Bryan Ansell
Encyclopedia
Bryan Ansell is a British
role-playing and war game designer. He founded Asgard Miniatures before creating Citadel Miniatures
in the late 1970s
. Around 1982 - 83, he became Managing Director of Games Workshop
, and bought Games Workshop from Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone
.
, Alan and Michael Perry
, Richard Halliwell, John Blanche, Jervis Johnson, and Alan Merrett, Ansell was responsible for the Warhammer (later Warhammer Fantasy Battle
) boom of the mid to late 1980s
.
The contents page of White Dwarf 77 (May 1986) contained a coded message by the then editor Ian Marsh, who made the description of each item spell out "S O D O F F B R Y A N A N S E L L" This was due to a protest against the changes Ansell had demanded of the magazine.
He later sold Games Workshop
to Tom Kirby, and left to concentrate on Wargames Foundry
. Wargames Foundry creates historical miniature ranges, originally sculpted by the Perry Twins for Citadel Miniatures, but no longer sold as part of the Games Workshop fantasy ranges.
Ansell took a number of figure molds used for historical and fantasy figures under Citadel Miniatures and Games Workshop, and they have become part of the Wargames Foundry range. Wargames Foundry continues to sell a range of metal figures for historical, sci-fi and fantasy war gaming.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
role-playing and war game designer. He founded Asgard Miniatures before creating Citadel Miniatures
Citadel Miniatures
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 late 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
. Around 1982 - 83, he became Managing Director of Games Workshop
Games Workshop
Games Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...
, and bought Games Workshop from Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone
Ian Livingstone
Ian Livingstone OBE is an English fantasy author and entrepreneur. He is a co-writer of the first Fighting Fantasy gamebook, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, and co-founder of Games Workshop....
.
Warhammer & Wargames Foundry
Along with Rick PriestleyRick Priestley
Rick Priestley is a miniature wargaming designer and author who lives near Nottingham, England.Priestley worked extensively for Games Workshop...
, Alan and Michael Perry
Alan and Michael Perry
Alan and Michael Perry are Citadel Miniatures designers, and two of the most renowned and prolific sculptors for the miniature wargaming hobby. They have worked for Games Workshop since 1978, and during that time they have worked on most of the company's miniature ranges...
, Richard Halliwell, John Blanche, Jervis Johnson, and Alan Merrett, Ansell was responsible for the Warhammer (later Warhammer Fantasy Battle
Warhammer Fantasy Battle
Warhammer: The Game of Fantasy Battles is a tabletop wargame created by Games Workshop. It is the origin of the Warhammer Fantasy setting....
) boom of the mid to late 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
.
The contents page of White Dwarf 77 (May 1986) contained a coded message by the then editor Ian Marsh, who made the description of each item spell out "S O D O F F B R Y A N A N S E L L" This was due to a protest against the changes Ansell had demanded of the magazine.
He later sold Games Workshop
Games Workshop
Games Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...
to Tom Kirby, and left to concentrate on Wargames Foundry
Wargames Foundry
The Wargames Foundry is a company which designs, manufactures and sells Miniature Figures from its base in Nottingham, England. It has grown to be a world leader in its market from its set up by Bryan Ansell in 1976....
. Wargames Foundry creates historical miniature ranges, originally sculpted by the Perry Twins for Citadel Miniatures, but no longer sold as part of the Games Workshop fantasy ranges.
Ansell took a number of figure molds used for historical and fantasy figures under Citadel Miniatures and Games Workshop, and they have become part of the Wargames Foundry range. Wargames Foundry continues to sell a range of metal figures for historical, sci-fi and fantasy war gaming.
Contributions
- LaserburnLaserburnLaserburn is a set of wargaming rules written by Bryan Ansell in 1980. Written for use with 15mm sci-fi figures, but also playable with 25mm figures, the laserburn set of rules, published by Tabletop games, is set in a universe where man has reached the stars and the highest pinnacles of technology...
(1980) Sci-fi tabletop rules - Imperial CommanderImperial CommanderImperial Commander is a 15mm science fiction war game, based on the range of metal 'Laserburn' miniatures available from Tabletop Games. Written by Richard Halliwell and Bryan Ansell in 1981, the game still has a small but enthusiastic following. Battles take place between an oppressive, galaxy...
(1981) expanded rules and background material for Laserburn, an influence on Warhammer 40,000Warhammer 40,000Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, set in a dystopian science fantasy universe. Warhammer 40,000 was created by Rick Priestley in 1987 as the futuristic companion to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, sharing many game mechanics... - Warhammer Fantasy BattleWarhammer Fantasy BattleWarhammer: The Game of Fantasy Battles is a tabletop wargame created by Games Workshop. It is the origin of the Warhammer Fantasy setting....
(1983) Author - Forces of Fantasy for Warhammer Fantasy BattleWarhammer Fantasy BattleWarhammer: The Game of Fantasy Battles is a tabletop wargame created by Games Workshop. It is the origin of the Warhammer Fantasy setting....
(1983) - Statue of the Sorcerer, The (Call of Cthulhu) (1986) ChaosiumChaosiumChaosium is one of the longer lived publishers of role-playing games still in existence. Founded by Greg Stafford, its first game was actually a wargame, White Bear and Red Moon, which later mutated into Dragon Pass and its sequel, Nomad Gods...
- Vanishing Conjurer, The (Call of Cthulhu) (1986)
- Warhammer Fantasy RoleplayWarhammer Fantasy RoleplayWarhammer Fantasy Roleplay is a role-playing game set in the Warhammer Fantasy setting. Over the years, it has been through a number of phases and different publishers, most of which were related in some way to Games Workshop...
(1986) Games Workshop Additional Material - Green and Pleasant Land supplement to Call of CthulhuCall of Cthulhu (role-playing game)Call of Cthulhu is a horror fiction role-playing game based on H. P. Lovecraft's story of the same name and the associated Cthulhu Mythos.The game, often abbreviated as CoC, is published by Chaosium.-Setting:...
for adventuring in the British Isles (1987) published by Games Workshop Managing Director - Titan LegionsEpic (game)Epic is a tabletop wargame set in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe. Where Warhammer 40,000 involves small battles between forces of a few squads of troops and two or three vehicles, Epic features battles between armies consisting of dozens of tanks and hundreds of soldiers...
(1994) - Street Violence (2003)
- Rules With No Name Bryan Ansell, Editor Keith Pinfold, Foundry Books, 2009, ISBN 9781901543179
- Foundry Miniatures Painting & Modeling Guide, Kevin Dallimore, Bryan Ansell, Foundry Books, 2006, ISBN 9781901543131