diff --git a/Assets/Prefabs/Hider.prefab b/Assets/Prefabs/Hider.prefab
index 4563a8d..c340875 100644
--- a/Assets/Prefabs/Hider.prefab
+++ b/Assets/Prefabs/Hider.prefab
@@ -16,10 +16,6 @@ PrefabInstance:
       propertyPath: GlobalObjectIdHash
       value: 708302045
       objectReference: {fileID: 0}
-    - target: {fileID: 4587432968399885263, guid: 97017ed3bb40aff4e885440d9a7336ee, type: 3}
-      propertyPath: m_Enabled
-      value: 1
-      objectReference: {fileID: 0}
     - target: {fileID: 5384024074013944205, guid: 97017ed3bb40aff4e885440d9a7336ee, type: 3}
       propertyPath: m_Name
       value: Hider
diff --git a/Assets/Scripts/FirstPersonController.cs b/Assets/Scripts/FirstPersonController.cs
index 1cd5fb8..a0fc930 100644
--- a/Assets/Scripts/FirstPersonController.cs
+++ b/Assets/Scripts/FirstPersonController.cs
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ using UnityEngine.InputSystem;
 
 /// <summary>
 /// First-person camera. Drives its OWN dedicated <see cref="CinemachineCamera"/>: each frame it snaps
-/// to the player's <c>CameraTarget</c> (the same point the ThirdPersonCamera tracks) for position and
+/// to the player's dedicated <c>FirstPersonTarget</c> (the eye anchor) for position and
 /// applies free mouse-look (yaw/pitch) for rotation. While active the player's mesh is hidden so the
 /// body isn't seen from the inside. Movement stays with the player controller, which reads the
 /// brain-driven Main Camera forward, so WASD is automatically relative to this view.
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ using UnityEngine.InputSystem;
 public class FirstPersonController : MonoBehaviour
 {
     [Header("Target")]
-    [Tooltip("Eye position the camera sits at (the player's CameraTarget). Empty = auto-resolved from the player's \"CameraTarget\" child.")]
+    [Tooltip("Eye position the camera sits at (the player's FirstPersonTarget). Empty = auto-resolved from the player's \"FirstPersonTarget\" child.")]
     public Transform cameraTarget;
 
     [Tooltip("Renderers hidden while first-person is active (so you don't see your own body). Empty = the player's SkinnedMeshRenderers, auto-resolved.")]
@@ -136,9 +136,9 @@ public class FirstPersonController : MonoBehaviour
         Quaternion rot = Quaternion.Euler(_displayPitch, _displayYaw, 0f);
         if (cameraTarget)
         {
-            // Sit at the shared camera target, then raise/lower the eye by the active pose's first-person
+            // Sit at the first-person eye anchor, then raise/lower the eye by the active pose's first-person
             // offset. TransformVector keeps it in the target's local up and scales with the player (so it
-            // tracks PlayerScaler), without disturbing the target the ThirdPersonCamera shares.
+            // tracks PlayerScaler).
             Vector3 pos = cameraTarget.position;
             float offset = _poseController ? _poseController.FirstPersonCameraYOffset : 0f;
             if (offset != 0f)
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ public class FirstPersonController : MonoBehaviour
         if (!p) return;
         _player = p;
         _poseController = p.GetComponent<PlayerPoseController>();
-        Transform t = p.transform.Find("CameraTarget");
+        Transform t = p.transform.Find("FirstPersonTarget");
         if (t) cameraTarget = t;
         hiddenRenderers = p.GetComponentsInChildren<SkinnedMeshRenderer>(true);
         _resolved = true;
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ public class FirstPersonController : MonoBehaviour
 
         if (!cameraTarget)
         {
-            Transform t = player.transform.Find("CameraTarget");
+            Transform t = player.transform.Find("FirstPersonTarget");
             if (t) cameraTarget = t;
         }
 
diff --git a/Assets/Scripts/GameModeManager.cs b/Assets/Scripts/GameModeManager.cs
index 3b6a91b..0f1a3b2 100644
--- a/Assets/Scripts/GameModeManager.cs
+++ b/Assets/Scripts/GameModeManager.cs
@@ -54,6 +54,12 @@ public class GameModeManager : MonoBehaviour
     /// Argument = the now-active mode. Used by UI (e.g. the paint HUD) to follow the mode.</summary>
     public event System.Action<GameMode> ModeChanged;
 
