Behind the scenes at Golden Demon 1988 and beyond: The photographs of Guy Carpenter.

Many Old School scholars will instantly remember Guy Carpenter. He, alongside Tony Cottrell, produced the remarkable model (shown above) out of the old Star Wars walker model released in the early '80s. It was a image that was published in White Dwarf and the Golden Demon books, and one of the more memorable ones from the 1987-92 period. 

I can certainly remember pouring over it in my younger days and cannabalising various toys I had around at home in homage to it. Thankfully, none of my creations have survived to the present day. It was through the power of social media that I was able to track down Guy and chat to him about the model above. After a while, he agreed to a longer interview about his experiences 'back in the day' and some of his wider work as I knew that readers of this blog would be very interested in seeing, and hearing about, his work. 

Little did I know that Guy was sitting on a wealth of material, so I have had to split the interview over two articles. This, the photostory, will be the first, and a full interview with the mastercraftsman himself will follow shortly, along with lots of pretty pictures of his models. Among his material was a large number of photographs he took back in the later 1980s and early 1990s, mostly of Games Days and Golden Demons, but also images from the retail operation itself. 

I am proud to present these photographs to you and hope you enjoy playing the 'spotting' game and trying to discover what you can see in the background of many of these images. Guy has provided me with some brief notes about when and where many of these pictures were taken and I have expanded on his notes to explain what else the images show.

All I can say before we start is, go get yourself a cup of tea, some biscuits or whatever makes you feel at home and enjoy this trip back in time to the Golden Age of GW and British gaming. 

One: Entries into the Golden Demon Painting Competition in 1988. Amongst the great haircuts are some choice models, though I cannot recognise anything from the 1980s Fantasy Miniatures books yet. Anyone spot another of note from among this lovely models?

Two: Kev 'The Goblin Master' Adams and Mike McVey enjoy a pint of Newcastle Brown while showcasing their painting talents at the Golden Demon in 1988. Notice the inks, those of you who follow the Oldhammer Facebook group will know that we have been having quite a discussion about the importance of these. Note the Bloodbowl elves and Star Players on display to the right and the cheeky chap about to spark up at the back. Imagine alcohol and smoking at events today! There seems to be a diorama obscured by the eager red coated gamer. Anyone got any ideas what it could be?

Three: Rogue Trader participation game at the Golden Demon 1988. Nice to see that Izzy Stradlin' from Guns and Roses managed to get a game in there on the left! (; On a more serious note, photographs from this game appeared in White Dwarf for several years to come. The twin skulls (off centre) are quite obvious in these. Go hunt!

Four: Gary Chalk, of artistic and Lone Wolf fame, shows off his scenery skills using the Mighty Fortress at Golden Demon 1988. Not sure who the chap is at work on the left, though? Anyone recognise him?

Five: GW artists (I think Knifton is closest to the camera, though I maybe wrong here) taking requests for avid fans. "I'll have two Thruds and one of the Mighty Avenger please!" Can anyone name these scribes more accurately than me? Note the Realm of Chaos artwork on display in the background and more smoking and drinking evidence. The depravity!

Six: Phil Lewis at work photographing miniatures. Phil was a vital part of GW at this time and we would love to interview him, so if anyone knows his whereabouts today please contact me. Remember kids, Phil worked at a time when you couldn't see the photograph until it was developed. I'd imagine that snapping hundreds of models all day must have been hard work indeed. Note the two lamp set up, very good for getting the most out of your miniatures, and the overloaded plug socket that would have today's health and safety executive closing down the Golden Demons and evacuating the county. 

Seven: Bryan Ansell, Phil Lewis, John Blanche and others judge the entries to the Golden Demon Awards in 1988. 

Eight: Here is a shot of Peter Armstrong ,who was manager at Dalling Road (the first GW store) in 1988, getting on with a bit of painting. Note the Citadel Colour paints and his Master Painter T-Shirt. 

Nine: Setting up the gaming area just before the doors opened on the Golden Demon Awards 1988. Look at the size of some of those fortifications. The figure obscured by the fortress may well be Pete Taylor. 

