Returning to the podcast this month are miniatures war gaming royalty, Andy Chambers and Gav Thorpe, here to talk about the imminent release of their game Zeo Genesis! Zeo Genesis s a scalable skirmish miniatures battle game of big armor suits locked in kinetic action. You may remember their last appearance on this podcast in 2023 but the game has come a long way since then and will be crowdfunding on Game Found in just a few days, on April 29th.

Andy and Gav were kind enough to chat with me about how the game has developed over the past two years, their plans for the game's initial two player starter set, how they're navigating the tricky waters of a tariff uncertainty, their efforts to manufacture plastic miniatures in the United States, and how the game will be supported as an ongoing retail product with physical models as well as STLs. I had the chance to take a look at prototypes of the game last month at Adepticon and I'm very excited to see it all coming together.

As usual, this podcast was exclusive to Brush Wielders Union members for a few days before being released to general audiences.

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This month I was pleased to welcome my new friend and fellow Union Member, Kelsey Canaga as our podcast guest! Kelsey and I met earlier this year at OrcaCon where she was representing her company, Found Family Adventurecrafts. I was really taken with the unique and joyful sculpts she produces and her enthusiasm for the quirkier corners of tabletop adventure gaming. Kelsey shared her background in gaming and how her career as a collectibles developer at Funko informs her work. She was also kind enough to offer a discount for BWU members, so stay tuned in the coming days for a post with more info on that!

Find Found Family Adventurecrafts at their main site but also, on Tribes, Patreon, and Bluesky.

As usual, this podcast was exclusive to Brush Wielders Union members for a few days before being released to general audiences.

brushwieldersunion.com

This month's podcast is something a little different. About a year ago I was casually chatting with my friend (and regular podcast guest), Shoshie Bauer. We were discussing some of the challenges and frustrations she was facing as woman and professional in the miniatures field. This podcast is the ultimate fruit of that conversation.

This month, I'm turning the podcast over to Shoshie as guest host along with three returning guests; Elizabeth Beckley, Jamie Daggers, and Em "ElectricEve" Durrant. Shoshie led her guests through a fantastic round table discussion on a number of topics which was in turn challenging, enlightening, and occasionally, very funny. Liz, Jamie, Em, and Shoshie herself are all pillars of the contemporary miniatures painting community and I hope you enjoy their discussion as much as I did!

Shoshie Bauer

Bluesky: @Shoshiesminis.bsky.social

Web Shop: https://www.shoshiesminis.com/shop

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/ShoshiesMinis/posts

Elizabeth Beckley

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miniature_mistress

Jamie Daggers

Twitch: www.twitch.tv/jamiedaggers

Patreon: www.patreon.com/jamiedaggers

Lyctor: www.lyctor.com



Em "ElectricEve" Durrant

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/electriceve

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/electriceve/

Bluesky: @Electriceve.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/electricevepainting

As usual, this podcast was exclusive to Brush Wielders Union members for a few days before being released to general audiences.

brushwieldersunion.com

For our first podcast of 2025 I was joined by BWU podcast alumni, Graham Davey, creator of Test of Honour and 0200 Hours, to talk about his newest game, Guards of Traitor's Toll. I'm really excited about this upcoming game in which players control squads of city guards in a fantasy city who must investigate crimes, break up disputes between duelling wizards, and capture assassinations when they're not patrolling the streets. Graham shared some of his inspirations for the game, discussed top level game play, and we talked about the joys of kitbashing the upcoming kits for the game from Wargames Atlantic, as well as the already available pre-painted terrain kits from Sarissa Precision. He even gave a few hints about what perils may come to lurk the streets of Traitor's Toll in the not-too-distant future...

Guards of Traitors Toll will be available for pre-order in the coming weeks with an expected early spring release. In the meantime you can check out a free overview of the game, join the official group on Facebook (where you can download a PDF gameplay overview in the Files section) and sign up for the Grey for Now Games email list.

