Nottingham company Games Workshop and its ‘Warhammer’ brand of science fiction and fantasy miniatures have become part of our city’s cultural makeup. But just as every giant planet tends to have moons, a group of smaller stores orbit it, comprising what’s often called the UK’s ‘Lead Belt’. Sneinton Market’s Warp Miniatures, run by Alex and Wingshan Huntley, is one such business.
At first glance, Sneinton Market Avenues business Warp Miniatures might look humble, but inside you’ll find a cosy haven appealing to anyone with even a passing enjoyment of the whimsical and fantastical – trolls and goblins, wizards, knights, and loads of other eye-catching models, adorn each corner.
And that’s not all to know about it, as Warp’s reach also extends internationally, partly via global loyalty to the company that arguably birthed the modern miniature wargaming hobby itself – Nottingham’s own cultural pillar Games Workshop. That need for a physical space to welcome national and international customers was the main reason why Warp popped up in Sneinton Market, back in December 2025.
“We would get messages like ‘I’m in Nottingham to go to Warhammer World this weekend. Can I come visit you guys?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, I’m currently sitting in my dressing gown doing most of my work in my front room’,” remembers Alex Huntley, who founded the business and runs it with his wife Wingshan. “But having a physical shop allowed us to have a space that we could welcome the community into.”
Warp Miniatures’ story goes back to when Alex was a teenager, creating new models from Warhammer kits – Games Workshop’s flagship game – and posting those projects on online hobby forums. From this experience, he taught himself to sculpt new models, and received a following for his work at a very fast pace, leading to a freelance commission at sixteen.
The natural next step was to have his own, original, models cast, and sell them, which he gave a try at seventeen, but despite his big following that venture sadly fell short. Later, having moved from his native Yorkshire to study Human Genetics at the Uni of Nottingham, he kept his hobby going, and the game ArcWorlde – the future flagship product of Warp Miniatures – was born in its early form. Alex decided to try and fund the project on Kickstarter, and happily, traffic and interest in it exploded.
“It was as if everyone who had been following my stuff for years ever since I was a teenager finally came out of the woodwork and supported – I think the project raised £57,000,” he says, recalling that it made him less sure about what his post Uni future would look like. “Eventually, I got to my third year and was like ‘okay, I’m going to do it.’ I quit my course, put everything into Warp, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Later, Alex met Wingshan – a prolific visual artist from Nottingham – and ever since they’ve become a beloved fixture of Nottingham’s ‘Lead Belt’. And if you haven’t heard that term before, it’s one to keep in mind if you want to stay abreast of Nottingham culture.
Since 1997, when Games Workshop first set up shop in Lenton, Nottingham has steadily become the world capital of miniature wargaming. Various smaller, satellite stores, like Warp Miniatures, orbit Games Workshop, and provide independently made alternatives to their more widely known products – Warp and stores like it tend to be “the craft beer of Warhammer,” as Alex puts it.
“The way that I describe it to people is that Nottingham is the LA of wargaming. It’s where you go if you’re serious about doing it as a professional. It's built a community and ecosystem, which is a draw for people all over the world,” he says. “There’s a term we use – ‘doing the pilgrimage’: you come to Nottingham, you go to Warhammer World, you go to some of the smaller companies like Warlord Games or Mantic, and now a lot of those people come here.”
So what’s the niche that Warp Miniatures, and its ArcWorlde products, fill for hobbyists across the world? To put it crudely, they’re in the business of “silly little guys,” says Alex – ArcWorlde is a game built with a love for the humorous and colourful, with its fictional setting of Mildaark Forest hosting chaotic battles between wizards, gremlins, and other characters who, according to the rules of the game, can make entrances into battles when you least expect them.
The way that I describe it to people is that Nottingham is the LA of wargaming. It’s where you go if you’re serious about doing it as a professional
“When I first started ArcWorlde way back when, there was a tendency for tabletop games to be ‘grimdark’ – serious and evil,” says Alex, adding, “but it didn't really do anything for me – there’s space for something that’s more whimsical. I always saw my miniatures as three dimensional illustrations. I was inspired by Terry Pratchett, and the illustrators who worked with him – Paul Kidby, Josh Kirby, Chris Riddell – and a couple of video games like Fable and Overlord – stuff that had more of a sense of humour to it.”
The business model of Warp, and stores like it, is one that certainly isn’t static. Alex and Wingshan have regularly made changes to the way that their business operates, depending on the needs of customers. The years in-and-around the Covid-19 pandemic, for example, saw 3D printers become more of a fixture for the households of hobbyists across the world. In many cases, this cut out a lot of packing and international shipping stress for Alex and Wingshan, because all they had to do was send the digital, printing info for miniatures, when people could make use of it.
They’ve also started a sister imprint – Twisted Spire – directed by Wingshan, the current flagship product of which is a darker alternative to ArcWorlde – Siren’s Oath: a game with a more feminine sensibility than you’ll find in a lot of modern tabletop miniatures games.
“Wingshan has always been used to being the only woman in the room at gaming events, and things like that. So she was like, ‘I want to make games for girls, or at least with girls in mind’,” remembers Alex. “Up until this point, there have been certain games and miniatures like that, but they’ve leaned into a more cutesy, twee element, whereas Wing is very passionate about the fact that girls can be badass too. Siren’s Oath is a sea witch, mermaid, role playing game about destroying a city, and it’s about role playing characters. It leans into communication and discussion, which is really interesting.”
The relentless creativity flowing from Nottingham businesses like Warp is really something to behold, and certainly something that we as a city can be proud of. For somebody drawn to the miniature wargaming hobby, the sheer variety of ways to get involved could seem overwhelming, but the communities surrounding it have never been more welcoming, as Alex emphasises.
“I know many people who for a long time didn’t get into it because they thought it wasn’t socially acceptable and they were embarrassed, but it’s cool to be a nerd now. Nerd culture is so ubiquitous,” says Alex. “In Sneinton Market itself there’s Dice Box – a board game café. We run introductory nights to teach people to play our game. There’s gaming clubs. There’s charities which do gaming and miniature painting for disadvantaged people. We really are in a golden age and it’s easier than ever to get into it.”
Visit Warp Miniatures at Unit 25, Avenue C, Sneinton Market Avenues, Nottingham, NG1 1DW
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