Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast

The internet has shaped how we experience the tabletop miniature hobby - mainly in a good way, though there are naturally a few potential downsides, too. In this episode, Calum and I talk through the six factors we feel have had the most impact and relate them to our own personal experiences.

We'd love to hear your thoughts, too, so hop over to the Bedroom Battlefields Discord community and let us know.

This Episode is Supported By

• The Sharp End of the Brush
• Black Arrow Minis
• Mantic Games
• Signum Games
• Doctor Spork's 3D Terrain
• Support the Show on Patreon
• The Forces of Fantasy Podcast

This episode is sponsored by Mantic Games and Halo: Flashpoint.

I'm joined by Mantic founder Ronnie Renton and communications manager Alex to talk about why Halo: Flashpoint works so well as a low-commitment entry into miniature gaming. Ronnie and Alex cover how a turn plays out, from command dice and alternating activations to opposed rolls and exploding 8s. They also explain how respawning keeps a bad round from sinking your game, and get into the compact 2x2x2 cube battlefield and the creative possibilities of 3D terrain.

The guys also preview the Covenant faction expansion and the Campaign Evolved board game, before laying out details of the Fast Grow painting challenge, which runs from 23rd October to 1st November. The Fast Grow asks you to paint your first fireteam in nine days, and I'll be having a wee shot myself!

Ronnie also gives a quick rundown of what else Mantic has coming, including Epic Warpath, Kings of War, and the Plants vs. Zombies board game on Kickstarter.

Mantic have also pledged a prize to one listener who sends in a hobby update voice clip this month at bedroombattlefields.com/voicemail, so be sure to get your clip in and get involved!

The Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast is Supported By

• The Sharp End of the Brush
• Black Arrow Minis
• Mantic Games
• Signum Games
• Doctor Spork's 3D Terrain
• Support the Show on Patreon

If you could play only five games or rulesets for the rest of your life, which would they be? On this episode, Calum and I choose our five and give our reasons. We'd love to hear your top five, too, so hop over to the Bedroom Battlefields Discord community and let us know.

This Episode is Supported By

• The Sharp End of the Brush
• Black Arrow Minis
• Mantic Games
• Signum Games
• Doctor Spork's 3D Terrain
• Support the Show on Patreon

The monthly hobby update of the Bedroom Battlefields community. 

• Submit a clip for next month's episode
• Join the Discord

This Episode is Supported By

• The Sharp End of the Brush
• Black Arrow Minis
• Signum Games
• Doctor Spork's 3D Terrain
• Support the Show on Patreon
• Eavy Lead Painting Studio

We've all seen those photos of a 1992 Space Marine standing next to a 2026 model, looking very much like father and son. But why did this happen? And does it actually matter? I'm joined by Calum, AKA Doctor Spork, to discuss "Warhammer" scale creep. And afterwards, we ease into a chat about hobby parenting.

A big thanks to Patron Tom W for his support. Here's a link to his blog: Solipsist Gaming

Submit a hobby update voice clip before the end of Wednesday 30th September, and you could win $50 to spend on SignumGames.com

This Episode is Supported By

• The Sharp End of the Brush
• Black Arrow Minis
• Signum Games
• Doctor Spork's 3D Terrain
• Support the Show on Patreon

One of the best things about getting back into the hobby was reading back through my old White Dwarf magazines.

My collection spans from late 1993 to mid-1998, and one of the most loved and fondly remembered features of this period was "A Tale of Four Gamers".

The concept of A Tale of Four Gamers was simple but effective. White Dwarf took four Games Workshop staff (Paul Sawyer, Richard Hobson, Roy Barber, and Richard Gunson) from different parts of the company, gave each of them a small monthly budget, and had them build, paint and eventually battle with a Warhammer army entirely in public view through the magazine.

It ran for five months in 1998. Fifty quid to start, then twenty-five a month after that, working out at £150 total by the end*.

Nobody was told what to buy or how to paint it, so all four ended up going in completely different directions: Roy Barber built Skaven, Richard Hobson did Wood Elves modelled on Robin Hood, Richard Gunson went Bretonnian, and Paul Sawyer (AKA Fat Bloke) painted Beastmen almost entirely in metallics.

The whole point was showing the process honestly, budgets, mistakes and all, rather than just presenting a finished army under studio lighting. That's what made it feel achievable to readers in a way most hobby features at the time didn't.

