More Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast Episodes

October 6, 2023May 24, 2024 wilburLeave a comment

Did you grow up collecting and painting Citadel miniatures and playing games like Warhammer, Warhammer 40k, HeroQuest, Battlemasters, and Space Hulk? Did you gradually grow out of the hobby only to find yourself plunging back in many years later, discovering great new games like Frostgrave, Stargrave, and Kings of War?

The Bedroom Battlefields Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast brings you conversations about collecting, gaming, painting, terrain, and much more – often with a nostalgic twist.

Check out our full list of episodes to get a look at what’s in store.

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Miscellaneous Podcast Episodes

I haven’t always managed to create individual blog posts for every podcast episode. Here are the shows that don’t have one.

Reworking an Existing Rules System Into an Entirely New Game

Paul, aka Gribbles Miniatures, from our Discord community, joins me to discuss the development of his Our Town zombie survival ruleset.

Also mentioned on this episode:

Introducing 40k/AoS Players to non-GW Games

The question of the month for April 2024 was around introducing Warhammer 40k or Age of Sigmar players to non-Games Workshop games. How did you do it, what did you play, and what was the response?

Being Raised in a Wargaming Family

Father and son duo Rob and Norman join me for a chat about wargaming in the family, their local wargaming club, and their imagi-nations campaign.

Burning Armies, Sculpting for TV Sets, & Making a Boglin

Our guest this week is Kevin from our Discord community, who talks about his hobby origins going up in smoke and then returning years later via his young son. He also enjoyed a career sculpting for TV sets and designing costumes, and we talk about the overlap between this and the tabletop miniature hobby.

What Hobby-Related Thing Have You Recently Changed Your Mind About?

Let’s hear your answers to the question of the month for March 2024.

Josh (Crown of Command/Eavy Lead) on Paint Tutoring & Commissions

Josh—a former Eavy Metal painter from the Goblin Green bases/Red period—started the Crown of Command podcast early on in the pandemic. It has since become one of the best podcasts for the HeroQuest generation, and he’s also grown a brilliant YouTube channel around it.

The Crown of Command has also enabled Josh to run a thriving Patreon where he delivers painting lessons and has gone full-time as a commission painter.

Carl Brown on Open Combat, Lucrum, & Creative Inspiration

Open Combat is one of my original and favourite miniature agnostic skirmish games. On this episode, I’m joined by Carl Brown who created it along with a cool little medieval strategy board game called Lucrum. You can find all of Carl’s games on his website secondthunder.com

Will YOU Be Playing Warhammer: The Old World?

It’s vox populi time, our question of the month for February 2024 was: Warhammer: The Old World – Will you be playing it? (If so, why? If not, why not?)

Thank you so much to everyone who submitted.

And a massive thanks to Alternative Armies for sponsoring this episode. Here are the 15mm fantasy buildings I was talking about.

Are Narrative and Competitive Gaming at Odds With One Another?

I’m joined by Ed from our Discord community, who drinks a staggering 17 pints during the course of this episode and lambasts me for my anti-competitive views.

Man O’ War and Playing Remote Games

Chris Snyder joins me to talk about his two favourite topics – Man O’ War and remote gaming. Special thanks to Warbases for sponsoring this episode.

The Bittersweet Act of Opening a Blister Pack

I’m joined by another lovely member of our Discord community, David of the 5thHammer Youtube channel. On this episode, we discuss his hobby origin story, opening old blister packs, and the art of having patience.

Painting Eyes, Passing the Torch, & the Slow Hobbyist Manifesto

Cam’s another positive member of the Bedroom Battlefields Discord Community, and he joins me for a chat about his hobby origins, being a good steward of the hobby, and his love of Man’O’War.

Also mentioned on this episode:

Painting One Miniature a Week

Jamie, AKA Kazdok from our Discord community joins us to talk about his hobby origin story, writing his game Of Knights & Quests, and the simple tactic of painting one miniature a week.

