Brush Wielders Union

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, what goes into making their game toppe...

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 last appearance on this podcast in 2023 but the game has come a long way since then and will be crowdfunding on Game Found in just a few days,...

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 gaming and how her career as a coll...

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 host along with three returning guests;...

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're not patrolling the streets. Graham...

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 this subject, so be sure to follow hi...

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 wargames they love (we did get to chat...

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 industry and how he's worked with ...

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 out Terracrux Games online, even if you...

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. Andy shared their inspiration for the ...

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 games media, why they feel journalism ...

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 to paint a model as big as a 28mm ...

Joining me this month on the BWU podcast is one of the true titans of miniatures painting, Roman Lappat! Roman's work helped redefine how we viewed miniatures painting not just as a hobby, but as an art form in its own right. Roman's work is being featured in the latest volume of The Art of' now on Kickstarter and we spoke about that book but first chatted about his journey as a painter and illustrator and his philosophy of art.

Bac...

My guest this month was legendary game designer, Tuomas Pirinen! Tuomas was the creator of Mordheim, the lead developer of Warhammer Fantasy Battle 6th Edition, Warhammer Siege, and countless other miniatures games as well as video games, having worked at EA, Ubisoft and other companies. Most recently, Tuomas has signed on to create the rules for the upcoming Trench Crusade miniatures game and he was kind enough to talk to me about...

Sean Sutter, creator of Relicblade, might just be the hardest working man in miniatures gaming but he took the time out of his busy day to talk about his latest project, Cursebreaker! Cursebreaker is a stand alone minis game set in the same universe as his ongoing skirmish game, Relicblade, but offers a unique play experience. Sean spoke with me about what went into this new project, the joys of game design, and what he's most exci...

This month BWU member and longtime friend, Greg De Stefano, co-owner of Turbo Dork, returns to the podcast to talk about their big Remix! Turbo Dork has reformulated all of its paints, moved to a new type of paint bottle, and launched some cool peripheral items like silicone paint pallets and mixing sticks. Greg has lots to say about the company's growth, the science behind making paint, helping color blind painters, and his favori...

The first BWU podcast of 2024 is here and features games writer, Andy Hobday returning alongside first-time guest, sculptor, Paul Hicks! Andy and Paul have been long time collaborators on miniatures products and they're here to talk about their upcoming line of fantasy miniatures alongside to be utilized with Andy's Baron's War rules set. 

I've been a long-time supporter of The Baron's War (and their other endeavours) so I was delig...

Em Durrant took time out of her busy painting schedule to talk to me in our final podcast of 2023! You may know her as Electriceve from her online painting work on Patreon or from her time as an official painter on Warhammer TV's Youtube channel a few years back! Eve was kind enough to talk to me about the trials and travails of being a streaming painter and getting up the nerve to enter the competitive painting world. 

Follow Em on...

This month my guest was Merritt K, a writer whose work I've admired for some time! Merritt's work isn't in tabletop games but recently I saw that she'd gotten back into miniatures painting after a couple of decades away. I invited her to chat about what it's like getting back into the hobby after so long away from it, why she and other creatives love the Warhammer 40k universe.

Follow Merritt K on Bluesky and support her writing on ...