Original Astrogranite?

I have always been rather puzzled by this initial shot of the famous 'astrogranite' Bloodbowl pitch which arrived with the second edition of the game. It doesn't look right does it? There is something different about the pitch seen here and the one we all played on for so many years thereafter.

Strange, isn't it?

The image above is taken from White Dwarf 101 and in many ways that edition of the magazine served as a 'launch issue' for the game. The iconic '80s artwork adorned the front cover of the mag, just like it did the big box, and inside the pages were a number of irreverent articles in support of the new game. 

I have already mentioned the 'Big Box' era of games and Bloodbowl was the very first. I find it hard to explain to younger gamers how exciting this period of GW history was. Everything was new... you were never really sure what was around the corner. Sadly, the last 25 years or so has not really been about innovation but repetition, and many have taken it for granted that such a wealth (in production or not) of GW games existed! 

Think about it! Bloodbowl, Dark Future, Space Marine, Adeptus Titanicus. Advanced Space Crusade, Advanced Heroquest.... The games seemed endless. And the excitement of purchasing one of these games was incredible. The weight of the box. That smell that opening the lid for the first time unleashed. The joy of seeing row upon row of mint plastic miniatures on sprues, card counters and playing surfaces. 

Bloodbowl's pitch was the ultimate though. For those of you who don't know, the pitch came in three sections. A middle (with a nifty skull design and Bloodbowl logo) and two identical 'ends' the completed the piece - there was even space for you to add your laminated card team colours! All in a milky grey polystyrene material.

Here's an extract from one of the '80s ads for the game.

Now compare the two boards. They really are quite different are they not? The original is more streamlined, less bulky and lacks the cracked stone paving around the edges. If you peer closely at the circular blow ups on the first image you can also see that the iconic Bloodbowl design in the centre of the pitch has simply been painted on.

In truth, they are utterly different!

You are probably thinking 'how on earth did I not notice that over the last (nearly) 30 years'? Well don't worry, I have been researching, collecting and writing about old school Games Workshop for nearly five years... and I didn't notice it either!! If it hadn't been for our friend Darren Matthews mentioning it in passing, I doubt we would have ever known.

Here is what Darren had to say:

DM: One little thing that I have remembered is that the very first Bloodbowl board used in the advert in White Dwarf was made out of... wood! I had to spend over two days trying it to resemble the polystyrene foam that was going to be included in the boxed game... I loathed having to paint it and I was never a fan of the game or it's miniatures afterwards! 

As the saying goes - you learn something new everyday! And today we discovered that the very first brutal tackles carried out in Bloodbowl second edition were on MDF, rather than the legendary 'astrogranite'!

I asked if he could recall who built the original wooden board for the game. I suspected Trish Morrison but this was just a hunch based on the fact that Bryan Ansell has since told me she built the first Mighty Fortress model out of, yes you guessed it, wood! 

DM: I don't remember who made the first Bloodbowl pitch, but Phil Lewis dumped the project on me after he had become frustrated with painting it. I had start all over again... repainting Phil's work with my own. In the end I think it took about six different coats and shades until management where happy with it. One of those 'advertising production nightmares' no-one ever finds out about! 

I asked if he could remember any other 'challenging assignments' that would match the original Bloodbowl pitch in difficulty.

DM: I remember Sid (the mysterious 'Evey Metal painter) throwing the very first Juggernaut of Khorne in the bin for being too insulting for us to paint. He said that it looked 'worse than Battle Cat from He-Man'! We all nearly died from laughing but were told off by our managers. It did stay in the bin though, for about five hours until I relented and removed it to work on. Later on, a second version of the Khorne Juggernaut arrived in the Studio and we painters all drew straws to see who would have to paint it! Everyone hated that figure in the studio and it wasn't often we received something we didn't like.

And here is the earliest Khorne Juggernaut I could find in a Games Workshop publication and one that Darren confirmed was one of his. Whether it was the unfortunate model that ended up in the bin I guess we will never know. One intriguing question does raise it's head here, though...