Collecting More Scenarios, as Opposed to More Rulesets

Mark’s back for a wee chat about various hobby topics, including:

Survey: What’s been your game of 2023?
Hobby goals, resolutions, and hopes for 2024
Collecting more scenarios, as opposed to more rulesets
Sci-fi Skirmish Scenarios – great book by John Lamshead
Stargrave: Dead or Alive
Labyrinth
The Argos Catalogue

Setting Sail With Mantic’s Armada

Mark and I chat over a range of hobby topics, including ImagiNations, painting 15mm, Space Weirdos, and getting into Mantic’s naval combat game Armada. I also talked about a recent narrative scenario I’ve been planning for Song of Blades & Heroes.

What’s It Like to Manage a Games Workshop Store?

Stuart from Great Escape Games joins us to talk about his journey from Games Workshop store manager to Wild West gunslinger. As well as running the Cardiff store, Stuart also had a couple of his armies featured in White Dwarf and even won a WFB staff tournament whilst working at GW.

These days, Stuart has traded in his red jersey for a Stetson, as one of the big focuses of Great Escape Games is Dead Man’s Hand. For the past decade, DMH has given players the opportunity to fight out gun battles in the Old West, and it’ll be given some TLC in 2024 with its new edition Dead Man’s Hand Redux – coming to Kickstarter at the end of the month!

From Rogue Trader to Planet 28

I took one of those notions recently to get myself a copy of Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader, leading me to this post on the Tales From Farpoint blog. Aside from learning that GW was employing a somewhat absurd “just pop into the shop” policy, I started to browse through all the other great content here. Fast forward a few weeks, and I managed to grab a chat with Richard, the fine fellow who runs it. As always, I learned many new things, including the existence of a couple of cool-sounding games called Planet 28 and Brutal Quest.

Orcs & Goblins Vs Empire: Mayhem – Audio Battle Report

Following our episode with Mayhem creator Brent Spivey it was time to give the game a wee playthrough. We really enjoyed it and it’s certainly one we’ll be adding to our regular rotation.

Reflections on the Partizan Wargames Show 2023

Roving report Mark drove his Empire Steam Tank to the Partizan Wargames Show, got absolutely tanked up on Bugman’s XXXXXX, and attempted to start fights with several gamers and traders. On this episode, we hear his apology in full.

40 Years of Warhammer Fantasy: What Next?

Warhammer (in its various iterations) turns 40 this year. We’re told the game is coming back… but will it be released by 2063? On this episode, I chat all things fantasy with GJ. He’s someone you’ve likely heard before, talking passionately and knowledgeably about the game on shows such as The Wargames Orchard, The Crown of Command, and now, his new show, Forces of Fantasy.

Toybashing, & Running a Wargames Club

Karl of Chicago Skirmish Wargames joins me to discuss the history and ethos of the club, as well as how they defend their fruit. We also talk about “cheapskate hobbying” – particularly the art of “toybashing” miniatures and terrain.

Creating Content in the Hobby

Podcasts are long-form content that enables us to really dig into a topic and spend some time with it. Whilst some folks enjoy Instagram and short videos, they can’t deliver that same level of depth and engagement. But is the podcasting market already too saturated to jump in? Or worse still, are podcasts dying out?

The Discipline of Painting Big Armies

I’m joined by Jason, who’s a valued member of our Discord Community. We chat about the goal setting and project management of painting big blocks of troops, as well as the long-term patience and planning required to eventually get them on the tabletop.

Chaos Horde Vs Small Band of Good Guys: SoB&H – Audio Battle Report

We make a return to playing Song of Blades & Heroes, one of the most simple and accessible skirmish games on the market. And, in this battle, we’re focusing on storytelling over points, fairness, and balance. The defenders can’t possibly win. But how well can they hold out against a huge Chaos force?

View the pictures from our game.

Solo Kill Team Rules? (No Stranger to Shadow Deep!)

Warhammer 40,000 Kill Team isn’t a game that gets much (any!) airtime on this humble podcast. But listeners might be interested to hear about a cool homebrew solo ruleset heavily influenced by Rangers of Shadow Deep and Rogue Trader. On this episode, I’m joined by Rob who pulled it all together in the form of Acolyte.

