Warhammer co-creator Bryan Ansell has died
One of the co-creators of Warhammer tabletop games has passed away. Miniatures designer Bryan Ansell, who joined Games Workshop in 1983, passed away December 30 at the age of 68, his wife Diane announced via Instagram.
Diane Ansell did not provide a cause of death, but noted that Bryan had died “peacefully at home this morning surrounded by his family.” Along with the announcement, she included a classic photo of Bryan, wearing a mullet and a T-shirt with torn-off sleeves as he commanded a “Mighty Avenging Chaos Army” from Warhammer Fantasy Battles.
Bryan and Diane Ansell on Instagram: "With great sadness, we announce that Bryan passed away peacefully at home this morning surrounded by his family, 30th December 2023.
#bryanansell
#warhammer #warhammer40k #citadel #citadelminiatures #gamesworkshop #gw #40k #wfb #realmofchaos #spacemarines #oldhammer"
https://www.instagram.com/p/C1fVeDft9un/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D
As Game Developer notes, Ansell started his career in tabletop gaming in the 1970s, founding the Asgard Miniatures miniatures company and designing models for it. That led to a partnership in 1978 with Games Workshop, with whom he worked to create the Citadel Miniatures brand that Games Workshop uses to this day.
In 1983, Ansell teamed up with Games Workshop’s Rick Priestly and Richard Halliwell on what would become Games Workshop’s genre-defining tabletop game, Warhammer Fantasy Battles. Ansell championed both Fantasy Battles and its sci-fi offshoot Warhammer 40,000, and by 1991 Games Workshop had made those games its leading products.
Warhammer’s impact extends far beyond the tabletop these days: Between Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000, as well as spinoff games like Necromunda and Blood Bowl, there are dozens of Games Workshop video games, from the epic battles of the Total War: Warhammer trilogy to the violent corridors of Hive Tertium in Warhammer 40K: Darktide.
Ansell eventually left Games Workshop to work on his own line of historical miniatures at Wargames Foundry. While Games Workshop “destroyed” Ansell’s fantasy setting in 2015 to make way for the Age of Sigmar line, it’s set to make a return this year with Warhammer: The Old World.
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