One of my favorite FLGSes is actually 1.5 hours from my house. Games Plus is located in a quiet suburb of Chicago, and it's been around for close to 40 years. I went there when I was a high school freshman, when the shelves were lined with Avalon Hill, Steve Jackson, and Ral Partha. It still has the most diverse inventory of any game store I have visited in my life. Of course, there are the complete lines of GW, Corvus Belli, Wyrd, PP, Flames of War, FFG, etc. There's also all the older and obscure stuff like Microarmor, Star Fleet Battles, many flavors of historicals, and every RPG and board game I've heard of.
Twice a year, they hold a three day auction. They've been doing it for decades. I had missed every one of them until this year. Sunday was the miniatures auction (RPGs and board games are on different days), and with my 11 year old daughter in tow, we waded into the fray.
We walked out of there 5 hours later with a trunk ("boot" for you over the pond) full of boxes and bags. The total was a bit more than I had anticipated, and I wasn't sure exactly what I had purchased. What follows is a breakdown of all the stuff I got. I'm hoping it will help others decide whether attending a game auction is worth it or not. One caveat: this is probably one of the best auctions for this type of thing, so your mileage may vary. This may be a bit boring for a lot of you...my apologies; I'll see you at my next post.
Item: 4 x large rocky terrain pieces. Resin, possibly Armorcast.
Starting bid: $1.00
Winning Bid: $9.00
Item: Hordes Skorne Caster Hexeris. Metal, with current cards.
Starting bid: $1.00
Winning Bid: $5.00
Paint job is horrible. I have a decent amount of (non-competitive) Skorne, but they are definitely not a top-tier interest of mine, so I only buy bits and pieces when I see them. Great sculpt, and $5.00 is decent.
Item: Hordes Skorne Tyrant Xerxis. Metal, with current cards.
Starting bid: $1.00
Winning Bid: $5.00
I love this sculpt, but it's going to need a bath in Greenstuff.
Item: Hordes Skorne Titan Sentry. With current cards.
Starting bid: $1.00
Winning Bid: $3.00
Half-painted, and I don't know if spamming these is a good idea (already have a few through trades).
Item: 12 x GW Large Flight Stands
Starting bid: $1.00
Winning Bid: $1.00
This is the point where I started to make bad decisions. I have absolutely no use for this many flight stands, but at a buck, why not? This logic drove me for the rest of the day (very bad idea).
Item: Bolt Action Tanks Accessory Sprues
Starting bid: $1.00
Winning Bid: $1.00
28mm shovels, jerry cans, etc.
Item: GW Screamer (x2)
Starting bid: $2.00 (2 x 1.00)
Winning Bid: $6.00
I got two of these screamers to go with my other 7.
Item: 4 lots of assorted Tyranids
Starting bid: $4.00 (4 x 1.00)
Winning Bid: $10.00
My most boneheaded move. I couldn't quite see what was in these bags. My heart sank to see them up close. The previous owner spray painted them with some sort of metallic enamel. Most of them are broken to some degree. Apart from the rippers, I count this a total loss.
Item: GW BA Captain in Terminator Armor
Starting bid: $5.00
Winning Bid: $8.00
Decent price. I have a sizable BA army that has stagnated a bit...maybe this will - oh, never mind.
Item: GW Slaanesh Beast
Starting bid: $1.00
Winning Bid: $2.00
Another case of me not being able to see the bag from where I was sitting. I think it's just a seeker. I thought it was a Chaos Beast.
Item: 5 x GW Pink Horrors
Starting bid: $1.00
Winning Bid: $1.00
I realized that with all my 40k daemons, I'm close to having a viable AoS/KoW army. These will be my first pink horrors.
Item: 10 x Cadian Shock Troops
Starting bid: $1.00
Winning Bid: $1.00
They are in pretty bad shape. I'll evaluate after a Simple Green bath.
Item: 6 x GW Grots
Starting bid: $1.00
Winning Bid: $4.00
I love grots. I'm still looking for a good all-grot list. Please comment if you know of one.
Item: 20 x GW Dark Eldar Wyches
Starting bid: $2.00
Winning Bid: $9.00
They are in decent shape. I actually have plenty of wyches, but I'm thinking about using these to populate a Commoragh fighting pit diorama.
Item: PP Warmachine Khador Solo and UA variety pack
Starting bid: $1.00
Winning Bid: $10.00
Actually thought I was bidding on something else. Luckily, I play Khador and there's some decent Bartertown/Ebay fodder here.
Item: 2 x GW Ork Buggies
Starting bid: $2.00
Winning Bid: $7.00
Slowly, very slowly, I'm collecting an Ork army. I'll most likely have it ready within two additional releases of the codex. :)
Item: 2 x GW Plague Drones
Starting bid: $2.00
Winning Bid: $20.00
Again, I got screwed by a guy who just wanted one of the three. Arrrgh.
