I’ve been a follower of Grandfather Nurgle ever since I opened my first deck of Citadel Combat Cards and discovered The Great Unclean One. I loved everything about him. Not least of all, his name.

It was always my aim (along with about 6000 other aims, it must be said) to collect a Nurgle army. But like almost every kid in the hobby, I simply didn’t have the funds. I ended up owning a Beast of Nurgle, who was thrown in amongst other orc, undead, and chaos miniatures that I liked the look of. That was the only plague-based creature I had.

I still have the Beast of Nurgle (who is now stripped and re-painted) and have been able to pick up some of his kin in recent years too. It’s time to finally get this Warband up on its maggot-riddled feet.

And now I have!

I’ve named my leader Festerblade Rotsworn. I had to do a bit of kitbashing as I’d lost his original arms. I’m pleased with the result, though.

Festemus. Knightmare Miniatures‘ take on this Chaos Champion, found in the Warhammer 4th edition Battle Bestiary.

Brother Rust, a Chaos Warrior from Midlam Miniatures.

My nurglings get to play on this nice rotting stump, purchased from Rum & Resin Printing on Etsy. I have two other bases of nurglings to paint up and add to the warband.

I’m sure the plaguebearers are from a 2003-era batch.

My Beast of Nurgle from the 90s, stripped and re-painted, with more fungus thrown in. “You didn’t leave mushroom on the base for him”, I hear you shout in your best dad voice.

There’s lots more to come with this Nurgle warband. I’ll continue to add to it at my slow but steady pace. I’ll also talk about my progress on the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast, so be sure to subscribe or follow the show, wherever you get your podcasts.

The aesthetics (and prices!) of modern Games Workshop miniatures aren’t for everyone – especially folks who grew up in the 90s. With that said, what are the best miniature companies out there if you’re in the market for some quality alternatives?

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It’s a familiar story. Man who played Warhammer as a kid suddenly finds himself diving back into the hobby in his mid-30s. For those returning hobbyists, there can be a lot of nostalgic excitement.

There can also be a bit of disappointment, though.

The loveable charm of the miniatures you remember has been replaced by a situation where even the lowliest rank and file soldier is an elite bodybuilder in a cinematic pose.

The good news is that there are an almost infinite amount of other miniature companies out there these days. This short list features what are – in my humble option – the best miniature companies out there right now.

Midlam Miniatures

Midlam Miniatures were the first company I discovered when I got back into the hobby. I’ve bought a lot from them over the past few years. I like them so much that I asked them to sponsor a few episodes of the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast. They have a diverse range of miniatures, but I feel they really excel with their civilian and villager characters. I recently picked up a bunch of their junior townsfolk, which were a lot of fun.

Knightmare Miniatures

Spain-based Knightmare Miniatures are one of the best tributes to the Oldhammer era that you’re likely to find. I’ve built warbands of beastmen, goblins, and Chaos warriors from their excellent range. If you like to play any type of Chaos or greenskins then you’ll love a look through their catalogue.

CP Models

CP Models offer a lot of fun and genre variety in their range. They stock a multitude of scales from 6mm to 32mm, though it’s 28mm were most concerned with here. You’ll find Lovecraftian, steampunk, and retro-futurist miniatures on the CP site. I think they’re one of the best miniature companies for building Necromunda-style gangs.

Diehard Miniatures

Whilst I can’t confirm whether or not Diehard Miniatures are Bruce Willis’ favourite miniature company, they certainly are one of mine. I used their range to build my undead space marine crew for Stargrave.

Oathsworn Miniatures

Oathsworn Miniatures are one of the most unique companies of its kind. They specialise in anthropomorphic animals, predominantly created for their signature game Burrows & Badgers. As I kid, I loved Brian Jacques’ Redwall Abbey books, and these miniatures rekindled something in me when I first came across them. A truly amazing-looking range.

Otherworld Miniatures

Otherworld Miniatures are another company I’ve spent a fair bit of money with. Though, admittedly, that has a lot to do with their weird way of calculating shipping costs. Still, don’t let that take away from their superb range of miniatures. In particular, they excel at undead and anything that looks like it lives in a dungeon. I’ve used them a lot for our games of Rangers of Shadow Deep.

Best Miniature Company Alternatives

There are few things you can’t buy on Amazon, and miniatures are no exception. If you’re looking to beef up your armies without breaking the bank, or, would like some lower-cost minis to test out some new painting techniques, then check out some of these.

The following links are affiliates which means I’d earn a small commission should you decide to buy through them – never at any extra cost to yourself!

• Path Gaming 38 Miniatures Fantasy Tabletop RPG Figures
• Path Gaming 40 Fantasy Tabletop Miniatures
• Wildspire Fantasy Miniatures with Huge Dragon
• Wildspire Heroes, Animals & Troll
• Newcombie Wildspire 58 Fantasy Miniatures Set Townsfolk Characters

Etsy is also a popular marketplace for the miniature hobbyist, and you can find a lot of cool and interesting stuff on there. I’ve picked out a handful of miniatures that caught my eye recently.

• Rundsgaard: Creed’s Gaard Squad – Karskin Elites
• PMC Squad – Modern Wargaming Miniatures
• Beastmen – Longhorn Brutal Warriors
• Undead Blackwatch
• Goblin Cave – Goblin Army Bundle

Best Miniature Companies

So there you have it – six of my favourite miniature manufacturers at this moment in time, plus some budget bonus options.

