and also a death guard army, which I built with the intention one day painting. But after a year or two, I realized that wasn't going to happen, so I ended up boxing it all up along with a couple other armies, and sold them. I was running out of room in general, and I had other plans with other armies and boxsets, and in the end, I feel much better of without them, and these days, I only buy things I actually plan on painting, and probably playing with one day as well.
top notch video. Recently moved to uni around the nottingham area and was excited to find a lively warhammer community as you'd expect given the location. However as the days dragged on I found that I was buying models not out of any real intention to play them but out of a sense to distracting myself from the reality of being bored and unhappy at uni, I would just mindlessly build minis while listening to videos such as your own and other easy listening kind of stuff. before i knew it 4/5 of the money I was supposed to live of for the year was down the drain (not just minis but point still stands) and for what? some plastic? Probably one of the most shameful things I've ever done. This hobby can become a vice just like any other if your in a bad headspace and lack self awarenes/discipline. First video I've seen which has given voice to that
Yo macca, been a fan of your work for years now. I appreciate you and what you've done for our hobby, but i also appreciate you giving out advice in an honest way. Keep it up big bird 🦢
Great to have these conversations, well done on being vulnerable and honest Macca. Seeking validation, acceptance, self worth from buying plastic crack is never going to fill the emotional void in ones life... but we still see it quite often in social media where people proudly show off their 20 brand new boxes of GW with all the best intentions... then you never see them post hobby progress. We are our worst enemy sometimes
Thanks for this rant, it is something I needed to hear. On a different note, can we have an episode on things you like about the hobby, let’s have some positivity!
Thank you for your service, also thank you for doing your best to try and help the community even with a hurtful, self-destructive, Vocal minority acting against the community and the games best interests.
People "bragging" about their piles of shame are just desperate for validation of their reckless impulse buying. If some rando on the internet tells them it's alright, they can think what they're doing is normal and good.
This is part of the reason why I have a 3D printer. I could see myself getting more into the Warhammer hobby and spending a lot on stuff I might not use as much. I bought a 3D printer instead because while yes it's a bigger up-front investment, it serves multiple hobbies I'm already part of and it opens the avenue for me to take part in Warhammer without needing to spend any additional money on it.
The sheer amount of people flexing on social media with 3 rogal dorns, or 9 sentinels or 10 cadian squads etc is staggering. Also, as a former light infantryman who is not quite as "light" anymore I feel you.
Very well stated. Going to use this and GW’s newest price hike announcement as the push to pause purchasing for a loooong while. I’ve got plenty to paint.
I've had that problem too... Buying several Thousand Sons kits, buying a Lord Discordant, buying Shaodwspear, etc... I have to admit your advice has been VERY helpful with my more recent purchases, especially my Horus Heresy army; apart from an extra castraferrum dreadnought and a Deimos rhino, I've stuck to just a few tactical/assault squads, one castraferrum and a praetor.
Great video Macca. I completely agree and was falling into the fomo trap until the day I couldn't get cursed city. That made me realise that its not a big deal if I miss out. A lot of the time I now leave it a couple of days, if its still there and I want it, I will get it. But if its not there then I shrug and walk out.
Hit the nail on the head there Macca. It should be shameful. Not only the points you mentioned but also drives up prices across the board due to limited products. Especially with books and exclusive models.
Since I got back to de the hobby, I follow a golden and simple rule: I never buy a box which I do not need before finishing the previous one. Furthermore I only play when I have nothing else planned that weekend and I paint only on Sundays. I am building my HH slowly and, in fact, after two and a a half years, I only have 2500 points at most. The day I hit 5000 points with units I know I am using, I will sell or give my paints and I will stick to that army. In fact, I always play 2000 points games with the same list. The rest of the points are special weapons for infantry (grey slayers for instance). The problem I see with this hobby, is that people get an easy dopamine rush after buying stuff. It is, in many ways, an addiction. It does not kill you as drugs would do, yet it can destroy your life as easily as many drugs.
I think this is very valid, I used to be a pretty disciplined guy. Now I find myself with this impulse to beat false scarcity, because I'll have to wait a few weeks for GapGames to restock some heresy marines otherwise. Or randomly worry the old ork boys kit will out of stock before I can pick some up because they are cheaper than the new kit (I do not need or even really want those sculpts). I know it is preposterous, I know I have bigger fish to fry. But the primal part of my brain designed to stock pile food for winter is driving me crazy and it really sucks dude. So thank you for making this video, we've got to look out for each other and bring ourselves down onto (ignore the lore pun) terra firma every now and again.
Ever since I got a 3d printer this problem went away. I still have little to no impulse control but I don't feel the need to spend thousands on plastic crack anymore...
The buying is powerful, but I feel it should be the least rewarding part. Thats less money in the bank. The real dopamine hit comes from building (for me especially building) and painting and playing. The purchase is a means to an end, which should be enjoying it
Due to the “diversity of characters” in this hobby, to frame it nicely. I’ve become very selective with whom I share my love for the hobby with. Furthermore I’m extremely picky with who I watch within this hobby as I personally believe that some “hobby influencers” actively contribute to the behavior you’re describing. Like chapter master Valrak. He doesn’t think, he doesn’t critique he just spews out this nonsense about glorious this, god emperor that, ergh.. Because of your channel I remain in the hobby, although it’s Horus Heresy now. I have 3 armies and everyone is fully painted and I’ve listened to every single entry in the Horus Heresy novel series. Btw, When you spoke about elitism it spoke to me. To set Standards and aspire to achieve better is a mindset I’ve had throughout all my endeavors, be it academic, professional or hobby. This comment was somewhat all over the place, but my point is: I agree with you and this hobby needs people like you to speak out against the community
Next time you see somebody purchase a big army in one go, ask for their social media. Check in on their progress and them as a person. I find a lot of the time people who impulse buy hobbies are looking for friends.
GW's obscene prices make it really easy to control my impulses. If the new Salamanders box was $100 I'd buy one right now, but at three times that I'd much rather just buy a 3D printer.
Gonna be honest - I have this problem with printing and some scale model kits; I'm not sacrificing any essentials, mind, but I have a bad habit of starting project after project and never finishing them. Gonna try to plow through all my 1/35 historicals and the few units of unpainted Heresy stuff I have throughout the next couple months though.