Episode Resources

Re-Skinning Existing Wargaming Scenarios Vs Writing Your Own

Friend of the show Mark Smith returns to discuss what’s new in his own hobby life. One big topic of discussion here is that of ‘re-skinning’ established scenarios in games, so that the mechanical framework is already tried and tested.

Building Terrain for Mordheim & Skirmish Games

Ryan from the Adventure Built Gaming YouTube channel joins us to talk about his hobby life. A big part of that is building terrain, in particular, for skirmish games like Mordheim, Frostgrave, Rangers of Shadow Deep, and Stargrave.

Ryan’s YouTube channel has some absolute masterclass videos on scratch-building terrain and is well worth checking out.

Miniature Wargames Magazine – A Chat With the Editor

I’ve been subscribed to Miniature Wargames Magazine for a few months now, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. On this episode, I’m joined by editor John Treadaway to talk about print publication in the hobby, as well as his own projects and interests.

Also mentioned

Dice Men: The Origin Story of Games Workshop
Grimdark: A Very British Hell
October 2022 Paint Challenge – the finished miniatures
Hungry Like the Wolf – miniatures completed for RoSD Blood Moon
Our Community on Discord

How do they organise games of Blood Bowl in the Warhammer world?

Isn’t administration fascinating? But seriously, what are the logistics of getting a team of Chaos daemons into Altdorf for a sporting event? On this episode, I’m joined by Josh of the Crown of Command podcast for general hobby catchup, with the usual nostalgic twist.

How Do You Decide When to Buy New Stuff?

I placed a few orders recently, in order to play Blood Moon (Rangers of Shadow Deep) in the near future. But do you need a reason to buy new miniatures, paints, or even, games?

Other topics in this episode include the new Citadel contrast paints, season four of Stranger Things, and Discord. A big thanks to Midlam Miniatures for sponsoring this episode, too.

Dungeon Saga, White Dwarf Freebies, & Hidden Hobbyists

Is there a bunch of hidden Warhammer players in your neighbourhood? That’s just one of the topics Jason and I cover on this episode of the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast. We also talk about our shared love for Mantic’s Dungeon Saga, reminisce about getting free miniatures on the front of White Dwarf, and explore the world of DIY terrain.

Cross-Game Campaigns, & the Terrain Conundrum

Terrain is an essential part of the tabletop hobby. What kind you use and how you get it can throw up a few dilemmas, though. Do you make or buy your buildings and scenery? And do you go ultra-realistic but limited, or for a “wooden blocks” approach that can become literally anything you need it to?

As we’re usually limited in our terrain collections for any one genre, I’m talking on this episode about the idea of cross-game campaigns. This gives us the opportunity to tell a sweeping and cinematic story, as opposed to hanging around outside the same three farmhouses for all eternity.

Miniature Board Games, Fighting Fantasy Books, & Bretonnian Paints

It’s time for another eclectic wander around the hobby, and this time, I’m joined by Grant. He’s a fan of miniature board games and we talk about their appeal when compared to some of the more open “tape measure” games. We also talk Fighting Fantasy (with a nod to Escape the Dark Castle), and the trials and tribulations of painting miniatures.

Be sure to check out BedroomBattlefields.com for recent posts and paintjobs. And, nice reviews of the show are always welcome on Podchaser, too!

Should You Try to Become a Great Miniature Painter?

A wee solo episode covering a range of topics.

What I’ve been painting recently, including a range from CP Models
Space Crusade for the Commodore 64
Four Thousand Weeks – an excellent book I just finished
Using 6mm scale to create a “travel Warhammer”

DIY Terrain, Goblin Green Bases, & HeroQuest

Should you buy miniature wargaming terrain or make your own? That’s just one of the points of discussion in this chat with Tom Holden of the 2 Shelves of Gaming podcast. We also talk about the appeal of miniature agnostic games that let you use any minis, tree and castle terrain, basing miniatures, movement trays, Warbases, HeroQuest, Dungeon Saga, and Oldhammer-esque miniature companies.

