YouTuber Ethics Vs. Free Samples! (New P3 Paint From Steamforged Games & Send In The Goblins!)

Mini Painting YouTube is a big 'ol gray area of product placement. Every video pretty much must include brushes, paints, and miniatures... but sometimes the motivations behind these choices can feel a bit icky. In a mature and respectful way we're going to take a peek into this can of worms :-) Specifically, what are the pros and cons of the common practice of sending sample stock to influencers as a marketing strategy?

This is a video I'd been wanting to make for a while... it's just luck of the draw that P3 and Send In The Goblins are getting caught up in my musings and meditations today.

If the screentime in this video gets you in the mood for shopping.... the kickstarter for P3 is scheduled to launch on Sept 10th, and Send In The Goblins is planned for October 1st.

I have collaborated and exchanged favors with Twin Goddess miniatures in the past. Twin Goddess Miniatures has done some sculpting work for me, and I have featured their minis in some videos

The P3 paints were sent to me free of charge as sample stock. This is my first experience receiving samples from Steamforged Games. I have collaborated with some of their competitors in the miniature paint market previously.

[GoobertownHobbies]

Heyo! I think this is an interesting and important conversation... please be respectful! 🙂 If you don't play nice I'll have to SEND IN THE GOBLINS!!!! ;-)

[billdefranza]

The full-on Dr. Brent PhD coal black rant was hilarious.

[Kalizal]

"I don't really know why people listen to me about this stuff."

Proceeds to go on a chemistry fueled rant on why coal black isn't teal.

[lordofhyphens]

I came for the discussion on ethics. I stayed for the rant at the end about paint range names.

[MachinaEx]

"Has Brent influenced my past decisions?"
- I'm looking at my Army Painter Speed ​​Paint, Kitbashes of Duplicates, metallic paints and the new box of Adeptus Custodes and female heads.-
"Maybe..."

[NuffleBlasphemer]

“There’s no need to thank corporations for engaging in capitalism”. Could copy and paste this quote into the comments of every video on my feed rn and it wouldn’t be out of place on a single one 😅

[fxm]

I'm not even a miniatures guy (not since I was a teen in the 1980s), but I enjoy your channel very much. I appreciate your addressing this issue that spans all of YouTube so directly, openly, and honestly.

[theghosty]

As an accessibility advocate, I cannot thank you enough for your rant about gamer names for mini paints, and for bugging the folks at AP enough to at least get one of these companies to fix this issue. As ever, you lift this community up, Goobertown!

[chadkittleson]

I like your "thought piece" episodes, especially when woven in with real hobby time. Well played!

[caramonfire]

You're such a gem. I rarely see such honest and straightforward commentary anywhere. You cover issues from many angles, provide honest and thoughtful discussion, and seem to treat topics with respect, kindness, and intelligence. I really appreciate it.

[Nighthawkinlight]

Dude, I feel that black paint rant. It took buying way too many "black" paints before I learned my lesson to pop the cap in store and make sure it's actually black. I'm not a mini painter but have the same problem with oils and acrylics.

[Nicola_Sacco]

As someone with a red-green colorblindness, there is nothing I loathe more about shopping for new paints than copyrightable names. I like what The Army Painter and Monument Hobbies do. EDIT: And there it is.

[stahly_taleofpainters]

Thanks for your musings! Unfortunately my P3 samples got stranded, but interesting to hear a content creator veteran's thoughts, especially about transparency. I will adhere to your advice and also update the video descriptions of my older reviews.

[Isteak]

The explanation of why coal black cannot be teal was actually quite fascinating, thanks!

[burfscape]

The main reason I got hooked on your videos, was discussion like this, as you put some paint on a miniature. Your calm, honest voice always draws me in, and I learn something as I watch and listen. Your take on product placement is great.

It was a sad, sad day, several months ago when I realized I had caught up, and watched all of your videos, and had to start waiting for new ones 😢

Thank you for always being real, Brent!❤🌈❤

[minisarefuntopaint]

That was one of the most hilariously civilized, mellow and pedantic rants I've ever heard. I love it.

[magganonfatalis]

I like Army Painter's approach to names the best. I think the dumb gamer names are fun, but having an actual color description is a must.

[eyflfla]

Yours is probably the least icky miniature painting channel.

I liked the science drop on paint names.

[rustedbeetle]

At this point, the differences between miniature paint brands are finer than my ability to take advantage of them. There are a couple of brands that are my go to, but beyond that, I am not an award winning painter, and for most brands, I would be interested in grabbing a specific color I'm not willing to mix multiple times for a larger project.

[cosmoceratops]

Thanks for taking these things seriously. I've been bamboozled by kickstarters that seem to have been scams. I thought youtubers promoting those campaigns lent them some legitimacy. There is some responsibility in accepting those deals I wish other youtubers would spend more time considering.