Trench Crusade - Factory Fotress Display Minis

Trench Crusade is the cool new guy on the block and something we've been following closely from the early stages - it was actually our studio's Thracia Rex terrain that was used for the initial playtest rounds with the game's designer Tuomas Pirinen! The project has grown massively since those days, built a worldwide community and become this thrilling wargaming phenomenon - all accomplishments very much earned by its dedicated team. 

War Head and our partner Poromagia were fortunate to carry the official Trench Crusade merchandise selection in Ropecon this year, and we built a head-turning display alongside their event team. With banners, props and signed artwork already present, we printed, assembled and painted a set of Trench Crusade resin miniatures for a classic cabinet display. We tried to approach each subject like we'd do with our own projects, a bit of a personal take with a narrative touch, while still staying true to the wicked source material. The two full warbands were painted almost exclusively with Army Painter's John Blanche signature sets, providing a pleasing "limited palette" for a neat, uniform look within the forces.

Stompa Boy Blightning

For the last couple of weeks we've been preparing a sponsorship effort for the Oh My Game Open: The Finnish Blood Bowl Nationals, held in Helsinki on the first of November. As long-time friends of OMG and their owner Supi, we're happy to make a contribution to one of their strongest tabletop gaming communities and the domestic Blood Bowl scene. We chose to paint up a Black Orc Blood Bowl team to be presented as an award in the Finnish Nationals, a brand new team for a distinguished coach to take home with them after the thrilling event.

We decided to work primarily with the new Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic range, something we've found is miles ahead of their old Warpaint products, especially in coverage. This was also our first time trying out their Speedpaints, where we found a couple of new favourites. The Speedpaint Medium was also used as a matte coat, reducing the shine of washes and the gloss varnish used in the previous stages. 

The orcs were a fun painting project and we challenged ourselves a bit with a limited palette, basing the entire scheme on the use of green and cold hues of grey. In addition to the obvious skin color, green was used as the armour and bone undertones, with moss deposits and green tufts in basing and Necrotic Flesh mixed in for leather and clothing highlight stages. Neon green eyes were the final touch, adding a contrasting spot colour that leaned on intensity rather than the effect of a complementary colour. 

The result we feel is a interesting take on the Blood Bowl orcs with a bit more "mature" and down-to-earth approach compared to what we usually witness on the pitches. The limited palette adds a sense of credibility and while the models are not exactly colourful, they remain readable due to value contrast and the combination of light and dark shades. The spots of snow are the icing to unify the schemes of bases and the models themselves!

We wish everyone competing at the Blood Bowl Nationals best of luck!

Back in time - War Head's Ropecon 2025

War Head’s annual army painting competition was held once again in Ropecon this year - in this video we leap back to Messukeskus in order to cover some of the event and other miniature program around us — including Horus Heresy and the Finnish launch of Trench Crusade by our friends from Factory Fortress! The official Show of Force results coverage can be found here.

War Head Civil War 2025 Results and Coverage

These are the good old days.

Our annual highlight of hobby magic and the peak in our shared Horus Heresy enthusiasm is in the books again. It was spectacular to return to the Civil War with such a dedicated crew and experience all new armies, unit additions and character reinforcements make their debuts after months of work on the hobby desks.

I really admire both the level of creativity as well as the bravery in how our participants were out to forge memorable and narratively inspired armies - as we took turns revealing our new forces one unit at a time there was twists and surprises at every turn. Civil War's artistic beauty is in its scale - patrol sized armies are much more approachable as hobby projects, and definitely enough to tell a complete story with as we witnessed again this Saturday.

Massive gratitude to all of the crew for making this special tradition what it is - the pinnacle of our joint hobby and something that keeps us inspired all year around.

All event photography by the brilliant Manel @mp_miniatures!

Round 1: Escalation (1v1)

14 Salamanders (Ollie) vs Ordo Reductor (Manel) 6
14 White Scars (Noa) vs True Mechanicum (Joel) 6
5 Death Guard (Lauri) vs Thousand Sons (Teemu) 15
8 Imperial Militia (Scott) vs Dark Angels (Eric) 12

Round 2: Battle Brothers (2v2)

15 Thousand Sons & Dark Angels (Teemu+Eric) vs Salamanders & White Scars (Ollie+Noa) 5
12 Death Guard & Militia (Lauri+Scott) vs Ordo Reductor & True Mechanicum (Manel+Joel) 8

Round 3: Carnage (4-way free-for-all)

Dark Angels (Eric) 5
Thousand Sons (Teemu) 5
Ordo Reductor (Manel) 3
White Scars (Noa) 3
Salamanders (Ollie) 4
True Mechanicum (Joel) 4
Death Guard (Lauri) 5
Imperialis Militia (Scott) 6