+    /// <summary>Raised when the painter the HUD should edit changes - i.e. when the local
+    /// networked avatar spawns and <see cref="BindLocalPlayer"/> binds its per-avatar painter.
+    /// With spawn-on-connect there is no painter at scene start, so the paint HUD follows this
+    /// to (re)bind its widgets to the live painter once it exists.</summary>
+    public event System.Action<MeshPainter> PainterChanged;
+
     private readonly List<GameMode> _modes = new List<GameMode>();
     private int _activeIndex = -1;
 
@@ -122,6 +128,7 @@ public class GameModeManager : MonoBehaviour
 
         // The painter lives on the player (per-avatar), so bind the local one.
         if (!painter) painter = localPlayer.GetComponentInChildren<MeshPainter>(true);
+        PainterChanged?.Invoke(painter);
 
         Transform camTarget = localPlayer.transform.Find("CameraTarget");
 
diff --git a/Assets/Scripts/PaintHud.cs b/Assets/Scripts/PaintHud.cs
index 1ba8889..421242f 100644
--- a/Assets/Scripts/PaintHud.cs
+++ b/Assets/Scripts/PaintHud.cs
@@ -87,19 +87,24 @@ public partial class PaintHud : MonoBehaviour
 
     private void OnEnable()
     {
-        if (modeManager) modeManager.ModeChanged += OnModeChanged;
+        if (modeManager)
+        {
+            modeManager.ModeChanged += OnModeChanged;
+            modeManager.PainterChanged += OnPainterChanged;
+        }
     }
 
     private void OnDisable()
     {
-        if (modeManager) modeManager.ModeChanged -= OnModeChanged;
+        if (modeManager)
+        {
+            modeManager.ModeChanged -= OnModeChanged;
+            modeManager.PainterChanged -= OnPainterChanged;
+        }
     }
 
     private void Start()
     {
-        if (!painter) painter = modeManager ? modeManager.Painter : null;
-        if (!painter) painter = FindFirstObjectByType<MeshPainter>();
-
         _font = LoadFont();
 
         EnsureEventSystem();
@@ -112,18 +117,46 @@ public partial class PaintHud : MonoBehaviour
             _panel = go;
         }
 
-        WirePanel(_panel.transform);
-
-        // Re-sync every widget when the pipette adopts a sampled material (painter -> HUD).
-        if (painter) painter.Picked += SyncFromPainter;
-
-        // Restore the saved panel positions + widget values from the previous session.
-        RestoreHudState();
+        // Bind to a painter as soon as one exists. With networked spawn-on-connect there is none
+        // at scene start; BindLocalPlayer then raises PainterChanged when the local avatar spawns
+        // and OnPainterChanged wires the widgets. In a non-networked scene the painter is already
+        // present and binds here immediately.
+        var p = painter;
+        if (!p) p = modeManager ? modeManager.Painter : null;
+        if (!p) p = FindFirstObjectByType<MeshPainter>();
+        if (p) BindPainter(p);
 
         // Set initial visibility (the manager's first SwitchTo may have fired before this Start).
         OnModeChanged(modeManager ? modeManager.ActiveMode : null);
     }
 
+    private void OnPainterChanged(MeshPainter newPainter)
+    {
+        if (newPainter) BindPainter(newPainter);
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// (Re)binds the HUD's widgets to a live painter. Called from Start when one already exists
+    /// (non-networked scene) or from the manager's PainterChanged event when the local networked
+    /// avatar spawns. Binds exactly once per painter: re-binding the same painter is a no-op, so
+    /// the deferred network path and the immediate scene path never double-add widget listeners.
+    /// </summary>
+    private void BindPainter(MeshPainter newPainter)
+    {
+        if (!newPainter || newPainter == painter || !_panel) return;
+
+        if (painter) painter.Picked -= SyncFromPainter;
+        painter = newPainter;
+
+        WirePanel(_panel.transform);
+
+        // Re-sync every widget when the pipette adopts a sampled material (painter -> HUD).
+        painter.Picked += SyncFromPainter;
+
+        // Restore the saved panel positions + widget values now that the painter exists.
+        RestoreHudState();
+    }
+
     private void OnDestroy()
     {
         if (painter) painter.Picked -= SyncFromPainter;