Alessio Cavatore – “There Is No Such Thing as ‘Too Simple’ a Game”

October 5, 2023October 5, 2023 wilbur

There are few names as respected and influential in this hobby as Alessio Cavatore. Known for his work on iconic games like Warhammer 40k, Bolt Action, and Kings of War, Cavatore has left an indelible mark on the hobby. However, what sets him apart isn’t just the games he’s worked on, but his philosophy that rulesets can be smaller and simpler, and that big, heavy rulebooks don’t necessarily make for better games.

Just like our episodes with fellow industry legends Gav Thorpe, Andy Chambers, and Tuomas Pirinen, Alessio will be asking the same lineup of recurring questions. These throw up some interesting angles, including:

The fact that he doesn’t paint miniatures
His surprise at GW blowing up The Old World
His new-found appreciation for K-Pop
What’s the latest with Alessio’s game design company River Horse

If you’re new to the podcast, thanks so much for giving it a shot. Here’s where you can follow, subscribe, and find a full list of episodes.

Battle Systems Terrain: It’s Like IKEA for Necromunda

September 13, 2023October 25, 2024 wilbur

Battle Systems terrain has been on my radar for a few years now. It appealed to me when I first heard about it, and I’d always planned to pick up a box or two at some point.

Having recently got into Planet 28, the timing felt right. My sci-fi terrain has, until now, been pretty non-existent, and my skirmish terrain, in general, has lacked depth, levels, and floors.

Like most hobbyists, I don’t have much room for storing terrain (and certainly not for leaving it set up), so the idea of Battle Systems’ “flat-packed” cardboard offerings was quite irresistible.

There’s also a strange nostalgic appeal of cardboard terrain, from those classic Warhammer 40k ruins and Epic Space Marine skyscrapers to the little cottages White Dwarf would teach you to make out of old Cornflakes boxes.

So I reached out to the good folks at Battle Systems and enquired about reviewing two kits that caught my eye, and they very kindly agreed to send them out to me. The kits are the Frontier Core Set, and the Art Deco High Rise.

I should clarify that I don’t do this often, if ever. Not that there’s anything wrong with the strategy, but I only want to spend my limited hobby time with stuff that I really like, or, like the look of. And like the look of Battle Systems, I do. So, let’s see what to make of it all…

Battle Systems Terrain

The first thing I noticed upon opening the boxes was just how much terrain is packed into them. I mean, it’s pretty obvious from looking at the box covers, but it’s worth reaffirming that you get a lot of stuff, here.

I actually found it quite intimidating at first, looking at everything in its flat-packed form. I watched a couple of YouTube videos to see examples of other folks putting Battle Systems terrain together, but it is pretty self-explanatory. Once I got started and stuck a couple of walls together, I quickly lost myself in the task. I found it quite therapeutic, actually. Like building a big 3D jigsaw.

Taking a break for a bit, I rolled out the neoprene mat from the Frontier Core Set. Whilst the detail on it is excellent, the overall quality I’d describe as “fine”. I have a few neoprene mats from GameMat.eu, and they’re of superior quality. But it’s possible that Battle Systems make them this way as it’s easier to fold them in boxes.

Back to the cardboard terrain, the attention to detail in the artwork design is second to none. It’s almost telling you a story of its own as you pop bits out and join them together. They’re double-sided too, so you don’t need to pay too much attention when you’re building it.

I’m curious as to how others put their Battle Systems terrain together. I imagine it’s a bit like fiction writers: You have the meticulous planners who know every tiny detail before they get to work. Then, you have the “seat of the pants-ers” who just start and see where it takes them. I think I identify more with the latter, though maybe the more experienced you get with the kits, the more likely you are to dream up some grand designs.

