Issue 400 of Wargames Illustrated has an interview with Alan and Michael Perry, talking about their history and adventures in the world of miniature making. Here are a couple of bonus questions we couldn’t fit into the magazine. More importantly, here are the answers the Perrys gave us! Wargames Illustrated: You’re two of the more prominent sculptors who don’t delve into digital sculpting. Did you never get tempted to commit to it? Michael Perry: I made Smaug using it for Games Workshop. It’s hugely expensive though, so for Perry Miniatures, it’s not so practical. We also couldn’t use Renedra to do our casting, because they don’t use digital information to make their steel moulds. Alan Perry: Yeah, Renedra are the initial part of Games Workshop’s plastic making to some extent, while GW have gone digital. MP: It’s an old craft that they’ve perfected. There’s no need for them to go digital because they can get results by hand that match anything you could do with digital. AP: You might get a quicker turnover but we like working traditionally. We hate making weapons at the best of times, so we do get those made digitally. MP: We’ve eased Rob MacFarlane into that job, and he loves making weapons anyway so it’s perfect. AP: And he lives about 200 yards away from me! MP: I think there’s only ever a problem with digital models if they look digital. They sometimes do - if they’re done badly, they will look robotic. When parts are repeated, or heads copied down the middle and mirrored to save time it’s not always great. When it comes to digital done well, like Games Workshop’s, it’s beautifully sculpted and looks great. Wi: You’re still very much a made in Britain company. Not having to go to China for complex mould making probably helps you out there. AP: I think at the moment there’s a lot of trouble getting stuff into and out of China. MP: We’ve heard, second-hand, about the problems getting moulds made over there. If you send them a master, they may redesign it for you without checking, make changes you never said were ok. You have to have someone from your company overseeing things to make sure it’s happening properly. AP: It can go wrong. MP: Brian [Nelson], Alan, and I made some miniatures for Peter Jackson many moons ago, around 2000. We produced some First World War scenic models, and the idea was that they’d be released like a diorama of a typical toy soldier but far more accurately designed and painted. AP: Yes, pre-painted, 54mm, in a nicely presented little box. MP: I made this shell hole with three or four Brits and