We all know that there are unreleased 'prototype' Beasts of Nurgle. Could there be 'prototype' Juggernauts of Khorne out there waiting to be discovered too? 

Perhaps the Nuln Spearman is riding one?

Orlygg

Behind the Scenes at Citadel Miniatures: Darren Matthew's Photographs

Photograph A

One of our heroes, ex- '80s 'Eavy Metaller Darren Matthews, recently shared a few snaps of himself at work in the Nottingham Games Workshop store during one of those famous 'Painting Demonstrations' they used to do. 

I knew as soon as I saw these on Facebook that readers of this blog would be interested in them, especially those of your who do not frequent that particular social media site. It has long been my policy to share little nuggets like this, partly to ensure that the wider community gets to see them but to also preserve them for prosperity. Facebook feeds disappear quickly! 

I have provided a little bit of a commentary for each photograph. 

Photograph A: The first thing that strikes me here is the fact that Darren is holding a second brush in his mouth. I asked him about this (as I can recall seeing a lot of the '80s painters doing this) and he quite an interesting story to tell. 

DM: The brush in the mouth was for quick blending when we were painting fast, and in the end it became a habit. This was before wet palettes were used and blending was required on a model. The studio was always very warm and so paint dried very fast. It also helped when you were using a larger brush to have a finer point ready to neaten up details, or have a second brush ready with the highlight to run into the area you needed to blend. Some days when you had six or seven figures to paint, you have to become very fast!

The case is also very interesting. It strongly resembles the box in which John Blanche's famous undead diorama sits in. Viewed for the side, you can see that cuboid blocks of what looks like polystyrene have been placed on top of each other and covered over with the paper backed 'grass' we all used to use back then. On top you can see the famous Nurgle Rhino - which I located in one of Bryan Ansell's cabinets not so long ago - only here you can see that there were once many more nurglings on the top than there are now. It is hard to make out what else is in the cabinet from this angle - a Space Wolves predator tank can also be seen perched on the top, with a titan in between the two larger models.

Of course, if you look behind Darren and have a glance at the stock in the store it is enough to make the collector in me weep. Rows of mint Warhammer Third edition books, Warhammer Armies and Townscape!! If you look carefully, you can see that there are also a row of comics on sale which all have a rather un-GW look about them!

My photograph of Darren's rhino - is it me, or are there not so many nurglings left?

Photograph B

Photograph B: Here we get a better shot of Darren and can see more of the store and that interesting miniature case. When I spoke to Darren, I asked about all of the models in the display case. They are all his own work. If you look closely you can see some very well known painted examples, including the famous red Ork Nob in power armour, the Bob Olley ogre and one of the original Bloodbowl star players. He went on to say that the Space Wolf predator tank on top was the original prototype model kit. The 'first' ever predator if you like. 

The rather obnoxious posters advertise some of the other painters in the 'Eavy Metal team at that time. The well known Ivan Bartleet (where IS he now?) and Rich Hodgkinson. Sadly, I never got the chance to visit a GW store when one of the resident painters were in and often wondered what went on. Having seen many of the models on display in that cabinet at Stoke Hall I can well imagine the excitement a visitor would feel coming face to face with models they had been gawping at for years!!

Having a look at the murky world of the store reveals more impossible treasure. The complete run of WFRP bar Empire in Flames, plastic Imperial Guard in the miniature display case and the bottom rungs of the blister wall! 

Photograph C

Photograph C: This picture is the most fascinating of all. It was taken inside the famous Games Workshop design studio during development of the Adeptus Titanicus game and shows a very rare 'work in progress' shot of a late '80s game system. I asked Darren about what he could recall of this project.

DM: I cannot remember what did or didn't end up in the final game, as development was ongoing by the time I left the company. The large mock up white landship things never made it into production and I think Tony Cottrell was behind them. The Rhinos and Land Raiders in the picture were changed as they damaged the moulds and the final product ended up looking more simple than first imagined. I know a lot of the terrain was totally scratch built from all sorts of different materials and household junk. A real 'Blue Peter' effort went into it and I made small bits of it and Tony built the rest. 

