Check Out The Golden Demon Winners From SPIEL Essen 2026

SPIEL Essen took place over the weekend just gone, a convention dominated by board games but also the home of Golden Demon for the last couple of years. Some more stunning painting was on display and so I thought we could show off the winners for the different categories so you could see what (and who) is hot right now!

Warhammer 40,000 Single Miniature - Golden Demon

We kick things off with Maxime Penaud and the Warhammer 40,000 Single Miniature category. This is a stunning rendition of Marneus Calgar, which feels very in keeping with his appearance in Space Marine II. He is right in the middle of blasting away some Tyranids and looking exceptionally good whilst doing so. Ultramarines can look excellent, despite all the hate that they get online.

Staying in the Grimdark but exploring Units/Kill Teams, we have Baptiste Richebe, who did a sterling job on Minka Lesk and her companions.

Warhammer 40,000 Unit or Kill Team // Golden Demon

The painting very much feels like it falls into the category of 'eavy Metal, which works very well on certain miniatures from the Warhammer range. You can see that in spades here and there's lot of attention to detail throughout.

Moving to the Vehicle category, we have the Leagues of Votann showing off a bit.

Warhammer 40,000 Vehicle // Golden Demon

This paint job comes from Scott Burn and does a great job of creating a more grounded look for the Leagues of Votann. I feel like the official scheme for the Votann feels a little too clean and so going for something a bit dirty works really well considering their role as explorers, miners and traders.

Moving away from the Grimdark, we also have some lovely miniatures for the Mortal Realms.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar Single Miniature // Golden Demon

Marc Masclans Abello has done a wonderful job on this Gloomspite Gitz leader figure. I really like the work on the wolf, in particular and the fact that the base is also helping to tell a story of this predator stalking its way through the woods.

Sticking with the Mortal Realms, we also have the Unit category to have a peek-peek at.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar Unit // Golden Demon

A classic-looking set of deadly killers for the Skaven by Marco Pescini. The painting is great on the miniatures but I also like the storytelling in the bases, especially on the sewer walls that you see with the top two miniatures. I also really like the rat with the little wheel since he's clearly had his back legs chomped off! Someone really cares for the pet rat!

Heading to the realm of Large miniatures, we have this stunning Seraphon creation by Valentin Colomb.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar Large Model // Golden Demon

It's quite a muted set of colour choices when you think about it, giving the Slann a more natural look. I don't think that's always a bad thing, especially as it often means that it lets the brighter colours really shine.

Moving from the main games, we also have some great miniatures for the smaller games in Games Workshop's collection. Here, we have the winner for The Horus Heresy.

Warhammer: The Horus Heresy // Golden Demon

Erkka Marttio gives us a rather painterly take on a beleaguered Son of Dorn from the era of The Horus Heresy. He has a rather commanding look to him but also a sense of exhaustion, perhaps, using his sword to take a breath as he sees the hordes of Traitors rushing towards him on the battlefield below.

The Old World celebrates the forces of Chaos with its winner.

Warhammer: The Old World // Golden Demon

Kuan Tien Tung dives in with a seriously complicated and multifaceted piece that does a seriously good job of nailing that classic Chaos Knight from the artwork of Warhammer: The Old World. Lots of cold colours, which mirror his outlook on life!

One of my favourite categories is always Middle-earth and we've got some fun miniatures on show here for the gold.

Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game // Golden Demon

Arnau Lazaro has done a sterling job of capturing that moment when Treebeard and his fellow Ents begin their march down from Fangorn to settle a score with Saruman at Orthanc! I really like that the Ents sort of blend into each other and the background, as you'd expect them to!

The Blood Bowl winner, by comparison, is very bright!

Blood Bowl // Golden Demon

Scyla Anfingrimm here by Nikolas Rubens Mortensen. A really excellent look at Blood Bowl, elevating the colourful and fun world of Fantasy Football. I also like that he is crushing a Wood Elf as they really, really deserve it.

Heading down into the depths of the Underhive, we also have a lovely miniature for the Ironhead Squats.

Necromunda // Golden Demon

Kuan Tien Tung is back and has really sold the metallics of the miniature, plus the dirt and grime really help! I also like that you've got that ticking time bomb in the diorama base, giving a sense of urgency to the whole situation!

Dropping down to the Epic Scale, we have an exceptionally well-painted Knight stepping into an industrial warzone.

Epic Scale // Golden Demon

Gregor Pilarski has done so much work on this miniature, really selling the cool 28mm scale detail but rendered down into a smaller epic scale piece. Some lovely colour choices really draw the eye as well. It sounds like I know what I'm talking about!

Now, we move into my favourite categories, Diorama and Duel.

Diorama // Golden Demon

The Diorama by Angelo di Chello is brilliant for many reasons but for me, it's a winner because it shows Gotrek and Felix fighting off an undead horde! As someone who has been a fan of their stories for many, many years, it's great to see them represented in a winning diorama.

Some more favourites from me. I do like my Aeldari and Drukhari. A proper clash here between the martial side of things and the arcane in these miniatures.

Duel // Golden Demon

Ivan Rosales has done a sterling job on these miniatures; the backdrop for it is also super cool. Getting that sense of movement into the duel is also really key and I think Rosales has done that.

Nearly done! We also have this wonderful entry for the Youngbloods.

Youngbloods // Golden Demon

I am constantly blown away by the amount of talent these young fellows have in their bones. A really clean and characterful miniature from Danny N, with plenty of cool details like the battle-worn metal and the pattern around the outside of the shield.

Stepping into the Open Category, we have a very different-looking Ogor/Ogre who is just looking after their adorable but deadly pet!

Open Category // Golden Demon

The Open Category is always intriguing and this is a fantastic storytelling moment once again. You can see that the Ogre is trying to get his lovable companion to track the deer but it isn't going very well.

If you'd like to see the Silver and Bronze winners from Golden Demon at SPIEL 2026, then you can head on over to the breakdown HERE. You can also find out which one of these miniature projects ended up taking home the Slayer Sword.

What would be your winner from this pick?