Orlygg at Salute 2014

A pleasant spring sun welcomed me this morning as I prized myself from my bed to prepare for the annual trip to Salute in London. This year, I was making a new contact (and a rather local one at that) in the guise of Stuart Klatcheff who joined the Oldhammer Forum and the Facebook Community recently. He dwells in distant Great Leighs and I picked him up at 8:30. We arrived at about 10am and were confronted by the queues. They were easily the biggest I had ever seen and the Salute team had prepared a vast empty space for us to gather in. 

The top picture gives you some idea of that space and of the number of people preparing to enter the show. 

As always, we were entertained during the short walk around by the antics of the costumed Star Wars chaps. I quipped the ever-sharp jibe about the stormtrooper above being 'a little short' and was promptly told to 'move along' for my efforts. 

The costumes these enthusiasts dress up in are excellent, as this sand blaster trooper from Tatoonie goes to show and there were a great many others to see, including a rather scary Judge Dredd. Alas, I didn't witness him busting any perps!

My first port of call was the Foundry stand. As you can imagine it was packed out with punters stocking up on their excellent metal castings. However, this year they had brought along Kevin 'The Goblin-Master' Adams with his incredible model range, now called Warmonger. Kev was more than willing to chat (at great length) about his work and his recovery and I am pleased to announce that he has agreed to do a RoC80s interview about the old days in the very near future. So look out for that in the coming months! He was very pleased to be at the show, especially considering that the Ansells had put him up in a swanky hotel all expenses paid! He told me he still had one operation to go but he is back at work and very grateful for all the support he received from the community. 

Kev was also keen to show off his latest work and had a pocket full of castings. This were a new range of goblins for Midlam Miniatures which were brilliant and could have easily been a Citadel original from 1985. Sadly, not all the castings were for sale, including this topless 'gobliness' as the owner of Midlam didn't like the sculpt. 

Tony Hough dropped by with his daughter and I managed to capture the moment with a cheeky not quite selfie thanks to Paul Golgfag from the Oldhammer Forum. 

Meeting up with some Oldhammer stalwarts, we stopped for a quick lunch before exploring the trade stands. Here Leadpest listens to Golgfag's idea for his big game at the Oldhammer Weekend in August.

Leadpest, Stuart and Leadpest's brother enjoy a rather expensive Salute sandwich. Thanks to Leadpest, I am now the proud owner of Sgt. Kratz from the Death on the Reik range. A fine trade indeed, an old school piece of Citadel for a coffee! 

As you would expect, the quality of miniature painting on display was deeply impressive. This D&D beholder-type creature was my show favourite.

And yes, Dreadfleet is still on sale. £60 a copy for interested parties. Sadly, relegated to the bargin bins of the wargaming world. I felt that the miniatures and mechanics were fairly decent. 

As I said previously, many of the pieces that Kevin Adams did for Foundry all those years back are now becoming part of Warmonger miniatures. These were for sale as a special Salute only range and I bought up the Orcling Outriders to make a special unit of goblin cavalry. As you would expect, these are beautifully sculpted models full of charm and expertly cast. 

Much of the range that Bryan Ansell was promoting on eBay last year have been repackaged here. Including the famous 'Mercenary Orc' models. 

Kev's trademark faces are apparent on all of the models. They are a real pleasure to paint. As I said, I intend to create a little comical goblin cavalry unit complete with rules from WFB3 for a future scenario with these models. 

Kev had a pocket full of castings he had just finished work on. These were for Midlam Miniatures, a company I had not heard anything from before and he recommended that I checked out the range. They were brilliant and were very in-keeping with the old school ethos of Oldhammer. They had a very Citadel-vibe to them so I picked up a couple of models to try out. Two goblins, an archer and a captain, to paint up and compare. 

A quick close up shot of one of the Goblin Captain Kev did for Midlam. They are part of the Goblinvylle range that they have put out but there models don't stop with greenskins. There were plenty of other models on offer, inlcuding many townsfolk that reminded me of the old Citadel ones. 