This subject can really be opened out to literally every hobby or pastime in existence. Golf, mountain bikes, cars, clothing etc all use the same marketing techniques to make people feel that they need to buy more than they already do. Its not restricted to manufacturers either. The way that advertising is delivered now is made to relatively insidiously force an idea into the mind of a viewer, and thanks to our reliance on networked devices, its inescapable.
Great advise mate! if only more people listened to this sort of advise knowing it's coming from a good place then we wouldn't be in the situation we are in the "West" let alone Australia!
YES! I wholeheartedly agree with your main point. I know at least two guys that have a "buying more than they need or could ever build in their lifetime" problem. Though they won't suffer bankruptcy anytime soon, it's concerning.
I made a video kind related to this topic a while ago and got some of the typical “Just ignore it/how does this affect you” when wargaming is a community hobby. This kind of behavior does affect me.
I was playing a game of Thousand Sons vs. Sisters of Battle maybe about 2 years ago, a little less with a friend. This one guys comes up, used to work for the lgs we were playing at, so we kind of knew him. He had a reputation for being a bit of That Guy, making up rules for a Kill Team league, throwing fits when he lost at Underworlds, y'know. Anyway, we say hi, but instead of small talk, he jumps right to talking about mindrape and just being absolutely gross about what the Thousand Sons had in store for the Sororitas. Dude was exactly the kind of person you described where he'd collect models, flip them, and constantly be complaining about not having money for basic needs. He joined a HH2 escalation league I ran in August and was playing with a massive collection of Space Wolves, but he had no rules -- said he didn't have money for them. We advised him about some pdf copies and I ended up with a 2nd rulebook that I eventually gave to him, but man. This video just hits home because I've played against exactly this kind of person. And while they have passion for the hobby, you are exactly right. They're manchildren with no impulse control.
The cultivated "consumer" mentality combined with the urge for instant gratification is extremely dangerous. You're basically sold the idea that you can buy happiness when all you're buying is a short term dopamine hit! This hobby rewards the time and effort you put into your models and the sense of satisfaction you'll get looking at or even playing with your *fully painted* models. The boost to your self-esteem when someone compliments you on your army is genuine because you have earned it! As Robert Heinlein puts it: "Something given has no value. It is the effort we expend achieving that thing that gives it value" We all look down on and pity those sad sacks who give away tens of thousands of dollars to twitch thots while running themselves into debt. The compulsive gambler. The food/drug/alcohol/pron addict. The list goes on but the truth is we all have those tendencies. We need to be careful, it can happen to anyone!
I was suffering with it, now I look at can I afford it and do I need it. I can't work as I too have buggered up knees as a car pulled out in front of my bike.
I have a big pile of shame that I steadily work on and add to. But I never sell. But then I'm just in for the painting, haven't played for 6-7 years. And every month I make a budget and put a part of that budget money on buying hobby related stuff without risk of getting into financial trouble
I made a travel chart of all the GW stores near me and once a month I get 8 free minis in one day and I often swap them online. That’s one way to feed that itch to get new minis without actually spending excess money
I have a PHENOMENAL pile of shame. Entire armies that will never get touched. I'm trying to improve as a person, but struggle. I know new Nids are coming. I must sit on my budget so I can splurge there. Thing is, sometimes when life gets a little hard, I don't drink, nor smoke, nor do drugs ... I spend. I'm trying to direct that energy towards painting, but it's hard to resist that dopamine hit of simply spending.
Here's what I've done gather up each painted army and put them in view or not to show yourself that you did that. Next box up every other army and store them in a closet, but the one your going to work on. Select 5-10 to ten items at a time,then work on those in batches say all armor, then all cloth, then skin, then weapons etc.... until your all done. Set goals and stick to them and don't be weak and give into impulse
This issue has definitely been exacerbated by the Internet. People can post their new purchases on forums where anonymous people will validate their transaction with orange arrows
This goes beyond the hobby, especially as an American but it applies to all westerners. So many people have bad spending habits and just buy shit they don’t need, go out to restaurants all the time, and just buy buy buy. So many people have no self control be it financially, spiritually, mentally or whatever and want to blame others for it. It makes sense that Warhammer definitely inadvertently(Or explicitly) exploits this but at the end of the day it’s up to us to not mindlessly consume everything
I know a guy that buys everything. no exaggeration, new kit, he buys it. he sometimes doesn't play the faction he wanted to because he "can't get to it". have tried getting him to at least cut back but he always goes back on it the few times I got him to say he won't overdo it.
Agree totally. I have a small 'pile of shame', but stopped myself before it got too large- and most of that was gathered slowly over time. Not a single model is unbuilt, and most of them are at least undercoated (several of the armies are fully, near fully, or at least half painted and fieldable). The main reason there are a few shelved projects today is my disenfranchisement with the game and GW itself. My best friend however seems to have this problem. He will periodically start a new project, buy a whole new army all at once, start building, paint maybe one or two characters or 1 unit, then shelve it. For example when I told him I was getting into Heresy he decided to do so as well- before the new edition was even released and due to his impatience for our online order, he just went out and purchased a plastic Demolisher and a Baneblade. Against my advice he got his primarch first. Painted his primarch (didnt finish it) then shelved the lot claiming financial woes before starting a song of fire and ice army less than a few months later. It saddens me to see how much money is wasted.
Interesting points, one thing i think was a curious breakpoint was GW pivoting to the hard plastic terrain kits ~2010, i honestly think it was the most savvy business move they ever made but has made the addiction problem far worse. Most of the fans have gone absolutely RABID for them but they are the ULTIMATE 'pile of shame'/unhealthy consumer habit generators. They require the same kind of clean-up and assembly as normal minis and although easier to paint this comes with an exponential increase in surface area, add this to their lack in immediate utility (won't list reasons, should be obvious) compared to minis they are just never going to get done. The other crucial factor is that they are pretty expensive, increasing their prestige, perceived value and collectability. They also (vastly) inflate the value of small 'starter set' SKUs, GW could STILL charge £60/
And today they've announced that all the resin Legion Contemptors are going Last Chance to Buy, so you better order them now 'cause they'll be gone soon. It's like they actually want me to buy everything from China.
I've seen this a lot in the Gunpla community (Gundam plastic models for those who don't know). Go to any decent online Gunpla group, and 9 out of 10 posts are literally nothing but backlog flexing as if it actually makes you look good. I don't even go to those groups now because the admins refuse to ban, or at least severely limit, these kinds of posts. And it hurts those new people in the hobby, or even a veteran, who are genuinely looking for help.
