A bit about Tony

My first serious attempt to make wargaming figures was at University. I had been introduced to wargaming by a flatmate, and since at that time I collected Les Higgins 20mm ECW figures, I attempted to add to the range. They were modelled in Vinagel, an early version of Polymer clay that was used in my laboratory, and I used silicone rubber moulds, and solder for casting. The figures (I still have them) were quite crude, but filled a need at the time, and I certainly saw the possibilities of the technique.

Life intervened, and although I became a fulltime model-maker, mostly working in archaeology, and made figures frequently, these were larger items for museum displays rather than for gaming. I also did a lot of drawing, as a hobby, which laid down the basis of future sculpture work and illustration.

By the mid-1980s I was broke, since Thatcher cut the museum funds that gave me work.

When I started the AB Napoleonics, I made a deliberate choice about size. The original very small 15mm size was very hard to keep to, so I decided to make them at 18mm, much easier to work with given my technique.

Unlike most sculptors, I make my masters in Fimo, an oven-cured polymer clay. It’s very soft and smooth, and requires no armature, since I work in full relief on a small tile, then free the figure from the tile once it’s cooked. It can then be carved and completed by adding pieces and firing them as many times as needed.

That master is then cast into metal using a Centricast system in order to make enough copies to fill the production vulcanised mould. The Fimo original is then very easy to convert to the next figure which helps when making variants. I also innovated by making as many variants of the most basic soldier as I could reasonably manage, and producing them as a random mix, something now regarded as normal practice.

My intent was always to make figures that I would want in my own army.

The WW2 20mm range started when I made a couple of figures to go in a model tank, something I had always had an interest in. A collector friend egged me on, the selection grew a little, and we tried them out on the customers, and they went well. I had got rather tired of making Napoleonics, so it was a minor refreshment to make something different. Of course one thing leads to another, and before long I was heavily committed to a growing range. It took a great deal of work, and they are often technically more detailed, but can be more satisfying because of the wider range of poses.