The year 2018 was utterly brilliant in the figure modelling world. It has left us a lot of great pieces, miniatures, sculptures and paintings that are absolutely remarkable.
To begin our review of this incredible year, here is a selection of 100 miniatures, non-boxarts, that we have seen in 2018. Last year we picked only 50 among them all; this year it was going to be incredibly difficult to just pick 50 out of more than 500, so we decided to double down!
Taken from our weekly collection of hand-picked marvels we saw in the last 52 weeks. There are many many more great miniatures, but we had to pick only 100 (only…)!
Don’t forget to follow our weekly selection of Do Not Miss in 2019 to stay tuned to everything cool in the miniature painting world!
The Name of the Wind by Sergio Calvo and Joaquín Palacios
Incredible scratchbuilt creation based on the books by Patrick Rothfuss.
Skeleton Horde by KAHA
Katarzyna Górska’s very personal style on these undead creatures from Warhammer.
Magnus The Red by Andy Wardle
Extraordinary painting that got Andy the Slayersword at the Golden Demon: Horus Heresy 2018.
Tue Kaae’s Dogma48 Project
This year’s Dogma48 iniciative enabled Tue to create this wonderful diorama that speaks for itself. In just 48 hours!
Captain-General Trajann Valoris by Gareth Nicholas
Gareth’s truly unique smoothness and attention to detail in this Custodes Captain from Forgeworld.
Death by Arnau Lázaro
Super inspiring paintjob on this bust sculpted by Ju Won Jung.
Mamabuho by junwoo-park
Extraordinary version of Mamabuho depicting the light coming in from between the leaves of the trees.
Queen of the North by John Chan
Amazing version of this bust from Nuts Planet.
King of the Goblins by David Arroba
Wonderful version of the bust sculpted by Lucas Pina for Spira Mirabilis.
Dimitr by Kirill Kanaev
Extraordinary version of Kirill of this vampire from Karol Rudyk Art.
On the way by Wang Lanye and Xiaodi Jin
Digital sculpture made diorama, based on the original concept art by Xiaodi Jin.
Sibillia the Vampire Queen by David Colwell
Amazing version of Sibillia, from the catalogue of Karol Rudyk Miniatures.
18th Century Lady by Jason Zhou
Jason’s version of this 1:10 bust from Broken Toad.
Iron Heart by Arnau Lázaro
Arnau’s version of Iron Heart, the bust from Big Child Creatives.
Shaetann the inmortal by Arnau Lázaro
Amazing nuances and painting of this bust sculpted by Raúl García Latorre for his company Mproyec.
The Might of Khorne by Monstroys
Slayersword winner at Golden Demon Europe 2018, by Pawel Makuch.
Errant Wizard by Rodrigo Ciprés
Incredible version in reds of the sculpture by Jonatan Monerris for his line in FeR Miniatures.
Mirai by Arnau Lázaro
Really cool effects on this cyborg lady bust from Life Miniatures.
Astela by Patricia Sancho
Exquisite version of this model from Pedro Fernández Works.
Sha’Ael the soul trader by Banshee
An old piece finally shown in all its glory, sculpted and painted by Alfonso Giraldes.
Holy Lake by Vasilis Triantafyllou
Extraordinary ambience and scene created in this boxed diorama.
Momabuho by Magnus Fagerberg
Magnus’ version of Mamabuho, sculpted by Lucas Pina.
Magnus the Red by KAHA
Katarzyna’s version of Magnus the Red, the great father of the Thousand Sons, from Games Workshop.
Sharki by David Arroba
Beautiful version of this bust from the Black Sailors range.
Slambolicious by Benjamin Kantor
The awesome metal and lava version of Slambo that we could see at the Crystal Brush 2018.
Two ages by Ringil
Marina paints two beautiful alternate versions of this bust from Tartar Miniatures.
Horticulous Slimux by Angelo Di Chello
Slayersword winner of the Golden Demon UK 2018.
Fuck the war by Roman Gruba
Super cool take on this soldier bust, very personal and full of message.
Trajann Valoris by Flameon
Ultra smooth and contrasted version of this Custodes model from Forgeworld.
Iron Heart by Michał Szymeczko
Michal’s version of the bust from Big Child heavily inspired by Lan’s NMM technique.
Mortarion by Kaha
Gold on the Golden Demon at the Warhammer Europe Fest 2018.
