The Army Painter brings hands-on demos to UK Games Expo debut

The Army Painter is not treating UK Games Expo like a simple sales stop. At stand 3A-401 at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, from May 29 to May 31, the company will set up live demos, hands-on product testing, hobby advice and retail stock so visitors can put the range through its paces before buying.

That matters because this is The Army Painter’s first-ever appearance at UK Games Expo, and the show is built for exactly this kind of cross-over moment. UK Games Expo is marking its 20th anniversary in 2026 and will return to five halls at the NEC and the Hilton Hotel, drawing board gamers, roleplayers, miniature painters and wargamers into one very busy weekend. For a paint brand, that makes the booth more than a display case. It becomes a working table where painters can compare finishes, feel brush response and see how the products behave in real hobby use.

The company says the range on show will include Speedpaint, Warpaints Fanatic, Warpaints Air, brushes and general hobby tools. That lineup gives the stand a practical edge. Speedpaint is billed as a one-coat painting solution, while Warpaints Fanatic uses the Flexible Triad System aimed at making colour selection and layering more approachable. Warpaints Air is ready to use straight from the bottle, with ultra-filtered pigments designed to help keep airbrush work moving cleanly. The company says its expo push is about showing how those ranges fit into real painting sessions, not just how they look on a shelf.

The timing also gives the debut real weight. UK Games Expo says more than 42,000 people attended the 2025 show at the Birmingham NEC, while total gate attendance across the three days passed 72,000. That is the kind of footfall that turns a first appearance into a serious showcase, especially for a brand that says it has grown since 2007 from a two-person startup into a hobby company with nearly 80 employees in Skanderborg, Denmark.

For painters heading to Birmingham, the appeal is straightforward. The Army Painter will not just be there to sell bottles and boxes. It will be there to let people test the tools, ask the questions and walk away with the exact paints they have already handled. That is what makes this debut worth watching.