In my role as community coordinator I spend much of my workday reading the Privateer Press forums, keeping abreast of our audience’s response to our games, models, and rules. One of the fringe benefits of this job is that I get paid to browse the Miniatures Painting and Modeling Forum where our extremely talented hobbyists share their work. It’s just as inspiring to see our community’s paint jobs as it is to see the work of the studio guys and gals at the office.

Recently, a few paint jobs have really stood out to me, and I wanted to share them with our broader audience and give the artists responsible a little time in the spotlight.

Autumn Stone is working on a beautiful Circle Orboros that began with the 2012 holiday bundle. I love the way a single color change can shift the feel of a whole army’s look. In this case, the inclusion of a deep blue gives the army a “spring” feel—very appropriate for Baldur and his story of rejuvenation.

Robin, a relative newcomer to WARMACHINE, has been detailing his work on a Khador army in the colors of the 5th Border Legion. I’ve been a son of the Motherland since I bought my first battlegroup back in 2006 and wish I could achieve the rich, deep reds and greens in my own paint schemes that Robin has demonstrated here.

I’m consistently impressed with the ingenuity of our hobbyists when it comes to conversions. Mastershake’s inventive take on the Galleon is brilliant; between the crow’s nest and a pirate hat, the multi-ton killing machine suddenly takes on a jovial character.

Finally, I wanted to share a few models from Shai-Hulud’s inspired Cygnaran force . Here, the bold blues and yellows of Cygnar are even more intense than the studio scheme, and these models seem alive with crackling energy. The details pop, and the front arc markings are a beautiful touch, seeming to glow as bright as a powered-up arc node.

These are, of course, just a small sample of the thousands upon thousands of models posted on our forums each year. Poking around in there is always inspiring, and maybe I’ll post my own thread as I expand my Fort Falk themed Cygnar army for this year’s Lock & Load GameFest!

What will you be painting next?