modellers' age and the hobby

[Luis R.]

I recently attended a local show and saw (again) that most of us modellers there were in our 50's-60's. That made me think about how the rising average age of modellers affects our hobby. It seems there is a trend to larger scales (75mm is the new 54mm) and that is caused, IMHO, by the decaying eyesight of the average modeller. On the other hand, the figure industry is as its best, lots of manufacturers and lots of new releases every week. That might be caused by us modellers being more affluent, or at least more affluent than youngsters. But age is also a matter of concern regarding the future of our hobby. While fantasy figure modelling seems to be thriving, with many young people involved, historical figures are stuck around us the old farts. Any thoughts?

 

[Banjer]

I am 76 year old and have been modelling on and off for 60 odd years. I have enough in my grey army to last until I am 100 so while new products are interesting to be honest^ I don't need them. Looking at some of the dross on putty and paint, while mostly superbly painted, I am glad I am not starting out now. How many bare chested amazon's holding severed heads do you need?

I wait to be shot down by the fantasy brigade.

Cheers Bill

 

[NigelR]

It's definitely the case that the younger crowd are more drawn to fantasy sci-fi modelling compared to us older guys. I wasn't at Scale Model Challenge but people who were there told me the fantasy classes were more popular than the historical classes. At IPMS shows in the UK, most of the modellers who make military models tend to be (but aren't exclusively) older folks.

I suspect it's because people of our age grew up in the 50s/60s/70s, many of our parents had first hand knowledge of WWII (and in my case my grandparents also were in WWI) and the war loomed large in our young lives. Most Sunday afternoons in our house were spent watching b&w war movies on the TV with my dad (who served in WWII). Plus of course our pocket money was often spent on Airfix kits so we grew up making models of Spitfires and Hurricanes. Making models was a much more widely accepted pastime when I was young than it is now.

Many of the younger folks today didn't grow up with the same interest in WWII and military hardware that we did. WWII (and WWI) are too distant for them. They are growing up with computers and smartphones, not Airfix and Monogram kits. There's much more of a crossover between fantasy and sci-fi modelling with computer games and sci-fi/superhero movies than with historical modelling. The success of Games Workshop shows that model making is not the preserve of the elderly but most of us tend to ignore that whole world. I went to several Games Days (the Warhammer convention) in the UK with my son and there were thousands of people under the age of 30 obsessing over beautifully painted models (and keen to learn how to make and paint them).

So that does mean that historical modelling is more the preserve of us old farts, but who cares? We have better quality kits, figures and accessories than we have ever had. The market is changing (like the shift to larger scales of figures and AFVs/aircraft) but I don't have a problem with that. IMO our world is thriving as well.

 

[MalcC]

I'm going to be 70 in a few weeks time, and have been painting for about 45 years plus. (presents welcome )
Although shows I've attended, have mainly the elder element, I'm pleased to say that there were
some very talented younger modellers there, with some fine military pieces.
Not only that, but some fantasy modellers wanting to switch to painting military pieces.
So I think the hobby will be safe for years to come.

Malc

 

[NigelR]

I'm going to be 70 in a few weeks time, and have been painting for about 45 years plus. (presents welcome )

Johnny come lately...... I'm 66 and I've been modelling for the best part of 60 years.......

Oh and happy birthday!

 

[Ned Ricks]

Soon to be 77, so in the same cohort as above, I think. Started with Revell and Monogram plastic planes at about age 9.

Our IPMS chapter has a goodly proportion of snow-on-the-roof gents. Probably the "new guys" are in their late 40s to mid 50s of age. Only a handful of us of any age are into figures as a main focus. Some will put paint on an armored vehicle crewman.

I am glad for those who find enjoyment in any aspect of our hobby (planes, tanks, cars, etc). For my part, as a new figure/ bust becomes available, especially from the current array of artists in 3D, I scoop them up for the gray army. Too often, I go online searching for something I may have seen and would like to try my hand at now, only to find it no longer produced or the vendor gone under and where are the molds? So, order it now (and my kids will have to decide whether to bin it or what...).