I've had a serious problem with lack of self control, especially when GW release the army boxed sets. The only one I actually stuck with was the beast snagga boyz set, and I made it into an army and went to tournaments etc. I'm now actively relying on pile of potential to sketch out army ideas and sit on them for a few months until I commit. This has curbed my unneccessaery spending nearly completely.
I want all the ranges to be complete for autistic/obsessive reasons, but I'm not wasting serious money on something that's supposed to be a hobby unless it's something that I'll actually enjoy all the way.
Did not finish the video before commenting, but holy smokes! I didn’t know you where an army man. Which “department”? I’m Norwegian so we call the different sub branches “avdelinger” directly translated it would be “departments”. However, I was in the kampesk, mechanized infantry. then i went into costal ranger selection and passed. No wonder I enjoy your content my guy
Especially poignant given the current economic circumstances. In the UK 12% of people admitted that they have chosen not to eat over a day to save money and the number is rising. How many of those have bought products from GW in the past year is impossible to say but for a parent it could be a problem. For students also, maintenance allowances have not risen and with food prices skyrocketing they could easily go overdrawn from even one or two large purchases from GW.
I’ve always prioritized panting and telling stories with minis over chasing hype or the meta, but even that can result in not so much a pile of shame, but more a large “active work” pile for me. Ironically diving into 3d printing helps avoid impulse buying. You might be tempted to buy STLs, but even then it’s not hard to find the same kind of design or even a better one for free. Not to mention the printers take time so even if you really really wanted to constantly print and inundate yourself with models it’s going to be a lot slower and a hell of a lot cheaper.
Maca is 100% correct on this long time problem.
I've been guilty of this in the past.
It is sickening to me to see this kind of addiction culture becoming more and more common.
Its in video games and even traditional board games too. The whole market is saturated with gambling and fomo
Its becoming more prominent in everything, everywhere, cause thats what "they" want. 🤨👆
@@chaseherringtonoh yeah, Kickstarter is as bad if not worse with $129 boardgames with 15 optional KS exclusive expansions and $1,000+USD "All-in" pledges. It's all FOMO marketing tactics, and consooomers bragging to each about how many thousands of dollars in unfulfilled Kickstarter games they're waiting on.
Buying ONE of those mini heavy "All in" games with all the expansions is more game than someone will ever be able to play. Folks are spending $1K on a game they never played, because they'll NEVER be able to get the "complete experience" outside of Kickstarter.
Bro I needed this so much you don’t even know. I’m 18 and in my last year of higschool, play the game very regularly and am completely addicted to buying shit with the money I get from my job, I need to get my shit together before I hit the real world this summer
At your age, your whole life is ahead of you, you can get ahead in life now if you focus and commit yourself to achieving. Nothing will fall into your lap, you have to go and chase it, upskill yourself, make yourself desirable to companies for hiring, and when you've earned it, you buy your hobby to reward yourself.
save up to buy a 3d printer. dp the health and safety stuff and youll have all the warhammer models you could want while saving thousands of not tens of thousands.
@@TheOuterCircle 🫡
I’m of a similar age, and problem- I’ll do my best to follow that advice too.
I think I’ll start a small, obscure TH-cam channel, detail my pile of shame and record each project. Not for attention or to try to become a TH-camr, just to keep a record and keep myself on track. I might join the discord at some point, too, and ask for some of the advice and wisdom of the older members of the community.
World’s getting darker out there, and I won’t be of use to anyone around me if I stay like I’ve been living for the past few years. I need to stop being a coward and move.
24 yr old here, totally agree with macca, focus more on real life. Honestly this hobby is more for old men with too much time on their hands.
You will have plenty of years too sit around 😂
Buddy I would honestly make-do with what you have already. Accept it as a challenge, even write a fluff if it helps you but keep your money in your pocket.
Definitely try to save up at least ten grand and put it in the bank as a safety net for yourself. The next ten years will see you take risks, new jobs, new opportunities, new girlfriend, getting married. Everything costs money. Once your career is on its way you will have disposable income.
Good luck.
There is a big issue with this on Instagram warhammer painting accounts. All this "OMG YES, I NEEEED THESE LOL", "BUYING THREE BOXES WHEN RELEASED" etc. Then they pose holding them while doing some gurning face, maybe see a model or two painted and then they move on. Zero control or critical thinking.
Bro name drop em rn 😂
They all have gaping soy faces
Some of them are probably also sponsored in some way by gw
I would do that only if I’ve already painted the model like I want to do a pale Angron then classic red but I would never buy two models at once for that
God I love that this channel breeds killjoys and people who can't have fun unless they're regurgitating into their own mouths now I can avoid it for good
I'll be honest, I've found myself planning my finances until the next payday AROUND an upcoming GW purchase. Heck I've found myself checking the Warhammer Community page multiple times a day to see if any new releases are coming out.
Once I managed to take a step back I started realising that it was the same psychological process I had when my drinking was a problem (teetotal now) and it sunk in that I was just replacing one addiction with another.
You're a solid lad Macca, and I genuinely appreciate your willingness to speak out about these topics.
I have to admit that I too exhibit some of these behaviours.
Buying stuff I won’t finish
Sidetracking to armies and units that I won’t use
Getting obsessive about collecting a bunch of stuff
But fortunately, I have the dumb luck of background. Being taught to value and not waste money, to try and be humble and to care for others as much as for self.
I don’t live up to such values fully, but trying saves me from the worst.
What is worse though that I couldn’t imagine how prolific this issue really is!
Thanks Outer Circle from highlighting this problem.
I will try to fix my bad behaviour now.
Gentlemen! Let’s slay some grey!
Thank you for your service
"D-daddy can we get food today?"
"Shut up Timmy and get back under the stairs, can't you see there's new Jetbikes I need for my glorious Imperial Fists!"
@Nix91 Kirioth*
And Add valrak
Majorkillrak?
@@SuperOmegaBerserker There is no way Valrak or Majorkringe have had sex
The worst part is that it's had become a very common problem.
Personally I like to pre plan what I want to do and why.
For a recent example I've bought a new guard kit, Krieg veteran squad and a catachan squad for 3 guardsman kill teams based on historic conflicts.
You should focus on what you want to do and ONLY that don't get sidetracked with other things.
Agreed.
I'm focused on my current armies and the things I need to finish them.
Plasma Cannons, Spears, etc.
