Here’s to growing up with the tabletop miniature hobby…

Childhood. Another rainy day. A group of you. Packed into your friends bedroom.

Sprawled out on the carpet, battle rages. On all fours, you manoeuvre your forces through the crude cardboard terrain.

Your army advances. Barely a quarter of them decorated in your rustic painting style. Most of your troops wearing that uniformed plastic grey. The odd metal warrior gleams amidst their ranks.

Hastily glued together. Visible mold lines. Lumps and bumps from their birthing sprues. You drive them forward.

The chunky rulebooks you barely understand. Play pauses to debate a point of conflict.

You lie that you read something in White Dwarf. A special that rule lets you wipe out an entire enemy unit because you rolled a 3. There are no smartphones. There is no internet. Who can prove you wrong?

The rain lets up and cabin fever sets in. It’s back outside to play. But there’s a rematch a few days later. This time on your mum’s dining table.

Nearly two hours to set up. Everything just right. Those same armies size each other up from opposite ends of the table.

Everything just right? Well, maybe not. Adjust a few pieces. Do we have any more scenery? Standing over the table. Admiring.

Finally, battle commences. It’s turn after turn of tape measures. Advancing. Moving into position. Closer and closer they get. But then it’s dinner time and you’re ordered to tidy it all away. Not an arrow fired. Not a blow struck.

You’re going to paint your army. All of them. You’re going to get it all done. Soon.

A large Goblin Green stain adorns your bedroom carpet. There was trouble when it happened. You were more upset about the paint.

You’re going to get more miniatures. When you have the money. You’ve picked them all out. Pouring over the catalogue pages at the back of White Dwarf. You’ve even filled in the postal slip form.

The years roll by. Older. Other interests turn your head. The worlds of relationships and alcohol begging to be explored.

Gradually less painting. Gradually less gaming. A slow thing at first.

Then college, university, or work. You move out. Or decide to decorate your room. Either way, things have changed.

Your still largely unpainted force go into a box. Veterans of many campaigns. The unpainted infantryman with the bent spear. That cavalry regiment who shed infinite amounts of flock. The hero with the eyes painted like he’s undergoing an eternal prostate examination.

All of them, into the box. At ease, soldier. Stand down.

They stare up at you as the box lid shuts. The world goes black.

Ring Any Bells?

Alright, so no two hobby experiences are the same. But there are many similarities.

Similar childhood experiences. Similar reasons for stopping. Similar reasons for eventually coming back.

Maybe you have kids of your own now. Maybe you simply walked past a shop and curiosity got the better of you.

Whatever the reason, there comes a point where you open your first paint pot in decades, and think to yourself “here we go again”.

Once you’re back in, you realise how much has changed.

A monthly magazine once told you everything there was to tell. But now there’s the internet. Social media, blogs and podcasts keep you entertained and up-to-date around the clock.

So many companies. So many games. So many incredible miniatures.

You marvel at every photo you see. Everyone a master painter now. Were people always that good?

The Tabletop Miniature Hobby’s “Recently Returned”

The tabletop miniature hobby is a bit like a necromancer. It raises us from our long slumber. Adds us back into its ranks to fight once more.

Once resurrected, one of the first things I learned about was the fate of the Warhammer Old World. I remember thinking “wait… what!?”. But companies change. Things move on.

Then I discovered the concept of ‘Oldhammer’. The blogs and communities.

It was a joy to find the aesthetic that meant so much to me still being embraced and celebrated. In fact, the style is still alive and well in modern companies like Knightmare Games. They produce some fantastic miniatures.

I discovered incredible games like Mantic’s Kings of War, and Open Combat, by Second Thunder. I love these for a number of reasons.

Firstly, they helped exercise the demons of those chunky rulesets from back in the day. The having to wing it. The never actually finishing a game.

Their sleek, succinct, fat-free rules make them accessible to the beginner. And yet, they are difficult to master. Both addictive challenges that make you want to play them again and again.

There’s a more relaxed culture too. “You can use what you already have” is a refreshing break from the treadmill of always just needing that one more thing. “My hobbying will be great, as soon as I…” is a road that never ends.

Yes, many companies make their money from selling miniatures. And yes, there are more Kickstarters out there than there are stars in the sky. But jumping in maybe just doesn’t seem like the mountain it once was.

This is an entire subject of its own, and is well covered in mini series around Sustainable Gaming on the superb Paint All The Minis Podcast.

