HMGS promotes Wargames Illustrated painting competition for Historicon 2026

HMGS is pushing the Wargames Illustrated Painting Competition at Historicon 2026 as a prime last-chance showcase for historical miniatures painters heading into Lancaster. The convention runs July 15-19 at the Lancaster County Convention Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and painters still have time to finish a strong single miniature, historical unit, or war machine before the show opens.

The contest matters because Historicon is not just another stop on the hobby calendar. First held in 1984, it is HMGS’s flagship gaming convention, and HMGS says the 2026 theme is the 250th Anniversary of the American War of Independence. That puts the competition in front of one of the largest historical wargaming crowds in the hobby, where painted figures sit alongside hundreds of tabletop miniatures games, tournaments, hobby classes, lectures, a board game library, and more than 60 hobby-related vendors.

HMGS’s own 2025 after-action report shows the scale of the event. Historicon 2025 drew 2,600 total attendees and 693 games, and HMGS described it as one of its largest conventions in a very long time by events, attendees, and vendors. The painting competition is part of that same annual rhythm, with Wargames Illustrated judging the entries each year and then spotlighting the winners after the convention in Lancaster.

The field is broad enough to reward painters at different stages of the hobby. Recent Wargames Illustrated competition pages list categories such as single miniatures and historical units or war machines, and they note that entries can include standard figures, 3D prints, conversions, kitbashes, or self-sculpts. That makes Historicon a good fit for painters bringing a finely finished character model, a full unit display, or a more ambitious converted piece built to stand out on the judging table.

HMGS says all convention management, including registration and event submission, runs through TableTop.Events. General attendee pre-registration closes Tuesday, July 14, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. Eastern, so the window is narrowing fast. For painters looking for visibility and peer recognition, Historicon remains one of the clearest places to put finished work in front of a serious historical miniatures audience, and this year’s Lancaster show is shaping up as another major stage for it.