Buy what you need for your projects, not what you think you want in the moment.
Lots of spot on points here.
The fact that I immediately clicked on the TH-cam notification doesn't bode well for my impulse control, does it?
Probably not. It's ok if you're home online scrolling through TH-cam, not so good if you're ignoring your partner or you're supposed to be at work when you do it!
You the best bro!
You never sugercoat stuff, you say what you think.
People dont like hearing some one being real, thats why some rather put unconstructive comments so they can bring you down to their level.
Keep it up man!
I watch all your videos!!
Looking forward to the how to build your hh2.0 army heretic part.
Take care!
Absolutely correct. Self control is a hard but learn able trait. Coming from a guy who use to have none and was able to loss 100 pounds once I developed that self control. Same goes for the impulse purchases!
I often see piles of shame like it's a dick measuring contest, like folks it ain't that impressive. It's fine to have a box or two on the shelf, but when you've got dozens there's a problem.
I'm fat as well Macca. I don't think being fat has anything to do with training. If you eat less, you lose weight.
You won't get ripped or buff without working out. But you won't lose weight unless you take in less energy than your body is using.
I'm trying to eat less at the moment. Down a couple of kilos this week. Fingers crossed I can keep it going and lose another 10-20kg.
@@Paint_at_Dawn I'm trying lite'n'easy at the moment.
I'm not eating anything other than what they provide plus tea and coffee.
Weighed in last night which was about a week of this weight loss attempt.
I'm down about 4kg. So it's nice to see I'm trending downwards. Think I've jumped on the wife's peleton 3 or 4 times for 20-30mins plus eating only the 1500 calorie food plan.
It's expensive to buy food like this but how much is your health and wellness worth?
Whenever I need to lose weight I just stop eating while the sun is up and cut out all the sugary drinks, booze, fast food etc. and it works like a charm. I don't think it's for everyone, but it works for me and I've known other dudes who did something similar to good effect so it's worth considering.
The truths hurts. But you can not discount that it IS the truth. I sold anything I didn't need, built the stuff I was going to use, primed it, dry brushed and washed them. I am chipping away at them and haven't bought a new model since and wont till I am done with the back log. Loved this upload.
As someone who’s is currently active duty airborne infantry, I appreciate your perspective in the community. Keep doing what you’re doing!
The hobby gets so much better when you ETS.
Very good video - with points many don't want, but need to hear.
It's alarming to think how bad I used to be in regards to just buying for the dopamine hit - hoping that something new and shiny would throw off the melancholy. You're completely right that it can't replace a void in your life, but I just want to highlight how insidious it is; as it does work for a day or so - just long enough to make you think it was worth it and do it again.
I've found just adding everything you wanted to the shopping basket and then waiting a week seems to stop me pulling the trigger on purchases. 99% of the time I come back, see the total price and realise I don't actually need any of it. The other 1% of times I still buy it; I find it's something I genuinely wanted, will actually use or get lasting enjoyment from - not a one day distraction like an impulse buy would be.
You're so right mate. The bit that stuck with me was making purchases emotionally, absolutely 100% correct. I just lost my dad and I kept thinking about getting a tattoo in remeberence for him, but I know I should keep the money back that I got from his will because times are hard ar the moment and he wouldn't want me to waste it he'd want me to use it towards something more substantial
Honestly, I think the best thing is the rule of three, you as a hobbyist should only have 3 projects in reserve to work on max (a project being what's in a self contained box or equivalent).
So many people just buy, buy, buy what they don't need and end up with huge piles of shame, which ends up being a budget drain that doesn't make the hobbyist feel better and instead worse.
For me the shame is having painted a unit and then moving on to something else. I need to get the whole army painted before I can start the next one. I just buy all the projects first so I can mix and match parts, base opposing forces in my other armies corpses and so on.
For example, in 2022 I bought my first kit in years. It was Palanite Enforcers. I loved the detail. I figured that since my friends who were still into 40k just played silly fun games and the local clubs are all try hard competitive types, I would just collect a fun little force to do as I pleased. So I got another few boxes, a few of the Subjugators kits and I ordered the FW character. As I daydreamed about making a riot suppression force I figured I could use some of the servo haulers. Unfortunately, I didn't take advantage of a clearance sale a few years ago and missed out on buying them for $25 a set so I ended up ordering a few of them off eBay and then picked up few weapon bits to mount on them. By the winter I had them assembled, free of mold lines and even converted a few small things. Then I set them aside to await the Guard codex to see if they would get bolters or shotguns as options. It took a while but it's paid off as it seems I'll be able to run them as imperial agents!
However when I set them aside I made the choice to also start an Ork army. Something to really work on with love and care. I know it won't be painted for a few years but that's not important to me. It will be just be nice to have that single beautiful Ork army that everyone likes to play against because I just like playing, winning is not even secondary.
BUT! I also love the sisters models and with Christmas bonus money I picked up an army. Just cause I want it down the line. I plan to paint them strictly for display. I'm basing them as a group so they all look like they're marching in a parade.
AND I picked up a few Space Marines cause I can paint them very fast and have something to play with while I paint the other projects.
And of course I needed terrain. I found cheap deals on eBay. So... Maybe $3000 spent in total but that includes a few other weird purchases for collecting purposes like the old Red Gobbo and stuff.
Now it may seem like I've just bought way too much. But I stopped painting to type this. I've got 15 Marines complete, Tor Garadon, and most of a Leviathan painted. I'm working on 5 heavy intercessors and 3 Aggressors right now. I can get 10 Marines done in 2 nights of painting (god damn yellow!!!) So I'm expecting to have this army of 2k points done by mid March if I'm unable to paint each night at work but late Feb if I can.
I do actually get my models done. I've painted almost one of every army at some point. Even completing an Eldar army in under a month as a challenge (by hand).
My problem is generous friends.
In addition to what I've bought above, the other day I couldn't pass up on a FB market place offer of $400 for $1800 of Ad Mech. Turns out I knew the guy and he threw in a few other things like Saint Celestine (yay!)
Then the same day an old friend contacted me and offered me his Space Marines, Chaos marines, Chaos Knights and some other stuff because he was downsizing projects. Then he saw some Votann (I forgot to mention, THAT was an impulse buy) in my pile of "shame" and offered to trade for all the Cadians he just bought. I said sure and he immediately when to the local shop and bought the vehicles and stuff he needed to round out the force.
I won, he won, the local store won.