Enjoy!
N

 

[theBaron]

Yeah, it really depends on what you consider "the hobby" to be. If you look strictly at historical miniatures, then sure, it's a bunch of old guys. I take the broader perspective, historical miniatures is just one genre among several, but it's all about painting figures, regardless of the subject, size or scale, and medium.

In the MFCA, we've been reaching out to younger painters for several years. It started more as a natural process, with fans of fantasy wargaming coming to meetings, or striking up contacts over the Internet, or even just chance acquaintances that developed into friendships. And we realized that here is another group who shared the hobby, even if we all have different favorite subjects

It's akin to developments in scale modeling, where fans of this genre keep themselves separate from fans of that genre, whose fans don't want to see yet another genre. It can cause splits in modeling clubs, for example. An alternative is to go up a level and say what I wrote above, that regardless of the subject, we're all modelers. We might not build a car, or a ship, or a plane, or a T-rex, but we can appreciate the skill and work that go into any particular build. Same here. I'm not going to paint a Napoleonic hussar, but I enjoy seeing someone's finished piece.

So, though many of us are up there, the hobby doesn't die, it just changes.

Also, we tend not to look past the borders of the West, so we don't see our hobby colleagues in places like Asia. Of course, the Internet helps us learn about each other, in these different places.

Keep painting, keep showing our work, keep talking about it, keep it visible!

Prost!
Brad

 

[Robert Jan de Wit]

46 years old and modelling and messing around with little model soldiers since my first plastic soldiers when I was around six years old. I got them from my father and still got them.

I am only making 1:35 original sculpts now. Pure historical.
The amount of figure parts, weapons and equipment in plastic, resin available nowadays is huge and 3D technology for modelling weapons and so is a major gamechanger for me. That has already made some projects possible that otherwise I never could dream of. Combining old school putty and paint with new technology has positively motivated met to expand my skills and creativity. No worries for the future here.

 

[Martin64]

I am 59 - obviously quite young....briefly the little plastic soldiers and model kits that were a regular part of kid's activities in the seventies turned a part of our "PF-community of old men" later into "serious" modellers. The kits and tools we are after today are worlds from the Airfix models in quality size and prices. Younger people are no longer attracted in droves and are interested in other themes. The artistic skills displayed by the painters of the fantasy scene are incredible and will attract more generations to the Hobby. In the future I expect to see less flat tin pieces and on a long term less historical pieces but painting and building miniatures as a Hobby will go on.

 

[David Spencer]

I agree with your observations. It seems to be a largely (gender and) generation-orientated hobby.
There are people like ICM making figure sets that are accessibly priced, and the higher end of the market in various scales has some really nice offerings that cost more.
I felt that the best period was during the noughties; now it feels like busts and fantasy are pushing more interesting historical topics out of the way

 

[fogie]

I'm 75 years old and painted my first Historex figure in 1970.... It cost
one shilling (about the cost of a pint of beer). By 1973 though, Frank
Hinchliffe had released a large scale Japanese General, and a series
of irresistible 75mm Napoleonics from Ray Lamb, that made me leave
plastic figures behind and turn instead to the much more expensive
world of cast metal.

Back then I was a callow and newly minted arts graduate working in
advertising by day and freelancing in the evenings and weekends by
knocking out 'pot boilers' for three television production companies.
They used the pictures to dress up their interior studio sets for just
about everything from family sit-coms to murder mysteries, and
hospital dramas to ghost stories. Sometimes it seemed that if a
painting was on the wall in the background of a scene it was likely
to be one of mine. What a gig !... among other things like covering
a modest mortgage it funded my model figure 'habit'.