Item: 55 x GW Orc Boyz
Starting bid: $10.00
Winning Bid: $10.00
Not sure if I cant to convert to 40k or use this as a starter for AoS. Either way, quite a bargain.
Item: 5 x GW Assault Terminators (all Thunderhammer)
Starting bid: $10.00
Winning Bid: $10.00
This brings my Terminator count to 100 including those from Space Hulk. By the time I get around to these, Deathwing may become viable!
Item: 10 x GW Assault Marines (no arms)
Starting bid: $3.00
Winning Bid: $15.00
I overpaid on this one, but I, like most people reading this, have a million assault arm bits. I plan to use them to top off my Death Company to 30 marines.
Item: GW Eldar Seer Council
Starting bid: $1.00
Winning Bid: $5.00
This may be my prize acquisition. It was a totally emotional impulse buy. I saw this image a few years ago, and I was totally inspired by it at a time when I was in a lull:
 |
| Painted by Khaine974 (cmon.com). Golden Demon winner, 2012. |
I'm not sure if I would do chromatic like this, but I loved the execution.
Item: 3 x GW Tau Battlesuits
Starting bid: $10.00
Winning Bid: $17.00
I don't play (or presently play against) the Greater Good, so I have no idea as to the value, neither monetarily nor tactically, of these suits. I don't even know which ones they are. Like I said, I was losing it (my mind) at this point.
Item: 2 Homebrew Lava Craters
Starting bid: $1.00
Winning Bid: $1.00
I have more craters than can fit on a 4' x 6' table, so I'm not sure if I can use these. I felt bad for whoever made them that it sold for only a buck, but hey, that's commerce for ya.
Item: Wyrd Puppet Deck
Starting bid: $1.00
Winning Bid: Free
The kind gentleman who won this handed it to my daughter. He said he had no use for it, and he wouldn't take a dollar for it. Thanks, Bidder #32!
Item: Privateer Press Hordes Minions Faction Book
Starting bid: $2.00
Winning Bid: $5.00
I have a thing for pigs and gators, but I have too may Warmahordes factions languishing on my shelves. This is just for "reference purposes". :)
Item: Wyrd Malifaux Ten Thunders box.
Starting bid: $10.00
Winning Bid: $10.00
I promise this is the last image laid on its side. Malifaux has died locally, so I'm not sure what I am going to do with this. I love the game though. Very flavorful. If you are in NW Indiana and fancy a game, comment here.
Item: Wyrd Puppets War + Expansions
Starting bid: $20.00
Winning Bid: $21.00
The box is in rough shape, but all the contents are fine. There were some halfhearted attempts to basecoat, but for the most part, it's bare metal. does anyone know what the "Unstitched" version added? I'm excite to play this game.
Item: GW Viper Jetbike and Space Marine Command Squad
Starting bid: $1.00 and $1.00
Winning Bid: $9.00 and $20.00
I doubled up on the photo. I've wanted a non-Black Templar Emperor's Champion for a while, and now I have a complete Command Squad for the price of just the Champion. I have no idea what I'm doing with Eldar. Like Orks, I keep buying random pieces since they are not an army I play. I think I'm deluding myself into thinking that someday I'll look down and I'll have a playable force.
Item: GW Necron Monolith
Starting bid: $1.00
Winning Bid: $21.00
Now, I DO have a sizable Necron force including of a full complement of warriors, a LOT of scarabs (remember when the conga line was legal for a minute?), and three croissants. I have all of the special characters, but they are all Finecast, so I've managed to break so many arms and staffs during assembly that I've given up on that for a while. I've always wanted half a dozen Monoliths just for a cool factor, but there was just no justifying it. It's a start!
Item: GW Eldar Fire Prism
Starting bid: $1.00
Winning Bid: $20.00
Older config, but still usable, hopefully.
Item: GW Dreadfleet
Starting bid: $5.00
Winning Bid: $14.00
Everything is in good shape, although I need to strip everything. Is this a fun game? Not sure why I did this...I thought someone would outbid me.
Item: GW Ogre Kingdom Battalion, Codex, Firebelly, and a box of Ogres
Starting bid: $1.00
Winning Bid: $100.00
I know I could have gotten it cheaper if I went to Bartertown and haggled for a while, but it was all NIB, and basically, I got a free Firebelly and box of Ogres. I really want to have an AoS and KoW army, and I LOVE the GW Ogre aesthetic. Their silhouettes match mine.
Item: Case with wavy foam
Starting bid: $1.00
Winning Bid: $14.00
A great case for a great price.
So there were a few more random figures that I purchased, but I think you get the idea. It was the most fun I've had in a game store in recent memory, and it was fun to have one of my kids with me. If you live within 100 miles of Chicago, you owe it to yourself to attend one of their auctions, even if it's not for miniatures.
So Adepticon is next week. I will not be competing in anything, but I'd love to meet you and photograph your army. Anyone who is interested, comment here, and I will get back to you!
No comments:
Post a Comment