Now I may be a special case, but I don't see having spare fun laying around as a bad thing. If I was wasting money on car parts or sports equipment that I wasn't using or had bought with no real plan that would be shame.
I see my stuff as a collection but as a means to an end.
My quick army to play asap.
My beautiful army that will take time.
My personal army that will be more of a diorama.
My army of conversions and personal lore.
A bunch of future trades and or projects.
So I do have more than 3 projects but I do agree with your logic.
@@kenupton4084 That's a lot of text to justify bad spending habits.
@Voice_of_Terra it really is, it's the exact reasoning to take issue with when it comes to spending habits of people in the hobby, like sure you can have a large collection just actually complete stuff before moving on.
@@voice_of_terra7228 tldr: model prices/purchases don't impact my life or finances.
@@oliverp3545 why can't I do both? Finished a squad of heavy intercessors lastnight (and a few more Leviathan parts). Traded a Wraith Knight, a box of Dark Reapers, Autarch, box of Jetbikes, and a hemlock for...
Looks like... Giants Ghosts, 2 limited edition Catachan heroes, 2 sets of Kreig, the new Cadian Army box, Leontus, another set of the new big artillery... Some more Kasrkin... Pretty good trade.
Tonight I will complete my Aggressors and the Leviathan and maybe get some work on the Eradicators done. Should have 1500 of Imp fists finished by Sunday morning.
Then I'll flip a coin to see if I should start on the guard or Orks next. All 3500 points of Orks are in sub assembly waiting for base layers.
Myself I'm a strong proponent of customer self control.
I feel nothing be showing what you've bought.
What I've painted is what I'm proud of, however, the essentials in life are and always will be significantly more important.
In terms of spending I got quite a nice stack of boxes I wanted at Christmas. So I won't be buying squat until it's all painted, doesn't mean I'll immediately buy something else.
Its in my opinion a mental health issue. As a society we do not have a good approach to mental health. Feels like we either coddle bad behaviour or abandon people leaving them to fester.
And now that gw have announced their yearly price rise for March you can bet there's going to be people rushing to buy things while they are a bit lower. Perfectly timed video Macca.
price increase is just another arrow on geedubs bow.(fear of spending more)
once or twice a year there is a price increase on some trumped up reasoning to cause an extra spending spree, and then over the summer they bring out their next huge releases
(last year it was HH this year its going to be 10th edition) and then they close the year off with some fomo christmas boxes.
between this all its all kinds of releases world eaters, necromunda, the lion returns,killteam spacehulk etc etc etc
i don,t have it fully under control yet but im dialing down from it , i have too much stuff already and although its not a problem to me its becoming one for me.
the problem of having too many big projects is always something i have to fight in my life.
Brother, PREACH!
This video hit the mark on so many points.
thank you for your genuinely sage advice daddy TOC
Good ol’ impulse control, something I had to learn ages ago. I’m in my late 20s now and let me tell you, I’m probably not gonna buy another mini in a very long time. Only because I have such a huge stockpile that I’ll probably be married by the time I get through it all. That being said, I am still gonna try getting through it all.
I must say this, thank you mecca a lot for bringing this up and opening my eyes way back when the sisters of battle came out. I usually don't buy armies but when sisters of battle came I went after the hype train. But then you released a video about willpower and that we should wait a week or two to see if we still feel the same. I now do this all the time and haven't bought any minis for couple of years. GW actually shot themselves in the foot by showcasing minis one or two months before release so the hype cooldown is easier. Now I have painted a lot and my pile of shame is halfway done. Thank you again mecca. Hope I was not the only one mecca helped
I was just thinking of clearing a bunch of unfinished projects out and just sell them. This has made my mind up. Thank you.
Thanks Maca, people gotta remember that it's a toy solder game. There's always new toys. I was really thinking of getting the Iron Hands Christmas box. Then I took a look at my 2000 points of unpainted CSM and decided it wasn't necessary.
GWs entire marketing strategy is targeting people with no self control.
They are extremely predatory.
You can cut that back to “marketing strategy is targeting people with no self-control”
It’s not just Games Workshop… Look around you, its everything. Its not even the manufactures themselves, its the way advertising is delivered.
You're 100% correct, mate! I'm pretty in danger of becoming like this sometimes. And there are far too many people in all hobbies like that and they need help! And people have to STOP encouraging it!
I'm a commission painter and the part about no social life really hurts because it's true. I'm not a big GW buyer but it still resonated with me :x
Did 6 years in the army infantry. It's pretty sad how much my body has fallen as far as performance goes.
This video was very helpful to me. as always your blunt honesty has made me question some of my purchases but for the better. I'm going to finish my huge project of my spacehulk with all my old kits I've put on hold or no longer use. thank you for always being honest
I certainly feel this one - I've got ADHD which I found is really common in the hobby along with other neurodivergent things like Aspergers, so my impulse control is a major issue in all aspects of my life. On the plus side I'm fairly smart and have a few things in place to kind of curb it a bit - I still have a massive pile of shame but here's some tips other than "just don't buy stuff" which is frankly like telling an addict "Just don't do heroin yeah?" -
The thing is the pile of unpainted plastic isn't actually a problem. At worst you can always sell it and even make money of it if you were smart. The problem is when it impacts on your life in a negative way, and usually this is financially more than anything. So here's some unsolicited advice from my experience:
1. Before starting a new faction, write some army lists or rosters out, and only buy that stuff. Also look at shit like Boarding Actions or smaller game modes and write a list for that first, then expand on that once your smaller force is completed.
2. Also use these wishlists to plan birthdays and Christmas etc. That way I'm like well, I WANT the jetbikes but also I can put them on my birthday list and my girlfriend or parents can get me them later. Warhammer is quite good in that respect because unlike more expensive hobbies, there's always something you'd like priced at the casual gift level.
3. If you have disposable income you can get the hobby to pay for itself - work out which bigger boxes can be split for profit then just keep the minis you actually want. Flipping AoD boxes for instance was quite lucrative just after release, and that was selling at well below retail - no scalping required! Imperium Magazine has made me a fair bit too.
My 2000pt Votann army including codex cards etc cost me less than £300 using the above advice.
4. Don't meta chase - in fact just don't pay attention to the meta whatsoever because let's be honest by the time you've got all this shit painted it'll be halfway into 11th ed. anyway.