Lena by Aythami Alonso
Influence by the work of Patrick Jones, Aythami paints this miniature from Mirico and creates this wonderful piece of art.
Drusil by Sergio Calvo
Sergio’s version of this model from Draconia, painted on commission for a private collector.
Logan 2.0 by Marc Masclans
Second version of this bust from Hera Models painted during a private class and finished for a commission.
European knight XIVc. by Kirill Kanaev
Incredible use of NMM that only a few like Kirill can pull out.
Lord of Change by KAHA
Kaha’s style works so well in this Great Daemon of Tzeentch. Especially on the magic base effect.
Carmen by Aythami Alonso
Aythami has developed his very own style, very recognizable, and this bust is great proof of it.
Warbands 2018 in Le Kouzes
Incredible converted warbands by the members of Le Kouzes. An absolute delight. Vote for your favourite!
“Batalla de Redecieh” by Antonio Zapatero and Gustavo Gil
Historical diorama with a classical and effective composition, created on commission.
Nalani by Aythami Alonso Torrent
Extraordinary ambience on this bust from Neko Galaxy.
Archer in the Trees by David Colwell
Amazing idea and execution, experimenting with light effects in the forest.
Mannfred, Mortarch of Night by River
Very effective paintjob for this Mannfred on commission.
Space Hulk by Peter Müller
Scratchbuilt project in 1:16, winner of Best of Show at Duke of Bavaria 2018.
King of the forest by HonourGuard
Finished scene of this realistic forest based on a model from the Rising Sun boardgame.
Brothers by Kristian Simonsen
Duel made for the White Dwarf Golden Demon Winners Challenge.
Sarah Fortune by Rodrigo Ciprés
Rodrigo’s great version of this Kimera Model’s miniature is this glorius paintjob with beautiful greens.
Tywin Lannister by PaSkull
Amazing depiction of this character from Game of Thrones from the Nuts Planet catalogue of busts, heavily inspired by the work of Kirill Kanaev.
Nalani the Desert Born by David Colwell
Great use of a balanced colour palette with limited tones but great contrast.
Letter by Pavel Gurianov
Amazing diorama made by joining forces of models from Kimera Models and Terrible Kids Stuff in 75mm.
Demon Slayer Lucilla by Raffaele Picca
Outstanding lighting effect on this bust from Nocturna Models.
Infinity Nomads by Steve Garcia
Super smooth painting of an Infinity Warband, winner of the unit categories at both Crystal Brush and Warcrow 2018.
Forgotten by Anton Pryakhin
Amazing version of this kit from Nocturna Models.
Tribune Ixion Version 2 by Lan
Second version of this wonderful Custodes in all its NMM golden glory.
Marines Malevolent by Ravenswoord
Sergey painted this unit full of background presented in the blog Serpentarium.
Welcome to Wonderland by Pavel Gurianov
Exquisite diorama of Alice’s Wonderland with two of the queens from Kimera Models.
Castigator by Flameon
Extraordinary painting of one of the new Stormcast Eternals in Flameon’s super smooth and saturated style
Barbarian by Jason Zhou
Incredible painting of the Barbarian from Nuts Planet.
Samurai Girl by Michał Szymeczko
Fantastic NMM painting on this version of the Samurai Girl.
Nighthaunts in Venice by Roberto Cuevas
So much creativity poured into this carnival in Venice themed warband.
NMM study by Sergio Calvo
Great lesson of NMM technique in this 75mm miniature.
Lena by Arnau Lázaro
Painted version of the Lena bust from Mirico Collectibles.
Dafne Version 2 by Aythami Alonso
Amazing second version of this bust from Alternity Miniatures.
Hexfleet Virules by GMM Studios
What an amazing looking Nurgle army using a very limited colour palette and lots of creativity.
Athena by Patricia Sancho
Such a beautiful version of this bust from Women by Pepa Saavedra, in the FeR Miniatures catalogue.
Shot Down by Takuma Nakano
It’s amazing how realistic this scene is, the effect of mud all over the place is very convincing.
Big Bomba by Emuse
The first of the two Big Bombas that emuse is painting this year.
Big Game Hunter (and others) by Faust Miniature Painter
David’s entries to Crystal Brush 2018. Impressive pieces all of them!
Roman Legionary 2nd Century A.D. by Ernest
Thorough job on textures and metals on this historic bust.
Axe for Lust by Alexander_Zelenkov
Amazing colours on this model from Chronos Miniatures in 75 mm.