I was also able to pick up the remaining ex-Citadel barbarians that I failed to get hold of the last time I was at the Foundry. Lots of nice models in here that will be part of my future Old School Norse army at some point. 

 All in all, another great show. Right, were is that paintbrush!

Orlygg

The Malignancy of Malal: Creating colour schemes for the 'Lost Chaos God'

Remember when I waxed lyrical about Oldhammer Miniatures? If you cannot quite remember have a look at this post here. I waffled on about the prospect of creating Oldhammer inspired miniatures. It all seemed just a pipe dream back then, but someone has only gone and done it! 

By now, I am sure that many of you are aware that George Fairlamb has produced a miniature inspired by Anthony Ackland's unused Malal concept. Perhaps some of you have even gone as far as buying yourself a copy (or five, like me) of the miniature. I was very excited to find that the models had arrived early on Friday morning and that I would get the chance to fiddle around with the sculpt and get the model painted over the weekend. This post will chronicle my efforts to get the model from the commercial plastic pouch and on to the gaming table. I can do a fair bit of this myself, but I am hoping that you, dear readers, can help contribute to the gaming side, namely 'the rules and fluff', but more of that later.

Lets have a look at what I received from CP Models.

 

There we have five very well cast and packaged hooked horrors. As you can see, they arrive with circular bases but I intend to base mine using 25mm squares, so they can fit in more easily with my RoC stuff. Dispensing with the packaging materials, this is what you end up with...

The miniatures are cast in a crisp white metal and hold detail very well. I was impressed with the lack of flash and only had very minor mould lines to contend with. Five minutes of idle filing later and they were a thing of the past. Putting the creature together was a little more challenging though, as you will no doubt see when you get your hands on these. Not that it bothered me much, as I can remember the days when such problems were the norm for multi-part metal models. I think that it is very easy to become complacent about the modelling side of things after dealing with one to many CAD products, after all, you just get used to things fitting together. Here, I had to file down the inside of the arms and legs and attach pins. This gave the limbs the support I was looking for as well as allowing me to position the arms a little more carefully. I had a go at forcibly bending the metal in places, and though the parts made a strange cracking noise, nothing snapped or became weak. When I was reasonably happy with the positioning of the first model ( and I didn't have very long thanks to the needs of son/daughter/wife combined) I undercoated the model in black. 

I opted for a black and white colour scheme, to match the background of Malal. Only, I wanted to try out something a little different in the painting. Re-reading Andy Craig's great article about painting (check it out if you haven't already) I decided on using blue to highlight black. So I worked up the raised areas of the body using Chaos Black and old school Enchanted Blue. I dipped a little of the bone colour in for the final highlight. The hooves, hooks and head were painted with a mix of Bleached Bone and Enchanted Blue. As you can imagine, I only used a very little amount of the blue in the mix, and added even less black, but  was happy with the colour harmony effect and promptly worked up the bone bits until the final highlight was pure white. The base was completed in my usual super quick way.

Here are the results, and apologies for the poor lighting. What do you guys think then? Any comments or ideas about the colour scheme. 

Now, if you are wondering about scale, as indeed were a number of members of the Oldhammer Community Facebook page, cast your eye over this next photograph. Now, there has been some debate over what the actual image by Tony Ackland actually shows - beast or lesser daemon? For me, the model is best used as a lesser daemon, largely because between them, the lesser and the greater daemons are more useful in game terms. As an aside, I am trying to convince George to bang out the Greater Daemon to Tony's design in the near future, so fingers crossed there. 

Here's the hooked horror alongside some other contemporary models from the Realm of Chaos releases, and oh, another follower of Malal too! Can you spot him? As you can see, George's model fits in perfectly and will no doubt, just like many of the daemons before it, prove to be an absolute nightmare to rank up!

I am really proud of the model as it is, for all terms and purposes, the 'first' Oldhammer miniature. Why do I think this you may ask? Well, it was the Oldhammer Community that reached out to Tony Ackland in the first place, he agreed to share his unpublished work with us; that work was enjoyed by many thousands of enthusiasts amd one of which was inspired enough to have a crack and producing a model.

