Brush Wielders Union

One of the highlights of Adepticon 2026 for me was venturing into the grime, grunge, and grim darkness of the Smashbash booth where I purchased strange bits while a crowd chanted, "TEETH, TEETH, TEETH". It was the retail experience I'd always wanted. It will heal America. Creator Matt Ross took a few moments away from his nefarious habits to speak to me about what powers his creative empire of Dee...

Longtime BWU member and good friend, Dave Taylor, returns to the podcast. Dave is, of course, the founder and head of Dave Taylor Miniatures, currently crowdfunding the latest three volumes of the ongoing "The Art of..." series . These are always day one pledges for me and this set is no different. Dave was kind enough to share his time to talk about the artists behind these three books, Alfonso "...

Longtime BWU member, professional miniatures painter, and generally cool person, Jamie Daggers returns to the podcast this month to talk about her first published miniatures game, Lyctor ! Lyctor is a low model count skirmish game that puts you in the role of an Adept of the Necromantic arts in a battle-beyond-death-match to ascend to Lyctorhood and achieve profane powers. Jamie and I chatted abou...

Longtime friend of the Union and recurring podcast guest, Sean Sutter returns this month to talk about the new release of the first hard plastic kits for Relicblade ! Sean announced in late 2025 that the first plastic kits would be coming for the game and as of today, you can buy them for the first time. We had a great chat about the challenges and advantages of hard plastic manufacturing for an i...

There's a ton of stuff to be excited about in miniatures right now but my number one upcoming release for 2026 has gotta be Oasis: Tactical Salvage Reclamation . I happened upon some teasers for this 6mm scifi game last month and was instantly hooked on the images of mixed forces of infantry, vehicles, and hovering spaceships duking it out over vital resources and alien tech. I'm an absolute sucke...

What better way to kick off the first podcast of 2026 than by catching up with my old friend (and former boss) Lyle Lowery! Over the course of his career Lyle has been editor-in-chief of two of the biggest magazines in wargaming history and it was a delight to chat with him about his journey as a gamer and now industry professional. We talked about his time at Privateer Press and Games Workshop, o...

Hi all, for the last podcast of the year I was joined by my old friends and former Press Gang comrades-in-arms, Craig Caton and Paul Shoemaker to tell me all about CaptainCon ! Going into it's 12th year, CaptainCon has become a staple of the North East US's convention circuit. Taking place each February in Warwick, RI, CaptainCon is an event full of miniatures games, painting competitions, boardga...

Longtime friend, BWU member, and regular podcast guest, Dave Taylor returns this episode for an informal chat about the state of miniatures painting as craft and art. Dave is of course well known for his work as a hobbyist and publisher of some of the most beautiful miniatures art books on the market ( get 'em now ). I was delighted to just pick his brain and chat about the trends, tools, and what...

Up and coming company Goblin Hobbies made quite the stir at Adepticon this past spring with the release of their highly antcipated stamping kits and I was delighted to talk to the guys behind it all! Goblin Hobbies may be a new venture but Brent and Casey have been mainstays of miniatures hobby media for years via their channels, Goobertown Hobbies , eBay Miniature Rescues , and as the hosts of Pa...

My guest this month was Cailon, co-founder of The Nailon Realm , creators of Dungeon Dinkies 3d printed miniatures and statues. Cailon and I chatted about the challenges of digital sculpting to meet their mission statement of "simple, fun, for everyone". We had a great talk about sculpting, running a company, and creating minis with the express purpose of helping people begin their miniatures pain...

This month I was joined by Alex Huntley, founder of Warp Miniatures and the creator of ArcWorlde ! ArcWorlde is a fantasy skirmish game where warbands, heroes and monsters are pitted against each other in the field of combat. There are beasts to slay, treasures to discover, objectives to capture and rival Commanders to defeat. By using these rules, your imagination, and the wide range of ArcWorlde...

July's podcast guest is Wingshan Huntley, making her first foray into game development with the upcoming Siren's Oath: The Tides Turning from her imprint, Twisted Spire. Wingshan describes her game as "a one-shot tabletop game ritual for 3–5 players, where you and your coven of mermaid witches shape a city’s destiny through evocative storytelling, gut-punch choices, and stunning sculpts by Warp Mi...

My guest this month is Dan Zehrer, founder of the paint company described as a sleeper hit of Adepticon 2025, Bear Cavalry Paints ! This ecologically conscious paint company operates out of Oregon State here in the great Pacific Northwest and have been making some fantastic paints for about a year now. I picked up their original set this past winter and was really impressed with the quality so I w...

My guest this month is Kevin "Burky" Burkhardsmeier, founder and owner of Gametoppers ! I backed their Kickstarter back in 2020 for their 6x4' table topper, the "Mycroft" and it's since become my most-used gaming peripheral. I really love this product so I was excited to get the chance to speak with its creator on the podcast. Burky was kind enough to talk about the background of their company, wh...

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 l ast appearance on this podcast in 2023 but the game has come a long way since then and will be crowdfund...

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...

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 hos...

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'r...

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 th...

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...

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...

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 ou...

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. A...

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...

My guest on this month's podcast, Bjarni Dali joined me all the way from the Faroe Islands to talk about his grimdark masterpieces. I first became aware of Bjarni's work on his fantastic Howling Gryphons diorama few years ago and have since come to appreciate all of his gritty, narrative driven dioramas and minis. We talked about where he finds inspiration, how he avoids burnout, and what it takes...