Final Standings

1. Thousand Sons 35
2. Dark Angels 32
3. Imperialis Militia 26
4. Salamanders 23
5. Death Guard 22
6. White Scars 22
7. Ordo Reductor 17
8. True Mechanicum 16

+ Army List Compilation +

Civil Warrior: Joel @fellfyre
Faction: True Mechanicum
Army: Experimental Weapons Field Test Sigma-18

HQ: Magos Dominus, Artificia Cybernetica, Master-Crafted Photon Gauntlet, Machinator Array, Power Lance, Cyber Familiar
Troop: 10 Adsecularis Tech-Thralls Covenant
Troop: 4 Scyllax Guardian-Automata Maniple, Kraken Bolters
Fast: Vorax Battle-automata Maniple, 1 Irad-Cleanser

Civil Warrior: Eric @wrhd.eric
Faction: The Dark Angels
Army: The Final Sanction

HQ: Optae, Artificer Armour, Nemesis Bolt Gun
Elite: Dreadwing Interemptor Squad
Troop: Legion Tactical Squad, Stormwing
Troop: Legion Despoiler Squad, Deathwing
Fast: Sabre Strike Tank, Volkite Saker, Heavy Flamer, Ironwing
Transport: Rhino APC

Civil Warrior: Lauri @lateheresy
Faction: The Death Guard
Army: The Hollow Harvest

Elite: Legion Apothecarion Detachment, 2x Apothecary
Elite: Legion Rapier Battery, Gravis Heavy Bolter
Elite: Legion Rapier Battery, Gravis Heavy Bolter
Troop: 12x Tactical Marines, Augury Scanner, Sergeant with Power Scythe and Toxin Bombs
Troop: 12x Tactical Marines, Augury Scanner, Sergeant with Power Fist and Toxin Bombs

Civil Warrior: Olli @wrhd_ollie
Faction: The Salamanders
Army: Survivors of the Trogdor System

HQ: Legion Overseer, Power Sword
Retinue: Solar Auxilia Rifle Section, Auxilia Vexilla, Sergeant with Chainsword
Elite: Legion Apothecarion Detachment, Apothecary
Troop: Tactical Squad, Sergeant with Chainsword
Troop: Despoiler Squad, 2x Power Lance, Sergeant with Power Mace
Troop: Scout Squad, 2x Shotguns, 3x Bolt Pistol & Chainsword

Civil Warrior: Scott @wrhd_scott
Faction: Imperialis Militia
Army: Thracian First, Death World Conscripts

HQ: Force Commander, Charnabal Sabre, Iron Halo, Cyber Familiar, Needle Pistol
Provenances of War: Feral Warriors & Legacy of the Great Crusade
Troop: 16 Grenadiers, 2x Shotgun, Flamer, Heavy Stubber, 14x Chainaxe
Troop: Fire Support Squad "Traplings", Remote Detonators (Missile Launchers)
Fast: Thunderbolt Attack Fighter "Betsy"

Civil Warrior: Teemu @gowarhead
Faction: The Thousand Sons
Army: 5th Archivist & Development Group

Elite: Numerologist Cabal Mhosis T'kar, 4x Life Wards "The Reborn"
Elite: The Whisper Occult Cabal, Khenetai Blades
Troop: Corvidae Tactical Squad, Sergeant with Combi-Grenade Launcher
Transport: Rhino APC, Hunter-Killer Missile Targeter
Transport: Rhino APC, Hunter-Killer Missile Targeter
Transport: Rhino APC, Hunter-Killer Missile Targeter

Psychic Power Markers: Wyrd-Remembrancer Seth An-Khamun & Thrall Scribe
Wysiwyg Token: Cloud Scarab UAV, Prosperine Mind-Link, Missile Configuration

Civil Warrior: Manel @mp_miniatures
Faction: Ordo Reductor Mechanicum
Army: Thavrax's Ashen March

Elite: Tech-Priest Auxilia, 4x Servo-Automata, Magos-Auxilia, Conversion Beamer
Troop: Adsecularis Tech-Thralls Covenant
Troop: Adsecularis Tech-Thralls Covenant
Troop: Thallax Cohort, Chain Bayonets
Heavy: Ordo Reductor Artillery Tank Battery, Whirlwind Artillery Tank

Civil Warrior: Noa @wrhd_noa
Faction: The White Scars
Army: Hunting Tiger

HQ: Moritat Consul, 2x Volkite Serpenta, Warhawk Jump Pack
Troop: Legion Despoilers, 2x Power Axe, Heavy Chainsword
Fast: 9 Legion Seekers Squad
Transport: Rhino APC, Heavy Flamer
Transport: Rhino APC, Heavy Bolter, Dozer Blade

Thanks for checking out our results coverage, please stay tuned for individual unit pics, musings and reports in our Instagram @gowarhead and everyone's individual accounts! Thanks again to @mp_miniatures for the brilliant photography.