Tabletop Miniature Hobby 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...

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.

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The monthly hobby update of the Bedroom Battlefields community. 

This Episode is Supported By

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

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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...

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 monthly hobby update of the Bedroom Battlefields community. 



This Episode is Supported By

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 he...

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...

My plan to celebrate the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast’s fifth birthday was simple. Create an open recording session and invite a handful of legendary former guests to drop in for a chat. Then, when nobody turns up, just sit there and paint a second edition Space Marine in peace.

But my plans were scuppered when Jervis Johnson actually went and turned up. I was about to tell him I had a monopose Space Marine to finish when Andy Chambers dropped in, too. By the time Tuomas Pirinen arrived, my painting ambitions were in tatters. And when Al...

The monthly hobby update of the Bedroom Battlefields community. 

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Henry Hyde is a prolific writer and podcaster with an impressive list of credentials in the hobby. He launched his BattleGames brand in 1998, is the former editor and designer of Miniature Wargames magazine, and has authored a stable of essential books such as The Wargaming Compendium, Tabletop Battle Tactics, Wargaming Campaigns, and his new release in 2026, Battle Maps for Miniature Wargamers.

You can find and connect with Henry on his personal website, his

Five Parsecs From Home is the main game on my radar right now, and I'm playing it weekly. On this episode, you'll hear me walk through my first three campaign turns in this audio diary, originally released on Patreon.

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In the tabletop miniature wargaming hobby, an Imagi-nation is a fictional country, army, or faction invented by a hobbyist, usually set in a real historical period but detached from actual history. Rather than recreating a real nation's army, a hobbyist creates an imaginary state, with its own flags, uniforms, heraldry, rulers, and often a whimsical or satirical backstory, and then builds, paints, and games with miniature armies representing it.

Mark reports on the Bedroom Battlefields summer Imagi-nations day, which was a roaring success - with biscuits. Here's a brilliant video report of the day from Jonny Watson...

For most of us, "hobby crisis" means nothing more than a pile of unpainted miniatures. For David in Wellington, it meant a catastrophic flood that devastated his neighbourhood and wrecked his collection. On this episode, David walks us through what happened, and how he's slowly starting to regroup and rebuild.

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An active member of the Bedroom Battlefields community, Ted (AKA Oddgit's Hut) is a fantastic painter whose work would slot seamlessly into the Eavy Metal pages of any mid-90s edition of White Dwarf. On this episode, we talk about nostalgic paint schemes, painting challenges, and the Warhammer Fantasy Battles 5th Edition boxed set.

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The monthly hobby update of the Bedroom Battlefields community. 

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The legendary Joe McCullough returns for the first time since February 2024. We covered a lot of ground, from hobby parenting to his two new games, Warriors of Athena and Hairfoot Jousting. We also talked about a miniatures-first approach, where what you play is dictated by what you want to get on the table.

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João, AKA John, AKA Lord Rever, joins us from Brazil to talk about his journey into the tabletop miniature hobby and his efforts to build a local wargaming group in his small town. We dig into the growing hobby scene in Brazil, from 3D printing making miniatures more accessible to clubs slowly popping up across the country. John also brings a unique perspective as a psychologist, as we discuss the value of hands-on hobbies in an age of endless scrolling and passive screen consumption.

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"If you help us paint our miniatures, we'll buy you an army", was the irresistible offer made to David AKA Ax Anax by his friends in the late 90s - and he still owns that Warhammer Fantasy 5th edition undead army today.

David is the co-host of the Bad Internet Friends miniature hobby podcast, alongside Ivan Sorensen of Five Parsecs and Nordic Weasel fame.

This Episode is Supported By

The monthly hobby update of the Bedroom Battlefields community. 

Back in 2023, the legendary Andy Chambers 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? Why does he think this hobby still exists? And what myths and misconceptions would he like to dispel?

Anthony from the Gergen Gaming YouTube channel joins me for a chat about making terrain and playing games in front of the camera.

Back in March, I was delighted to welcome Orlygg of the legendary Realm of Chaos 80s blog onto the show. The episode was very popular and gathered a ton of great feedback. If you missed it first time around, here it is. 

Due to popular demand, I invited Orlygg back on for part two, and this time, solicited questions for him from the Bedroom Battlefields community. 

The monthly hobby update of the Bedroom Battlefields community. 

Sean of the Timeless Tabletop Gaming YouTube channel talks dream projects, creating on YouTube, and playing against opponents who cheat.

Geoff Solomon-Sims of Oakbound Studio joins me for a chat. You can find his work at oakbound.co.uk

Martin from the Bedroom Battlefields community is a regular contributor to our monthly hobby update episodes. I've been keen to get him on for a more in-depth chat about his hobby life, and fortunately, he was happy to oblige!

The Bee Gees of miniature gaming, Mark, Jason, and Ed, fill us in on how to get involved in a fun, global narrative campaign.

Bedroom Battlefields community member Rob has 55+ years in the hobby, so a wealth of experience to draw on. He had a few thoughts on our recent discussions around points and army lists, and we had a great conversation about it all.

The monthly hobby update of the Bedroom Battlefields community. 

Mantic are currently Kickstarting DreadBall All Stars™: The Sci-Fi Sports Game

Spend five minutes talking to Ronnie Renton, and one thing becomes clear. He is still, by his own admission, “mentally… only 12 years old.”

That enthusiasm has carried him from the earliest days of Warhammer through to founding Mantic Games, and into a modern hobby that looks very different to the one he started in.

“I had a pre-order for the very first edition,” he says. “So I’ve been on that journey from day one.”

Now, decades later, he is designing for play...

Few designers have influenced narrative miniature gaming as much as Tuomas Pirinen. From Mordheim in the late 1990s to the recent breakout success of Trench Crusade, his games have always leaned heavily toward story, character and campaign play.

What surprises him most is that the latest one worked as well as it did.

“We were totally prepared to lose our shirts and be happy about it,” Pirinen says of launching Trench Crusade. “But it didn’t go that way.”

The project was essentially a gamble between friends. Pirinen and collaborator Mike Franchina funded sculpting...

My first encounter with Oldhammer came via the incredible Realm of Chaos 80s blog. Since 2012, the site's owner, Orlygg, has documented his hobby, shared pictures of beautiful old lead models, and interviewed legendary creators.

Bryan Ansell, Mike McVey, Tony Ackland, Rick Priestley, and Bill King are just a few of the hobby heavyweights you'll find conversations with over there. It really is a treasure trove for anyone interested in Games Workshop during that uniquely special Ansell era.

On this episode of the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast, Orlygg gets to sit in the guest chair for...

The monthly hobby update of the Bedroom Battlefields community. 

Hobgoblin by Mike Hutchinson is a fast and brutal miniature-agnostic mass fantasy battle game, enabling you to use anything you have and giving you the tools to stat your army up in any way you like. This is a co-hosted episode with Dan of Paint All The Minis and part of his "Why I Love..." series.

We all love listening to conversations in the hobby, and we shouldn't lock them in a walled garden.

Off the back of his epic two-part chat with Rick Priestley, Jason continues the narrative gaming thread with Gerry of OnTableTop/Beasts of War fame.

Hobgoblin is a really fun fantasy mass battle game. What makes it even more fun is pretending it's 1994 and you're making a battle report for White Dwarf. On this episode, we do just that!

The monthly hobby update of the Bedroom Battlefields community.