Ten: A shot of an art display at an unknown GW event. Note the Genestealer (and WD120) cover art top left, Orc Mechanicks cover from WD 119, Advanced Heroquest, Lost and the Damned and three I cannot identify. Anyone know anymore?

Eleven: The Trade Stand at the Golden Demon 1989. Note the Runequest Ninja supplement, Chaos Marauders, Squats blister and loads more besides. What can you spot? Love the plague marine T-Shirt on the chap on the right.

Twelve: Golden Demon Awards 1989. Ivan Bartlett ('Eavy Metal painter) surveys the entries. 

Thirteen: Games Workshop Southampton in the late '80s. Do you remember the wallpaper table gaming boards? Or playing on the floor? This table needs the extra support of multiple copies of Space Marine to hold it up! Big tongues on those trainers too! They were all the rage.

Fourteen: GW Maidstone in 1991. Walls and walls of great stuff here and isn't lovely to see all the blister packs hanging there? Great shorts mind!

Fifteen: This is an interesting idea. Using the old Bloodbowl pitch as a courtyard for the Mighty Fortress. From Torquay GW 1990.

Sixteen: GW Derby. Store front at night. Great products on sale there.

Seventeen: Inside the Derby store in 1989. Loads of painted models in that cabinet, and can you see? The famous walker I mentioned at the beginning of the article is in there too! On a side note, there are enough copies of Adeptus Titanicus to buy a house today stacked up there. Saw a box sell for £200 the other day!

Eighteen: Inside GW Torquay. Playing Space Hulk first edition on what looks to be a table tennis table. Can you spot the famous walker model on the small poster above the till? I told you that model got places!

Nineteen: Gaming on the fantasy table at Torquay GW. Looks like Rogue Trader though. This general must be planning his moves carefully. The stock in the background would give an Oldhammerer a heart attack these days!

Twenty: Games Workshop Edinburgh opening. Any two marked games for a fiver! A great deal for 1989!

Twenty One: Games Workshop opens up in Maidstone in the early 1990s. Lovin' the shorts there bro!

Twenty Two: A very young Tim Prow gives a painting demo inside GW Torquay in 1990. Looks like he has been working on Orks from the Ork Books of the early 1990s. Lots of shorts oh show here too. Oh, and razored jeans! Remember them?

And here ends our photostory. I would just like to say a big thankful to Guy for sharing his photographs with us. You'll be hearing a lot more from him shortly.

Until then,

Enjoy.

Orlygg.

At last! I have my collection back! Well, part of it anyway!

After over four months of waiting, I have my collection back where it belongs, on display. In fact, this is the first time that all my surviving painted models have been put of display in the house as for a long while the Non-Leadhead (wife) didn't like the idea of the 'ugly little men' being seen.

Thankfully, she has relented but only if the display cabinet was in keeping with the rest of the house. So, she has allowed me to use an old Welsh Dresser from the 1920s as a storage device for my collection. Just to fill you in, we have had some considerable building work going on here and my collection was put away for what we originally thought would be a short time. But the build rolled on and on, with almost unbelievable incompentence from the building contractor. There was no fault with the work, just how long it took to complete it. One problem was the skip they hired remained unemptied for over three weeks on our driveway which meant entry to the garage was impossible. Couple that with the faulty garage door and a million other problems and its been a most stressful time. I have still to get my hands on the leadpile itself, but hope to reach that today behind all the piles of junk that need taking to the tip. 

Then maybe I might get a warband finished for Bring out your Lead 2013. 

Only, I haven't got a painting table yet, loosing my desk to the fish tank!

Anyway, I photographed my collection of painted models. Partly to show off my new, if a little unusual, display cabinet but also to prove without a doubt that Orlygg does have other models that are not Old School. I have mentioned my Sisters of Battle army before, well I have found what is left of it and got it out for people to see. 

Let's have a look shall we?

Though originally produced to display crockery, the Welsh Dresser does surprisingly well as a miniatures stands. The cupboard underneath will house my archive and painting equipment, as well as WIPs. I also have two cutlery draws which I shall use for tool storage or perhaps for some of the leadpile. 

