diff --git a/web/public/errors/404.png b/web/public/errors/404.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0eaf9d0
Binary files /dev/null and b/web/public/errors/404.png differ
diff --git a/web/public/errors/500.png b/web/public/errors/500.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cd83dd8
Binary files /dev/null and b/web/public/errors/500.png differ
diff --git a/web/src/app/lib/errorImageResponse.ts b/web/src/app/lib/errorImageResponse.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..63b0ac0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/web/src/app/lib/errorImageResponse.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+import path from 'path';
+import { promises as fs } from 'fs';
+import { NextResponse } from 'next/server';
+
+export async function errorImageResponse(
+	statusCode: number = 500,
+	options?: { message?: string }
+): Promise<NextResponse> {
+	const file = `${statusCode}.png`;
+	const filePath = path.join(process.cwd(), 'public/errors', file);
+
+	const headers: Record<string, string> = {
+		'Content-Type': 'image/png',
+	};
+	if (options?.message) {
+		headers['X-Error-Message'] = encodeURIComponent(options.message);
+	}
+
+	try {
+		const buffer = await fs.readFile(filePath);
+		headers['Content-Length'] = buffer.length.toString();
+		return new NextResponse(buffer, {
+			status: statusCode,
+			headers,
+		});
+	} catch {
+		const fallback = path.join(process.cwd(), 'public/errors', '500.png');
+		const buffer = await fs.readFile(fallback);
+		headers['Content-Length'] = buffer.length.toString();
+		return new NextResponse(buffer, {
+			status: 500,
+			headers,
+		});
+	}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/web/src/app/thumbnails/asset/[assetId]/route.tsx b/web/src/app/thumbnails/asset/[assetId]/route.tsx
index e7232d8..7c02e75 100644
--- a/web/src/app/thumbnails/asset/[assetId]/route.tsx
+++ b/web/src/app/thumbnails/asset/[assetId]/route.tsx
@@ -1,8 +1,18 @@
 import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from 'next/server';
+import { errorImageResponse } from '@/app/lib/errorImageResponse';
 
 const cache = new Map<number, { buffer: Buffer; expires: number }>();
 const CACHE_TTL = 15 * 60 * 1000;
 
+setInterval(() => {
+    const now = Date.now();
+    for (const [key, value] of cache.entries()) {
+        if (value.expires <= now) {
+            cache.delete(key);
+        }
+    }
+}, 60 * 5 * 1000);
+
 export async function GET(
 	request: NextRequest,
 	context: { params: Promise<{ assetId: number }> }
@@ -10,10 +20,9 @@ export async function GET(
 	const { assetId } = await context.params;
 	
 	if (!assetId) {
-		return NextResponse.json(
-			{ error: 'Missing asset ID' },
-			{ status: 400 }
-		);
+		return errorImageResponse(400, {
+			message: "Missing asset ID",
+		})
 	}
 
 	let finalAssetId = assetId;
@@ -31,17 +40,17 @@ export async function GET(
 	} catch { }
 
 	const now = Date.now();
-    const cached = cache.get(finalAssetId);
+	const cached = cache.get(finalAssetId);
 
-    if (cached && cached.expires > now) {
-        return new NextResponse(cached.buffer, {
-            headers: {
-                'Content-Type': 'image/png',
-                'Content-Length': cached.buffer.length.toString(),
-                'Cache-Control': `public, max-age=${CACHE_TTL / 1000}`,
-            },
-        });
-    }
+	if (cached && cached.expires > now) {
+		return new NextResponse(cached.buffer, {
+			headers: {
+				'Content-Type': 'image/png',
+				'Content-Length': cached.buffer.length.toString(),
+				'Cache-Control': `public, max-age=${CACHE_TTL / 1000}`,
+			},
+		});
+	}
 
 	try {
 		const response = await fetch(
@@ -49,22 +58,21 @@ export async function GET(
 		);
 
 		if (!response.ok) {
-			throw new Error('Failed to fetch thumbnail JSON');
+			throw new Error(`Failed to fetch thumbnail JSON [${response.status}]`)
 		}
 
 		const data = await response.json();
 
 		const imageUrl = data.data[0]?.imageUrl;
 		if (!imageUrl) {
-			return NextResponse.json(
-				{ error: 'No image URL found in the response' },
-				{ status: 404 }
-			);
+			return errorImageResponse(404, {
+				message: "No image URL found in the response",
+			})
 		}
 
 		const imageResponse = await fetch(imageUrl);
 		if (!imageResponse.ok) {
-			throw new Error('Failed to fetch the image');
+			throw new Error(`Failed to fetch the image [${imageResponse.status}]`)
 		}
 
 		const arrayBuffer = await imageResponse.arrayBuffer();
@@ -79,10 +87,9 @@ export async function GET(
 				'Cache-Control': `public, max-age=${CACHE_TTL / 1000}`,
 			},
 		});
-	} catch {
-		return NextResponse.json(
-			{ error: 'Failed to fetch or process thumbnail' },
-			{ status: 500 }
-		);
+	} catch (err) {
+		return errorImageResponse(500, {
+            message: `Failed to fetch or process thumbnail: ${err}`,
+        })
 	}
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/web/src/app/thumbnails/maps/[mapId]/route.tsx b/web/src/app/thumbnails/maps/[mapId]/route.tsx
index a923d21..a6b21d3 100644
--- a/web/src/app/thumbnails/maps/[mapId]/route.tsx
+++ b/web/src/app/thumbnails/maps/[mapId]/route.tsx
@@ -1,16 +1,20 @@
-import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from "next/server";
+import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from "next/server"
 
 export async function GET(
     request: NextRequest,
     context: { params: Promise<{ mapId: string }> }
 ): Promise<NextResponse> {
     // TODO: implement this, we need a cdn for in-game map thumbnails...
+
+    if (!process.env.API_HOST) {
+        throw new Error('env variable "API_HOST" is not set')
+    }
     
-    const { mapId } = await context.params;
+    const { mapId } = await context.params
 
-    const protocol = request.headers.get("x-forwarded-proto") || "https";
-    const host = request.headers.get("host");
-    const origin = `${protocol}://${host}`;
+    const apiHost = process.env.API_HOST.replace(/\/api\/?$/, "")
+    const redirectPath = `/thumbnails/asset/${mapId}`
+    const redirectUrl = `${apiHost}${redirectPath}`
 
-    return NextResponse.redirect(`${origin}/thumbnails/asset/${mapId}`);
+    return NextResponse.redirect(redirectUrl)
 }
\ No newline at end of file