Once upon a time there was a not Judge Dredd......

Sci Fi films and books have been copied mercilessly throughout the years within the miniatures industry so it was with great joy I came upon an old 80's Tabletop Games' Laserburn miniature 'LB100 Law Officer with pistol'. Sculpted by a slightly younger Bob Olley who was also responsible for a number of pieces in this range......Tony Ackland providing the rest. Pics of most can be found on the Lost Minis WIKI here. 

Also a pic of the 'LB102 Law Officer on bike' courtesy of my good friend Vincent.

Whatever was Bob thinking of when he designed these? I am quite desperate for the bike variant so please think of me if you come across one.....

Another good example from the Laserburn range is the Szithks war bird by Mr Ackland...lovely stuff.

15mm versions of most are now available again via Alternative Armies here. The smaller scale aliens were sculpted by the legend that is Tony Yates, may he live long and prosper. Alternative Armies has also dug out some of the 25mm molds for the Tony Acklands pirates along with the old Asgard Space Marines here. Don't, of course, confuse their Space Marines with the Games Workshop trademarked version.......after all, these were only released beforehand.....

As always give me a shout on enquiries@deartonyblair.co.uk

Pictures that didn't make the 1983 Armory's Guide......

In 1983 a US importer of miniatures and gaming paraphernalia released what was to become, for me, a veritable pre-internet Bible. The Armory's Buying Guide to Fantasy Miniatures; Vol 1 Issue 1.

 A short few years later the manager of the Games Workshop where I worked in Manchester (Tim Olsen) travelled over to foresee the GW taking apart of the company after it had fallen the way of many, if indeed not most, gaming related companies in those halcyon days of yore. I sent him over with a large list of pieces I would like with little thought of the cost involved....I worked alongside a youthful (as was I at the time) Tony Cottrell who now runs Forge World. Tim came back laden with bits and pieces but without the cornucopia of lead I was hoping for...apparently airlines at that point preferred to be able to have their planes being able to leave the ground. Strange. Anyway, Tim brought me back my first ever Dragontooth set......The Magic Shop. Thanks Tim!

It was a loose unboxed set however it was my first sight of actual Dragontooth minis after the few that had been advertised in the early Citadel / Games Workshop catalogues of the 70s. I was hooked even further along that nylon line of leadalism....... I digress a little. The line drawings in the Guide were invaluable and only after the advent of the internet did I start to find more and more of these pieces......the perils of Stateside trading had not even entered my tiny mind before that point. By the time the Guide came out a few companies had already fallen themselves, Heritage Models Inc and Superior Models being two of the most memorable. Minifigs' lines had changed and their Stateside 'World of Greyhawk', an amalgamation of their historical and fantasy lines to populate said world had gone.....as well as the wonderful Valley of the Four Winds and the Aureolo Rococo. Today some of these pieces are being resurrected by Dave at Caliver Books here.....don't forget the more you hassle him, the more he will find. Mention my name for a speedy rebuttal....

A copy of the Armory Guide is available in PDF format from the wonderful 'Painted Miniatures' site here.

The point of this post...if there is one beyond my waffle..is one of posting some more old ads from Dragon magazine, the old TSR publication that lost its way once it stopped featuring miniatures...in my most humble opinion of course. The miniatures are mostly photographed on the Lost Minis WIKI..where there are gaps there is a need........ Enjoy.

Also discovered this one for Citadel Miniatures........most illustration are in the Armory's Guide however a few aren't so worth tagging on here.

 

As always enquiries@deartonyblair.co.uk

Heritage / Der Kriegspielers adverts and stuff

I picked up a number of Campaigns magazines from the States and some of them are full of wonderful old miniatures referencing material. These are all mid 70s. Here are the first bunch of pics......Der Kriegspielers, one of the early wargaming companies that joined Bugle & Guidon and later joined Heritage (see previous posts) ... a veritable melting pot of talent although there are many scandalous piracy rumours regarding Hinton Hunt and others (see The Old Metal Detector blog for more of that stuff....wonderful blog).

If anyone has access / a copy of the Der Kriegspielers catalogue in the below add please contact me. I would love a copy, either electronic or physical. I have the Hinchliffe Handbook, bought at the time by a rather younger me.....

and a pic of where they all ended up.....9840 Monroe Drive, Dallas, Texas. One day I will pop over there and get a pic taken with myself in the shot. One day...........

As always; enquiries@deartonyblair.co.uk

Bob Olley's Victorian Scrunts Kickstarter

Yay! Christmas has come early. My rewards from the Olley's Armies Kickstarter arrived this morning so I thought I would share some pics. Lovely sculpts and castings as always from the Maestro and his Missus.

