Bryan Charles Ansell (11 October 1955 – 30 December 2023)[1][2] was a British role-playing and wargame designer.[3] In 1985, he becamemanaging director ofGames Workshop, and eventually bought the company fromSteve Jackson andIan Livingstone.[4][5] Ansell moved Games Workshop from London to Nottingham and refocused the company from role-playing games toWarhammer wargame and miniature products, which became very popular.[6]
Ansell attended Nottingham Boys High School and People's College.[3]
Following school, Ansell became a miniature sculptor forConquest Miniatures.[7] In 1976, Ansell, along with Steven Fitzwater and Paul Sulley, founded Asgard Miniatures inNottingham.[8][9]: 45 Originally the company was managed by Sulley, while Ansell and Nick Bibby created the sculpts, Garry Parsons created the moulds, and Jamie Sims cast the miniatures.[10] During this time, Ansell also published thefanzineTrollcrusher.[11]
In late 1978, Ansell left Asgard and partnered withGames Workshop to found the companyCitadel Miniatures, which would produce and manufacture 25mm historical and fantasy miniatures for games published by Games Workshop.[9]: 45 Ansell designedWarhammer Fantasy Battle (1983) withRick Priestley andRichard Halliwell.[9]: 47 Industry-wide, sales of role-playing games began to falter, and the miniatures and wargames produced by Citadel became the company's most profitable line. In 1985, Ansell became the managing director of Games Workshop.[9]: 47 Ansell then announced he was moving Games Workshop from London to his hometown ofNottingham, where Citadel Miniatures was located. Additionally, Ansell wanted to change the focus of Games Workshop's house magazineWhite Dwarf from role-playing games to promotion ofWarhammer products.Ian Marsh, who had just become the editor ofWhite Dwarf, disagreed with the proposed changes, refused to move to Nottingham, and resigned as editor ofWhite Dwarf after only four issues. InWhite Dwarf #77, Marsh's last issue, the first letter of each item in the Table of Contents formed anacrostic that read "SOD OFF BRYAN ANSELL".[4][9]: 48
Along with Rick Priestley,Alan and Michael Perry, Richard Halliwell,John Blanche, Jervis Johnson, and Alan Merrett, Ansell was responsible for theWarhammer (laterWarhammer Fantasy Battle) boom of the mid-to-late 1980s.[12]
Ansell bought out Ian Livingstone's and Steve Jackson's shares of the company in 1985, refocusing Games Workshop on its most lucrative lines – theWarhammer Fantasy Battle (WFB) andWarhammer 40,000 (WH40k)miniature wargames. The company expanded rapidly and in 1991, Ansell sold his shares to Tom Kirby in amanagement buyout.[6]
Wargames Foundry (originally Bryan Ansell Miniatures Limited) was founded in 1983 as a retirement job for Bryan Ansell's father,[13] Clifford Ansell, who had careers as a mining engineer specialising in dust suppression, in the Royal Navy and as a maths teacher. Wargames Foundry was "up and running very quickly", originally selling ranges of historical miniatures that had been discontinued by Citadel.[14] The Citadel/Games Workshop sculptors Michael and Alan Perry were also "keen" to make historical miniatures for Foundry in their spare time and continued to make more historical figures for Foundry.[14][15]
After selling his shares in Games Workshop, Bryan moved to Guernsey and founded Guernsey Foundry in 1991 to produce large ranges ofOld West,Seven Years' War andDarkest Africa figures.[14]
Around 2000, Bryan Ansell moved to Newark, merged Wargames Foundry and Guernsey Foundry into Foundry Miniatures Limited, and took over the running of the company to produce the largest range of historical and fantasy miniatures in the world until he retired in 2005.[citation needed]
Ansell's decision to relocate Games Workshop to Nottingham in the 1980s led the area to become the centre of the British wargames industry, known as theLead Belt.[16]
Ansell died on 30 December 2023, at the age of 68.[3] Games Workshop co-founder Ian Livingstone wrote, "Bryan, Steve Jackson and I set up Citadel Miniatures in 1978 as part of Games Workshop. He was a craftsman and dynamic entrepreneur who drove the growth of GW to the next level. Without Bryan,Warhammer would not have launched."[17]
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