Another year means another slew of brand-spankin'-new kits. Today we're looking at the kits that our staff and writers enjoyed the most, the ones that they actually got around to building and painting themselves. After all, is it really your favourite model if you spent your hobby time on other things and never got around to it? Probably not.

"Contemptor" Kevin Stillman

The Friend from Afar. Credit: Kevin Stillman

The Friend from Afar. Credit: Kevin Stillman

My favorite GW tank kit of all time and my favorite kit from 2025 is the new plastic Fellblade. I painted this guy for my pal Dan "FromTheShire" Gates as a Grand Narrative/Christmas gift (and because I wanted to paint a big red tank). As Soggy noted back during the initial review, this thing is big and extremely easy to assemble. I think it's the easiest 40K tank kit to build because everything fits together tightly and smoothly. There's also ample room for freehand, decals, or upgrade kits. Once you've finished this big, durable masterpiece, it's time to go run it around the battlefield or just around the table making vroom vroom noises. 11 out of 10 kit from GW in a year full of banger kits.

Jake Bennington 🐙

I'm ready to be jailed for this hot take, but my Games Workshop kit of the year is... Kamandora's Blades from Warhammer Underworlds. Yes, the models that everyone online relentlessly made fun of for looking goofy as hell.

Kamandora's Blades warband. Credit: Jake Bennington. Backdrop: Jon Hodgson

There's something about the 'Eavy Metal style that didn't really do these models justice, much like the previous Underworlds release of the Knives of the Crone. It's certainly not due to any lack of skill on the part of the 'Eavy Metal team -- they're all fantastic painters, but I think "crisp, clean box art" didn't translate too well for a bunch of Khornate psychopaths who have ripped/chewed off their own lips so they can have grinning skull faces permanently. I also gave mine a haircut which I felt helped a lot.

Kamandora's Blades. Credit: Jake Bennington

And sure, I might be picking these as my favorites that I painted this year because they're also the only GW models I have painted this year, but I still stand by my choice. They're actually pretty cool models once you see them in person! As befitting many Underworlds models, they have individual character and fun details. Apparently meat hooks are useful tools for whatever it is these weirdos do because they have a bunch on their belts.

Rockfish

Vulkan He'stan. Credit: Rockfish

While I had a few nitpicks about the model when he came out, I come back to Vulkan as being my favourite new model of the year. There were just a fun pile of details to be found and I really enjoyed the experience of bashing out the model in a rush for the review, he's kinda just the ideal of a model that's a touch challenging without overstaying it's welcome.

Vulkan He'stan. Credit: Rockfish

Matthew 'chimp' Ward

Prince Vhordrai. Credit: Matthew 'chimp' Ward

Personally, 2025 has been a tough year for painting. I've flitted around a few projects and made limited progress on them before getting distracted and putting the brush down for a while, then trying to paint something totally different. It's not a recipe for finishing projects or experiencing any hobby satisfaction.

Prince Vhordrai. Credit: Matthew 'chimp' Ward

Vhordy was different, the only model I've tackled this year where I got into the flow. A beautiful sculpt, with just a few chunky and easy subassemblies made it a pleasure from start to finish. OK, I did have a minor emotional breakdown about the cloak (I firmly believe that people who can paint cloaks are witches) and basically just painted it black after attempting some Proper Highlights and swiftly running into the limits of my own abilities. But that's all part of the process right?

Badusernametag

I painted a lot of damn fine models this year, many of them for review here at Goonhammer! I loved all the very many cool, spooky and gnarly undead models I got my hands on especially, but in retrospect the model that topped them all for build, paint and just being so very cool was the Cathayan Sentinel. This massive construct-warrior instantly became on iconic centrepiece for this brand new faction. New monsters are common, but new anthropomorphised statue warriors are few and far between.

Assembled prior to paint, sculpted 'fixed' lines, plenty and crackle paint! Credit: @badusernametag

This kit was fun and had lots of options. Got some ideas for building it as ceramic, damaged and repaired with gold, Kintsugi style. This also led to battle damage on the model and the eventual addition of the tree growing from the void left at the loss of an arm. When ideas flow and develop through the process of building and painting and model like this I find it really inspiring. This was definitely the project of the year that really captured my imagination and brought the narrative of the model to life through conversion, build and paint the most. I love using found objects and organic components in my builds, but it is rare that I use something as delicate and beautiful as dried flowers, so this was an additional test and little bonus.

If you missed it you can read more about this process in the army review here: https://dev.tabletopbattles.com/goonhammer-reviews-warhammer-the-old-world-armies-of-cathay-models/

If I were starting a new army for Old World it would most certainly be a Cathay one. This model is inspiring and I was impressed by the whole new range.

