Some sculptors have blogs, fan sites or shrines. Others seem to have moved on to other fields or gone into more mainstream art (Andy Chernak and John Dennett of Grenadier both do mainstream pewter sculptures now, from what I can tell, Dennett perhaps being more into large resin kits). An occasional project of mine has been to try to gather information on the sculptors I knew about back in what I still think of as a golden age of minis, the late 70s- through the 1980s. Of course there are some absolutely awesome companies and sculptors who came later but the old stuff is what appeals to me the most.
I’ll revise and repost this, or add posts, as I gather more info.
- Tom Meier, the wunderkind of Ral Partha, has a blog here, and his own company. Lately he’s been working on some great stuff, including a line of minis inspired by his kids.
- Bob Naismith, who once worked for Grenadier, has a site too.
- The late Dennis Mize has a fan site here. (I have to admit he was not really a favorite of mine but I do respect his skill as a sculptor.)
- Here’s a fan site for Bob Olley. (I have to admit I never cared much for his early “gothic” dwarves, but some of his work has grown on me.)
- Max Carr of Heritage. (Any relation to Mike Carr of TSR?) All a quick Google picked up was this, and also possibly this, but I can’t be sure that the second is the same guy, although he is listed as a ‘dungeon master’ among other things. I guess this one will takemore than just Googling. But there is always the Heritage models yahoo groups which are frequented by some former Heritage staff who will likely have more info. <update: Max Carr has started a new minis company, Barony Miniatures, which has some cool medievals along with his own rules sets. >
- Nick Lund, who ran Chronicle Miniatures (until bought out by Citadel) and also worked for Grenadier UK, writing the Fantasy Warriors rules and also sculpting most of the miniatures for the Fantasy Warriors line. I understand there was some bad blood when Grenadier folded.
- Julie Guthrie does not seem to have a web site. I think she worked for Ral Partha before joining Grenadier in 1987 or so. Last I heard she is still going to conventions and sculpting minis (I believe she works mostly for Reaper nowadays). MegaMinis is still casting a lot of her old Grenadier sculpts. They were not my favorites (very shallow detailing) but I have a number of them.
- Sandra Garrity has a nice interview here which includes her contact info.
This leaves out too many others, still…Mark Copplestone, the Citadel staff, and more. Please feel free to drop a comment especially if you have links or contact info for the sculptors that worked for Heritage, Grenadier, Ral Partha, and the other companies from the old days.
Awesome links.
I’ve been thinking about a post on the Citadel line of miniatures. For me, the mid 1980s citadels stand above all the other minis. I’m especially taken with the AD&D line and the imperial dwarves. Whenever I play a dwarf it’s always from the imperial line. I’ve yet to see dwarves done as well.
I only have a few of the imperial dwarves (a boxed regiment) but I do love the old Citadel dwarves, melon heads and all.
Thanks for posting this!
Nice post, Mike. I have poked around here and there looking for info on some of the sculptors who worked for Superior Models, but have not found much:
Stephen Tofano – there’s a small bio for him on the Perth Pewter site: http://www.perthpewter.com/sculptors.html
John Dennett – looks like you have that covered!
Ron Spicer – haven’t found anything to date.
Ray Lamb – nothing on Ray except there appears to be an interview with him in Andrea Figure International #17 (I’ve been meaning to pick this up just for this particular interview). Funny thing about Ray is that back in the day when I used to collect baseball cards, there was this one pitcher who played for both the Dodgers and the Indians by the name of…Ray Lamb. It would seem that Ray also had a passion for art as well as pitching, which is a good thing for us. His work in 25mm is great, but I really enjoy his 90mm work – fantasy, historical, and nudes. Outstanding stuff!
This really isn’t a reply,,,I wanted to see if any one know of the works of Ron spicer of perth pewter.1980.I have a signed military buckle that he made. Hand signed…for the Marines says Semper Fidelis,round circle with a 6 and these words around it micronesia,melanesia,orient and the marines symbol with the bird and globe and then says at the bottom
from the hall of montezuma, to the shores of tripoli. It belonged to a relative and I can’t find any information on it or Ron spicer…Can any one give me help?
Never heard of him but I think Perth was a subsidiary of Superior Models.
Ooh.. my Google fu is strong today — here’s a blog post including an email from his son…maybe you can get a contact there?
Hello ms Owens. I am the Ron Spicer you are looking for. ( I didn,t know I was missing) I don’t remember making the buckle you mention, but it has been a long time since I worked for Superior Models. I would have to see a picture of the buckle and my signature
Mr. Ron Spicer would it be possible for you to share your experience working on the Starfleet Wars line?