GREAT FALLS – Warhammer 40,000 is the most popular miniature wargame in the world, and its popularity is evident in Great Falls. People from across the country and Canada brought their miniatures to the Great Falls Elks Club for the second annual Big Sky Open.
To an outsider, it might just be plastic models, dice, and tape measures. But to the players, it’s much more.
“A lot of players came to play 40k with us in our city,” said Jerred Whitehead, tournament organizer of the Big Sky Open.
Whitehead organized the event after participating in a tournament in Salt Lake City in 2021.
MTN News
Warhammer combines model making, painting and strategy games. It is a hobby that requires dedication and games last three hours.
“All players buy and build model kits, paint them and then go to war against each other,” said Whitehead.
Things can get rough on the battlefields, but in the community around them, things are anything but.
“There’s just nothing but joy, excitement and fun,” said Whitehead. “Ninety percent of the people here are friends. The other 10 percent of the people I met today and we’ll be friends after this weekend.”
There are five tournament rounds over the weekend, but that’s not the only thing people love about Warhammer. Besides playing the game itself, there is another passion in the community: painting.
“The hobby cannot be ignored,” said Whitehead. “There are people here who spend many, many hours on a model. I mean, probably 50, 60 hours just painting a model. And it’s beautiful. It’s art. You know, you can see some really great armies here today.”
Take, for example, Josef Hanson, a painter who only started this hobby five years ago.
“The community is really supportive and positive,” Hanson said. “They’re really accepting of anyone, you know, anytime.”
Hanson found that the intricacies of painting fit perfectly with his lifestyle.
“I’m a veteran, and after I came out of the Army, attention to detail was very important and ingrained in me,” Hanson said. “And so miniature painting was a perfect fit.”
MTN News
In addition, it provides a healthy way to deal with life after the military.
“There are things I’m going to do after the Army,” Hanson said, “… and when I sit down to paint, it’s like I’m stepping out of there.”
For Hanson, painting is more than just a job. It is a form of therapy and the results speak for themselves: he won second place with his painted miniature.
The many hours and dedication that people put into their models shows that it is much more than just a game. It is a community where people can come together, make new friends and be themselves.
You can find Josef Hanson’s website here.