If I had not been fortunate to earn enough to live, eat, and cope with
all the other stuff that besets young people starting out, would I have
been able to indulge such a habit ? I'm really not sure. Financial
pressures on the young are enormous today, and their expectations
are far different to ours back then. So it's little wonder that this hobby
seems to have become one for the middle and later aged who enjoy
a greater disposable income

Mike

 

[NigelR]

Financial
pressures on the young are enormous today, and their expectations
are far different to ours back then. So it's little wonder that this hobby
seems to have become one for the middle and later aged who enjoy
a greater disposable income

I'll disagree with that somewhat. It's not financial pressures that are the issue IMO. Games Workshop as a company go from strength to strength (their revenues have grown nearly 4x since 2015) and their stuff isn't cheap. Some of their single figures and bigger items retail for over £100. There's a lot of the younger generation spending a lot of money on fantasy/gaming/sci-fi related stuff. It's the historical miniatures side of things that has become the realm of the older modeller because the younger generation doesn't have as much interest in it.

Also, when I was growing up there was nowhere to learn how to paint figures. In many large towns in the UK, youngsters can now walk into a shop with a wide range of figures and paints and they are taught how to paint them on the spot. It's just that they are not historical miniatures....

 

[fogie]

I daresay you're right...I obviously don't get out enough. I'm happy if young people
can afford to spend any kind of money on figures...good for them. It must be one
hell of a shop, though, that teaches you to paint figures on the spot......I found that
it takes years. But...what do I know ?

Mike

 

[The Riveteer]

70 is coming up fast. Eyesight is terrible but luckily I can se 10-30 cm clearly without glasses; even though I have problems watching the TV with them! (Need to go to Specsavers)
But there are plenty of magnifying visors and deskbound lighted magnifies available so I don't see that as too significant a problem anyway.

I like 75mm for reasons nothing to do with sight. I always liked 54mm as it is convenient for dioramas and vignettes, and the larger sizes are better for higher impact display pieces - 75mm serves both disciplines rather nicely and they don't fill up the cabinet so quickly.

I never understood the adult gaming fraternity who play Warhammer, D&D and the like, when Napoleonic wargaming has reality on it's side and just as colourful models to paint - but each to his own I suppose.

Although the show scene is full of us old groats it's not entirely the case and there are still plenty of relative youngsters actually producing figures for us to build and paint, so I'm not that concerned.
I prefer historical subjects myself but I've not been unknown to buy more than a few fantasy subjects in my time (as long as they are recognisable as human beings, that is)

Even though the younger generation seem more interested in Fantasy, some of their painting skills are beyond breath-taking and I have to say; I have probably learnt a more about painting technique off younger fantasy modellers on YouTube than I ever did from military modelling magazines back in the day.


David

 

[Blind Pew]

I'm 52 in a couple of weeks. Like many, I did my first model aged 7 - it was a Matchbox Fairey Swordfish - and I was hooked! Beatties and the Manchester Model Shop were my Mecca. Often local newsagents in Salford would have an Airfix or Matchbox kit. In my late teens, I gave up in order to invent boozing and women, so I have a lot to answer for, I'm sorry guys... Fast forward to age 20 and I picked up Tamiya panzers but found myself paying more attention to the crewmen...which finds me here.
I have gathered that some kids do find what we do intimidating, so prefer fantasy stuff as there are less 'rules'. As long as they're sat painting, that's fine with me. In terms of quality, we must be in a golden age. Personal taste aside, you have to struggle to find a dud figure these days.
Yes, if you attend a purely figure show, it can be depressing as it can feel like an outing from the old folks' home; really making you wonder how long the hobby has got. This is far from the case on the fantasy side. I'd be interested in what the response would be if somebody who deals with our stuff had a trade stand at a fantasy modelling show - it's got to start somewhere.
And yes - even I have to wear glasses now. Must be all that booze...

 

[NigelR]

It must be one hell of a shop, though, that teaches you to paint figures on the spot......I found that
it takes years. But...what do I know ?