Kintsugi, Ancient and Beloved of the Mountain. Credit: @badusernametag

Kintsugi, Ancient and Beloved of the Mountain. Credit: @badusernametag

Musterkrux

Ferren Areios, the recent Black Library character release. He's a central character to the recent 'Dawn of Fire' series, where the reader tracks his progress from his time in the Unnumbered Sons, mentored by Captain Messinius (another BL model I now yearn for) through to his induction into the Ultramarines and eventual promotion to Captain.

Ferren Arieos, Captain of the Ultramarines 6th Company (photo courtesy of Musterkrux)

I don't normally have much interest in models that don't have rules on the tabletop but when I heard that Ferren had not only joined the 6th Company but had become Captain of it, I was hooked. 15 or so years ago I had built the entire Ultramarines 6th Company, back when Codex Astartes described them as capable of deploying as a massed formation of bikes. 60 Marines on Bikes and 40 Tactical Marines, led by my converted Captain Epathus mounted on a bike. 6th Company is back, baby!

Ferren Arieos 2

Ferren Arieos, Captain of the Ultramarines 6th Company (photo courtesy of Musterkrux)

Rocco

As a White Scars fan boy, and by virtue of it being the only model I painted to a standard I'm happy sharing, my favorite model this year was Suboden Khan. When he was first previewed, I was insanely giddy and could not wait for the official release. I was foaming at the mouth to get this guy on the tabletop. When I finally got him, he ended up being my fastest turnaround from sprue to finished model. I made some modifications to the kit to fit my successor chapter's aesthetic a little better, but I adore this kit even in its unmodified form. There is so much action in this model that I don't see too often in Space Marine kits, and I hope there is a plan for more exciting and generic bike characters in the future.

Suboden Khan, Credit: Rocco Gest

I adore his shield, Credit: Rocco Gest

Having built Outriders in the past, I was not looking forward to actually building the kit. However, I found that the whole thing went together a lot nicer than the standard bikes. Doing the bike, Suboden, and the base as sub-assemblies was also extremely pleasant, and once I glued everything in place I am happy to report he is rock solid. His head is from the old Asterion Moloc Forge World kit, and the helmet crest and blade are from Idoneth Deepkin bits I had lying around.

Bair

In a bit of a turn I didn't actually even do a lot of Games Workshop painting this year, that said I do think that the best models they released is the Kharadron Overlords Vongrim dual kit. I really love the Kharadron aesthetic overall and these fit in with the existing range while also giving something new, too. Massive plus of course for including the choice of female heads as well in a way where the rest of the model isn't at all different, both male and female Vongrim Harpooners (or Scavengers) are equally jacked and badass, some just have beards. I also really enjoyed how many options are in the kit, I've built three sets now and each model is entirely unique in both arm combinations and head options. It's basically exactly what I want GW kits to be like much more often: great models without too much detail with plenty of options for variance.

Can You Roll a Crit?

The brand new Raveners from Kill Team are my pick! After the rather rough prior plastic kit, the newly updated version is just so much better. A nice fusion of the OG metal models while still fitting in with the modern Tyranid range. They also go together really well and are just so characterful.

Liam_Jordan

I've done a fair chunk of GW models this year, including two new armies and a bunch of the new Old World Releases alongside some Kill Team and bits and bobs but the single model which takes the prize for me is one I've been lucky enough to be able to sort two of. The Sky Lantern is a superb model and feat of engineering, it just dominates the table (as a model, but also in rules) when it's on there and towers above everything else. Outstanding job James Workshop, outstanding.

Dan "dittka" Boyd

With respect to the other Space Marine enjoyers in this article, the coolest Space Marine of all time was released this year, and I got to paint him! I am, of course, talking about Aethon Shaan!

Aethon Shaan. Credit: Dan Boyd

Aethon Shaan. Credit: Dan Boyd

If you're interested, you can read about how I painted him here!

As the local Raven Guard sicko, this guy hits all the high points: jump pack, cool beakie helmet, insane pose, and a ridiculous hero rock. I tried to go for an iridescent look on the feathered mantle, and had a lot of fun figuring out how to do that. Also, he rips shit on the battlefield, which is a nice plus. One bit of advice though, if you plan on painting him: leave the arms and streamers off!

Crab-stuffed Mushrooms (Joey K)

I painted a ton of models this year, and I’ve tried to keep track of them all on Instagram - but the standout for me was the Kill Team: Tomb World boxed set, especially the terrain. GW terrain can be sparse when it comes to availability, so when they drop a kit that’s genuinely good, I jump on it. I loved this set so much that I ended up painting two of them!

Just Good Minis

Well that's 2025, folks. Pretty happy here actually seeing that across our authors we spanned most of the games that Games Workshop actually makes (and continues to make models for). Some really great choices here and some more niche ones amongst the massive pile of new stuff that came out. Turns out nearly weekly new releases is a kind of insane schedule? Who would have thought.

So, what's next?

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Tags: hobby | Games Workshop | best model of the year