White Dwarf 63 - Tabletop Heroes by Joe Dever & Gary Chalk

 

Just grabbed a random White Dwarf magazine and realised I had forgotten how much I loved the Tabletop Heroes articles. I was always in awe of the skillset of these guys... nowadays we are spoilt for choice with printed and resin scenery but, back then you mostly had to scratchbuild unless you could afford the joys of companies such as Otherworld Artifacts. I recently picked up the Warrior's Watchtower (http://www.deartonyblair.co.uk/2021/11/otherworld-artifacts-set-9-warriors.html) and it is every bit as wonderful as it looks on these hallowed pages. Leafing through the magazine makes me remember how many small miniature companies have disappeared over the years... 

You can still get most of the pirates as they've been re-released by Wargames Foundry... image borrowed with permission.

https://www.wargamesfoundry.com/collections/pirates-and-swashbucklers/products/cut038-captain-gibbons-flotsam

There's a few more posts on Otherworld Artifacts here including a box opening of the aforementioned Watchtower and the 1986 catalogue.

Blog minis master castings done..........

Excitement comes in many forms.. this one is lead... all courtesy of Pete B at The Mouldmaker.

DTB1

DTB2

plus a not for sale Derek the Troll (sculpted by that new boy genius George Fairlamb from the old White Dwarf comic strip by Lew Stringer). 

enquiries@deartonyblair.co.uk

Dear Tony Blair - the miniatures....

In or around 1974 I started enjoying aspects of this hobby.....almost 40 years later I have gone to do something of my own...........2 Evil Duergar by Bob Olley and Derek the Troll (old White Dwarf comic strip penned by Lew Stringer) sculpted by the boy genius George Fairlamb....

Once the greens arrived with Pete at The Mouldmaker they were spaced on the mold rubber and the cavities made...this ensures the rubber flows around the green with less pressure that could lead to damage and mis-molding....all pics below courtesy of Pete....

Maggie's face pushed down as far as it will go......

placed in the can ready for the pressing of the actual mold....note the placement of the molding studs...

Pete carefully prises the mold halves apart....

and lo and behold there came unto Pete a beautifully crafted spin mold..

the alchemical reactions of green to brown....where is Gordon?

and the cast themselves..DTB 1 

DTB 2....

and a troll...this one will not for be for sale as it was based (as above) on the GW creation Derek the Troll by Lew Stringer and was given to me as such. See Lew's comments.

The man himself, Pete brown of The Mouldmaker...a true character with possibly one of the best jobs in the industry....

More details once the 'Disorganised Me' sorts things out...........no idea what to call them as yet...no idea how to package them...no idea how to.......well, you get the drift.

enquiries@deartonyblair.co.uk

May 1977 was a good month..............

White Dwarf magazine appeared for the first time from the ashes of a little known Games Workshop fanzine called Owl & Weasel.....I only have the March '77 copy so here's a taster......

Just finished a figure for Boki Gromdal at Stunties. The unpainted mini is a prize created by that sculpting God, John Pickford......for Clam's Chaos Dwarfs Online painting competition.......

Still some work to do as once I uploaded the pics I noticed the pool of glue or varnish under the feet....grrrrrrr.

Check out Clam's 'Clamshells and Sea Horses' blog as well.