You can see many of the famous painted titans later published in White Dwarf in this shot. Steve Casey published a detailed blog post about them some year ago. Check out the link here. I love being able to see them as work in progresses too. Try comparing the miniatures you can see in this photograph with the models you can see in the 'Eavy Metal article below. 

Of course, the biggest puzzle are those large 'grav' tank models. If you look, you can see that there are clear gun emplacements and that troops seem to be 'hitching a ride' on them. What were they made from? I am no expert but the casts look like plaster to me. More importantly, what exactly were they supposed to be? And how would they have been incorporated into the game? Perhaps they are not tanks at all, but buttresses or forts? 

If anyone from the studio back then is reading this - we would love to know!

With the talk of genestealer cults popular once more, I shall leave this little article with this lovely scan from an old White Dwarf. It is one of the genestealer hybrids that Darren painted in the late '80s. 

Gorgeous isn't it?

Big thanks to Darren Matthews. If you haven't already done so, go read the interview I did with him a few months ago.

http://realmofchaos80s.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/the-harlequin-interview-with-darren.html

The Harlequin: An interview with Darren Matthews

Iconic cover art from the original Rogue Trader released harlequins. But what do they have to do with Darren Matthews? Read on. 

Oldhammer is a product of two things. Nostalgia and Social Media. Without both of these, we wouldn't have the community that so many of us enjoy today. And it's an international community too, with regular events held in the UK, US and beyond. The ease of communication that modern technology allows has fuelled our considerable growth over the last three years and facilitated the organisation of events, trades and research impossible a decade ago.

We must owe the existence of this latest Old School interview to Social Media as its subject, Darren Matthews, became part of the online Oldhammer Community through the Facebook Group. In case you do not recognise the name, he was one of the original members of the 'Eavy Metal team way back in the later part of the 1980s. But Darren's connection to Citadel and Games Workshop doesn't just begin in the later part of the decade - he was involved from practically the beginning, as we shall see.

Thankfully for us all, Darren was more than willing to exercise his memory and draw deep into the Warp to bring us some recollections of his time with the company - doing the job all of us really wanted to do: paint miniatures for money. So, on behalf of Oldhammerers everywhere, I will thank Darren for giving up his time to talk to us about his time at Games Workshop.

RoC80s: So what first got you into fantasy gaming and miniatures?

DM: I first got into Fantasy via watching movies and my Dad was a massive fan of Jason and the Argonauts so I suppose it went from there. I bought my first Citadel minis in around 1980 at a little shop on Steep in Lincoln. They were the Fantasy Tribe Skeletons. Kobolds were my next purchase and things sort of went from there. A Toy Shop in Lincoln started to sell blister packs and it was an open road from then on. Around 1985, I met Chaz Elliot in Lincoln and he got totally hooked on fantasy miniatures and I was in awe of his painting and practiced to emulate. A shop also opened in Lincoln that just dealt in fantasy miniatures and games so I started painting for the display case in the shop for lead. Also, I read the Colour Of Magic in its first ever release by a certain Mr Pratchett and was totally hooked after. I never got into gaming or could get my head round it but was collector and painter from the start.

Fantasy Tribe Skeletons: Darren Matthew's first Citadel miniatures.

RoC80s: So you were rather experienced with fantasy miniatures and their painting by the time you began working for Games Workshop. How did you get the job of painting professionally?

DM: In early 1987, when I was in my early 20s, I moved back to Nottingham and enjoyed collecting and painting miniatures. The work I had been doing in archaeology had come to an end through a cut in funding and I decided to send a sample of my painting in to the studio but with no real hope that it would lead to anything. A week later, John Blanche turned up at my front door and offered me the chance of working in the studio!

I was stunned to say the least at the time and until then thought my painting was nowhere near good enough for White Dwarf.  Sean Masterton, who was the then editor of White Dwarf, turned up with John. It was after work I found out later and they were going for a curry!

