Games Industry Consultant Chaz Elliott has enjoyed a long and varied career in the wargames, RPG and hobby games industry. A graduate of the Lincoln College of Art and Design, he began his career as a Senior Graphic Designer at Games Workshop, where he worked from 1985 – 1987. Chaz then moved on to become a sculptor/ partner at Nenthorn Studios (whose prestigious clientele included Madame Tussauds, the Jorvik Viking Museum and Rock Circus). Roles in other companies followed, including Fantasy Forge Miniatures, Wizards of the West Coast, Score Entertainment, RC2 – South – Press Pass and Upper Deck Entertainment BV, in addition to a range of freelance positions. Further to this, Chaz, Tim Prow and Drew Williams launched Diehard Miniatures in 2014, a company whose aim is to “give you high quality sculpts for both sci-fi and fantasy ranges with more than a nod to the past.”
The Original Bad ‘Un! A Talk With Chaz Elliott… Part 3 (continuing from Part 2).
During his two year stint as Senior Graphic Designer with Games Workshop in the mid-1980’s, Chaz worked on a plethora of projects. He described that as well as his graphic art work and design, he also contributed to some of the now iconic Warhammer 40,000 ‘tag lines’.
Chaz Elliott: I did most of the maps and diagrams for all the GW products during my tenure. I enjoyed the maps and diagrams, still have the originals somewhere. I airbrushed logos, dungeon floor plans and caverns, the diagram in Rogue Trader that showed the Eldar as a diagram – didn’t do any of the tech drawings, that was Mr H. Plus, I came up with a fair few of the now iconic quotes, “chapter approved”, and “they shall know no fear”, bits and bobs of background as well. A lot of the “stamps” that appeared on the diagrams ended up as canon. It was a fun time.
Personally, preferring the Oldhammer style, with it’s character, charm and fun, I asked Chaz his opinion on the development of fantasy and sci-fi models over the years, also his feeling on Oldhammer versus ‘modern day’ variants?
Chaz Elliott: Great question. I think that the line between sci-fi and fantasy continues to blur, there has been the Anime invasion into western youth culture, that has affected many existing brands’ evolution. I feel that each decades iteration of products tends to reflect the times and how experimental the incumbent management feels like being in order to maintain an influx of new youth customers. So, the AoS style in comparison to Oldhammer is targeted at a different market, more current, more mechanics. Anime and the overuse of spatial 360degree minis as 3-D graphics allow for silhouettes, poses, forms, etc that were simply not possible to manufacture using the traditional Oldhammer reproduction process. There are aspects of the evolution that I like, and there are some that surprise me, and some I loathe, but overall the progress towards creating a sense of disbelief from a frozen moment in time has increased – and escapism is the hit that gaming provides, so onwards and upwards. Character, fun, and a sense of irreverence are part of what makes, for me, AoS and some of the new content a nope, pass.
I asked Chaz for his opinion on Warhammer these days, whether or not he felt Games Workshop dropped the ball with regards to killing off the Old World and creating Age of Sigmar. There are future plans for a return to ‘original’ Warhammer by Games Workshop in the future. However, many Warhammer fans have now switched to systems like Kings of War, Oathmark or Warlords of Erehwon, among other games. Additionally, old rulesets and house rule developments are popular too. I wondered if Chaz saw a successful Games Workshop Warhammer return.
Chaz Elliott: I think the reset button that was AoS has been a success (financially) for the company and reflects a more global brand content, but there is room for both. GW’s approach to capturing the market and squeezing hard for 2-5 years resulted in a high attrition rate, burnt out customers, with vitriol and negativity to spare. I think that over time GW realised that supporting aspects of that aged player/ collector mean that they retained the customer for a longer and more financially lucrative time period.
I think that there is now enough decadal iterations of Warhammer players to support some nostalgic products with a refresh, certainly enough now to ensure profitability and margin retention ratios similar to their “current” game iteration. It is interesting times, and the secondary market is on the cusp of providing enough return to provide another collection avenue for older gamers – We are getting old and what was “new” for us – is now old for others – one of the rules of the world.
- Fun fact: Highway To Hell by AC/DC is one of Chaz’s favourite records.
A company that I will be focussing on in a separate blog feature, I asked Chaz how he became involved with Diehard Miniatures. I wondered too how the model manufacturer came up with its name.
Chaz Elliott: Tim had the Emperor send me a telepathic message – and pictures of scantily clad Elves. It worked. I don’t think the Diehard name was a movie tie-in, more a statement – we had also tried Dead Hard – but the US market didn’t get it –‘Dead’ard’ being too British for them.
- “Diehard will be launching its 6th Kickstarter Thursday June 25th! ‘Wizards and their Magics’ is a little different from previous campaigns, Diehard not only needs your help to fund the production of our wizards, familiars and elemental beasts but also our first set of rules designed for magical combat in the arena of Id! Bring your illustrious magician, your warped chaotic sorcerer, and your skilled spirit binder to the ultimate duel, the costs will be brutal but the rewards immense! Are you ready for the challenge?” Tim Prow, Diehard Miniatures.
Having begun his career in the 1980’s and still going strong, I asked Chaz to list some of his career highlights and questioned also what is next for Chaz Elliott.
Chaz Elliott: Career highlights, mmm… Securing the Star Wars miniature license for Wizards based on a sculpt I made of Darth Maul in 3 days, Lucas himself approved. I was then able to visit Skywalker Ranch for a licensing meeting and got to see some amazing props and a unique work environment. There was driving the Dragon Ball Z card game original Hummer onto the stand at San Diego Comic Con. But most probably the Magic: The Gathering miniatures game, that never was.
Plus, holding an open bar, the night before the UK M:tG championships to ensure the quietest and least stressful event of the year – best marketing spend. Seeing the ring I made on Mr Pratchett’s finger, and the luggage sculpt for Clarecraft. What’s next? whatever the tide brings me.
This is the third and final part of my blog feature on Chaz Elliott. I’ve greatly enjoyed communicating with Chaz and would like to thank him for his time and contributions. In addition to his decades long career which has resulted in a slew of fabulous miniatures, games, diagrams and more, Chaz is a wonderfully enthusiastic, kind and highly creative individual. Thank you, Chaz!
Follow Chaz Elliott on Facebook HERE.
Official Diehard Miniatures website HERE.
Official Diehard Miniatures Facebook page HERE.
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