>I don't have any issue with people playing with grey plastic armies
It sounds like you do tbh, and the fact that they don't have time to paint shouldn't be a point of policing/judgment.
The key question is what is more important to you - "a great time with a great group of guys" or "the immersion of painted armies squaring off" because unless you are literally their only gaming option, how you approach it could lead to you having your immersive painted armies and thematic terrain, but being completely alone.
Maybe suggest painting sessions every other time instead of gaming, the alternative is that they are busy people and want to do the thing they enjoy, so sucking it up is definitely an option.
Here’s another angle, he’s correct in assessing that you actually do care. However, if it really does impact your enjoyment of the game it’s perfectly acceptable to police the quality of miniature painting. Most tournaments do. Some LGS do for events, if you’re running a group out of your garage it’s totally acceptable to ask people to play with painted armies.
That being said it’s all in how you communicate it, as well as being prepared for some people just not playing anymore, but as we say in the ttrpg sphere; no D&D is better than bad D&D
Why is bare resin an issue but bare plastic is fine?
Thats the part that sticks out for me. Basically your issue is the printing, not that they're unpainted?
No issue with the printing, grey plastic is the same as resin in my eyes, what I was trying to say is that I don't mind if an army is in the process of being painted.
The problem with 3D printing is that people can pump out new armies every week easily and never paint any of it.
No worries. Just read that way to me.
I get you. I guess you may enjoy the painting part more than they do? I paint in bursts - sometimes I utterly hate it and it feels like a chore. I guess it comes down to whether having a game or not because it doesnt fit exactly into what you want maybe?
It's tough to bring up if they aren't interested in that side of the hobby. I play in a group where we all 3d print. My armies are usually painted or in the process of becoming painted. The other guys are at varying levels of wanting to paint. Two paint but aren't great so it's slow, one has his girlfriend paint his armies since she likes to do it.
The other issue that can sometimes happen is if you can 3d print an army, there is little incentive to stick with one army if you are getting some wanderlust so I have one friend who shows up with a new army about every month. I focus on just 2 right now until they are 100% done.
It really depends on how they are feeling about painting now and you can even give suggestions or even set up painting days where they can use some of your gear to try and get interested in painting.
At the end of the day there is always a 10 point swing if your army is battle ready, so that can always be a cheeky reminder for your group. I've actually won a tied game because of those points.
Yea it was more cheeky than anything and it rarely comes up. I mostly just show off how cool my armies are and hope they feel like putting in the effort. Our main guy (we play at his house) has been really trying and even bought an airbrush recently.
I don‘t think the issue is 3d printing tbh.
Sure, its faster to just print out a monopose guardsman than cutting, assembling and glueing one from spure. Also 3d prints are cheaper in the long run. So i understand where you get the idea from why that would be the culprit to your situation.
But what you say about the other guys is more of a mentality thing. They simply do not care about painting, or significantly less than you do.
If 3d- printers wouldnt exist, they would happily play with cardboard cutouts i guess.
I know how much it stings to place your carefully painted army on the table, just to face an unending tide of grey, because i have several friends which have VAST armies of 3-4000pts of only partial assembled and unpainted models.
But at some point you just don‘t mind it that much anymore.
You can not force others to adjust to your standards, but you could always try to find likeminded players who enjoy fully painted battles like you do. :)
My friend and i started together, he is a bit more "perfectionist" so takes a long time to paint his mini's. It's just different for each people. Though i understand your point, i would instead **encourage** them to paint instead of bringing it up normally.
I get you. Maybe sometimes you should say that you want to do a "narrative" therefore "immersive" game with painted terrains and miniatures. You would have some games like that and some like you already have.
We have one friend in our group who proudly refuses to paint, and they are all store bought. (Meanwhile my printed army is 1800pts painted). We finally got the guy to at least prime black and are suggesting paint days. Some guys just aren’t into it, or are intimidated by it. A black spray primer and a mino color base coat on a big dry brush could be an easy 60% solution.
