Why Do We Hoard This Stuff?

This should be a pretty easy one for GW in the UK, every six months they could release a mini for 40k and one for aos that you can get in stores by trading in a certain number of sprues as a loyalty reward/recycling thing. Maybe you would need to keep receipts and the sprues to stop people cheating it.

I started making models back in the mid 1960's. I'll be 62 in a few months. I used to use the sprues to make all sorts of things. Heating them up with a lighter (yes, it was all I had) you can get them nice and soft, stretch them and turn some sprues into nice, long wires, cables, antennae, trees, posts and building beams. Sprues are one of those 'waste' products that, in my time of frugality, was a sure source of quickly cobbled together items that added something to the models and dioramas I made 'back in the day.' Pretty much everything I did with them required heat of some sort. That said, you can use the sprues for all manner of bits for all the things listed above and more. With a nice hot knife (not a hot wire) you can make them into barrels, tires, wheels, logs, tent poles, fence posts, coiled wire, capstans, bogies, crane supports, legs for large stands, etc. Sprues are usable in many more ways as well, limited only by your imagination. Need a pile of scrap metal parts? Sprues to the rescue! Missing that one bit of oddly shaped equipment in your naval scene? Sprues to the rescue! Need a small bit of plastic to make that properly awesome weapon for the Orc King? Sprues to the rescue! Love the show, sir.

I clip my sprues down to small pieces and store the in large cheese puff containers. When I have some free time I melt them down in an old toaster oven. While it's still hot it's pretty easy to quickly mold it into different shapes, I particularly like making trees because each one turns out different from the last. Just make sure to do it in a well ventilated area and wear a respirator.

seriously though, The Miniature Hobbyist uses these melted down all the time in his stuff. He probably would salivate at the shear amount of raw materials you have there.

Brent, I cannot decide if you are a genius, or just evil. (Maybe it is evil genius). When I heard you running your fingers through the chopped up sprues I was struck with an overwhelming desire to go and buy more minis. 😂

GW could pre cut their frames, so that the customer only gets the parts and not the frame. This way they can make smaler and lighter boxes and reuse old frames.

I'm pretty new to Goobertown, but I love how often I'm left in a mix between thoroughly entertained, but also feeling completely trolled. His hilarious thumbnails are another great example of this. It's very wholesome that Brent always seems to poke fun at himself in the process, being part of our shared hobby/addiction/obsession with all things mini and fantasy.

Bandai actually has a system for sprue collection in Japan for sprues from Gundam models. I think it works pretty well, but it is only confined to Japan, so that makes logistics a lil easier

Thanks for binging this up! There was a blog post somewhere, I cannot find it anymore, in which the author proposed alternatives to recycling. One of my favorite ones was a proposal to the manufacturers to add texture to the sprues. Like that, suddenly the (mostly) useless piece of plastic that used to keep your miniatures safe can become a wood plank or a riveted beam for the next piece of terrain that you build. Basically there is a blank canvas for the manufacturers to use that could enrich the hobby but is just being wasted at the moment.

I love that after your blender broke you were "sad, overwhelmed Brent" with your hair hanging down on either side of your face and a big frown. It was funny and theatrical, but it also just perfectly conveyed the hopelessness that I've felt looking at my pile of shame sometimes. I feel you, brother! :) Don't ever change, sir. Goobertown is one of my favorite channels.

I find the whole element of giving yourself permission to hoard or other things that might not make a heap of sense to others really comforting

Thank you, Brent, for helping me get into this hobby. Your soothing voice and creativity always puts me in a great painting mood.

No respirator while blending, you're a madman! "Don't breathe this!"

What a joy to have another video from Brent. Just perfect for some well-deserved minutes of wholesomeness.

“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.”

Honestly all the furniture in my hobby space, if not entire home, came from the road. I totally get this.

I need to do this now. I have a similar box of sprues building up

What a gift to us and the hobby you are Mr Brent <3 Can't wait for you to get the epiphany on how you will use all these bits Keep up the good work, love from France

...holy crap. I thought I was the only one hoarding sprues. 😂 My plan is to create some moulds, turn the sprues into melty plastic and use it to create cheap and cheerful scenery.

i fully expected Brent to fix up and glue the plastic part of the blender motor using the already blended sprue, immediately giving us a moral to the story.