If you’re just back from a long hobby exile, I’d also recommend How Do You Start (or Get Back Into) the Miniatures Hobby?, an episode of CryinMo’s Tabletop Alchemy Podcast.

Mines are simply the ramblings of an enthusiastically returned tabletop miniature hobbyist. Nostalgic for the past, but excited for the present and future. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed, and perhaps even related to them.

And if you have, please share it out and give us a follow on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. I’d massively appreciate it 🙂

The miniature wargaming hobby has more layers than the proverbial onion.

Firstly, there’s the complete diversity of games and storyworlds out there. Some gamers focus exclusively on the historical, attempting to recreate real-life battles in the most authentic way possible.

Miniature wargaming also lends itself to the escapism of fantastical and science fiction universes. Here, the possibilities are endless. From a small group of Space Marines fighting their way through the cramped corridors of an alien-infested spacecraft, to a vast shambling horde of undead closing in on a beleaguered Imperial settlement.

Miniature Wargaming, Minus the Gaming

And yet, the actual “gaming” aspect could still be considered a small piece of the wider miniature wargaming pie.

Some people simply like to collect miniatures. Often, these collectors will be interested in the painting aspect. There are some world-class mini painters out there these days who’ve seldom rolled a dice in their life.

Others like to build terrain. This can range from simple trees and hills, to entire villages and cities. Often, these folks will be creating terrain in order to improve their gaming experience. But in some instances, the purpose may be to construct intricate dioramas and other such works of art.

It’s common for miniature painters to have an interest in converting and “kit bashing” their models too. Some may even choose to become sculptors themselves, and create original pieces from scratch.

A Tactile Hobby

Many have questioned why, in a world of state of the art immersive video games, there are still people who physically push static miniatures around a table.

Ostensibly, it seems like there’s no contest between miniature wargaming and its digital counterpart. Video games are so realistic these days, there’s no real set up or tidy up time needed, and the bar of entry is often as low as a one-off cost to buy a game.

Miniature wargaming on the other hand, requires quite a lot from the hobbyist. The buying and painting of minis, the learning of rules, the arranging of games and getting together somewhere to actually play your game of choice.

And yet, we do it. I think this is because there’s so much satisfaction in the hobby that simply can’t be replicated in a digital form. From manoeuvring that newly painted squad of warriors through those scratch-built ruins, to the direct social experience of you and your opponent playing out an immersive story on the tabletop in front of you.

A video game will spoon feed you every little detail of an experience. A tabletop miniature game on the other hand, is a collaboration between the physical pieces on the table, and your imagination.

Storytelling

That brings me on to the final (but in my view, most important) aspect of miniature wargaming.

The storytelling.

Yes, there are some hobbyists out there who play simply to win games. And if that’s what gives them the most pleasure, then all power to them.

But I think the vast majority of us look for the escapism in the miniature world we’ve physically built in front of us. That tangible sandbox we interact with – each one entirely unique in its own way.

These battlefields are often part of a wider world or universe too. Entire campaigns are created to fight out heroic sagas, either in the custom-built worlds of the gamer, or in popular and iconic settings such as the Warhammer Old World.

The layers and sub-layers of the miniature wargaming hobby are fascinating. Each of us has our own unique background and areas of interest, but what connects us mostly, is that we are storytellers.

Summary: The Miniature Wargaming Hobby

I’ve noticed a bit of a pattern in the hobby since I returned to it last year. And it’s exactly that – folks returning to their childhood passion after a long hiatus.

Of course, there are some out there who stuck with it through their late teens and early 20s. And there are others who didn’t collect or play at all as kids. But it’s very common to hear about people who thought they’d “grown out of it”, only to walk past a Games Workshop one day in their 40s, and… well, you know the rest.

I think this is great, because it shows the hobby stands the test of time, and it doesn’t matter what age you are. It’s also an excellent way to engage with your kids and get them involved in something physically creative. Something that can give them a rare escape from the world of smartphones, tablets, and Playstations.

For more on this, check out:

• Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast
• On Returning to the Tabletop Miniature Hobby
• Top 29 Tips For Beginners Paintings Minis

I’d love to hear about your own experiences and thoughts on the miniature wargaming hobby. Were you one of “the returned” – brought back to life by the great hobby Necromancer? Did you join on in later life? Or have you never been away since picking up your very first mini? Leave a comment in the comments section below, or tweet us to get the discussion going!