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Everyone has different levels of openness about the hobby, and depending on your circle of friends Warhammer 40K may come up frequently in conversation. However, have you ever had a time when something from the hobby “slipped out” to a non-familiar group? I’ll start off with a text to a guy I work with, you can see where my simultaneous messaging with my girlfriend to optimize her guard list slipped in.

EDIT: It's not so much trying to be secretive about the hobby I'm talking about, but instances where 40K accidently came up where it didn't belong and you had to explain it.

I guess I'm different as my knowledge is open.

I work in a laboratory in a steel works, so on my break I'm usually flicking through a WD or tinkering a list on BS on my phone between chats and coffee!

And you know what? No one really cares. Sure, I have had some light ribbing over my hobby from a few of them but apart from that no one gives two hoots. Hell, a few people who pass through the mention that they used to Warhammer and even some others in the lab have opened up - a manager is a serious boardgames player and x-wing player, and no one knew until he realised that I did miniature gaming too!

Same here, why hide it? Especially, if you're in any kind of tech or engineering role where eccentric hobbies are the norm.

The only person I've seen ribbed about warhammer at work got ribbed about all his hobbies as he obviously let it bother him rather than just retorting in kind. Personally, I find the Archer defense ("why do you not?") very effective in these scenarios.

I get quite a lot more ribbing for my video game collection than my toy soldiers from the guys at work. I don't hide it, people can think what they want.

At work they know about my warhammer gaming, and the only reesponses I usually get are "how the f*** do you paint those little tiny guys?"

 vaklor4 wrote:
At work they know about my warhammer gaming, and the only reesponses I usually get are "how the f*** do you paint those little tiny guys?"

same here
(helps that I'm the boss, I guess...
its an Ork thing)

People I think fear too much of getting comments from others. I read Japanese books and my left arm is actually covered in paint often after intense miniature painting sessions. Books in 3 years have sparked note handful of times and arm never.

Painting/playing with miniatures? Nobody will likely care much either way unless they are into it as well.

 vaklor4 wrote:
At work they know about my warhammer gaming, and the only reesponses I usually get are "how the f*** do you paint those little tiny guys?"

Same here! Followed by "Christ you must have some patience!"

I get some needling for my hobbies from my gaffer and co-workers

mostly because they think Tyranids and Orks suck...

Amazing working alongside fellow gamers

I don't try to hide my hobby. I'm proud of my little toy soldiers, and I don't care who knows. It's one of the first things someone will find out about me.

I do have a few friends whom, for one reason or another, try to suppress the spread of the fact that they participate in the hobby, mostly because they're self-conscious about being "nerds". I generally make myself counterproductive to these efforts. For Emperor and Imperium!

I don't hide my hobbies at all. In fact I include 40K and RPGs on my CV and it has done me well in job interviews in the past because it's something different. My work colleagues and non-gaming friends know what I do but since they aren't interested the topic never comes up.

For her first birthday, I sent my youngest niece an Ubercorn plushie and a single unpainted Chaos Warhound that I accidentally put in the box with it. My sister-in-law phoned me to ask if the horrifying snarling wolf-monster was part of the Ubercorn toy and I had to explain things.

The only people who I make fun off are people who claim to run imperium and then show up with dark angels

I used to, and it really used to mess me up when people inquired about it. Of course, I was mid-teens, socially awkward (still am) and with bad social anxiety. Keeping D&D and Warhammer secret from my best friends at the time was hard, and I hated talking about it.

Fast forward a couple of years, and I'm happy with how I've changed. I don't flaunt my hobby, I don't draw undue attention to it, but if asked, I don't hide it. When I got older, and became more open, I discovered quite a lot of people I came to know had been involved in some way or another - a friend who used to play WHFB, a cast member who used to collect Guardsmen, and my girlfriend who coaxed me out of it. Knowing it was nothing to be ashamed of helped a lot. My flatmates think my painting is really good, ask to see what I've been up to, and I've even painted a model up for one, which he keeps on his desktop!

TL;DR - I used to hide it. I'm happy I don't now.

Perhaps the title is decieving, but the point of this thread is to share awkward explanations of 40k that have occurred, like accidentally sending a warhound. Whether or not you hide the hobby isn’t the point.

 greyknight12 wrote:
Perhaps the title is decieving, but the point of this thread is to share awkward explanations of 40k that have occurred, like accidentally sending a warhound. Whether or not you hide the hobby isn’t the point.

But that is the point - why would there be anything awkward about it unless you hide it?

You're all missing the point.

There are girlfriends who optimize guard lists?? Mind-blowing!

I don't hide it. In fact, I tell damn near everyone I meet about it, at some point.

torblind wrote:
You're all missing the point.

There are girlfriends who optimize guard lists?? Mind-blowing!

Just got done reassembling my blown mind here.