5. Build and prime your models - don't worry about painting them beautifully (yet). You can build models anywhere - I do it on the train, on my lunch hour, when I take my toddler out in the car for a nap I pull into a layby and start assembling stuff while he kips in the back. Once you have a bunch of stuff built then prime 'em with rattle cans. Priming en-masse is a massive time saver. You can prime an army in an hour no problem.
That way when the mood does take you to paint something, you can just select a model and start painting. You can also play games with them so it makes the pile a bit less shameful.
Thankyou for coming to my TED Talk.
Good advice but how do you build minis in those situations without cutting yourself or spilling glue everywhere? I have ADHD myself and can relate in terms of general impulse control issues, but I would be way too distracted by what's going on around me to concentrate properly even aside from trying to put together tiny, intricate models while traveling in a moving vehicle lol.
@@doomguy9049 I dunno, I hyperfocus and I enjoy building minis so this isn't an issue whatsoever. Also note that I pull over to build them - I'm not sat in the back of a moving car trying to build haha! On the train to work it's fairly smooth going anyway but I generally just clip bits off the sprue and order them for later.
@@sonicwingnut I enjoy building my models too so I get that, but maybe I'm just clumsier than you because I can't see any scenario where I wouldn't lose important bits under seats or similar.
@@doomguy9049 I bring a tray for that! And a toolbox with loads of little boxes in the lid.
a bit odd that i was about to succumb to this issue and buy a few models when I have yet to finish the last one i bought, and here this video was recommended to me. Thanks for the PSA
Hey I'm a new subscriber here, I really appreciated the video about what broke the primarinios. But I can completely get behind the message you put out about self control and discipline it's something our society/gaming community needs to learn.
Also thanks for your service in the military and I know a few guys and my family who have messed up their bodies and minds serving our nation.
Thank you so much for posting this, it's a serious problem
100% correct. I've got loads of stuff to make and paint up in my 'pile of shame', and I've had to put my foot down with myself that I just will not buy anything new until I'm done with what I've got.
Of course it's winter in old Blighty right now, so I don't really feel like spending any time out in my shed where I do my hobbies, but come spring, I'll be cracking through that backlog.
You can always assemble stuff mind - I find you can build models practically anywhere so I figure if I go mad building everything then I've got a load of half-finished projects ready to paint instead of a load of sprues where there's a good few hours' work before I can put paint on them.
I dont think I've ever bought a two army battle box, apart from perhaps the one with two imperial knights from a while ago. However I did subscribe to the first Hachette partworks 40k magazine, and when I finished it, I had a space marine army, which I knew I was going to use, and also a death guard army, which I built with the intention one day painting. But after a year or two, I realized that wasn't going to happen, so I ended up boxing it all up along with a couple other armies, and sold them. I was running out of room in general, and I had other plans with other armies and boxsets, and in the end, I feel much better of without them, and these days, I only buy things I actually plan on painting, and probably playing with one day as well.
top notch video. Recently moved to uni around the nottingham area and was excited to find a lively warhammer community as you'd expect given the location. However as the days dragged on I found that I was buying models not out of any real intention to play them but out of a sense to distracting myself from the reality of being bored and unhappy at uni, I would just mindlessly build minis while listening to videos such as your own and other easy listening kind of stuff. before i knew it 4/5 of the money I was supposed to live of for the year was down the drain (not just minis but point still stands) and for what? some plastic? Probably one of the most shameful things I've ever done. This hobby can become a vice just like any other if your in a bad headspace and lack self awarenes/discipline. First video I've seen which has given voice to that
Yo macca, been a fan of your work for years now.
I appreciate you and what you've done for our hobby, but i also appreciate you giving out advice in an honest way.
Keep it up big bird 🦢
Great to have these conversations, well done on being vulnerable and honest Macca.
Seeking validation, acceptance, self worth from buying plastic crack is never going to fill the emotional void in ones life... but we still see it quite often in social media where people proudly show off their 20 brand new boxes of GW with all the best intentions... then you never see them post hobby progress.
We are our worst enemy sometimes
Thanks for this rant, it is something I needed to hear. On a different note, can we have an episode on things you like about the hobby, let’s have some positivity!
Thank you for your service, also thank you for doing your best to try and help the community even with a hurtful, self-destructive, Vocal minority acting against the community and the games best interests.
People "bragging" about their piles of shame are just desperate for validation of their reckless impulse buying. If some rando on the internet tells them it's alright, they can think what they're doing is normal and good.
Macca calling himself plump (XD). Great advice at the end there. Hoping everyone works on themselves and finds/ builds good communities.
Honestly, though I shit on many of your opinions, this one is correct. The "wait a week" strategy is really good advice.
This is part of the reason why I have a 3D printer. I could see myself getting more into the Warhammer hobby and spending a lot on stuff I might not use as much.
I bought a 3D printer instead because while yes it's a bigger up-front investment, it serves multiple hobbies I'm already part of and it opens the avenue for me to take part in Warhammer without needing to spend any additional money on it.
Thank you Mecca for helping people to reflect and improve their life. Happy we have someone like you to explain it and was honest about it.
The sheer amount of people flexing on social media with 3 rogal dorns, or 9 sentinels or 10 cadian squads etc is staggering.
Also, as a former light infantryman who is not quite as "light" anymore I feel you.
Words of wisdom!
Very well stated. Going to use this and GW’s newest price hike announcement as the push to pause purchasing for a loooong while. I’ve got plenty to paint.
I needed this macca. Moreso for my food addiction. Back to fasting and eggs, chicken and rice for me.
I've had that problem too... Buying several Thousand Sons kits, buying a Lord Discordant, buying Shaodwspear, etc... I have to admit your advice has been VERY helpful with my more recent purchases, especially my Horus Heresy army; apart from an extra castraferrum dreadnought and a Deimos rhino, I've stuck to just a few tactical/assault squads, one castraferrum and a praetor.
Great video Macca. I completely agree and was falling into the fomo trap until the day I couldn't get cursed city. That made me realise that its not a big deal if I miss out. A lot of the time I now leave it a couple of days, if its still there and I want it, I will get it. But if its not there then I shrug and walk out.
Hit the nail on the head there Macca. It should be shameful. Not only the points you mentioned but also drives up prices across the board due to limited products. Especially with books and exclusive models.
It's true I understood what you meant in the first video and this is a great clarification
I don't but jack all these days until my current projects done. At most a test unit to try and paint for the next project when almost done.