The two units that I have completed for my old school Goblinoid army, as well as the giant spider some of you may have seen on the Facebook Group. A Tzeentch champion resides up front with the Death Elemental and two horrors. 

Various chaos creatures left over from my Realm of Chaos campaign that inspired this blog. Nice shot of my plastic skeletons too!

Here we have the rest of my skeletons and the Nurgle Warband I created and played with recently. A few chaos dwarfs along the front. 

Bloodletters and the skeleton chariot, as well as a few Skaven. Note the sorceress on the unicorn? I painted this for an ex-girlfriend back in 1997. Luckily, she left this behind when she left! It was in display in the Exeter GW store for quite a while when I lived in that city. Next to her is one of the plastic army skeletons I painted as a 'yoof'. One of the few models left from my 1987-1992 period, I used a piece of thread to create a string for the bow based on a picture I'd seen in White Dwarf. 

Units from my Khorne Army and a few old school style chaos renegades.

All my painted beastmen, both Khorne and Slaanesh. Rogue Trader Chaplain and orcs up front. 

Sisters of Battle Army, painted in 2004 while I was living and working in Peterborough. The Inquistor and his retinue are in the foreground. Oh, and a few chaos warriors to the left. 

More of the Sisters of Battle army. These were lovely metal models. The whole army was metal and I think it was the only all metal army still available back then. You don't seem to see much of the Sisters anymore, or is it just me not looking?

I have loads of Space Marines from various chapters. Here you can see the Death Company from my Flesh Tearers Army, and two very heavily converted Death Guard marines. These were made with parts from the old Bitz Service. I think they cost about £20 each to make in the end. 

Right, I better wade back into the junk pile and try and find the lead. I told you I wasn't 'just old school'! I'll do some close ups if anyone is interested in anything particular.

Orlygg

'Eavy Metal: Paul Benson, Mike Beard and Pete Taylor special

Between issues 107 and 111 of White Dwarf, 'Eavy Metal grew up. It lost its 'make it up as you go along' attitude and eclectic contributors (Blanche, Priestley, Sean Masterson etc) and settled down into something we would recognise today. The 'Eavy Metal team were far more visual in the magazine, and it would not be long until their painters would start semi-regular demonstrations in GW stores.

The range of miniatures on show also improves. As does the quality of painting itself, largely due to the arrival of Mike McVey and the employment of various Golden Daemon winners. The quality of writing was also good, with John Blanche and Phil Lewis explaining the artistic approach behind many of the miniatures show cased. Occasionally, guest painters had their work presented, and the extracts that follow contain work from Mick Beard, Pete Taylor and Paul Benson. Oh, and look out for the first appearance of friend to Realm of Chaos 80s, Andy Craig too!

Some inspiring Realm of Chaos miniatures and conversions here, including the famous snake tailed Slaaneshi champion and the unreleased plaguebearer the Steve Casey found in Bryan Ansell's collection.

Work here from a number of 'Eavy Metal artists including some conversions by Blanche. Note the painted version of the unreleased Beast of Nurgle. The converted  minis with the horror arms is one of my favourite models from this period.

Pete Taylor was a Warhammer Third Edtion hero and his Chaos army was legendary. Here we have a wealth of his converted models with distinctive faces.

This page shows how the miniatures reflected the range of games available at the time, with models from Rogue Trader, Blood Bowl and fantasy all gracing the same page. Note a painted example of the Dwarf Firethrower discussed last post.

Citadel's new plastic horses were also showcased with a brief guide to painting them here.

Andy's now famous Eldar models and a range of squats.

A discussion about how to get the best from your horses and, oh look, a young Andy Craig at work in the studio!

Mick's and Paul's work is discussed and the new plastic horses recieve some fantasy riders.

Paul had a beautiful style. Very individualistic indeed. This page represents some of his best work that was ever published.

Beautiful dioramas from Mick. Though I have wondered for years why the bear rider's back is still white.

