It’s that time again folk’s, when once a year Simon lets me play fast and loose with his blog and pick what are in my opinion the ten best miniatures he has painted in 2025. Each year this gets harder to do as there is just so much good stuff to choose from. So without further ado let’s get stuck in to the real stars of the show…the miniatures.
No. 10 - Plague Lord by “Mantic Games” - November 18th
If you're only an occasional visitor to this blog you could be forgiven for thinking it’s all just 28mm stuff. But regulars will be more aware that Simon does tend to “dip his toe” into other scales as well, and a perfect example of this are these smashing 10mm scale versions of Mantic Games' “First Generation Plague Lord” figures. Now I have the 28mm version of a figure very similar to this, and I have to say my painting of that is no more detailed than this tiny rendition - truly outstanding stuff!
No. 9 - Late Line Infantry Flank Company Shouldered Arms by “Wargames Foundry” - November 10th
Simon’s continued efforts within his Napoleonic project cannot help but be admired. As something I flirted with many years back I am well aware of how taxing and soul destroying gazing upon rows and rows of intricate infantry can be, so each time another of his perfectly pigmented Napoleonic protagonists appears on his blog I have to tip my hat both to his exceeding good paintwork, and his resilience. I chose this British line infantry soldier for the Top Ten, as he sums up perfectly both the period and quality Simon has put into it.
No. 8 - Falklands British Infantry by “Pendraken Miniatures” - August 30th
More British infantry at the number eight spot too. Though this time we jump forward over a hundred years and down a scale or two, with these sublime versions of troops dispatched to the Falkland Islands during the 1982 conflict. Painting 10mm figures looks easy, but I know from experience that to get results as good as this requires a lot of skill and a steady hand to pick-out all the details - something that has been done with real aplomb here.
No. 7 - Dalek by “Black Tree Designs” - February 24th
Daleks. The scourge of the universe! Who doesn’t love a Dalek? Well basically anyone who has to paint them. It’s the domes that are the killer, and of course there are so many of them too - fifty six in fact! And they all have to be perfect. Luckily the ones on show here are as is the classic dark grey colour scheme made popular by “Genesis of the Daleks”. I have great admiration for a well painted Dalek, and Simon’s are some of the best I’ve seen.
No. 6 - Kurgun C3-A Heavy Cruiser by “Fat Dragon Games” – September 24th
Always one to cut his own path when it comes to starting a new project, Simon decided to do some “Star Trek” universe gaming, But rather than use “Official” miniatures he found some that though conveying the flavour of the original television series, were in my opinion much cooler looking! This was never more evident than in this version of a Klingon Heavy Cruiser. The ship's design is awesome, and the dark green colour scheme is both alien and menacing in equal measure. Absolute top work!
No. 5 - Gell Guard 2 by “Black Tree Designs” - January 20th
Well I was mightily impressed with the painting of this miniature (and the other two also painted about the same time) - both when they appeared for the first time, and again when I set about compiling this Top Ten. But it was when I saw the actual episodes of Doctor Who it appears in again this week on “U& Eden”, due to them re-showing "The Three Doctors" over the festive period, that I was struck by just how incredibly accurate Simon’s rendition is. Seriously 'Google it' and be amazed! I like my figures to be finished with a matt varnish, whereas Simon prefers a gloss finish and I have to say it works a treat on these guys. They could have glided straight out of the story. Beautifully done!
No. 4 - Retained Knight by "Alternative Armies" - May 30th
I’ve already mentioned my admiration for Simon’s ability to find alternatives to official figures to play games with, and perhaps my favourite version of this is his 15mm take on “Warhammer 40K” using miniatures from Alternative Armies “Ion Age” range. Figures for this project have made my Top Ten before in previous years. But this “Special Character” clad in gold with “Blood Angels” red accents was just too good to pass over this year, and has again got me perusing the “Alternative Armies” website!
No. 3 - Andre the Giant by “Hasbro” - September 4th
Though the classic era of the World Wrestling Federation “WWF” passed me by, I did of course know who all the main players were as they were pretty much household names and popular toys at the time. And it was the “toy like” appearance of this lovely figure that really spoke to me. This is hardly a surprise as he was scaled down to just (just?) 70mm tall by Simon, but still a massive figure by our standards. The painting is of course up to Simon’s normal high standards and even more impressive due to the increased height of the model. It really brings the character's oversized personality to wonderful life.
No. 2 - Korg by “CoolMiniorNot” - July 7th
If you like your superheroes “Chibi” style then you’ve come to the right place, as there have been many super (pardon the pun) large headed versions of all your Marvel favourites appearing on this blog over the last twelve months. Indeed, it was our mutual love of all things “Superhero” that originally brought Simon, myself and our respective blogs together in the first place. Resultantly, it would just be so wrong of me not to include at least one of this genre in my Top Ten list, and it was a difficult choice too as they have all been so good. But the absolute perfection in colour palette and execution of Korg, along I admit with him being a favourite character of mine, just edged him above the rest.
No. 1 - Bat Sentry by “Wizkids” - December 12th
So we come to the top of the tree, the big kahuna as it were, and what I
hear you ask could keep the beautifully painted miniatures above from the
Number One spot? Well strangely enough I did put a Batmobile in my Top Ten last
year. But this is on a whole new level! The Batmobile/Bat Sentry is a sort of
“Transformer” that I didn’t even know existed until I read Simon's post (see you
learn stuff here as well as basking in the lovely painted miniatures!). Of
course I’ve waxed lyrical about his exceptional skill with black coloured miniatures
before, and that is on show in spades here too, contrasting to perfection with
the radiant yellow Bat symbol that fair glows upon its chest, as well as the red
menacing eyes. Then add in the dark metallic’s on the joints and accents, and
you have what looks like a simple black miniature, but is in fact covered in
small yet important details. Like good movie music it is there but it don’t
shout, just subtly enhances the whole viewing experience. Absolutely gorgeous,
and a perfect example of Simon’s work, this is my number one of 2025!
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So there you go, ten wonderful miniatures from a blog full of wonderful miniatures, and if you follow the links some damn fine reading as well! So grab a cup (or glass) of your tipple of choice and go back to enjoy a year’s worth of great blogging. It’ll get you in the mood for all the wonder that is no doubt to come over the next twelve months. If you want to read some good writing and see some not so good miniatures, then you can check out Simon’s take of my last two years work (yes I’ve been much less prolific than him I’m afraid) here…
https://rantingsfromunderthewargamestable.wordpress.com/
All that leaves me to do is first off thank Simon once again for letting me “tend his baby” for a night. I hope I haven’t turned away too many of his followers, and of course to wish all of you out there in blog-land the very best New Year. I hope all your endeavours, be them gaming or otherwise, are as successful as you wish, and the year proves to be healthy, safe, successful and secure for us all.
Cheers Roger.
A massive thanks to Roger for keeping this New Year's Eve tradition going. I wasn't aware I had dabbled in quite so many different scales over the past twelve months. But clearly I had. Good to see both "Black Tree Design" and "Heroclix" in the mix. I used to paint so many of their models back in the day when I was somewhat new to the hobby.
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