Main Page

From Olley

Bob Olley Fan(atic)

[edit] Introduction

Hi, I’m Tony and I hail from New Zealand. I have been a wargamer, modeller and collector of miniature figures for over 30 years.

This site is a tribute to the sculpting skills of Bob Olley, a hugely prolific sculptor of miniatures whose work I have admired for many years. I have admired Bob’s work ever since I found some of his early Imperial Guard figures for Citadel, dating back to the late 1980’s. While some people seem to think they are ugly, I loved the way in which he seemed to be able to embue his figures with character. Since then I have set out to collect as many of his figures as possible, especially those produced by Citadel.

I am trying to construct as comprehensive a catalogue as possible of Bob’s work for all the different miniature manufacturers and this site is an attempt to show as many as possible. In putting the site together, I have received a lot of help from many people. I particularly want to thank Bob Olley for his patience at all my questions, Joe Thomlinson for help with getting the site up and running and the members of the CollectingCitadelMiniatures group on Yahoo who have helped with info and photos. Any errors on the site are entirely mine - if you see an error, please let me know so I can correct it. If anyone has information about or pictures of Bob’s work which is not already shown on the site, please contact me at Tony Mansfield

Or if you are another fan, I’d love to hear from you.

[edit] A Short History

• Bob’s first sculpting efforts were in Fimo modelling clay. These were shown to Ingo Martin of Metal Magic who told Bob about green stuff, the sculpting medium he has used ever since.

• Bob’s first work in late 1985 was for Metal Magic, Essex and Heroes. Throughout 1986 and early 1987, Bob worked exclusively for Essex for whom he sculpted over 180 fantasy figures.

• In April 1987 Bob joined Citadel for whom he worked exclusively until February 1990. All the Iron Claw range of figures were his, as were a number of other figures both fantasy and 40K.

• Following his departure from Citadel, Bob worked freelance for a number of companies including Ral Partha/TSR, Renegade, Hobby Products, Simtac, Alternative Armies and Grendel Productions. This continued until 1998 when work for these companies slowed.

• From 1998 onwards, Bob has sculpted figures for AEG, Kenser & Co., Steve Jackson, Reaper, Excelsior Miniatures and EM4.

• From 2004 to May 2008, Bob released his own range of figures as Olley's Armies while continuing to do freelance sculpting for companies such as Fantastic Miniatures and Splintered Light.

• After a short hiatus, Olley's Armies reopened in November 2008 to allow Bob to have the creative freedom to work on figures which appealed to him (and to have some fun)

But enough from me, onto the miniatures ……… by selecting the company name in the left hand frame, you will be taken to a catalogue area for that company.

This is still a work in progress (as is my collection) so there are a lot of gaps. If you can help fill the gaps, please let me know.

This web site is completely unofficial and in no way endorsed by any of the manufacturers whose products are shown. All items are copyright to the respective copyright owners. Unless otherwise indicated, images have been used without permission. No challenge to copyright holder's status intended. All Rights Reserved to their respective owners.