ADEPTUS MECHANICUS

This month, we spoke to Mike Bythe. Mike’s journey into miniatures painting began, as many journeys do, with Games Workshop games during the early 2000s, however he eventually moved away from that scene. It wasn’t until the last few years, when his love of Tolkien’s work saw him playing

War of the Ring, and – what with the impressive associated figures – this became a gateway back into painting miniatures again. He finds it a way to relax and de-stress in an evening.

Though he jokes that – back in his day – there was no such thing as the Adeptus Mechanicus, nowadays he loves this model, having painted an Ad Mech army earlier this year. “I absolutely love the old artwork of John Blanche,” he tells us, “And nothing takes the Blanchitsu style like Ad Mech does!”

“This model’s main focus is the capture the ‘grimdark’ aesthetic.” Mike explains. “To me, ‘grimdark’ means capturing atmosphere in models. It is all about making something feel real and lived in, like it belongs in the world the stories are about. This model that I’ve photographed was painted with a combination of Citadel and Vallejo acrylics, before weathering with enamels and oils. There are so many good painters working in this style at the moment and I can draw inspiration from them all.”

As for the future, Mike admits to currently working on multiple projects – not the least of which is some Necromunda scenery, but also the miniatures of Tainted Grail, as well as being part way through a full 40K Ork Army. He posts updates of his impressive figures on Instagram, where you can find him at @mini_doc_ studios.