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Industry | Miniature wargaming |
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Genre | Scale models |
Headquarters | , |
Products | Metal, plastic and resin miniature figures |
Parent | Games Workshop Group PLC |
Citadel Miniatures Limited is a company which produces metal, resin and plastic miniature figures for tabletop wargames such as Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000 .
In the past, Citadel Miniatures was a separate company, but it has become a brand for Games Workshop miniatures. Although its models are used for the wargaming hobby, the painting of its miniatures (and miniatures in general) is a hobby in itself. [1]
In 1976, Bryan Ansell co-founded Asgard Miniatures with Steven Fitzwater and Paul Sulley in Nottingham and became its lead sculptor. [2] : 45 Ansell was an experienced sculptor, having previously worked at Conquest Miniatures. [3] Ansell left Asgard in 1978 [4] to form successful rival Citadel Miniatures with funding from Games Workshop. [5]
Less than a year later, in late 1978, Citadel Miniatures was started by Ansell/Games Workshop as announced in White Dwarf issue #11:
"Games Workshop and Bryan Ansell have got together to keep-alive Citadel Miniatures, a new miniatures company that will be manufacturing several ranges of figures. Ral Partha are already in production, but Citadel will also be producing own ranges, including the Fiend Factory figures, Fantasy Adventurers and Fantasy Specials. Citadel will not be limiting production to SF/F figures, but also new ranges of historical wargaming figures". [6]
The following issue of White Dwarf contained the first advertisement for Citadel's forthcoming figures.
Originally miniatures were produced using a white metal alloy including lead, although in 1987, Citadel began to produce plastic miniatures as well under the name "Psychostyrene" and "Drastik Plastik". Citadel has continued to produce white metal miniatures as the economics of plastic make it only suitable for large runs. [7] Some models are a combination of both materials, with the arm-less bodies and heads metal and the arms, weapons and other accessories plastic. [8]
In 1997 Citadel switched to a lead-free white metal because of concerns about lead poisoning, particularly in children. [9]
Most of the models created by Citadel require some form of construction after purchase. With smaller models this usually involves attaching arms, weapons and the base. Larger models come in many pieces and require more construction.
On 16 May 2011, Games Workshop announced a new range of Citadel models known as Citadel Finecast. [10] Finecast has had mixed reviews by modellers. For example, Wayland Games, a retailer in UK, includes the following note on Finecast on their website: "Note: If you wish to purchase any Finecast products please accept that this is a product for experienced modellers only and that some remedial effort is required due to the nature of the material and manufacturing techniques. If in doubt please do not purchase." [11]
From 1979 to 1984 Citadel had a reciprocal distribution and manufacturing deal with Ral Partha to bring each other's products to Britain and North America respectively. [12]
Citadel has also produced and distributed miniatures under other names:
Over the years, as well as producing their own original miniatures, they have produced licensed ranges based on characters from games, movies, TV and books. These included figures based on RuneQuest , Fighting Fantasy , 'Judge Dredd , Doctor Who , Paranoia , Eternal Champion , Dungeons & Dragons , Advanced Dungeons & Dragons , Traveller , Star Trek , Lone Wolf and The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit . Games Workshop re-won the Lord of the Rings licence, allowing them to make The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game miniatures to tie-in with the trilogy of films released by New Line Cinema, and have extended the range to include characters based on the actual writings of J. R. R. Tolkien.[ citation needed ]
Citadel Miniatures sometimes release limited edition models of specific or unusual characters, such as Thrud the Barbarian, [13] Ian Livingstone, [14] drunken Space Marines dressed in Christmas outfits [15] and several representing Grombrindal, the white-bearded logo of White Dwarf magazine. [16] [17]
Along with the standard range of miniature soldiers, Citadel's lines include fantasy based war-machines, like catapults and chariots, and when Warhammer 40,000 came out, Citadel Miniatures also branched out into vehicles, such as the Land Raider and Rhino transports for Space Marines.[ citation needed ]
Edwin J. Rotondaro reviewed Citadel Miniatures 25 mm miniature figures released in 1984 and 1985 in The Space Gamer No. 76. [18] Rotondaro commented that "Overall, I highly recommend Citadel miniatures to gamers who use any FRPG system, and especially if they use the Warhammer rules." [18]
White Dwarf is a magazine published by British games manufacturer Games Workshop, which has long served as a promotions and advertising platform for Games Workshop and Citadel Miniatures products.