As usual, this podcast was exclusive to Brush Wielders Union members for a few days before being released to general audiences.

brushwieldersunion.com

For the final BWU podcast of 2024 I was joined by my old friend and founding BWU member, Nick Lawson! Nick and I chatted about the old days of the Privateer Press Gang, what goes into founding a gaming community and with everyone's hobby pledges looming in the New Year, we talked about how to create workable hobby goals and keep yourself motivated to meet them. Nick is writing a book related to this subject, so be sure to follow him on social media and sign up for his mailing list for news on what's sure to be a great project!



As usual, this podcast was exclusive to Brush Wielders Union members for a few days before being released to general audiences.

brushwieldersunion.com

My guests this month are from a website that needs little introduction, Eric Benson and Jerry "Tycho" Holkins! Penny Arcade has been a force in gaming for decades, and while it had its start in the realm of video games, it's become a powerhouse in tabletop gaming. Eric and Jerry joined me ostensibly to hype up their upcoming convention PAX Unplugged, but instead we mostly just talked about the wargames they love (we did get to chat a bit about the con towards the end, including an exclusive reveal of the Official Sandwich of PAX Unplugged), but mostly we blathered about why we love different miniatures games like Warhammer 40k, The Horus Heresy, Saga, and board games like War Room, and Jerry's passion for Command & Colors, and the different itches scratched by different games.

As usual, this podcast was exclusive to Brush Wielders Union members for a few days before being released to general audiences.

brushwieldersunion.com

In this month's podcast I spoke with fellow gamer, Washington State Secretary of State, Steve Hobbs! Steve and I spoke about his love of gaming, his time serving in the army in both Kosovo and Iraq, his work as a politician here in Washington State, and how gaming has intersected with all of those parts of his life and career. Steve shared some fascinating stuff about Washington's table top gaming industry and how he's worked with that industry on trade missions to Japan and state legislation that affects gamers, game stores, and even therapeutic roleplaying games for prisoners. We wrapped up with some discussion of how wargamers reinvent small unit tactics and finally the BWU gives its first ever political endorsement!

Check out Steve's campaign page here and learn more about the Tabletop Game Alliance now.

As usual, this podcast was exclusive to Brush Wielders Union members for a few days before being released to general audiences.

brushwieldersunion.com

My guest this month was Doug Wheeler, owner of my favorite friendly local gaming shop, Terracrux Games, right here in Tacoma, WA! Doug was kind enough to give me part of his Friday night to talk about the trials and travails of running a successful game shop and how he's managed to succeed in a challenging field. We talked about business planning, community building and more.

Be sure to check out Terracrux Games online, even if you're not in the Tacoma area, and join their community on Discord.

As usual, this podcast was exclusive to Brush Wielders Union members for a few days before being released to general audiences.

brushwieldersunion.com

Regular friend of the BWU podcast, Andy Hobday, returns to talk all about the current Kickstarter for The Baron's War Fantasy Skirmish miniatures range! Currently on Kickstarter and knocking down stretch goals, this campaign will help launch this line of miniatures and a classic fantasy setting for the Baron's War but will also help establish Andy and Paul Hick's new company, Hobday and Hicks. Andy shared their inspiration for the line and dropped some juicy teasers about their future army plans including some very cool hints about the undead...

Back the Kickstarter now and join their Facebook community to learn more about the future of their game.

As usual, this podcast was exclusive to Brush Wielders Union members for a few days before being released to general audiences.

brushwieldersunion.com

This month's podcast guests are the founders of Rascal News, Lin Codega, Rowan Zeoli, and Chase Carter. Rascal is a new reader supported a tabletop roleplaying game and culture outlet striving to sustainably publish voicey journalism that is compelling, deeply-reported, and fearlessly honest. Lin, Rowan, and Chase were kind enough to spend their time talking with me about the state of tabletop games media, why they feel journalism is important even in the arena of hobbies and gaming, the challenges of organizing labor in gaming, and what they hope to accomplish with a wholly independent reporting platform.

Rascal media is currently running a pledge drive and I hope you'll join me in supporting their endeavors. Their ethos is very much in tune with that of the BWU and I'm looking forward to seeing their work for many years to come.

As usual, this podcast was exclusive to Brush Wielders Union members for a few days before being released to general audiences.

brushwieldersunion.com