Bob Olley
Robert "Bob" Olley is a miniature sculptor who used to work for Games Workshop from 1987 to 1990. He also worked for Ral Partha from 1990 to 1997, for Reaper Miniatures (mostly on the Dark Haven lines), for Steve Jackson Games, and for basically every other fantasy and sci-fi model provider in the industry!
Olley released models back in the 80's under both the Iron Claw and Citadel brand names. You can almost immediately tell a model he made out of a line-up of older GW models: exaggerated silhouettes, impressive detail, and deliciously 80's over-the-top style. He was a mainstay of the Rogue Trader era, cranking out all manner of weird and wonderful models as fast as his hands could sculpt them. He's touched nearly every faction that existed at the time, including some that would die shortly after his leaving GW (notably Squats and Genestealer Cults). His style was basically what early drove the look of the earliest Ork miniatures, and it's hard to find a Squat model he didn't make.
Olleys Armies
Since 2003, Bob has been modeling small-time out of Somerset, from the family business Olleys Armies. With the help of his wife and son, Olley continues to make and sell excellent models in his inimitable style. Most of what gets made these days is funded by Kickstarter. Olleys Armies has a website, a Twitter account, and a Facebook page.
External Links
- The Olleys Armies website, which looks suspiciously like the old Forge World website, doesn't it GW...
- Bob Olley's wordpress blog
- Bob and his son James's collective art gallery website
- The Bob Olley Fan Wiki, because he's done so much work he needs his own wiki.
- Bob Olley's entry in the Lost Minis Wiki, look how many things this man has done holy shit!
Gallery
- This is the most comprehensive gallery of every model Bob Olley has made.
- For those of you interested in Squats, check out his work for Citadel, David Gravens of Fantastic Miniatures, and his own "Scrunts" at Olleys Armies