Battle Systems terrain is almost the polar opposite of the 2D neoprene terrain I talked about recently, and yet, I like these 3D cardboard structures just as much. As ever with this hobby, there are no right or wrong ways to do things. Everything is an option, and everything has its place.

battlesystems terrain: art deco high rise kit

I’ll admit that I don’t see me getting much use from the scatter terrain in these kits. I found them a bit fiddly to put together and didn’t do a great job with some of the smaller parts. This wasn’t a major selling point for me anyway. I was really after the big stuff – walls, stairs, walkways, etc.

I’m excited to bring more of a multi-layered, multi-platformed experience to my skirmish games. I do own a lot of cool terrain, but my miniatures are almost always fighting out their battles on the ground floor. Now, they’ll have the opportunity to climb, jump, and fall from two or three-storey structures. That adds so much to the narrative, the scenario objectives, and the potential for a good tale at the end of it all.

So, in summary, these kits get two big thumbs up from me. I can see myself getting a lot of use out of them, and the potential for variety is limitless. I often joke about our terrain collections having us fighting over the same three farmhouses on the tabletop. With Battle Systems terrain, there’s no danger of that.

It’s worth noting, too, that although I’ve got sci-fi and apocalypse settings here, Battle Systems also has an excellent-looking fantasy range on their website.

Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed this whirlwind review, and it has answered some of the questions you might’ve had. Here’s a quick recap:

Pros

Flat-pack storage takes up very little room.
Limitless variety of build options.
Beautifully illustrated card.

Cons

Increased setup time – This is definitely not a time-saving tool.
Relatively fragile – you’ll need to take very good care of it.

Now, who wants to get some meatballs?

The Frontier Core Set is available for £84.99, whilst the Art Deco High Rise costs £37.99. Thank you very much to Battle Systems for sponsoring this content!

Take Your Kids on a Dungeon Crawl, With CoraQuest

September 7, 2023September 7, 2023 wilbur

In CoraQuest you take control of four adventurers exploring a dungeon, avoiding traps, finding treasure, fighting monsters,and sometimes rescuing gnomes called Kevin.

Being a proactive fellow, I’ve been on the hunt for a dungeon crawler I can eventually play with my daughter. She’s only two at the moment, and I don’t fancy waiting another ten years, so I’d been Googling “dungeon crawlers for kids”. I’ll admit it was a somewhat half-hearted search, but it didn’t throw up anything that caught my attention.

Anyway, it turns out that all I needed to do was attend this year’s Tabletop Scotland to find what I was after. I hadn’t been through the doors two minutes when I spotted a lovely wee game called CoraQuest. I had a chat with the nice chap from Bright Eye Games, got shown the basics, and did the old “take my money” routine.

When I got a look in the box that evening, I learned more about the game’s origins, and it turns out there’s a heartwarming tale of a Dad (Dan) and daughter (Cora) creating it as a lockdown-era project in 2020.

Anyway, the next natural step in this sequence of events was, of course, to have a chat about it on the podcast. In this episode, you’ll hear from CoraQuest co-creator Dan about the game’s background, how it plays, and the media frenzy that followed its release.

CoraQuest is a cooperative game with everything you need to start playing right out of the box. But it also lends itself to adaptation and homebrewing. There’s a booklet inside that helps you create your own characters, weapons, and items. The game is played with brilliantly drawn cardboard “standees”, but these can easily be substituted by miniatures from your collection. My old Monster in My Pocket horde are just screaming to be let loose on these dungeon tiles…

Links

BOYL 2023: How Did It Go? & What About Hobby Events in 2024?

August 25, 2023August 25, 2023 wilbur

Everyone’s favourite demolisher of walls, Jason, took his van to Bring Out Your Lead earlier this month. On this episode, he’ll talk you through it whilst you quietly weep because you missed out.

Then, fellow TMHP Discord community legend Mark will ask you your opinion on potential hobby events in 2024, and you’ll gladly fill out his survey right away. You will!

Hobby Q&A With Andy Chambers – “Jervis Beat Me Many Times!”

