GW wants to paint one million miniatures in 2026, and will pay you to do it! Bring a friend, and score prizes for painting minis!
Games Workshop just dropped a pair of hobby promos aimed straight at two things the community runs on: painting motivation and fresh recruits. The headline is the Million Miniatures Challenge, backed up by a referral side-quest called Call to Arms. The swag looks slick, the goal is ambitious, and the whole thing has “community push” written all over it.
There is one catch, and it is a familiar one: this is framed only for corporate Warhammer stores. If your area lives and dies by the FLGS, you can already see the problem.
Let’s break down what GW is asking for, what you get, how to actually finish your pledge, and what to do if your closest official store is a couple of states away.
The Million Miniatures Challenge, What It Is and When It Runs
This is the big one. Starting January 17, 2026, you head to a local Warhammer store and pledge to paint 25+, 50+, or 100+ miniatures by May 9. Any faction, any game system, any size. Paint a Kill Team, paint a Spearhead, paint a pile of old guardsmen from a shoebox. GW wants painted plastic on the board, not a purity test.
Big centerpiece models count too, they just always take forever! Your pledge gets recorded on a store poster, you get a tracking card, and you bring your progress back as you go.
The rewards (a.k.a. the carrot on the hobby stick)
Hit milestones, and you can earn some very cool prizes at the celebration event on Saturday, May 9:
- 25+ painted: One Million Miniatures pin badge
- 50+ painted: purity seal water pot stand
- 100+ painted: paint brush tin
Swag is cool. The real talk part: “while supplies last” in GW terms can mean “gone faster than a limited made-to-order window.” If you care about the physical rewards, show up early on milestone days and keep your tracking card up to date.
Picking the Right Pledge
A pledge is not a personality test. It is basically a hobby, a math problem with primer.
Quick pledge matchups
- 25+: Perfect for a Combat Patrol, Spearhead, a solid Kill Team roster, or finally finishing that half-built starter set.
- 50+: Great for a full army refresh, a big infantry push, or a couple of squads plus a character and a vehicle.
- 100+: This is “batch painting is my love language.” It can be glorious. It can hurt. Pick this only if you already know how to paint in bulk.
If you are tempted to pledge 100+ purely for the brush tin, keep in mind that paint time is the real currency here.
Call to Arms: The Referral Challenge That Feeds the Painting Challenge
GW’s second push is Call to Arms, starting January 3, 2026. You grab a double-sided tracking card, bring a friend or family member to the store, and earn stickers for helping them get started.
If the new recruit buys a Warhammer 40k starter set, Warhammer Age of Sigmar starter set, Combat Patrol, or Spearhead, you get more stickers.
The celebration day for Call to Arms is May 30.
Call to Arms rewards
- Bronze: introduce one new person, get a pin badge
- Silver: introduce three people, get a gaming dashboard
- Gold: introduce five people, get a logo brush holder
The timing is smart. New recruits in early January can paint alongside you and still pledge for the Million Miniatures Challenge once it starts.
The Big Miss: Why Is This Corporate Store Only Again?
This is where the promo gets awkward in our opinion.
Corporate Warhammer stores get the posters, the tracking cards, the in-store hype, and the official prize pipeline. Independent retailers get… vibes.
FLGS locations already deal with stock allocations and uneven availability, so why does the coolest organized programs land somewhere else?
Here’s the blunt math: there are way more independent game stores than corporate Warhammer stores. Tons of towns have a thriving FLGS and no official GW location within easy driving distance. Those communities cannot take advantage of any of this in the intended way.
If GW wants “one million miniatures painted,” locking the program to corporate stores cuts off a massive chunk of the player base.
No Corporate Store Nearby? Here’s How to Run Your Own Version at the FLGS
GW’s official rewards might be out of reach, but the momentum is still useful. Use the idea and run it locally.
Run an FLGS painting league
Ask your store owner if they will host a “painted minis count” board. A simple poster behind the counter works. Players pick a pledge number, track progress, and hit a local celebration date close to May 9.
Make the rewards store-driven
If the store can support it, suggest prizes that fit the shop:
- small store credit
- a paint pot bundle
- a brush
- a hobby tool
- a discount day for participants
No corporate swag needed. People want recognition and a finish line.
Use a public progress thread
A Discord channel, a Facebook group post, or a weekly Instagram story keeps painters accountable. The secret sauce is consistency, not production value.
Pair new recruits with “paint buddies.”
Call to Arms is basically “bring a friend.” Your FLGS can do that with a learn-to-play day plus a paint night. Starter sets, Combat Patrol, Spearhead, and Combat Patrol leagues already sell themselves when new players feel welcomed.
What GW Should Fix If They Want This to Really Hit One Million
GW has a strong promo here. The easiest upgrade is simple: include independent retailers in the official structure. A realistic path could look like this:
- promo kits for FLGS, including posters, tracking cards, and prize support
- a way for stores to report pledge totals, even via a basic online form
- prize bundles distributed through trade accounts, not just corporate channels
That change would put the program in places that already host leagues, paint nights, escalation campaigns, and beginner days every week. That is how the hobby grows.
Final Thoughts on the One Million Miniatures Challenge
If you have a corporate Warhammer store nearby, this is a solid push to finish projects and grab some limited rewards. Pick a pledge you can complete, build a weekly quota, and keep the process friction-free.
If your local scene runs through the FLGS, steal the best parts of the idea and run it your way. Community momentum beats corporate boundaries every time.
See How To Paint Miniatures Here!