It is one hell of a shop and one hell of a business. All the shop staff are enthusiasts and most (all?) of them paint to a pretty reasonable standard. They will give the novice all the info they need to get started and then help them as they progress. They have free painting clinics in all the stores. My son got into Warhammer aged about 12 and within a couple of years he was painting figures to a high standard, far better than I could ever have done back when I was young. It took us years because there was no internet, very few shows and very few people who could help us progress.

Yes, if you attend a purely figure show, it can be depressing as it can feel like an outing from the old folks' home; really making you wonder how long the hobby has got. This is far from the case on the fantasy side. I'd be interested in what the response would be if somebody who deals with our stuff had a trade stand at a fantasy modelling show - it's got to start somewhere.

There's quite a few "mixed" shows. Scale Model Challenge is probably the biggest, that's a mecca for figure painters and it appears to have much more fantasy than historical. I would imagine the historical painters are more likely to try their hand at fantasy rather than the other way round, just look at the folks on here who dabble in fantasy figures "for a change".

Elan13 do both historical and fantasy figures. Rob's perspective on this would be interesting.

 

[Wayneb]

I'm old......Still doing my best to build and paint small figures and stay interested....but still plugging along whilst listening to vinyl records......"
"Just wait til you get to be my age".....said my old friends.
I'm there.....................................................................................Wayne

 

[Steve headley]

It’s interesting to see that it seems quite a lot of us in the hobby still enjoy the past time after so meany years. Ok we leave to pursue the pleasures of our late teens To late twenties when we get a bit more responsible and gradually come back to our childhood hobbies. Well according to some wives, partners, girlfriends we just never grew up.

I’m 64 next and the team is Ian 63 and the baby of the bunch is Terry 61. We all started out with arfix ,Frog,Aurora (monster kits) in the case of Ian. A whole group of us in our twenties started to play D&D , Traviler. our girlfriends at the time joined in we all started to paint the figures then me and Terry and a few other drifted into war gaming. Ian and his girlfriend/ wife discovered figures went to northern military in Oldham and that was it both hooked. Both me and Terry got into figures about 10 years ago after years of admiring them.

Our grand children are into the fantasy stuff they paint play they are still young but love it they go to the games workshop in Leeds and play paint it’s great to see. My eldest grandson is now having a go at a couple of our kits he says it’s cool to do something different. He’s 16 he has a couple of mates who have now taken a couple of kits to try. So it’s a start.

Ian’s daughter loves to paint flats his granddaughter who is 5 is pushing paint around on plastic aircraft it’s so good watching them. So I think their is a future. It’s just getting it out to them . Makes us happy that they will pick up a paint brush rather than a control to play a game.

By the way we still play fantasy games with the kids as long as they have a war game session with us oldies. And they love it and they get a history lesson too.

Steve

TFB Miniatures Team

 

[Wayneb]

I love still being able to throw the ball for my two older dogs. Both are around the age 12 and still love to play. Also have a cat that really miffs me off sometimes. I still find myself thinking about how I'm going paint my next project........
Tough world we live in friends ............The best to all and happy holidays..

Wayne

 

[Larsen E. Whipsnade]

I'm 82 (gasp!) and have been painting figures for about 45 years. Most of that time I painted historical/military figures. As my interest in historical/military has waned over the years interest in fantasy figures has grown. Not of the bare bosom soft core porn figures of interest to some. But of the type produced by Spira Mirabilis, ZabaArt, Blacksmith Miniatures and many others. And I think I may know why.

Ready your pea shooters...

Painting historical/military figures is similar to a paint by number kit. The real life uniform serves as your guide to tell you which color to place in which position. This is not to denigrate the process. It's satisfying and takes a great deal of skill to do well. But the same figure painted by two different artists is going to look essentially the same.

Present pea shooters...

On the other hand painting fantasy figures allows the painter a greater freedom of expression. He/she isn't trying to reproduce anything. Color choice, location, everything is up to the eye of the artist. It could be said to be a more creative form of our art although I would never presume upon your good natures to make such a claim.

Fire when ready, Gridley...

Rick

PS The freedom of expression is what appeals to me about fantasy figures anyway.