And here it is!

Well done George!

So what are your thoughts then? Any sage advice or opinions about the painted miniature? Would you have done anything differently?

Orlygg

Recognise this? Its one of Tony Hough's unused sketches. It started off life as a Games Day doodle and was developed into a proper illustration at John Blanche's instruction. It has remained in Tony's possession ever since. What do you think of this representing a Renegade of Malal? With a sculptor already interested in the project, this may too become an 'Oldhammer' miniature of its own one day!

Where Are They Now? Elder Artworks by Tony Hough and Fangorn

Some months ago I put the word out that I was interested in tracking down the whereabouts of key pieces of '80s GW artwork. I came up trumps with the collection of Tim Pollard, who lived with John Blanche and Wayne England during our period of interest and collected many works during that time. 

I am happy to state, that I was contacted by Jon Boyce a couple of weeks ago with details about his collection of artworks and he was keen to share them with us here at Realm of Chaos 80s. So without any further ado, I'll hand over to him as he takes you through his small collection of pieces. Of course, if you own any classic old school artworks and wish to share them with the wider collecting world please contact me here, at realmofchaos80s@yahoo.co.uk.

Eldar Broadside in print in White Dwarf.

Eldar Broadside by Tony Hough

I remember this image very fondly from WD127 (the Craftworld Eldar army list issue). All the background, illustrations and models sparked my continuing love for Eldar. Back in late 2007 there was the unsavoury incident where a Tony Hough illustration was temporarily stolen from an exhibition in Warhammer World. I had seen the exhibition and it prompted me to see whether Tony had an online presence, and specifically whether he had the WD127 image available for sale. A simple exchange of emails later, and in the New Year of 2008 I was the proud owner of in my view an iconic piece of GW artwork. Tony also kindly sent me a letter giving the background to the image; one of a set of 30 he did originally intended to form part of a Space Fleet rulebook (which never got off the ground).

 

Eldar Bridge & Eldar Weapons Fire by Tony Hough

I acquired both of these much more recently, as a direct result of the great interview with Tony Hough on your blog. I took to perusing Tony's gallery after reading the article, and happened to see a couple of additional Eldar images I hadn't seen before. I got back in touch with Tony and he confirmed they were from the same sequence of Space Fleet images as my first piece - he was happy to let me have them both to make a stunning triptych!

 

Eldar Legion / Ork Horde by Chris Baker aka Fangorn

I happened on this piece on ebay - simply labelled "Eldar Artwork". When I saw the auction, there were very few details in the listing, only a couple of days left and no bids. The starting bid was £120, but I recognised the image from the Epic Eldar Legion and Ork Hordes box sets. Either through lack of interest or simply going under the radar, mine was the only bid. I was delighted when I received the painting (which looks suspiciously like it has been painted using Citadel paints) - it's pretty big (67x28cm) and has a wealth of little details which you can't make out in the cropped and resized box artwork. I spoke with the seller and asked for a few details - it turns out he was Chris Baker's son and was selling the artwork to help fund a gap year. One my mates who has a fine art degree says this painting goes against all the rules of composition - the focal point (in the middle of the painting), actually has no detail or points of interest. This makes me wonder whether the painting was originally conceived as two separate pieces for use as the box art. 

What do you think?

Eldar Broadside and its accompanying letter from The Patriarch himself, Tony Hough.

Of course, Tony Hough is a friend of Realm of Chaos 80s, having been interviewed here alongside a gallery of his pieces and he occasionally contributes his valuable knowledge to discussions in the comments section. He also has a website and contacted me recently to explain that he hopes to attend Oldhammer Day at the Foundry in August, and Tony intends to bring his remaining artworks along for viewing and (hopefully) sale. 

Fancy owning one yourself? Just contact Tony and make an offer!

tonyhough2000@yahoo.co.uk

Don't forget to tell us all about though!

Orlygg.

