How to Build Your First Trench Crusade Warband
⚔️ Build Your First Grimdark Warband
Artifex Fabricatum is an independent studio. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Trench Crusade or its creators, and Trench Crusade is a trademark of its respective owners. The miniatures shown here are our own designs, cast in resin and compatible in scale and style with 28mm grimdark skirmish gaming.
A beginner's guide using miniatures from Artifex Fabricatum
"The soil is sacred. The trench is holy. Faith is the only armour."
A warband is a small, characterful force, usually somewhere between five and twelve models, where each one is distinct enough that you remember what it did last game. That makes it the friendliest way into tabletop wargaming. You can assemble one in an evening, paint it over a couple of weeks, and you will never face the grinding backlog that comes with collecting a full army.
This guide walks through building your first grimdark warband from our range, whichever skirmish ruleset you end up playing.
🎭 Start with a theme, not a shopping list
The single biggest difference between a warband that looks good and one that looks like a bring-and-buy pile is coherence. Before you buy anything, decide what your force is.
Write down three adjectives. Penitent, weathered, candlelit. Or industrial, brutal, red. Those words will settle every decision that follows: which models you pick, which palette you paint them in, even how you base them. A focused warband of cheaper models beats a scattered collection of expensive ones every time.
Useful starting themes from our Trench Warfare Crusaders range:
- Zealots and penitents. Robed fanatics, chained flagellants, bells and censers. Heavy on cloth, light on armour.
- Inquisitorial retinue. One imposing leader plus specialists. Fewer, larger, more detailed models.
- Trench regulars. Uniformed troops with rebreathers and rifles. Uniform palette, quick to batch paint.
- Something worse. Monstrous horrors as centrepieces, with a handful of lesser things around them.
🔢 How many models?
Most skirmish games sit between five and fifteen models. Start at the bottom of that range. Five to eight is enough to play a real game, cheap enough to finish, and small enough that you can give each model proper attention.
A workable spread looks like this:
| Role | Models | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Leader | 1 | Your most detailed model. The one you paint first and best. |
| Specialists | 1 to 2 | Medic, sniper, heavy weapon. Character and utility. |
| Core troops | 3 to 5 | The bulk. Batch paint these together. |
| Centrepiece | 0 to 1 | Optional. A monster or vehicle for later. |
📏 Scale and mixing ranges
Most of our infantry sits at 32mm heroic scale, with some sculpts at 25mm and centrepieces running considerably larger. Mixing ranges is normal and looks fine as long as you are consistent about bases. Put everything on the same base style and size, and the eye forgives a good deal of height variation.
Check the scale in each product title before you buy. We list it explicitly because a 25mm figure next to a 40mm one reads as a child next to an adult, which is rarely what you want.
🛒 A worked example warband
Here is a coherent six-model penitent warband you could order today. Prices as listed at time of writing.
| Model | Role | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Inquisitor | Leader | GBP 8.00 |
| Medic Nun | Specialist | GBP 6.00 |
| Penitent Monk | Specialist | GBP 8.00 |
| Torquemada's Priest | Core | GBP 8.00 |
| Verdigo Inquisitorial | Core | GBP 11.99 |
| Jaula de Castigo | Centrepiece | GBP 16.00 |
That comes to roughly GBP 58 for a complete, themed force with a leader, two specialists, core troops and a centrepiece. If you would rather buy in one go, the Wraith Pilgrims Core Set gives you a coherent unit in a single purchase.
🎨 What to do next
Assemble everything before you paint anything. Prime the whole warband in one session so the colours sit on a consistent base. Then paint your leader first, work out your palette on that single model, and batch the rest to match.
All our miniatures are supplied unpainted, cast in high detail resin, with supports removed and surfaces cleaned so you can go straight to assembly. Glue and paint required.
Once your warband is built, the next step is getting it on the table. Our guide to playing your first skirmish game covers what you need and how a game actually runs.
Browse the full range in Trench Warfare Crusaders.