Army Painter staff finish Arena Challenge with fast force workflows

The Army Painter wrapped up its Yearly Arena Challenge (2025) by publishing a staff showcase that documents five painters who completed Combat Patrol and Spearhead sized forces. The piece highlights practical, repeatable techniques aimed squarely at painters who want to finish a cohesive force without endless tweaking, with an emphasis on speed, consistency, and tabletop-quality results.

At the top of the showcase are clear, workflow-focused examples: staff painters used Speedpaint Markers to lay down rapid base and highlight layers, relied on reduced Warpaints palettes to maintain visual cohesion, and leaned on Warpaints Fanatic weathering colours—Fresh Rust and Dark Rust—for quick, convincing corrosion and battle wear. The gallery of project photos and diary-style notes makes the point that constrained choices and deliberate, repeatable steps shave hours off batch painting while avoiding sloppy results.

The showcase also tackles time management and motivation, two of the biggest roadblocks to completing a small army. Contributors describe breaking the project into Combat Patrol and Spearhead sized goals, setting realistic session targets, and using consistent basing across the force to make disparate models read as one unit on the table. Those practical touches—same base texture, limited palette accents, and mirrored weathering—deliver an immediate tabletop-ready payoff that helps preserve motivation as the project progresses.

For painters looking to copy the approach, the examples suggest a few specific habits to adopt. Use a condensed palette for primary colours and a small set of weathering paints to speed decisions; employ Speedpaint Markers for fast, uniform base coats and highlights on repetitive surfaces; reserve targeted edge highlights and contrast lifts for focal models; and standardize basing materials to tie the whole patrol together. The Fanatic Fresh Rust and Dark Rust pair is presented as a quick go-to for layered rust effects that read well from typical engagement distances.

Beyond techniques, the Arena showcase functions as a community prompt. Readers are invited to follow the Arena hub and tag their own Combat Patrol or Spearhead projects with #thearmypainter to compare workflows, share timing strategies, and trade shortcuts that preserve quality. That community angle matters because completing a playable force is often as much about momentum and shared examples as it is about technique.

What this means for painters now is straightforward: finishing a force is achievable with a handful of focused tools and habits. Try a limited Warpaints palette, add Speedpaint Markers to your batch workflow, standardize basing, and use compact weathering colours for consistency—then share the results and learn from others doing the same.