The Patriarch: An Interview with the artist Tony Hough

A huge number of artists contributed to the look and feel of the early Warhammer, Rogue Trader and the Realm of Chaos books. Discounting the background and rules presented in these works, what you have are highly collectible art books jammed packed with astonishing, almost mind reeling, illustrations. There were a huge number of contributors during this period, and looking at the body of work they have left us, there are clear signs of creative 'cross pollination'. One style that predominates, presumably for economic as well as practical reasons, is the black and white pen and ink style. Artists such as Ian Miller and Tony Hough produced vividly detailed images whose scratchy chaos helped lay the foundations of the Warhammer Mythos. 

What follows is an interview, and presentation of some of his works, with the hugely talented Tony Hough. Tony did not belong to the studio like the 'other Tony' (Ackland) and was employed as a freelance illustrator, sometimes working at frightening speed to produce a wide range of different illustrations that were used extensively in GW publications from 1987. We discuss his influences, his relationships with some of the other artists involved and some of his wider work.    

RoC80s: Why an artist? What led you down the path of pencils, gouache and pen and ink?

TH: Drawing books and plasticine were cheap in the '60s! My mum had three little rugrats to deal with, so something that would keep me quietly occupied was a bonus. My early efforts were an expression of my games and daydreams, the results being less important to me than the process. Later, I started keeping and showing off my efforts both for the praise I got (mostly for being quiet) and so I could remember and elaborate on my earlier games.

RoC80s: What were your influences as a young artist?

TH: My first inspirations were the dusty corners of the house, the creepy-crawlies I found in the garden and the outside loo (yes, I'm that old...) and the stuff I saw on TV, at the Saturday Morning Pictures and in comics. So drawing and SF, Fantasy (and later Horror) were part of my life from the earliest times. I drew a lot of daleks and the robot from Lost In Space!

RoC80s: You worked on a great deal of later '80s GW products, Slaves to Darkness and Rogue Trader to name a few, how did the relationship between you and the company begin? 

TH: In the early eighties I discovered Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, RPGs and wargames and it seemed like a natural outlet for my talents, so I sent several batches of samples to GW . Then some time in '87  I had a call from John Blanche saying that he thought my style would suit a new project that was in the pipeline: Rogue Trader.

RoC80s: The Design Studio during the '80s seems to have been an incredibly creative place. Did you find it so? Which artists who also contributed to the early Warhammer/Rogue Trader mythos had the biggest influence over your work?

TH: I had some preparatory material sent to me including a lot of wonderful early 40K designs by Will Rees: Surreal, dark and very gigeresque I also later got to meet other design studio bods and artists at meetings, Games Days and conventions. It was a hugely fun, encouraging and creative team to work with. 

I was especially pleased to meet a few of my existing art heroes: Jim Burns and Ian Miller were artists whose work had enthralled me for years. I also met Martin McKenna, Tony Ackland and Pete Knifton, among others, artists with whom I had a great deal in common in terms of interests and influences. Martin, in particular, was like me a massive Whovian (at a time when little Dr Who was officially available on video) and a comic art enthusiast too.

RoC80s: When we spoke at Salute, you mentioned how you were drawing Space Marines for Rogue Trader without secure knowledge about what their legs would look like, as the miniatures hadn't yet been completed. Was this a common problem during your work? Did it throw up any difficulties? If it did, how were they resolved?

TH: It was never considered a problem really as in those early stages things in the 40K universe were yet unfixed, bar the fact that the universe was a vast and varied place! There was a lot of creative room for artists to contribute to what would later crystallise into the canonical background, and anything else would simply be explained as nonstandard local variation. The same freedom would allow the gamer to import into their 40K games whatever models they could find, scratchbuild or co-opt from other ranges, which was important when there were very few "official" figures and vehicle models yet available for the game.

RoC80s: How did being a freelance artist work in relation to the studio? Did you attend meetings? Receive support materials or design briefs? How did you know what the art department wanted?

TH: I was kept informed mostly by phone or letter and sent photocopies, sample figures and photos for reference. I did go up to Nottingham a few times for special briefings, albeit rarely.

RoC80s: Slaves to Darkness is 25 years old this August. What can you recall about working on the book? Was it a chaotic and problematic as the 'legends' suggest?

