Difficult conversations with younger gamers

An excellent subject to broach as I just snagged a normie I work with and took on as my padawan. I think that The Talk might be best involve one’s Tool. There are many sizes and quite a few models out there but they accomplish the same task of putting pigment onto tiny fighting men. Now, one may want to spread out all sorts of whatever colors you might want to all willy nilly, but you’ll never quite reach what you expect immediately that way. There are some people who enjoy the spreading or wearing of pigment like that but not everyone has the same sense of Jackson Pollock. More than likely you reach a point with your tiny people that you really don’t quite like them and would be more than happy to see them sit on someone else’s shelf. Seeing as we are the ones who bring them home, unable to get a refund/rebate no matter how much we may plead with the FLGS owner, we do what we can to make do and create the best work possible. Its always a work in progress and we will make mistakes, learn from missteps and move forward with the hobby. The finite resources of time and money are best to consider as you likely want the best results for purpose (gaming/display). Both have their aim and you should consider how high you want to set the bar before hurdling it. Our best bet is to not overextend into areas we may not be ready for (the sleek metal and mechanical intricacies of finely tuned airbrushes are an acquired taste as is the freeform “messiness” of oils).

Take each step as a step and be sure to look where you’re going. Look down to see you haven’t stepped on a dog turd from time to time or make sure of where you might be standing if on rocky ground. Mould lines are a basic step as an attention to detail. In this hobby and at the ~28mm level detail is key. Just don’t get bogged down with analysis paralysis and stop painting. Don’t be a helicopter to your padawan just nudge them where they need to, even to the point where you both meet head to head like Master Shifu and Po in Kung Fu Panda in three steps of any relationship build “storming, norming and forming”.

Make them pay for their own minis and paints. Show them once, offer help once more and wait for them to come back to you for guidance.