This is my rants and rave page, where I place all the evils and wrongs within the hobby world and pontificate about them vocally hehe. Actually, I never normally air my views upon anything much, and certainly never criticize others for how they like to play, paint, or generally `do` things. But I thought it might be fun to start a page where I can express things I normally keep to myself and share these thoughts with others to either tear apart or applaud. Remember, its all done in good spirit and humour :-)
Modelling Snobbery
Modelling Snobbery
One of the most unpleasant things I ever have the misfortune to witness in our hobby is modelling snobbery. Sadly, it really exists.
There are two camps of wargamers: those who do and those who don't. Those who do enjoy their models (painted or otherwise) and play games all the time, enjoying this aspect of the hobby to the full. Then there are those who don`t. This second category spend endless hours in internet hobby forums, spend hours painstakingly painting a single model... spend even longer putting together their perfectly painted units... and yet, they never seem to get round to a game. In all honesty, this don`t brigade probably play an actual game less than a handful of times a year...
... and yet (statistically) they would probably be the first to snob someone else`s models for not being painted to a standard they themselves like to produce. Is there something wrong with this picture?
I grew up in the early days of the hobby. The days where there were literally only a handful of wargame books on the market; amateurish black and white photo plates for the inside art, and the rule tables were often simply hand drawn photocopies of home made charts I am actually thinking of a well known 1st edition book by Donald Featherstone as I say this.
Back then, modelling was different. We all used what was available by Airfix. If a desired period wasn`t covered by this range of plastic figures, we used a modelling knife, big dobs of plastic cement, and converted the pieces to our needs. Again, I`m thinking of actual past experience here... Airfix American Indians made great Zulus, and could be converted into Colonial Arabs quite easily by simply adding Plasticine to the top of the head to create the turban. Airfix First World War French made great Colonial British, etc etc. The standard of painting, by today's standard, was very different. We all used one brand of paint back then... "Humbrol" which came in matt or gloss. Many gamers opted for gloss because the paint tended to stay on the bendy plastic figures a little more effectively. But by today's standards, the modelling of the 1960`s 70`s and 80`s resembled toy soldiers a lot more than the precision masterpieces of today. But you know what? I LIKED THAT LOOK. I LIKE playing toy soldiers and I like my toy soldiers to LOOK like toy soldiers. The miniatures of today (after the skilled modeller has spent six hours on a single piece) are something I wouldn`t touch with a ten foot pole; yeeeesh! even breath on them wrong and half the fine paint detail would rub off. Another statistic for you.... most these fine pieces stay behind glass in cabinets and are lucky if they get to take part in more than half a dozen games in their poor wretched lives (do miniatures have lives I wonder lol)?
I`m glad to see game companies popping up like "Fantasy Flight Games " "Flying Frog" etc. They offer complete games in a box.... usually a rule book, a heap of gaudy coloured plastic figures, game boards and... well everything you need to set up and have hours and weeks and months of fun, right out of the box. I doubt most people even bother to paint the figures that come with these games... but you know what: at least they are being played with, and often. Again, I have seen many many many on line sites (and I know a few individuals personally who do this) where the people buying these boxed games are modelers first (the DONT brigade) and gamers second. They carefully prize open these boxes and proceed to paint each figure to such beautiful detail it almost makes you're eyes weep. Do they end up play the game much... nope... and yet, I have seen too many you tube videos, and on line blogs where these same people moan and criticize others for playing the game with unpainted figures (yuck) or for being happy to use purchased pre-painted plastic... like the D&D Miniatures game ones.
Is it maybe time to stop and consider that there is a divide in the hobby... yet erroneously lumped together as one thing. There are gamers and there are modelers Perhaps the twain do not always easily meet?
Back when I was a kid, we (the gamers) had our own magazine called "Battle" in fact it was the only magazine for our hobby that existed. Then there was "Military Modelling" this was for the serious collectors, painters and conversion-ists. The gamers were happy doing their thing, and the modelers were content to do the same. Then some bright spark had the great idea of combining the magazine into one entity... and for a long time "Battle & Military Modeling" was a big shiny single magazine which catered for both types of hobbyist.
.... guess what happened? It took less that six month of issues before the modelers started moaning at the standard of artwork in the wargame section of the magazine. Gripes and snipes soon followed in the open forum pages, and before too long, the wargamers stopped buying the magazine altogether. I KNOW because I was there, and can still remember it well; and I still have all the original magazine issues.
In Ireland where I live, it is a nation of pubs and singers. everyone likes to go down the pub to relax and share a pint with a friend while the local band sits and plays music in the corner. Before half the night is through the entire put is usually singing along; and individual singers start to pipe up.... and everyone stops talking and listens in respectful silence. And everyone claps and cheers when the song is finished. Then there are the so called ` session pubs` where musicians come to play music together and share new tunes. Again, similar story... half way through the night, the pub party atmosphere is wild with excited exuberance... BUT there is a big difference. When the untrained locals start to sing their own songs, the `musicians` start to pull private faces at one another, tittering to themselves at the poor quality singing of the person standing up at the bar making a fool of themselves... except, they are not making fools of themselves, the precious musicians are - of themselves. The untrained person up at the bar happily willing to share a song has the gumption to stand up and give something to everyone. The precious little twit in the corner gives nothing... but expects admiration for his art, and is unhappy to share the lime light with anyone else.