One fellow hobby content creator who's particularly fond of this feature is Sean of the Timeless Tabletop Gaming YouTube channel. I've had Sean on the show for a chat before, and he's an active member of the Bedroom Battlefields community Discord.

Sean recently reached out to say he was running a series of deep-dive videos on A Tale of Four Gamers, the first of which earned him an enthusiastic YouTube comment from none other than Richard Hobson.

Sean took the opportunity to reach out to Richard, which led him to get in touch with Richard Gunson and Roy Barber as well. Tragically, Paul Sawyer passed away last year - he was only 59.

The trio were keen to talk to Sean about A Tale of Four Gamers, and he jumped at the opportunity to get them together for an interview that he could use for the final video in his series. He was looking for a little backup on the tech/recording side, and I was only too happy to help. It was a fascinating conversation to sit and listen to, and I'm delighted that Sean has allowed me to play it in full now on this episode of the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast.

*Sean reckons that £150 budget is roughly £300 in today's money.

This Episode is Supported By

• The Sharp End of the Brush
• Black Arrow Minis
• Signum Games
• Doctor Spork's 3D Terrain
• Support the Show on Patreon

It rather embarrassingly took me five years to invite Ivan Sorensen onto the podcast, but I'm delighted to finally remedy that. You can find the many Nordic Weasel Games on Wargame Vault or DriveThruRPG, and grab the XCOM Miniatures Game from Modiphius. You can also support Ivan via the Nordic Weasel Patreon.

This Episode is Supported By

• The Sharp End of the Brush
• Black Arrow Minis
• Signum Games
• Doctor Spork's 3D Terrain
• Support the Show on Patreon

The monthly hobby update of the Bedroom Battlefields community. 

• Submit a clip for next month's episode
• Join the Discord



This Episode is Supported By

• The Sharp End of the Brush
• Black Arrow Minis
• Signum Games
• Doctor Spork's 3D Terrain
• Support the Show on Patreon

With Bring Out Your Lead falling through this year, a determined crew decided the show would go on regardless. Jason had a huge narrative Warhammer Fantasy campaign ready to hit the table, so rather than wait, the group arranged a room above a pub in Nottingham, dubbed the event BOYL Gits, and got on with it.

And what a table (twenty-four feet by six!!) staging the Siege of Karak Spork in full.

Jason’s mountainside and mine dominated one end, Calum turned up a striking 3D-printed assault fortress knocked out in just twelve hours (with help from Stuart, who drove hours just to lend a paintbrush for the afternoon), and Ben’s painted human settlement, dropped off before he flew out to Peru, filled the space in front.

The whole thing split naturally into three separate scraps: a siege at the gate, an inner-hold fight, and a relief force pushing across open ground, all painted to a standard the lads clearly took real pride in. One block of a hundred or so pikemen got singled out as a highlight in its own right.

Plenty of good chaos followed: undead cavalry running amok, a stolen Skaven steam tank going spectacularly out of control and taking out a chunk of wall along with a wyvern rider, and Nagash putting Orion firmly in his place after a duel running to eight rounds of combat.

These showcase games are becoming a real fixture for the Bedroom Battlefields community. If you fancy getting involved in the next one, come and join us on Discord, that’s where it all gets planned!

The second part of the episode features another event report, this time from GenCon 2026. Rob Dean was there, and he also has a write-up and a load of great pictures over on his blog, The Sharp End of the Brush.

This Episode is Supported By

• The Sharp End of the Brush
• Black Arrow Minis
• Signum Games
• Doctor Spork's 3D Terrain
• Support the Show on Patreon

The Nonexistent Miniatures Game Card Jam was run by this week's guest, Menyus AKA Granto, over on the Rule of Carnage Discord community. The challenge was simple but full of possibility: design a card for a miniatures wargame that doesn't exist. That card could be a unit's stat card, a deployment card, a hidden objective, a weapon card, or a reminder card for some mechanic unique to your imaginary game, and it could lean on text, symbols, art, or any mix of the three. The only rule was that it had to feel like a real piece of a real tabletop wargame, even though the game behind it was a figment of your imagination.

Later in the episode, we also talk more broadly about the concept of a Game Jam, as well as Menyus' game from a previous jam, Visions of War.

This Episode is Supported By

• The Sharp End of the Brush
• Black Arrow Minis
• Signum Games
• Doctor Spork's 3D Terrain
• Support the Show on Patreon
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