Painted Figures

Our Koenig Krieg game on Sunday highlights what I think is one of the most annoying problems in the wargaming hobby today, the fact that not everyone paints their troops, well that didn’t come out like I wanted it to. My complaint is that not everyone provides troops for the games I really don't care if you painted them or commissioned someone else to paint them.

It is not that I think you should provide troops for every game, but the regular games we play that require so few figures you should make an attempt to have your own command. In the game we played on Sunday we had eight players with six players providing figures. We had a number of onlookers and had any of them wished to play we are shit out of luck. You can’t grow the hobby that way.

In one players defense from Sunday he has a large number of figures for other periods and wasn’t ready to invest in another period yet. But that doesn’t seem to be the case for other player.

I have listened to the arguments of cost for years and in the case of Koenig Krieg that is almost completely baloney. I know that if you buy Tom Zwirn a pack of figures he will paint you up an equal number of figures. So for $27 plus tax you can have a playable command for Koenig Krieg. I am pretty sure we can come up with one stand of Artillery.

Now in other periods and other systems I do understand cost, just not with Koenig Krieg. As we look at Fields of Honor or Fire and Fury for the ACW period or other minor projects I just can't see not asking people to paint figures.

I suppose growing up in the hobby and always having to paint my own command biased me in my current jaded ways, but as I look at ways to grow the hobby I doubt my opinions are too strong.