What I painted in 2026

Yes, I know I’m writing this on the 1st of July, but I managed to get a few more minis painted in June.

Kicking off with the Officer from the Silver Bayonet Calabresi unit, for which I pretty much followed the box art (without the trim on the jacket). I’ve only 2 more figures to paint from that box : hopefully I’ve have them done next month.

I also painted the Simeon Bar Giora miniature from Northwing Miniatures  that I got as part of the welcome pack for the Mordheim all-dayer I attended a couple of months back. A nice mini, and as he’s armed with a sword and dagger he is ideal for Mordheim.

Finally, I painted the Champion and Musician for the Mengil Manhides regiment of renown. I picked these up shortly after last years spring clean challenge when I specifically said I wouldn’t be seeking them out. To be fair to myself, I didn’t go looking for them, but browsing an oldhammer site (The Demon’s Lair) they just jumped out at me. I’m not going to lie, it’s satisfying to have all the figures (although I’d argue not the full regiment, as I’d need 3 times as many troopers thinking about how they were originally sold).

It’s time to change the paper on my wet palette too : I think for the 2nd time this year.

I don’t feel like I’ve done that much this month, the muse has been hard to entice.

I quickly knocked up half a dozen Wargames Atlantic Foot sergeants to have a game of ‘Great Helm’ (the game itself was … refreshing). Coloured primer, metal, flesh, leather, half arsed shield design, wash, done.

I spent more time on another couple of the Calabresi unit : the Lugo Mannaro and the Champion of Faith. 

I kitbashed this chaos spawn for the Mordheim event that I went to last month, but I left it at the club and forgpot about it for a couple of weeks. I should have taken lots of WIP photos, but I was caught up in the moment when making it. 

Finally, thanks to richsh, I had to get an Axel Tickelbrook for the Tiniest Headbone. I unashamedly copied their colour scheme, although I foolishly didn’t paint in sub assemblies. 

A month? Well, I have painted a few miniatures for my spring clean project.

As a palette cleaner I cracked open my Calabresi Unit for Silver Bayonet, picked 3 of them and added a Bad Squiddo mini.

Then I quickly painted these 3 for my first game of 1490 Doom. A confessor from the Sanctifiers kill team, Lyssa Revenya from the Saviours of Cinderfall box, and a Frostgrave cultist.

I wasn’t going for Don King with his possessed copy of the Queensbury rules when I started this Occult Investigator from Crooked Dice, but that’s where I ended up.

1. Gump for Moonstone. I was intimidated by this before I started but it was straightforward once I grasped the nettle.

An unnamed Judge from Citadels 1980s 2000AD range, doing the rounds of the city blocks.

I know judges normally have gloves on, but I just couldn’t see them on this sculpt.

A forgotten Newcastle celebration, that occurs on the 5th Sunday of Lent, remembering when the starving citizens of the under siege city got their hands on a cargo of carlin peas.

Carlin Sunday 2026

Anyway, these minis have nothing to do with that. A couple of were jackals from Northstar’s Silver Bayonet range.

“They’ve all got it in for me”

The watchman from A Meridian miniatures Kickstarter and Pock from the Hexbane Hunters with a head swap.

Four wolves from Northstar. They seem a bit small but maybe I’m conditioned to think that all wolves are dire wolves.

Finally a Mystic from Northstar’s Stargrave range, my first attempt at a ‘synthwave’ painting scheme.

The background is from an old sci-fi coffee table art book that I inherited from my Dad.

This oldhammer Troll has been kicking around on my painting table for nearly 2 years. All of my painting this year so far has been aimed at clearing the minis cluttering up my shared work and hobby space.

Once he was done there was a lot of space on his base, so I filled it with a casualty from Ragnarok minis. I’m pretty sure if the hapless Viking has taken a blow from that hammer he’d be mush, so maybe the troll has spotted him on the ground and has wandered over for a snack?

A relative gave me a GW gift voucher a while back. I used it to buy some miniatures that I would never pay for myself: the House Grim Military Attaché.

Honestly, I think I could have painted him a bit better, but the detail was kinda of freaking me out.

He’s based an cobbles as I’m far more likely to use him as a Mordheim Captain than a Necromunda character. I think he gets away with it: nothing screams “Sci-fi” … except the tube coming out the side of the skull.

But, in keeping with my Guild of Ash, I magnetised his head so I could pop on a Genestealer Cult one.

I also painted up these Rotten Factory pieces. An Ostermarker paying his respects at a roadside shrine on the way to Mordheim.