TH: If the 40K universe offered a lot of creative leeway, Chaos added even more, so many of us GW artists were especially keen on this project. I didn't have any inkling of problems with that project at the time, I was just revelling in the fun of creating all those whacky Chaos creatures!

RoC80s: Did you work on design concepts for any of the miniature ranges? If so, which ones?

TH: I never directly designed any of the model ranges, which was more the job of those working at the studio itself. However at least in the early formative period the designers would often be inspired by the illustrators and vice versa.

RoC80s: What can you recall about cancelled projects? Did you contribute much artwork that was never used?

TH: I did a set of 30 fairly elaborate black and white illos for the project that would have been Battlefleet Gothic. The project was delayed for several years, although they used some material for a short-lived Space Fleet game. The rules leaflet as I recall ended up only a page long! My BG illos mostly appeared in White Dwarf, and very small too, so my intricate (and probably overblown) detail was all but lost. There were a few other illos here and there that never saw the light of day due to reshuffles and rethinks of various projects. The later version of Battlefleet Gothic came out around '97 when I was working at the Luton Games Workshop store (as a keytimer!) with an entirely new set of ship designs and artwork.

RoC80s: You are probably most well known for your 'Patriarch' image published in WD118. What is the story behind this iconic work of art?

TH: There was a lovely model of the Patriarch, his advisor and throne which I was sent photos of. I just concocted the illo from that reference, embellishing the scene with extra details, a background/setting etc. I was very pleased some time later to see that someone had recreated the illo as a diorama using the available model and scratchbuilding my bits around it, complete with caged crow and columns decorated with Terminator helmets. The illo remains a fan favourite and one of which I'm quite proud. I still have the original on my wall.

The Patriarch

RoC80s: You produced a massive amount of black and white pen illustrations for GW... Can you give us non-artists some idea about how long many of these images took you to compose?

TH: It depended how much time I was given! Detailed work in my usual old-fashioned pen and ink style took a relatively long time: Two or three days work for an A3 page. However often there was a need to use a more concise and rapid style. For example on Warhammer Siege I had to resort to a very quick brush and ink style with soft pencil shading because I had 22 illos to complete in one week! I had an exhibition in Luton a couple of years back at which I displayed just about all of the GW originals still in my possession together for the first time...I was actually quite flabbergasted myself to see how much wall space they covered, considering my spell as a GW artist was really only about 4 and a half years in total! I have a great many artwork originals from my time working for GW which are available for sale to serious collectors. See HERE for details!

A well known Eldar image that Tony reworked ,in colour, for celebration of the 25th Anniversary of Rogue Trader.

RoC80s: Is it true you are one of the few artists to have had work stolen from a display in Warhammer World?

TH: That's right! One of my early Eldar illos I loaned back to WW for the anniversary display was prised from a display case and had away with. Thankfully though,  it was returned anonymously just a week or two later.I suppose I should feel complemented that someone coveted it so much!! 

RoC80s: Where did your career take you in later days? Did you specialise in fantasy and science-fiction or did your skills find different niches to explore?

TH: Actually I've not been as successful as a freelance artist as I might have wished. I more or less stopped during the recession in the 90s, first to do a degree in Psychology and then, finding my self suddenly a parent, I was forced to resort to other "normal" jobs to support my family. Aside from the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks it has mostly been community arts projects, some children's books and some RPG supplements and private commissions for me. It was only recently, since doing Bloodbones in 2006 that I began to seriously think of getting back into illustration in any major way. I even recently did some training as a tattooist, which I enjoyed immensely and hope to continue alongside other artistic projects. Anyhow, I still think my best illustration days are ahead of me and I'm looking for new projects right now!! 

One of Tony's other works of art... Disturbing stuff! 

More from the fantastic mind of Tony Hough

You can see examples of Tony's work, old and new, at  His Official Gallery Site    

And can join him online by 'liking' his   Facebook Page

And finally, many of Tony's GW pieces are for sale. See HERE for details! Own a piece of British gaming history- if you can persuade the wife to let to spend your hard earned cash!