Over the Top Games Hosts Welcoming Paint Nights for New and Veteran Hobbyists

The next two paint nights at Over the Top Games in Moline, Illinois land on April 16 and May 7, both starting at 5 p.m. and running until close. First-timers can leave their paint racks at home: the store supplies paints, brushes, and loaner kits to anyone who needs them, which means the barrier to a first session is nothing more than a free Thursday evening.

Dustin "The Aartvark" Rahn is the reason those nights run the way they do. A miniature painter with six years of experience, Rahn started teaching others the craft at Over the Top last August and has been the room's anchor ever since. He moves between stations, coaches technique on the fly, and still finds time to work on his own projects, including reaching for Black 3.0, one of the most light-absorbing acrylics on the market, for deep shadow work on his own models. Outside the Thursday sessions, Rahn takes commissions for D&D character models, Warhammer armies, and 3D printed and hand-sculpted terrain. Having him at the table is the difference between a room full of people painting in silence and an actual learning environment.

About eight to ten painters filled the April 2 session, spreading across stations with wargame infantry, RPG figures, and board-game minis. Jordan Gosa, a returning regular, used hobby putty to mount his figurine to a temporary stand before picking up a brush, the kind of workflow shortcut that only comes from experience: it keeps hands off the model and lets a wash dry without smudging. Gosa keeps returning because the table has connected him with a consistent group of people who share his hobby interests. Kyle Curtis made it for the first time that night after a friend's invitation. Curtis doesn't play RPGs at all; he showed up to unwind and left with new friends. Across the table, McClain Laud worked a miniature archer, Tony Victoria pressed his painting hand against the table edge to control his stroke on fine detail lines, and DJ Piper used magnifying glasses to hit spots most painters would skip entirely.

The first-and-third-Thursday schedule is deliberate. Twice a month is frequent enough to maintain real momentum on a project without the pressure of a weekly commitment, and the fixed dates mean regulars can plan around them instead of letting half-finished warbands accumulate on a shelf.

The newcomer checklist for April 16 is short enough to fit in a pocket: no supplies are required since the store provides a full loaner kit at the door, models can be purchased on-site if you don't already have one in progress, and telling any volunteer it's your first session gets you immediate hands-on coaching through a first basecoat or wash. Veterans typically bring their own brushes and current projects, but neither is a requirement.

One of the store's volunteers put the reward plainly: "Seeing a beginner finish their first wash and then proudly show off the detail lines is what makes the night."

Over the Top Games also runs Lorcana League nights and Pokémon trading and game nights throughout the week; the full schedule is on the store's Facebook page. Paint nights are open to all skill levels, on 16th Street in Moline, every first and third Thursday starting at 5 p.m.