Miniature Wargaming Sub Hobbies

Club gaming action (pre-Covid).

We enjoy painting up miniatures for wargames using a set of rules with dice and tape measures.  What are some hobbies inside the miniature wargaming hobby that could be classified as a sub-hobby?  Below are my list of sub-hobbies that I have come across.

Collecting Miniatures

• I am not familiar with this, but I guess there are gamers out there that are interested in purchasing all the miniatures from a manufacturer for a specific army.  I suspect this is more the case for non-historical miniatures.  I have recently been seeing gamers really focus on purchasing the latest from Warlord Games.  This could also include collecting a full Army such as all Napoleonic British Regiments from any manufacturer.  Maybe even if they never fought in a battle.

Sculpt Miniatures/Terrain

• This is another interest that I am not familiar with.  There are dedicated sculptors out there that do this as a career.  I'm sure there are those that do it as a hobby, but I have yet to meet on.  I have not cast my own miniatures or terrain.  I guess this could be a good way to save on buying miniatures or terrain.

Building Terrain

• It is common in the hobby for people to build all sorts of different terrain for their battles.  Now thanks to the internet, there are all sorts of resources out there to learn how to build terrain.  Some have turned it into a business providing terrain for those that want to expand what they have and/or feel they lack the skills to do it themselves.  Some really enjoy making their own terrain.  I have realized that you need space to store all the resources to build terrain.  I might have a square foot or two more room for terrain supplies.
  

Painting (Personal or Commissions)

• I think this is the most common/popular thing that people focus on in the hobby.  They enjoy painting quality miniatures and showing them off on the game table, conventions, magazines or online.  There are those in the hobby where painting quality miniatures comes before gaming with those miniatures.  Potentially these miniatures may never end up in a game.

Collecting Rules

• Some gamers enjoy collecting rules for a specific period.  Over the years there can be a lot of rules written for certain periods (i.e. Napoleonic).  It can be interesting to see all the different mechanics in the rules and see how they compare to each other.  The collection may be unintentional, as the gamer hopes the latest rules released are better than older rules.  If you focus on a specific period it almost makes sense to have a good collection of rules.

Writing Rules

• A portion of the hobby enjoy writing rules for their periods of interest.  Some focus their hobby exclusively on writing rules.  A rules writer that comes to mind is David Manley who has written a good collection of naval wargaming rules.  Local to me, I know a handful of gamers who write rules.  I leave the rules writing to the experts and am very thankful for their contribution to the hobby.

Research Game Scenarios

• I'm not sure how common this is in the hobby.  Do most people just throw down games based on a point system, take a scenario from a book, or just use what miniatures/terrain they currently have?  A researched game scenario may involve going through various books and maps to build a historic based scenario in conjunction with a specific ruleset.  It can involve many playtests to work out an enjoyable game.  If a ruleset has not been initially chosen, researching/purchasing of various rulesets may be needed for the scenario before one is finalized to be used.  Some gamers really enjoy learning the history of a specific battle or period and hopefully can generate fun scenarios.

Club or Convention Volunteering

• A great way to be more involved with fellow gamers is volunteering at a gaming club or convention.  Most volunteering does not involve much of your time and gets you more "plugged in" to the local gaming community.  Clubs and conventions are always looking for volunteers.   

3D Printing

• This is a new option in the hobby to explore making your own miniatures or terrain.  This can be very interesting for those that like gadgets, computers and learning new software.  This is certainly not for everyone but I'm sure it can be very enjoyable.  I have thought about it, but I really don't have the space to put it and I'm still happy with dealing with the vendors to buy what I need.

Online Videos

• I have found this to be a common outlet for gamers these days.  There are no shortage of YouTube channels dedicated to wargaming, mainly painting miniatures.  Most are pointing their cameras to their painting desk and showing off what they are working on, rules, or unboxing a game or box of miniatures.  There is a lot of content being created and gamers seem to enjoy making the videos.  I've made a few so far and enjoy trying to make something different.  It does take some time to make a video that is heavily edited.  I guess the videos are basically just showing off your hobby.  Some people have and continue to share some very useful hobby tips.

Podcasts

• In this day and age, Podcasting is an old media, but still a good way to have a conversation with fellow gamers.  Listeners tend to enjoy listening to podcasts while painting.  I have not had good success with finding good podcasts and I think I'm more of a visual guy.  A regular podcast schedule, of say a weekly upload, appears to be the format podcasters use.  Another reason I seem to not like podcasts is their discussions are all over the gaming genders.  I have no interest in hearing about upcoming 40k releases or fantasy rules for example.  I think podcasting can be a great outlet for those that like to talk about aspects of the hobby they are interested in and you can pull others in to have a fun discussion.

Writing Articles / Blog

• Writing about the hobby is another outlet to share with others a specific topic.  Any aspect of the hobby can be shared.  The good thing about writing is you can work on it over a longer time to build the article, making edits to improve it, and then release it when finished.  A blog allows for multiple media materials for the blog post (videos, photos, graphs, etc.).  If you are not comfortable talking or showing your face on video or on a podcast, writing is a great outlet to share your hobby.  It is very easy to write articles and share them, like on this blog-publishing service.

Reading

• This could be a sub-hobby to wargaming.  An example could be an interest in wargaming English Civil War (ECW), and then a want to read up on the war/period.  This could involve reading multiple books on the topic.  This is beyond what is needed to paint up the miniatures and play ECW games.  I will say, those that specialize in a period are probably very well read in that period.

What sub-hobbies are you involved in the Miniature Wargaming hobby?  Here are what I think mine are:

• Building Terrain
• I try to make the terrain look like the historic battlefield.  This has involved making custom buildings for example.
• Painting
• I have never paid someone to paint my miniatures (yet).  I enjoy painting to a level that works for me.
• Research Game Scenarios
• I enjoy this a lot.  I try to dive as much as I can into learning about a battle to build the historic scenario to an accurate level that works for me.
• Club or Convention Volunteering
• I continue to volunteer at my club (i.e. Secretary) and local conventions.
• Writing Articles / Blog
• I edit a club monthly newsletter and have this blog.
• Reading
• The variety of books I have read since joining the hobby is substantial to me.  I probably would not have read such a variety had I not joined the hobby.  Potentially I may not have read as many books period.  Who knows, maybe I would have just stuck to Fantasy and WWII.

Compared to the 1980s, there are a lot more sub-hobbies available for Gamers to get into.

I'm sure I missed a few sub-hobbies.  Let me know if you can think of some more.