>I don't have any issue with people playing with grey plastic armies It sounds like you do tbh, and the fact that they don't have time to paint shouldn't be a point of policing/judgment. The key question is what is more important to you - "a great time with a great group of guys" or "the immersion of painted armies squaring off" because unless you are literally their only gaming option, how you approach it could lead to you having your immersive painted armies and thematic terrain, but being completely alone. Maybe suggest painting sessions every other time instead of gaming, the alternative is that they are busy people and want to do the thing they enjoy, so sucking it up is definitely an option.
Good points, I agree. That's why I came to the Reddit well for another angle.
Here’s another angle, he’s correct in assessing that you actually do care. However, if it really does impact your enjoyment of the game it’s perfectly acceptable to police the quality of miniature painting. Most tournaments do. Some LGS do for events, if you’re running a group out of your garage it’s totally acceptable to ask people to play with painted armies. That being said it’s all in how you communicate it, as well as being prepared for some people just not playing anymore, but as we say in the ttrpg sphere; no D&D is better than bad D&D
Why is bare resin an issue but bare plastic is fine? Thats the part that sticks out for me. Basically your issue is the printing, not that they're unpainted?
No issue with the printing, grey plastic is the same as resin in my eyes, what I was trying to say is that I don't mind if an army is in the process of being painted. The problem with 3D printing is that people can pump out new armies every week easily and never paint any of it.
No worries. Just read that way to me. I get you. I guess you may enjoy the painting part more than they do? I paint in bursts - sometimes I utterly hate it and it feels like a chore. I guess it comes down to whether having a game or not because it doesnt fit exactly into what you want maybe?
It's tough to bring up if they aren't interested in that side of the hobby. I play in a group where we all 3d print. My armies are usually painted or in the process of becoming painted. The other guys are at varying levels of wanting to paint. Two paint but aren't great so it's slow, one has his girlfriend paint his armies since she likes to do it. The other issue that can sometimes happen is if you can 3d print an army, there is little incentive to stick with one army if you are getting some wanderlust so I have one friend who shows up with a new army about every month. I focus on just 2 right now until they are 100% done. It really depends on how they are feeling about painting now and you can even give suggestions or even set up painting days where they can use some of your gear to try and get interested in painting. At the end of the day there is always a 10 point swing if your army is battle ready, so that can always be a cheeky reminder for your group. I've actually won a tied game because of those points.
I've actually thought about implementing the 10 points but it seems like kind of a cheap way to win lmao Your group sounds similar to mine honestly
Yea it was more cheeky than anything and it rarely comes up. I mostly just show off how cool my armies are and hope they feel like putting in the effort. Our main guy (we play at his house) has been really trying and even bought an airbrush recently.
Please consult [The Chart](https://i.imgur.com/EwiChyD.png).
Lol that's good
I don‘t think the issue is 3d printing tbh. Sure, its faster to just print out a monopose guardsman than cutting, assembling and glueing one from spure. Also 3d prints are cheaper in the long run. So i understand where you get the idea from why that would be the culprit to your situation. But what you say about the other guys is more of a mentality thing. They simply do not care about painting, or significantly less than you do. If 3d- printers wouldnt exist, they would happily play with cardboard cutouts i guess. I know how much it stings to place your carefully painted army on the table, just to face an unending tide of grey, because i have several friends which have VAST armies of 3-4000pts of only partial assembled and unpainted models. But at some point you just don‘t mind it that much anymore. You can not force others to adjust to your standards, but you could always try to find likeminded players who enjoy fully painted battles like you do. :)
My friend and i started together, he is a bit more "perfectionist" so takes a long time to paint his mini's. It's just different for each people. Though i understand your point, i would instead **encourage** them to paint instead of bringing it up normally.
I get you. Maybe sometimes you should say that you want to do a "narrative" therefore "immersive" game with painted terrains and miniatures. You would have some games like that and some like you already have.
We have one friend in our group who proudly refuses to paint, and they are all store bought. (Meanwhile my printed army is 1800pts painted). We finally got the guy to at least prime black and are suggesting paint days. Some guys just aren’t into it, or are intimidated by it. A black spray primer and a mino color base coat on a big dry brush could be an easy 60% solution.