August 11, 2023August 11, 2023 wilbur

*The day Andy wore his red GW sweater to work*

No serious hobby podcast could run for a couple of years without having Andy Chambers on it. And although isn’t a serious podcast, Andy was kind enough to dedicate some of his time to working his way through my list of questions. So, what’s he not very good at? What myths and misconceptions would he like to dispel? And what’s he working on right now? I’ll answer that last one up-front – it’s called Zeo Genesis and you should definitely sign up for playtesting access!

If this is your first time with the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast, thanks for giving it a shot. I’m sure you’ll enjoy our back catalogue, too – you’ll find a full list of episodes right here.

Hobby Q&A With Tuomas Pirinen – “We Crave the Reality of Physical Things”

August 4, 2023August 4, 2023 wilbur

Following my recent Q&A with Gav Thorpe, I had the pleasure of talking to another of my heroes: Tuomas Pirinen.

Famed for (but certainly not limited to) masterminding the cult game Mordheim, Tuomas has a wealth of experience and insights we can draw from. And though he now earns a living in video games, we certainly haven’t lost him from the hobby. I was excited to learn about Trench Crusade – a 32mm scale grimdark miniatures game he has designed. We talk about that and many other subjects in this week’s episode…

The game is set in an alternate timeline where the Crusades never ended, as the armed forces of Hell manifested themselves on Earth and begun a war against humanity as a whole. The mankind has rallied in a global holy war and halted the advance of the seemingly inexhaustible legions of the Damned, and now trench warfare rages across vast swathes of pockmarked Europe. It is the year of our Lord 1914, where the armies of World War I, bolstered by the divine powers wage endless battle to stop the Legions of the Arch-devils from overwhelming the Earth. Heroes arise on both sides: Heroes of Heaven, and Heroes of Hell. Welcome to the Trench Crusade!

Hobby Q&A With Gav Thorpe – Life After Goblin Green

July 22, 2023July 22, 2023 wilbur

I’ve spoken to many great people in this hobby since I launched the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast. But, until now, I’d never sought out any of the household names from White Dwarf/Games Workshop. There were a few reasons for this, but the main one was that I didn’t want to recreate the “talk me through your career” conversations available on many other channels.

Don’t get me wrong, I love listening to these, and have heard more than a few. But I’m always keen to explore alternative angles and seek out new insights. With that in mind, I came up with a list of recurring questions I could ask each of my hobby heroes – the plan being to edit them together in “themes” to create a type of audio documentary, as well as release them as individual podcast episodes (like this one).

I tentatively started to reach out to the people I had in mind, and was absolutely thrilled when Gav Thorpe agreed to have a chat. I’m sure Gav needs no introduction to any listener of this podcast, but you’ll find his website at gavthorpe.co.uk, and he runs a Patreon, too.

On this episode, I ask Gav questions about budget hobby purchases, common myths, and when he last changed his mind.

If you’re new to the podcast, thanks so much for giving it a shot. Here’s where you can follow, subscribe, and find a full list of episodes.

Is 15mm the ‘Goldilocks Scale’? & Travel-Friendly Gaming

July 2, 2023July 2, 2023 wilbur

Famed in our Discord community for his ingenious DIY travel wargame boards, Alex of therecouldhavebeensnakes.com joins me to talk about the wonders of 15mm scale miniatures, as well as the aforementioned travel gaming.

One company mentioned in this episode is Alternative Armies. I was delighted to learn that they’re based here in Scotland, and have just received my first order from them (including a cool free gift, which was a lovely touch!).

The Doomed: Apocalyptic Horror Hunting, by Chris McDowall

June 2, 2023June 2, 2023 wilbur

I was leafing through the latest edition of Miniature Wargames magazine when I came across an advert for a new game called The Doomed, scheduled for release in early August 2023 by Osprey Publishing.

The Doomed immediately jumped out to me, and I wanted to learn more. It looks like another exciting miniature agnostic title to add to my collection. I tracked down author Chris McDowall (Into the Odd, Electric Bastionland), and he was kind enough to spend some time with me talking about the game, as well as his hobby history.

Oh, and we also briefly touched upon reading toothpaste ingredients whilst sitting on the toilet in the mid-90s. Halcyon days…