Games Workshop Preview Pre-Coloured Plastic Terrain & Orks!
May 14, 2026 by brennon
Games Workshop got ahead of the rumours this week and released a funny trailer showing off the new pre-coloured/pre-painted terrain that they are going to be bringing out alongside the new edition of Warhammer 40,000 in just under a month.
Ready Painted Terrain Preview // Warhammer 40,000
Ready Painted Terrain, Pre-Painted Terrain and Pre-Coloured Terrain pieces are not new within the realms of MDF and HDF terrain but it has also been a process that Archon Studio has been playing around with for a good while now as part of their Dungeons & Lasers range. It looks like Games Workshop are jumping into the ring, however.
Pre-Coloured Terrain // Warhammer 40,000
You would assume that this terrain follows a similar process of manufacturing, using UV printing to get the colours onto the plastic terrain. I will say that even though a lot of folks have already started bemoaning that this terrain has too many mould lines and the like, I think this looks pretty damn good, especially since it also features lots of intricate details like screen details and glow effects around the lights.
Pre-Coloured Terrain // Warhammer 40,000
If you're someone who really doesn't like the thought of having to paint a table's worth of terrain for your games, this seems like it will be just the ticket. It looks way better than a lot of folks could achieve with a great level of detail, weathering and such applied to each piece.
Pre-Coloured Terrain // Warhammer 40,000
It's not quite as refined as the process that Archon have gone into with their terrain for their dungeon layouts but it certainly looks like it will end up being a range that a lot of Warhammer 40,000 will end up picking up so they can get pretty darn decent tables looking good without having to lift a brush.
From some leaks that we've seen already, the terrain comes on sprues and you build as normal and so the real question is, how expensive is this going to be? The price point for this is going to have to be reasonable; companies like Archon and others are just going to undercut them. As someone mentioned in this discussion online, a lot of people want an official Games Workshop miniature but they aren't so easily swayed into buying official Games Workshop terrain, especially with the wealth of options out there. I suppose we'll see!
Ork Biker Tease!
Randomly added into the middle of the teasers was also a reveal of the new Ork Bikers coming later on down the line for Warhammer 40,000.
New Ork Biker // Warhammer 40,000
The new Ork Bikers look super chunky, fearsome and are a massive improvement over the past iterations of these vehicles. They have been in dire need of a replacement and they are finally on their way, likely following in the wake of the 11th Edition launch and the coming of the Warhammer 40,000 Ork Codex.
New Ork Biker // Warhammer 40,000
They look brilliant and just what you need for diving into a game of Warhammer 40,000 as the Speed Freeks. I love the leader of the unit with his intensely dakkafied front end and the choppa out to the side so he can slice the head off a few beakies as he drives past.
What do you make of the new pre-painted terrain news and the new Ork Bikers?
"...it certainly looks like it will end up being a range that a lot of Warhammer 40,000 will end up picking up"
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Having just had to hand paint some GW terrain, I can really see the attraction of getting someone else to do it – far too many greebles for my liking. So this is a good move. It also lowers the amount of effort required to actually get playing. So again quite good. Dare we ask whether or not they’ve found a way to justify extracting even more money from hapless punters?
I wonder if this is a step towards pre-coloured miniatures…
This is a Big Leap Forward for GW terrain. I imagine it won’t be cheap, but as @onlyonepinman says, there’s an overabundance of detail on GW terrain kits which makes even the most die hard painter dread it. I know I do!
No to pre-painted minis for me, or it’s just not a hobby anymore…
Three nights of painting needless gribbly bits, pipes and skulls on a radar dish. Ain’t nobody got time for dat*
I am also not a fan of pre-painted miniatures, mostly because that’s what I enjoy most.
*Turns I do, in fact, have time for dat. I just could have made better use of it
Colour me surprised. I thought GW were all about encouraging the hobby side of their games. I can see the attraction commercially though and it will at least stop people playing with unpainted terrain which is a bonus. Progress is, apparently.
I finally got around to watching the video and I think someone needs to have a word with them. The table does not, in fact, look fantastic. It maybe fully painted, it does not look fantastic. It looks like a paintball arena, not a battle field
That seems to be the direction of 11th. Pre-set tourney game terrain features, just like going to your pre-planned paintball arena.
Maybe in the outlier, but I like exciting, varied tables or purpose built diorama tables that have oodles of effort in them. The new direction is … neither.
>not a battlefield
It’s OK, GW rules don’t simulate battles in any way
Most wargames don’t really provide a simulation of a battle. Doesn’t mean I don’t want the table to look like more than randomly placed, line of site blocking obstacles. That’s what modern warhammer has really devolved into
If your only complaint about the rules is terrain placement, just don’t play tournaments and you’ll be fine.
I don’t have any complaints, I was criticising the claim made in the video that the table looked great. Because it didn’t. That’s not a complaint, it’s a disagreement.
The irony is: With pre-painted terrain (and ultimately pre-painted miniatures) GW eliminates the one aspect that people enjoy (the hobbying) and only leaves the actual gameplay, which even GW enthusiasts admit is the weakest thing about WH40k.
Considering how big tournament playing is, I think you’re overselling people’s ability to identify bad rules.
I would wager that as big as the tournament scene might be, it is but a small fraction of the overall player base. People who don’t play competitively are still forced into a ruleset tailored for tournament players
Nah. I see the appeal, but only for people who don’t want to put in any work on their “hobby.”
I agree that a lot of GW’s terrain (and minis, for that matter) are overly-detailed, and might be a pain to paint, but the point of having a hobby is to take the time and enjoy the process; it’s not supposed to be quick and expedient so you can hurry-up and get on to the next thing.
I think the appeal is literally tournament gamers/organizers who will have set piece tables that are egregiously homogenous.
I’m with you: I like hobby. Even if the effort is extra, I will have unique pieces. Airbrushing speeds up terrain painting, then it’s on to details, which can be bashed out with contrast style paints quickly and effectively.
Painting is the least fun part of the hobby for me, so I am in full support of pre-painted terrain, pre-painted minis, commission painting, buying painted armies, etc.
The only thing worse than painting is GW rules, so much so that I haven’t even tried playing 40K since 8E.
@jcdent you sound like you’re a lot of fun at parties!
wait a minute. You don’t like asembling. You don’t like painting. You don’t like warhammer 40k. I dunno man, feels like you’re in the wrong place…
Have you considered that a person could be mad about a thing because of some personal attachment to it? Because I got into 40K the universe with Dawn of War 1. By the time I got my hands on miniatures around 6/7E, I could see that the rules are bad at depicting said universe on the tabletop, and they haven’t gotten better since. I would love to put some Space Marines, Guard or Orks on the table, but GW rules seem like the least fun way to do so.
I don’t know if anyone like assembling. I do like kitbashing and converting stuff, but assembly? Pff 😛
You don’t really come across as being mad about anything. Just negging on anything and everything to do with 40k.
Pre-painted GW terrain is a great idea, however, it still leaves the worst part of GW terrain to the player: assembly.
New Ork Bikers! Waaaagh!
They do look good – da Kult of Speed is back!