Warhammer Third Edition Ad from White Dwarf 110

Issue 110 of White Dwarf also contained an impressive advert of third edition Warhammer materials. The two page spread reads like an Archaeo Oldhammer gamer's checklist now, with you mentally ticking off items in your head.

Warhammer Siege? Got that!

Skeleton Horde? I have two!

Mighty Fortress? Picked one up for 50p at a car boot sale!

Rick Priestley's '80s jumper? No, not even Alan Partridge would wear that these days!

This ad didn't run in isolation either. Over the coming issues, Rogue Trader, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and Citadel Colour would all get a version.

So, how much of this stuff do you own now, eh readers?

Orlygg.

Acceptable in the '80s: White Dwarf 110: Dwarf Fire Throwers and Dwarf Crossbows

As a follow up to this mornings visit to the '80s, I present the Warhammer content from White Dwarf 110. As has now become standard, this issue is packed with articles for all of the 'new' Games Workshop games. Warhammer gets a tiny addition, but it's a gem!

Here we see the standard Warhammer Armies square only the amusing narrative is missing from background. From this point, WD begins to feel more formal. The zany 'homemade' editorial style has been replaced with a more serious attitude to the Warhammer Worlds. Still, there is plenty of background material here. Interestingly, the actual miniature itself for the fire thrower is barely mentioned in the magazine, apart from a black and white shot on the mail order page.

Dwarfs were obviously on the minds of someone at Citadel, as we also see these nice dwarf crossbow  miniatures that make use of the plastic crossbow. I have several of these and I really do prefer these incarnations of the stunty ones. The 'cod Viking' dwarfs of these times are too ostentatious for my taste. Give me these old school 'snow white' versions any day.

Orlygg.

Acceptable in the '80s: White Dwarf 109: Monsters, Roks and Wheelz

Issue 109 of White Dwarf continued the trend of supporting GW's wealth of own brand games. And, if like me, that was your bread and butter, you'd be very happy. Additional background and rules for Rogue Trader, Bloodbowl, Adeptus Mechanicus and Dark Future, not to mention adventure for WFRP! Playing this 'family of games', I remember the time well. Each month would bring something new to the table. 

Issue 109 was the second White Dwarf I ever bought. It had a fantastic cover too, a Cossack adventurer fleeing from hordes of Zombies. It was, of course, to be used later as the cover of Something Rotten in Kislev.

As I said previously in this series, Warhammer 3rd edition was essentially 'done'. All its supplements had been released, save The Lost and the Damned, and coverage for the game began to wane as the giant of RT began to assert its influence, and the devirse 'Big Box Games' began to be supported.

Still some great little articles remained to be published here and there. And it is towards these that we should now turn our attention.

Now, though not exclusively for Warhammer, the greater daemons of Nurgle and Tzeentch were released at this time, alongside an extract detailing them from The Lost and the Damned. Looking nearly identical to the illustrations, these two kits are, for me, the definitive ones. And considering that the models that replaced them were, quite frankly, appalling ( save, perhaps the Lord of Change ) it wouldn't be until Forge World released there resin versions many years later that these entities got the sculpts they deserved. The Great Unclean One shown here would later be released with a range of different heads, arms, torsos and so on, as would the Lord of Change. This allowed some variation between the daemons which has yet to be replicated.

Though Iron Claw was no longer branded, Bob Olley was still producing miniatures for Citadel, or had sculpts left over that had yet to see the light of day. Here we see one of his later ogres, which as far as I am aware, can reach impressive prices on eBay. I can see why.

Warhammer's article here was a series of rules for (yet, another) orc stone thrower and the Bob Olley goblin chariot that we had seen before. As previously, these articles contained a mix of narrative/ background, rules and a Warhammer Armies Square. What was new, however, were the photocopiable banner designs that were added to the goblin chariot rules. Giving designs out like this became more common as the years went by, and here is is an early example.

Before I disappear once more into the Wastes, I would just like to say sorry about the crinkly nature of these scans. My copy of issue 109 was soaked by my curious daughter. At one year old, she found her way into our bedroom and split her drink over a pile of old school mags.

Bless her!

Orlygg.