Since I got back to de the hobby, I follow a golden and simple rule: I never buy a box which I do not need before finishing the previous one. Furthermore I only play when I have nothing else planned that weekend and I paint only on Sundays. I am building my HH slowly and, in fact, after two and a a half years, I only have 2500 points at most. The day I hit 5000 points with units I know I am using, I will sell or give my paints and I will stick to that army. In fact, I always play 2000 points games with the same list. The rest of the points are special weapons for infantry (grey slayers for instance).
The problem I see with this hobby, is that people get an easy dopamine rush after buying stuff. It is, in many ways, an addiction. It does not kill you as drugs would do, yet it can destroy your life as easily as many drugs.
I think this is very valid, I used to be a pretty disciplined guy. Now I find myself with this impulse to beat false scarcity, because I'll have to wait a few weeks for GapGames to restock some heresy marines otherwise. Or randomly worry the old ork boys kit will out of stock before I can pick some up because they are cheaper than the new kit (I do not need or even really want those sculpts). I know it is preposterous, I know I have bigger fish to fry. But the primal part of my brain designed to stock pile food for winter is driving me crazy and it really sucks dude.
So thank you for making this video, we've got to look out for each other and bring ourselves down onto (ignore the lore pun) terra firma every now and again.
If anything those few weeks to restock is an opportunity to see whether you even still want the thing by that time!
@@demonstructie Very True!
Ever since I got a 3d printer this problem went away. I still have little to no impulse control but I don't feel the need to spend thousands on plastic crack anymore...
The buying is powerful, but I feel it should be the least rewarding part. Thats less money in the bank. The real dopamine hit comes from building (for me especially building) and painting and playing. The purchase is a means to an end, which should be enjoying it
Due to the “diversity of characters” in this hobby, to frame it nicely. I’ve become very selective with whom I share my love for the hobby with. Furthermore I’m extremely picky with who I watch within this hobby as I personally believe that some “hobby influencers” actively contribute to the behavior you’re describing. Like chapter master Valrak. He doesn’t think, he doesn’t critique he just spews out this nonsense about glorious this, god emperor that, ergh..
Because of your channel I remain in the hobby, although it’s Horus Heresy now. I have 3 armies and everyone is fully painted and I’ve listened to every single entry in the Horus Heresy novel series.
Btw, When you spoke about elitism it spoke to me. To set Standards and aspire to achieve better is a mindset I’ve had throughout all my endeavors, be it academic, professional or hobby.
This comment was somewhat all over the place, but my point is: I agree with you and this hobby needs people like you to speak out against the community
Next time you see somebody purchase a big army in one go, ask for their social media. Check in on their progress and them as a person.
I find a lot of the time people who impulse buy hobbies are looking for friends.
GW's obscene prices make it really easy to control my impulses. If the new Salamanders box was $100 I'd buy one right now, but at three times that I'd much rather just buy a 3D printer.
This is a good talk. Honestly this sort of hobby is not healthy for compulsive purchasers. Fix yourself, then play.
Gonna be honest - I have this problem with printing and some scale model kits; I'm not sacrificing any essentials, mind, but I have a bad habit of starting project after project and never finishing them. Gonna try to plow through all my 1/35 historicals and the few units of unpainted Heresy stuff I have throughout the next couple months though.
This subject can really be opened out to literally every hobby or pastime in existence.
Golf, mountain bikes, cars, clothing etc all use the same marketing techniques to make people feel that they need to buy more than they already do.
Its not restricted to manufacturers either. The way that advertising is delivered now is made to relatively insidiously force an idea into the mind of a viewer, and thanks to our reliance on networked devices, its inescapable.
Great advise mate! if only more people listened to this sort of advise knowing it's coming from a good place then we wouldn't be in the situation we are in the "West" let alone Australia!
6 yrs in the army and my knees, back and shoulders are ruined...not to mention my mental health.
YES! I wholeheartedly agree with your main point. I know at least two guys that have a "buying more than they need or could ever build in their lifetime" problem. Though they won't suffer bankruptcy anytime soon, it's concerning.
Macca is not just cleaver......he is *_WISE_* * (* " Beyond his _years)_
I am guilty of impulsive buying. I'm working on curbing that. Helps that GW is dragging heals.
I think we're all guilty of impulse buying (and I'd be surprised if Maca himself isn't guilty of it at some point in his life).
I made a video kind related to this topic a while ago and got some of the typical “Just ignore it/how does this affect you” when wargaming is a community hobby. This kind of behavior does affect me.
I was playing a game of Thousand Sons vs. Sisters of Battle maybe about 2 years ago, a little less with a friend. This one guys comes up, used to work for the lgs we were playing at, so we kind of knew him. He had a reputation for being a bit of That Guy, making up rules for a Kill Team league, throwing fits when he lost at Underworlds, y'know.
Anyway, we say hi, but instead of small talk, he jumps right to talking about mindrape and just being absolutely gross about what the Thousand Sons had in store for the Sororitas.
Dude was exactly the kind of person you described where he'd collect models, flip them, and constantly be complaining about not having money for basic needs. He joined a HH2 escalation league I ran in August and was playing with a massive collection of Space Wolves, but he had no rules -- said he didn't have money for them. We advised him about some pdf copies and I ended up with a 2nd rulebook that I eventually gave to him, but man. This video just hits home because I've played against exactly this kind of person. And while they have passion for the hobby, you are exactly right. They're manchildren with no impulse control.
The cultivated "consumer" mentality combined with the urge for instant gratification is extremely dangerous. You're basically sold the idea that you can buy happiness when all you're buying is a short term dopamine hit! This hobby rewards the time and effort you put into your models and the sense of satisfaction you'll get looking at or even playing with your *fully painted* models. The boost to your self-esteem when someone compliments you on your army is genuine because you have earned it! As Robert Heinlein puts it: "Something given has no value. It is the effort we expend achieving that thing that gives it value"
We all look down on and pity those sad sacks who give away tens of thousands of dollars to twitch thots while running themselves into debt. The compulsive gambler. The food/drug/alcohol/pron addict. The list goes on but the truth is we all have those tendencies. We need to be careful, it can happen to anyone!
I was suffering with it, now I look at can I afford it and do I need it. I can't work as I too have buggered up knees as a car pulled out in front of my bike.
My friend has a display case half full of all his unbuilt still wrapped boxes and it drives me maddd
I have a big pile of shame that I steadily work on and add to. But I never sell. But then I'm just in for the painting, haven't played for 6-7 years.