I say again.... about modelling. Gosh how I hate and loath snobbery.
There are two camps of wargamers: those who do and those who don't. Those who do enjoy their models (painted or otherwise) and play games all the time, enjoying this aspect of the hobby to the full. Then there are those who don`t. This second category spend endless hours in internet hobby forums, spend hours painstakingly painting a single model... spend even longer putting together their perfectly painted units... and yet, they never seem to get round to a game. In all honesty, this don`t brigade probably play an actual game less than a handful of times a year...
... and yet (statistically) they would probably be the first to snob someone else`s models for not being painted to a standard they themselves like to produce. Is there something wrong with this picture?
I grew up in the early days of the hobby. The days where there were literally only a handful of wargame books on the market; amateurish black and white photo plates for the inside art, and the rule tables were often simply hand drawn photocopies of home made charts I am actually thinking of a well known 1st edition book by Donald Featherstone as I say this.
Back then, modelling was different. We all used what was available by Airfix. If a desired period wasn`t covered by this range of plastic figures, we used a modelling knife, big dobs of plastic cement, and converted the pieces to our needs. Again, I`m thinking of actual past experience here... Airfix American Indians made great Zulus, and could be converted into Colonial Arabs quite easily by simply adding Plasticine to the top of the head to create the turban. Airfix First World War French made great Colonial British, etc etc. The standard of painting, by today's standard, was very different. We all used one brand of paint back then... "Humbrol" which came in matt or gloss. Many gamers opted for gloss because the paint tended to stay on the bendy plastic figures a little more effectively. But by today's standards, the modelling of the 1960`s 70`s and 80`s resembled toy soldiers a lot more than the precision masterpieces of today. But you know what? I LIKED THAT LOOK. I LIKE playing toy soldiers and I like my toy soldiers to LOOK like toy soldiers. The miniatures of today (after the skilled modeller has spent six hours on a single piece) are something I wouldn`t touch with a ten foot pole; yeeeesh! even breath on them wrong and half the fine paint detail would rub off. Another statistic for you.... most these fine pieces stay behind glass in cabinets and are lucky if they get to take part in more than half a dozen games in their poor wretched lives (do miniatures have lives I wonder lol)?
I`m glad to see game companies popping up like "Fantasy Flight Games " "Flying Frog" etc. They offer complete games in a box.... usually a rule book, a heap of gaudy coloured plastic figures, game boards and... well everything you need to set up and have hours and weeks and months of fun, right out of the box. I doubt most people even bother to paint the figures that come with these games... but you know what: at least they are being played with, and often. Again, I have seen many many many on line sites (and I know a few individuals personally who do this) where the people buying these boxed games are modelers first (the DONT brigade) and gamers second. They carefully prize open these boxes and proceed to paint each figure to such beautiful detail it almost makes you're eyes weep. Do they end up play the game much... nope... and yet, I have seen too many you tube videos, and on line blogs where these same people moan and criticize others for playing the game with unpainted figures (yuck) or for being happy to use purchased pre-painted plastic... like the D&D Miniatures game ones.
Is it maybe time to stop and consider that there is a divide in the hobby... yet erroneously lumped together as one thing. There are gamers and there are modelers Perhaps the twain do not always easily meet?
Back when I was a kid, we (the gamers) had our own magazine called "Battle" in fact it was the only magazine for our hobby that existed. Then there was "Military Modelling" this was for the serious collectors, painters and conversion-ists. The gamers were happy doing their thing, and the modelers were content to do the same. Then some bright spark had the great idea of combining the magazine into one entity... and for a long time "Battle & Military Modeling" was a big shiny single magazine which catered for both types of hobbyist.
.... guess what happened? It took less that six month of issues before the modelers started moaning at the standard of artwork in the wargame section of the magazine. Gripes and snipes soon followed in the open forum pages, and before too long, the wargamers stopped buying the magazine altogether. I KNOW because I was there, and can still remember it well; and I still have all the original magazine issues.
In Ireland where I live, it is a nation of pubs and singers. everyone likes to go down the pub to relax and share a pint with a friend while the local band sits and plays music in the corner. Before half the night is through the entire put is usually singing along; and individual singers start to pipe up.... and everyone stops talking and listens in respectful silence. And everyone claps and cheers when the song is finished. Then there are the so called ` session pubs` where musicians come to play music together and share new tunes. Again, similar story... half way through the night, the pub party atmosphere is wild with excited exuberance... BUT there is a big difference. When the untrained locals start to sing their own songs, the `musicians` start to pull private faces at one another, tittering to themselves at the poor quality singing of the person standing up at the bar making a fool of themselves... except, they are not making fools of themselves, the precious musicians are - of themselves. The untrained person up at the bar happily willing to share a song has the gumption to stand up and give something to everyone. The precious little twit in the corner gives nothing... but expects admiration for his art, and is unhappy to share the lime light with anyone else.
I say again.... about modelling. Gosh how I hate and loath snobbery.