Getting young people interested is certainly not a problem unique to historical mini painting. My dad is a Civil War buff and collects artifacts. The groups he is involved in have the exact same problem. Both are hobbies that require an interest in history, time and disposable income. All of which seem to increase with age (except for time... that seems to increase only with retirement).
I tend to be one of the younger modelers in the clubs and shows I attend (I’m 31), so I’m well aware of the disparity in ages. When it comes to getting new and young people into the hobby I see the issues as (and this is just my opinion)
1) Low Publicity: Most people not involved in this hobby (or related to someone who is) have very little idea that it even exists. In contrast think of building model planes, cars, etc. I think your average person is well aware of that hobby. We seem to be a smaller group with a much smaller profile. This may have something to do with…
2) Lack of Local Retailers: There are few local hobby shops that carry a decent selection of historical figures (if any at all). The only stores in my area that sell figures focus on war games and sci-fi/fantasy figures. However, it’s hard to blame the hobby shops. I doubt there’s enough business to stock a large selection. And I buy most of my figures online because it’s cheaper. Speaking of which…
3) Cost: These figures are designed to be display pieces and, as such, have a higher cost. There are some cheaper manufacturers, but I rarely see their stuff on sites like this. The higher quality figures give you better results. It’s almost impossible for historical figures to compete with wargaming figures if you’re trying to buy on a budget.
4) Required Skill: There is definitely a sharp learning curve to painting figures. Any artistic hobby can be intimidating and scare away the casual enthusiast. Unless you’re experienced in 2-D painting, odds are your first figure will look pretty bad. Considering the high cost of buying more figures you may just decide it’s not worth it.
That being said, I think there are some things we can do. As for cost and local retailers… I think we’re pretty much stuck. If you do have a club or group of painters, you may be able to convince your local hobby store to start carrying figures but I think that is an uphill battle. As for dealing with the learning curve, I think sites like this one do an excellent job at providing help and guidance to people just starting out (as well as those who’ve been in the hobby for years). I think the number of resources online is really beneficial to the hobby and I know it has helped improve the quality of my work. So Gordy and everyone who posts, comments, etc, keep up the good work!
I guess my advice on how we get more people into the hobby would be to
1) Convert people already in similar hobbies: I’m thinking war gamers, sci-fi/fantasy painters, and even plastic car, plane, tank, etc modelers. Because of the lower cost and local retailers like Games Workshop, most of the younger generation is going to start with war games figures. Combine that with an interest in history and you’ve got a future historical miniature painter. That was how I got my foot in the door. I’ve also been attending the local IPMS (International Plastic Modeler’s Society) meetings. I think this could be another potential market for figure painting. There are a lot of these groups around the US and they host a lot of shows. While their focus is planes, tanks, etc, the shows accept figure entries in several historical categories (based on scale) as well as sci-fi and fantasy. My local figure painting group is setting up a table at an IPMS show this weekend to do a little bit of recruiting. Keep an eye out for IPMS shows, enter your figures, and talk to people who seem interested. Go to their meetings. If people bring their work, take some figures.
2) Increase publicity: I think a lot of this can be done by clubs and modeler’s groups. Shows are great especially if you can draw some of the general public in. Most shows have a make-and-take table to introduce kids to the hobby. The NCMSS group puts together some display cases at local libraries. I imagine your local school would also be open to historical themed displays (especially if you include background research, artifact pictures, etc). Put in a little how to section and you might get one or two kids interested in trying it out themselves. One of the Virginia IPMS groups began working with an elementary school and did a year long diorama project with the kids there. In 2009 they built a 1:72 WWII diorama and in 2010 they made a 1:32 Civil War diorama. These sorts of things can make great educational projects. Going beyond schools, groups can partner with a variety of historical events to create relevant displays. The IPMS I go to is trying to get a spot to display their work at one of the events related to the War of 1812 bicentennial celebration. Throw in an ad for your meetings and you just might get a few curious people showing up at the next one.
Those are just a few of my ideas and suggestions. Sorry for the overly long post.
) but they could be put off by the effort it takes to acquire skill in this hobby.