My first day was one of nerves beyond belief and a real baptism of fire meeting the established painting team. At that time, The 'Eavy Metal studio was comprised of Mike McVey, Colin Dixon, Dave Andrews and Sid and John Blanche was our boss. Tony Ackland and H also shared the studio and I really felt out of my depth. After a few weeks I understood most of the banter and what was required of a full time painter in the studio. 

Some of the other 'Eavy Metal boys from Darren's time. Lee 'I have a magnificent set of '80s curtains' Dudley was helping out during his summer holidays. Lucky bugger!

RoC80s: You mentioned the elusive Sid the Painter. We don't know much about him beyond a few photographs and an article or two. What can you tell us about him?

DM: Sid was called Tim Croxton. I think that is how you spell his surname and he came from Eastwood. He was a very intelligent guy, but a bit of a rebel. He was very good natured deep down when you got to know him.He was big into his motorbikes and cars. I don't know what happened to him after he left and I left not long after as the studio vibe had started to change.

RoC80s: What were the early days like training to be a Studio Painter?

DM: For the first few weeks I finished off old projects that had been on the back burner; such as the Wood Elves, Orcs and Snotlings from the fantasy ranges. Gradually, I was given new releases to paint before they would appear in White Dwarf, normally the following month. I also started on a few things in my spare time and meeting the Perry Twins who worked in a different part of the studio started me off on collecting historical miniatures. Bryan Ansell was the owner of the company and we always got on well when I met him. John Blanche encouraged me to experiment with paint and inks and try new painting techniques that I hadn't thought of using before. 

I have always considered John the total master of painting and Mike McVey a very close second. We all had different painting styles at the time and don't think there was a house technique to painting at the time. Gradually we saw the artwork that Tony Ackland was working on for Realms of Chaos and gradually the miniatures arrived in the studio to paint. Some of the sculpts I adored but others I wasn't so certain about and but still enjoyed painting a lot of it.

Darren's iconic colour scheme for this Ork noble. Come on, how many of you have copied this one? Below we have examples of his Chaos Dreadnought and an early Imperial Guard Sentinel. 

And here is the same model in digital form. Photograph by Steve Casey. From The Bryan Ansell Collection, Wargames Foundry, Stoke Hall Stables. 

The sentinel too, though a little blurry. Photograph by Steve Casey. From The Bryan Ansell Collection, Wargames Foundry, Stoke Hall Stables. 

RoC80s: Were you able to work on more personal projects in the Studio? We see a large number of dioramas and things coming out around that time - what did you work on?

DM: I was also working on my own related projects in my spare time (for my own collection) and had the idea one day to convert a plastic Rhino AFV into one that had been overtaken by Nurgle. I liked the idea of melding a tank with living things and ended up sculpting green stuff maggots bursting from the hull. It threw a few people at the time when they first saw it but I just went with it. 

I loved painting tanks and completed some of the first few Rhino AFV's and the Predator. Khorne and Nurgle were my two favourite Chaos elements and enjoyed painting miniatures for both. At one stage for inspiration, Kev Adams sent Phil Lewis to come and take photos of us all pulling faces and they were used for his inspiration for some of his Chaos sculpts. Each day was different and I enjoyed the variety of the painting and kit making. The first plastic 40k Imperial Guard were released to mixed reception in the painting studio and part plastic miniatures were becoming a regular thing and they were always a challenge to work on. Titans were also slowly lifting off and epic scale was also being developed while I was there. A real challenge was painting all of Jes Goodwin's first Eldar Harlequin miniature's for the boxed set in one bank holiday weekend. It took every ounce of my painting ability and threw it together, but looking back still think they were a bit rushed. 

The back of the RTB6 release. Darren's patterns and ideas here still influence painters to this day, so it is a real pleasure to give credit to him here. 

RoC80s: Did you just say you painted the original Harlequin models over a Bank Holiday weekend?