Set 5 "Victorian Scrunt Thugs"

Set 4 "At the Cockfight"

Various head sets and some freebies :)

Steampunk Tank Type 1

Queen Victoria and Ratter. Be careful when getting Queen Victoria out as I broke her top of her steam chimney crown in my haste....grrrrr. Silly mistake and all my own fault. 

And of course, Queen Victoria gets to meet that other Bob Olley sculpt, Mags, Evil Duergar Queen of the Damned. 

enquiries@deartonyblair.co.uk

Blog minis for sale!

Hidden deep underground below Zurich where the 1% plot, a hidden paparazzi captures a party... so Thatcher, Saddam and Gaddafi are not dead after all... the world must be told... 

All now available here; https://thelittlesoldiercompany.co.uk/politicos

DTB20 Men in Black, Will J and Tommy K

DTB21 Netty Yahoo, God has Given

DTB19 Jarem, Keeper of the Past at rest

DTB18 Jarem, Keeper of the Past

DTB17 Bojo, Clown Prince of Lies

DTB16 Nigo, Bringer of Mayhem

DTB15 Bern, Socialist Lord of Change

DTB14 Teresa, Infernal Voice of Confusion

DTB13 Corbyn, Bringer of Equality

DTB12 Merkel, Opener of Gateways

DTB11 Hilary, Angel of Surety

DTB10 Donald, Lord of Covfefe

DTB9 Sad Do, Deserted Warrior

DTB8 Kim Do, Inference of Might

DTB7 Gaddo, Despoiler of Realms

DTB6 Party Political pig’s head Demonic Familiar

DTB5 Underking David, Pursuant of Charm

DTB4 Prince Obama, Resolute in Despair

DTB3 Putin, Lord of all He Surveys

DTB2 Mags, Evil Duergar Dwarven Queen of the Damned

DTB1 Tony, Evil Duergar Dwarven Princeling 

The figures are not designed for standard slottas and do not come with any - if using them with a slotta you will need to cut away some of the plastic base as the tabs are quite deep. Clipping the tab and drilling & pinning the figure to a resin base (such as the Fenris Games cobblestone base below) is probably the best way of presenting them if you are so inclined! You may also need to clean some mold lines / flash etc.

DTB1 Tony, Evil Duergar Dwarf Princeling

DTB2 Mags, Evil Duergar Dwarf Queen of the Damned

The above pics are courtesy of Boki Gromdal, that Dwarven David Bailey over at Stunties. 

In times of political upheaval and pressure, there's nothing like a Party Political Pig to get you through the mess...

All from the talented hands of Bob Olley, cast by Pete Brown of The Mouldmaker and below painted by the wonderful Paul Sanderson...

All the world's a stage and we are but...

DTB 3, Putin, Lord Of all He Surveys.. DTB 4, Prince Obama, Resolute in Despair and DTB 5, Underking David, Pursuant of Charm...

And now my own painted examples of previous releases... I was thinking of excuses but I'm sure you can make your own... lol.

  

and not forgetting.....The Political Party Pig painted by Paul of 'Here Be Goblins'



Pete creating the master mould from Bob's sculpts...

and then using master castings for the production mould.....

As this is a hobby I am always open to trading for other minis.......I just can't help it....

Usual disclaimers apply...these miniatures contain lead......they are not suitable for young children or babies, should not be eaten etc.

Please contact me on enquiries@deartonyblair.co.uk for other details...cash, cheque, Paypal payment, first born etc.

More pics of the miniature progress here.

Painted Minis!

15/07/2019 A new bunch painted by Phil Norden, keep them coming!

Carsten of Clamshells and Sea Horses has been busy again........Underking David, Pursuant of Charm and his Demonic Familiar.......lots more pics and background on his blog link above....

No introduction needed......courtesy of Carsten of Clamshells and Sea Horses

Team America by Mikko.

Cameroon and Vlad courtesy of Mikko.

More pics here.

3 more dictators courtesy of Mikko.

More pics here.

A painted Mags and Tony courtesy of Mikko Kurki-Suonio

His gaming site is here.

Chris Betteridge sent me his Mags and Tony. He also sent a few pics of other political parodies by other companies.....how dare they..... 😊

Carsten at Clamshells & Seahorses has done Maggie proud!
(check his Derek the troll below as well)

Andy Hides has been at it again!

Baron Samedi

David Hameron and his familiar, Pigwig

Pastor Blair

Vlad the Insufficient

Leaders of the New World Order.....

By Dags of Frothers fame.....

Derek the Troll and Mags painted by my good hobby mate Andy Hides...

Derek by the inestimable Frank Weaver.....

Derek painted by another good hobby mate, Carsten. His blog post here. Also check his wonderful blog and John Pickford commissioned sculpts here.

Send me pics and I'll post them here!

enquiries@deartonyblair.co.uk