When John Blanche passed away in June, we found ourselves asking an important question: what happens next? It wasn't really a question about paint, at least not at first. John Blanche had been part of this hobby for decades, helping shape a visual language that generations of miniature painters, gamers, artists, and creators have since made their own. For many of us here, his work was part of the reason we fell in love with this hobby in the first place.
Then, we got the chance to work with him. When we began developing the John Blanche Masterclass series together, we knew we were working with one of the most influential artists our hobby has ever known. What we didn't anticipate was just how much John would throw himself into making paint. He asked questions, experimented with colours, and knew what he wanted from the paints. Volumes 1 and 2 grew into Volumes 3 and 4, and along the way we got something much more valuable than a range of colours: time spent creating with John.
What happens to something we made together when the key person who made it is no longer here? We think it's time to answer that question.
A Small Part of a Much Bigger Legacy
There is no way a range of paints can contain John Blanche's legacy. It's in decades of his artwork, the worlds he helped shape, and the artists he influenced. Masterclass is one small part of that much bigger legacy, but it is a part John created with us, and that gives us a responsibility for what happens to it now.
Before his passing, John gave us his blessing to continue the Masterclass range. His family has given us that blessing too and wants to continue the relationship with The Army Painter. John's family will also continue to benefit from sales of the Masterclass paints. For us, that was essential. We didn't want to assume that because we had made something with John, we had the right to decide its future without him.
We also had to ask what continuing Masterclass should mean. Could we create more colours inspired by John's work? Could we interpret where he might have taken the range next? Put simply, no. These colours exist because John was there to make them with us, bringing his ideas, questions, and unmistakable eye to the process. Without John, we can't recreate that collaboration – and we don't think we should try.
The Masterclass colours John developed and approved will therefore remain in their original formulations. We won't change them or create new John Blanche colours without him.
Our responsibility is to preserve this small part of his legacy and make sure future generations of painters can continue discovering and using it.
Masterclass Singles Coming to Your Local Game Store
Preserving John's colours doesn't mean putting them behind glass. They were made to be opened, mixed, experimented with, and splattered across hobby desks. That also means making them easier to find. Since Masterclass launched, you've repeatedly asked us to make individual colours available at friendly local game stores, whether to replace a favourite bottle or try new colours without picking up a complete set.
Before John passed, we worked with him on a dedicated John Blanche Masterclass retail rack. He saw the rack and approved the plan to bring his individual colours into local game stores around the world. The Masterclass rack and singles will officially arrive in retail on September 19, initially bringing together all 40 colours from Volumes 1–4.
But if you see one of those racks, you may notice something: there are ten spaces left.
One Final Volume
Before John passed away, we had already developed one more palette: John Blanche Masterclass Volume 5.
Coming in 2027, Volume 5 will introduce the final ten colours John created with The Army Painter, completing the Masterclass palette at 50 colours. These aren't our interpretation of what John might have created next; they're colours we made with John while he was here to guide the process. Volume 5 will be the final John Blanche Masterclass paint set.
There is also one more project John developed with us before his passing. He had a copy, knew what we were planning, and was excited to see it out in the world. We're keeping this one a mystery for a little longer, but we can tell you it's coming in 2027 – and it will be limited.
What Happens Next?
The paint colours we developed with John Blanche will remain available, preserved exactly as he left them, and we'll continue supporting his family. But that's only our small part in what happens next.
John spent decades making things that inspired hobbyists around the world. His influence lives in painters who experiment with grimdark and Blanchitsu-inspired palettes, who create something for the sake of trying new techniques, or who see his artwork for the first time and realise just how much is possible with a miniature and a brush.
That's a legacy no company owns. It belongs to everyone John inspired and everyone still waiting to discover his work.
As we look towards our Founder's Day celebrations this October, we'll be talking more about the people who helped shape the hobby we enjoy today and the part all of us can play in shaping where it goes tomorrow. Our part is to preserve John's colours, share why the person behind them mattered, and make sure future generations have the opportunity to discover what he left behind.
The rest belongs to all of us. What happens next? We do.