DM: Yes, they were the Harlequins from the very first boxed set release and they were given to me on the Friday afternoon and I delivered them back painted on the Tuesday morning - much to everyone's shock! My girlfriend at the time was away and I just sat and painted for 12 hours solid each day until they were done. I had a very small brief from Jes Goodwin and I was left, more or less, to my own colour schemes and patterns. I got a bit of a telling off for painting nipples showing through on one of the female eldar's torsos, and I was told to paint them out - but i don't think I ever did. I understand that that box set was one of the biggest sellers they had ever had and in some way I am proud that my painting helped sell them. Jes Goodwin's sculpts were stunning and very advanced for the period in regards of the poses he used. Looking back at it now, it was a lot of work - but i enjoyed it!

RoC80s: You mentioned the 'Studio Vibe' - what was it like to work in?

DM: The working environment was great, but it was something I wasn't really used to as I had worked outdoors in archaeology with very mixed teams. At the time I first started, I wasn't that confident in my painting ability and it showed to start with. I have always been very self critical of my painting and don't like to rush things. The banter took some getting used to and I suppose Sid gave me a bit of a testing time teasing for the first few weeks but it came to a head and I stood my ground and we became great friends after. Seeing Sid leave when he did was one of the worst days, if not the worst, I had in studio as we had become a very good friends by then. 

Some days we could each have a single miniature to work on, but on others we had a batch to get done for deadline and that could be a lot of pressure to get finished on time for a publication date. After a few months, I settled in and enjoyed the small level of chaos and the minor anarchy which was the painting studio at the time. We were a superb team and worked well together and were mostly the same age group, so we all had a similar sense of humour and outlook.

The Golden Demon days we did in the 80s, I always found a bit scary and overwhelming to be honest. I was fairly nervous of people but used to put a front on, I also dreaded painting in the shop or in public in those days. I think I could handle it now if I could see to paint well these days. Bryan was an excellent boss though and so was John Blanche and both put up with my nerves. I met Fraser Gray and he was great bloke, I loved his work and was totally blown away by what he could achieve. He visited the studio a couple of times while I was there.

Darren's Nurgle Rhino makes an appearance in this diorama from the back of White Dwarf 113. 

RoC80s: So how did that vibe change with time?

DM: Things had started to go a bit corporate towards the end of my term to some extent and a studio painting style was emerging which not all of us fully enjoyed or felt totally comfortable with. Before that I think people had been trusted to deliver the goods constantly and they mostly did. If you were not happy with something you ran it by the team and got a honest response and the lads were always superb for that and it was highly valued. I suppose by time I was ready to go I wasn't enjoying it as much as I did.

RoC80s: Were there any other stand out ranges that you worked on that really excited you as a painter?

DM: I enjoyed working on the miniatures for Space Hulk. The first terminator miniatures blew us all away when we first saw the sculpts. Sapce Wolves were my favourite marine Chapter and I as one of the first people to paint the black wolf head on a yellow background. By mid 1989, my life had changed and I was commuting between Lincoln and Nottingham and this was putting a lot of strain and pressure on my work. In a rash moment in 1989, I decided to leave and I suppose at the time I wasn't thinking too clearly but had worked for the company for 18 months and needed a change. Looking back, I have no regrets about working in such a fantastic environment and working with so many good and talented people. I will always remember it fondly and enjoyed my time painting miniatures for one the best miniature companies in the world, at that time.

I also enjoyed working on a slow-burning solo Space Wolf project but I never got around to totally finishing it, what with all the other work I had on the go on top, but it was intended to be a full chapter. Some photos were taken by Phil Lewis and I think one got on to a back cover of White Dwarf. I also enjoyed painting the Marauder Dwarves for Trish and Aly Morrison. This was 'in house painting' but don't think we ever got credit for it as painters. Mike McVey's Empire troops he did for them were mind blowing at the time. Mike was the best painter on the studio floor.

One of my personal favourites of Darren's time at GW. This magnificent ork gargant. 

I am almost certain that this model was in Bryan's cabinet display of his genestealer cult last year at BOYL.

Chaos warriors are iconic in Warhammer. And the painting schemes were never really any more chaotic than this. Another favourite of mine.