And every month I make a budget and put a part of that budget money on buying hobby related stuff without risk of getting into financial trouble
I made a travel chart of all the GW stores near me and once a month I get 8 free minis in one day and I often swap them online. That’s one way to feed that itch to get new minis without actually spending excess money
Thing I do that annoys myself is buy one thing enjoy. Then I think I need another 2 of them. Its never as good going back and they become a grind.
My impulse control has gotten worse since getting a 3D printer. Now I want to print everything I see.
I have a PHENOMENAL pile of shame. Entire armies that will never get touched. I'm trying to improve as a person, but struggle. I know new Nids are coming. I must sit on my budget so I can splurge there. Thing is, sometimes when life gets a little hard, I don't drink, nor smoke, nor do drugs ... I spend. I'm trying to direct that energy towards painting, but it's hard to resist that dopamine hit of simply spending.
Here's what I've done gather up each painted army and put them in view or not to show yourself that you did that.
Next box up every other army and store them in a closet, but the one your going to work on. Select 5-10 to ten items at a time,then work on those in batches say all armor, then all cloth, then skin, then weapons etc.... until your all done.
Set goals and stick to them and don't be weak and give into impulse
This issue has definitely been exacerbated by the Internet. People can post their new purchases on forums where anonymous people will validate their transaction with orange arrows
Focusing on the needs of the minority in a group setting sounds like a guy whos last name rhymes with Barks 🤣
This goes beyond the hobby, especially as an American but it applies to all westerners. So many people have bad spending habits and just buy shit they don’t need, go out to restaurants all the time, and just buy buy buy. So many people have no self control be it financially, spiritually, mentally or whatever and want to blame others for it. It makes sense that Warhammer definitely inadvertently(Or explicitly) exploits this but at the end of the day it’s up to us to not mindlessly consume everything
1:25 "BUT Mommm (Macca), Theeese Models are sooo *_CooooooooL."_*
I've seen so many fuckers on reddit doing that they buy like 4 boxes and then they flex it but no one cares
I know a guy that buys everything. no exaggeration, new kit, he buys it. he sometimes doesn't play the faction he wanted to because he "can't get to it". have tried getting him to at least cut back but he always goes back on it the few times I got him to say he won't overdo it.
Agree totally. I have a small 'pile of shame', but stopped myself before it got too large- and most of that was gathered slowly over time. Not a single model is unbuilt, and most of them are at least undercoated (several of the armies are fully, near fully, or at least half painted and fieldable). The main reason there are a few shelved projects today is my disenfranchisement with the game and GW itself.
My best friend however seems to have this problem. He will periodically start a new project, buy a whole new army all at once, start building, paint maybe one or two characters or 1 unit, then shelve it. For example when I told him I was getting into Heresy he decided to do so as well- before the new edition was even released and due to his impatience for our online order, he just went out and purchased a plastic Demolisher and a Baneblade. Against my advice he got his primarch first. Painted his primarch (didnt finish it) then shelved the lot claiming financial woes before starting a song of fire and ice army less than a few months later. It saddens me to see how much money is wasted.
Yeah I started doing this - building and priming stuff en masse so I've got something ready to pick up and paint whenever the mood takes me.
Interesting points, one thing i think was a curious breakpoint was GW pivoting to the hard plastic terrain kits ~2010, i honestly think it was the most savvy business move they ever made but has made the addiction problem far worse. Most of the fans have gone absolutely RABID for them but they are the ULTIMATE 'pile of shame'/unhealthy consumer habit generators.
They require the same kind of clean-up and assembly as normal minis and although easier to paint this comes with an exponential increase in surface area, add this to their lack in immediate utility (won't list reasons, should be obvious) compared to minis they are just never going to get done. The other crucial factor is that they are pretty expensive, increasing their prestige, perceived value and collectability. They also (vastly) inflate the value of small 'starter set' SKUs, GW could STILL charge £60/
And today they've announced that all the resin Legion Contemptors are going Last Chance to Buy, so you better order them now 'cause they'll be gone soon.
It's like they actually want me to buy everything from China.
The resin stuff isn’t made in United Kingdom?
You see... the banana marines dont need DotRS so they wont come out.
I've seen this a lot in the Gunpla community (Gundam plastic models for those who don't know). Go to any decent online Gunpla group, and 9 out of 10 posts are literally nothing but backlog flexing as if it actually makes you look good.
I don't even go to those groups now because the admins refuse to ban, or at least severely limit, these kinds of posts. And it hurts those new people in the hobby, or even a veteran, who are genuinely looking for help.
6:25 you don't need to prove this as it is a pretty well known psychological mechanism, one might even venture to state that it is quite obvious.
Poverty is the best control
I legit said this to a Warhammer world employee
I've had a serious problem with lack of self control, especially when GW release the army boxed sets. The only one I actually stuck with was the beast snagga boyz set, and I made it into an army and went to tournaments etc. I'm now actively relying on pile of potential to sketch out army ideas and sit on them for a few months until I commit. This has curbed my unneccessaery spending nearly completely.
I want all the ranges to be complete for autistic/obsessive reasons, but I'm not wasting serious money on something that's supposed to be a hobby unless it's something that I'll actually enjoy all the way.
Did not finish the video before commenting, but holy smokes! I didn’t know you where an army man.
Which “department”?
I’m Norwegian so we call the different sub branches “avdelinger” directly translated it would be “departments”.
However, I was in the kampesk, mechanized infantry. then i went into costal ranger selection and passed.
No wonder I enjoy your content my guy
Armourer, then I went to IRR/SOER
Especially poignant given the current economic circumstances. In the UK 12% of people admitted that they have chosen not to eat over a day to save money and the number is rising. How many of those have bought products from GW in the past year is impossible to say but for a parent it could be a problem. For students also, maintenance allowances have not risen and with food prices skyrocketing they could easily go overdrawn from even one or two large purchases from GW.
I’ve always prioritized panting and telling stories with minis over chasing hype or the meta, but even that can result in not so much a pile of shame, but more a large “active work” pile for me.
Ironically diving into 3d printing helps avoid impulse buying. You might be tempted to buy STLs, but even then it’s not hard to find the same kind of design or even a better one for free. Not to mention the printers take time so even if you really really wanted to constantly print and inundate yourself with models it’s going to be a lot slower and a hell of a lot cheaper.