And, if these have given you plenty of ideas for creating some new warbands or adventure parties, then be sure to check out our list of miniature agnostic games to use them with, too!

The brief was simple. Paint something that is (or looks) old, and give it a puerile name.

This was the first paint challenge run in the Bedroom Battlefields Discord Server, and it was a lot of fun. There was a good level of participation, a diverse range of models, and the quality of the brushwork was superb.

Here are the photos of everyone’s completed miniatures.

By LateNightPainting

“Here is my metal squig hopper painted up with the Richard Gray paint scheme. Funny faces on these old model, but man, the metal just doesn’t hold paint as well. I think that rattle can is the way to prime metal models. My airbrush primer just rubs off.”

An ogre skeleton from Ral Partha.

By Demonsub – DemonSubMinis

Baron Årsöl of Börll’s Deep

By Mark Smith

Legend has it that the underground city once belonging to the dwarf lord Börll is guarded by a demonic knight, Baron Årsöl, who roams its empty dungeons and corridors howling in pain. Why he does this, nobody knows. But none who have ventured there have made it back alive to tell the tale.

Ligma Balz

By Space Goblin

Bombu Bellybong

By SamuelLarsson

A Games Workshop dwarf from 1985.

Ashat Ma’Sel

By Tom Heaney – TabletopChronicles.com

“He is a Citadel C31 Balgorg sculpted by Trisha Morrison. I bought it second-hand from eBay then soaked it in Dettol for about a week.”

Ashat enjoys long walks through barren ash wastelands and swimming in molten lava lakes. If he had one wish, it would be for world peace, by killing and enslaving all living things. His favourite colour is black, and favourite food is grey wizards.

Ashat is currently single and concentrating on his career. He would one day like to find the right lady demon to share his massive pile of skulls.

Shagsmak Skogbuttz

By Ryan – Adventure Built Gaming

“I painted the ork with Army Painter speed paints and starter set for the most part with one or two more paints mixed in. But with a zenithal priming base. As for where the miniature came from, it was made by Games Workshop and released in 97 for the Gorkamorka game.”

Neil Warlock

By the Author

“I bought this guy from Knightmare. He bears a striking resemblance to football manager Neil Warnock.”

Hild Michbieber von Mordheim

By Idle Doodler – There Could Have Been Snakes

“An old handgunner gifted by a friend some 20 years ago, and I kept his original colour scheme. Experimented with acrylic inks and highlights on the clothing, and kept to more familiar layered highlights and washes on the skin. A flocked green base in honour of Goblin Green battlefields everywhere.”

Zhug Ma’Dheek

By CoveringFire (Ted) – OddGitsHut

“I got this miniature in a lot with some 4th edition hobgoblins, and it took quite a while until I was able to identify it as a Hobgoblin rocket launcher crewman. I never intended to use it with my army, so I thought it would be fun to paint it up for this challenge. I found a photo of the original paintjob, so I tried to emulate that using my Nostalgia ’88 paints. I mainly used Orc Brown for the skin.”

When the hobgoblin artillery positions were surrounded during the battle of Scheissdorf in 2478, Zhug was ‘elected’ to negotiate with the humans. As he approached the enemy lines and was called upon to identify himself, Zhug promptly yelled “Zhug Ma’Dheek!” Unfortunately, the Imperial cavalry took this as an outrageous insult and charged…

Do you think we could kickstart a card game featuring these characters in time for Christmas?

Thanks for taking a look. And thanks to everyone who took part, too. It was a lot of fun.

We’ll be running the next painting challenge in December 2022, so be sure to join the discord if you’d like to get involved!

A long-awaited game of Blood Moon, the Rangers of Shadow Deep expansion is still on the cards.

One of the many things that have been holding us up has been a lack of the miniatures recommended to play the game.

Naturally, wolves and werewolves are part of those recommendations. I was able to pick everything here up from Otherworld, who are one of my favourite miniature companies.

The big guy is actually Grendel from the Beowulf saga, but I thought he’d work well as a werewolf.

I also needed some giant flies and a companion called Orla, which are now painted up. Oh, and a pond, too – I got some nice 2D neoprene terrain to take care of that.

We’ve played through three Rangers of Shadow Deep scenarios to-date, and it’s definitely one of my favourite games.

• The Deserted Village
• The Infected Trees
• The Bridge Guards

I’ve talked a fair bit on the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast about my miniature painting process. I consider myself a very limited painter, but with these techniques, I get results that I’m very happy with.

First up, I apply the basing to the miniature. I know for many hobbyists, this is one of the final parts of the process. I like to do it early because I feel it helps with the overall consistency. I use Vallejo Ground Texture which turns rock hard after about 12 hours. I find it stays on much better than a sand/PVA glue combo.

Then, I undercoat with Chaos Black, before applying what’s known as a zenithal highlight, using either the Wraithbone or Grey Seer sprays. This technique involves applying a few short bursts from above the miniature, and gives the effect of natural light and shadow.

Then, I cover the entire miniature in the Citadel Skeleton Horde contrast paint.

The “colouring in” stage falls easily into place after that. I’ll add colours where they are needed (again, using Citadel contrast paints) but I try not to go overboard. I use Plaguebearer Flesh on the grass, which has also benefited from the zenithal highlight earlier on in the process. I’ll then finish up with a bit of traditional Goblin Green around the base edge.

And that’s it. Not a lot to it, and I won’t be troubling Golden Demon any time soon. But I find this an efficient, satisfying, and satisfactory way to paint miniatures.