Queen of the Void second version by Emuse
Following the work on the Celestial invitational contest, this is the second version painted by emuse of this miniature.
Anonymous 1.0 by Marc Masclans
Another version of the Anonymous sculpted by Banshee, this time a very realistic face that is almost scary to look at, seems alive!
Order of the Twisted Tree by Mörback
Maxime presents his Golden Demon winner warband as well as telling us everything about his adventures at Warhammer Fest Europe 2018.
Knight Questor of Hallowed Knights by Tomas Pekar
Winner of Gold in ‘eavy Metal Masters category at Golden Demon Europe 2018.
Esther by David Colwell
Incredible painting on a very slightly converted version of Esthel from Nocturna Models.
Immortal King Elrond by Johann
Amazing paintjob on this bust of Elrond from The Lord of the Rings.
Da Inky Boyz Issue 1 by Marc Chee
This diorama of a comic strip about Orks is one of the most original things we have seen lately.
German Tank Commander 1944 by Kirill Kanaev
Sculpted by Lorenzo Nino Lorenzoni
Shadespire Fyre Slayer by Darren Latham
Painted for Joe Tomaszewski to celebrate his 10 years at GW (as it happens, the slayer sculpture was originally designed by Joe).
Archbishop Papa Nurgle by Tupavko
Incredible display of creativity in this conversion of a Great Unclean One by Tupavko.
Knight Captain, Limbo Miniatures
Sculpted by Charles Agius, painted by Aythami Alonso.
Isharann Tidecaster by David Soper
The finished version of this Idoneth Deepkin we have been following for quite some time.
Post-apocalyptic barbarian by Sergio Calvo
Sergio’s version of this model sculpted by Raúl García Latorre.
Sword of Dawn by Aythami Alonso
Aythami’s version of the bust from Big Child Creatives, making strong use of projected shadows.
Valana by Roman Gruba
Extraordinary colours and double ambience in Roman’s version of this bust from Mirico.
Sara by David Colwell
Very brave use of contrast to reprent lighting in this bust from Mirico.
Knight of the Crab Order by Dmitry Fesechko
Great use of NMM in this bust by the Russian master.
Don Quijote de la Mancha by Pepe Gallardo and Antonio Leveque
Leveque’s own view of the classic by Cervantes painted by Pepe Gallardo.
‘Passers by’ by Dmitry Fesechko and Andrei Kostryuchin
Diorama winner of the Paint-O-Palooza holy grail in Berlin 2018.
The Smoking Caterpillar by Luis Gómez Pradal
Such a cool paintjob on this Alice in Wonderland model in 150mm.
Bayushi Yunako by Jean-Marc Brisset
Jean-Marc’s version of the samurai girl bust from Big Child Creatives.
Death Watch Squad by Arsies
A commission job we have been following closely in The Warmaster’s Crusade.
Churchill by Kouhung Chung
Stunning representation of the legendary British Prime Minister.
Nuwa The Last Sunset by Francesco Farabi
Francesco used the opportunity of the Celestial invitational contest to create this wonderful piece, strongly contrasted and contained within a photo frame.
Legion of the Damned Marine by Stefan Johnsson
Incredible fire effect by Skelettets in this Primaris Space Marine.
The Last Farewell by Mike Blank
Outstanding historical diorama, scratchbuilt, Best of Show at Euro Miniature Expo 2018.
Orc Kong by Little Demon Studio
Fantastic paintjob on the orc bust from Spira Mirabilis.
Battle Chick by Sang Eon Lee
Tke Korean Master Sang Eon Lee paints this figure by Nocturna Models.
Dwarf by Sergio Calvo
Painting over the sculpture from Joaquín Palacios, commission job based on art by Paul Bonner.
Touchdown Reavers by Paloji
Diorama of a Blood Bowl match were the Reavers score a touchdown. Silver in Diorama at Golden Demon UK 2018.
Salvation by Matthieu Favresse
We love the idea of this version of Ebylzadeath “la nécromancienne” sculpted by Allan Carrasco.
Soon a list of amazing paintings made for boxarts… Stay tuned!
[…] Volomir has published his selection of 100 inspirational projects in 2018. There are some truly amazing pieces of work ! […]
I don’t even know where to begin. These images are incredible. Shot Down has top be my absolute favorite. The expression on the models face is so believable. Thanks for sharing these.
Thanks Scott for reading! You guys make it possible.