Warhammer 40,000 is a miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is the most popular miniature wargame in the world, and is particularly popular in the United Kingdom. The first edition of the rulebook was published in September 1987, and the 10th and current edition was released in June 2023.
Games Workshop Group is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are Warhammer Age of Sigmar and Warhammer 40,000.
Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming in which military units are represented by miniature physical models on a model battlefield. The use of physical models to represent military units is in contrast to other tabletop wargames that use abstract pieces such as counters or blocks, or computer wargames which use virtual models. The primary benefit of using models is aesthetics, though in certain wargames the size and shape of the models can have practical consequences on how the match plays out.
Warhammer is a tabletop miniature wargame with a medieval fantasy theme. The game was created by Bryan Ansell, Richard Halliwell, and Rick Priestley, and first published by the Games Workshop company in 1983.
In miniature wargaming, players enact simulated battles using scale models called miniature models, which can be anywhere from 2 to 54 mm in height, to represent warriors, vehicles, artillery, buildings, and terrain. These models are colloquially referred to as miniatures or minis.
Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game, previously marketed as The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Strategy Battle Game, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Strategy Battle Game, The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies Strategy Battle Game and The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game, is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is based on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, and the book that inspired it, written by J. R. R. Tolkien.
Robert N. Charrette is an American graphic artist, game designer, sculptor and author. Charrette has authored more than a dozen novels. His gaming materials have received many Origins Awards. Charrette was inducted in the Origins Hall of Fame in 2003. His work is known for a clean, realistic style that invokes themes from Feudal Japan and Chanbara films and in particular, historical and fantastic representations of Samurai culture. His early work in game design and miniature sculpting set the tone for depictions of Japanese mythology in American fantasy and science fiction. His 1979 role-playing game Bushido was one of the first role-playing games with a non-Western theme and remained in print for more than three decades. Charrette produced gaming products for Fantasy Games Unlimited, Grenadier Models Inc., Ral Partha Enterprises, FASA and currently operates Parroom Enterprises, LLC, a boutique miniatures game company.
Bryan Ansell is a British role-playing and wargame designer. In 1985, he became managing director of Games Workshop, and bought Games Workshop from Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone.
Ian Marsh is a British writer, magazine editor, and entrepreneur.
Warhammer 40,000 Apocalypse is an expansion to the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop miniatures wargame by the British gaming company Games Workshop. It contains rules which allow players to field massive armies the likes of which are unwieldy using the basic Warhammer 40,000 ruleset. It also allows players to field units that are not available in normal Warhammer 40,000 games, such as large super-heavy tanks and robot-like titans, some of which can stand up to 400 feet in game-scale height.
John Blanche is a British fantasy and science fiction illustrator and modeller who worked on Games Workshop's White Dwarf magazine, Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Age of Sigmar games and was the art director for the company and illustrated various game books and Fighting Fantasy publications.
Formed in 1975, Ral Partha Enterprises, Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, is now known as Ral Partha Legacy Ltd. and produces miniature figures in 25 mm, 30 mm, 15 mm, and 54 mm scale. The company's products are made by spin-casting metal alloys which depict soldiers, adventurers and creatures that have been inspired by history and fiction. Their miniatures are sold at gaming conventions, in hobby shops, and by internet and mail order for use in role playing games, wargaming, dioramas, competitive painting, and collecting.
Tom Meier is a sculptor, a founding partner of Ral Partha Enterprises, and the winner of numerous awards for the design and sculpture of historical, fantasy and science fiction gaming miniatures.
Asgard Miniatures was a company that produced metal miniature figures beginning in the 1970s.
Dungeon Planner Set 1: Caverns of the Dead is an adventure published by Games Workshop in 1984 for use with fantasy role-playing games.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures is a line of miniatures produced under license by a number of companies and published by TSR for use with the fantasy role-playing game Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D).
Richard Fretson Halliwell was a British game designer who worked at Games Workshop (GW) during their seminal period in the 1980s, creating many of the games that would become central to GW's success.
The lead belt is a name given to part of the English East Midlands, including Nottingham, because of the number of wargames manufacturers based there. A key factor is the location of Games Workshop, the biggest wargames miniature manufacturer in the world. Games Workshop was brought to Nottingham by Bryan Ansell in the early 1980s. Ansell had previously founded Citadel Miniatures at Newark, Nottinghamshire in 1979. Many former Games Workshop staff have gone on to found other manufacturers in the area and the 8—10 companies in the lead belt account for 90% of the British wargames miniature market. Because of the concentration of wargaming businesses the lead belt is the subject of organised tours for wargamers from North America.