Remembering Aly Morrison: A Sculptor Who Helped Shape Our Hobby

For many of us, the miniatures on our shelves are more than pieces for a game. They’re the figures we spent evenings painting, the centrepieces of armies we’ve collected for years and, occasionally, the models that pulled off something so ridiculous on the tabletop that nobody at the club will ever let us forget it.

Behind those figures are artists whose names we might not always have known when we first picked up a paintbrush. One of those artists was Aly Morrison. A post from the Warhammer Original Artwork community has announced his passing, prompting hobbyists to reflect on a creative legacy that stretches across decades of tabletop gaming.

Giving Warhammer its character

Through his work with Citadel Miniatures and the Warhammer hobby, Aly helped create the characters and creatures that gave fantasy battles so much of their personality. These were not simply gaming pieces. They were little glimpses into a much bigger world, each with details that encouraged you to look a little closer and imagine the story behind them.

Among his creations was the Marauder Giant, a wonderfully characterful model that has remained a favourite with collectors long after its original release. When Games Workshop brought the giant back, it was a reminder that a great miniature can still capture the imagination decades after it first appeared.

From fantasy battlefields to the far future

Aly’s contribution wasn’t limited to the early years of Warhammer. Games Workshop credited him with work on the redesigned Necron Warriors released with Indomitus in 2020. In a look behind the design, Aly discussed how differences in the damage to their bodies helped give the Warriors individual character.

It’s the sort of detail that can easily be missed when a unit is marching across the table towards you, particularly if you’re more concerned about what it’s going to shoot. But once you notice it, those Warriors become more than identical ranks of metal skeletons. Each looks as though it has its own history, even if that history mostly involves being shot, rebuilt and sent back into battle.

A legacy on our tables

That’s part of what makes miniature sculpting so special. An artist creates a figure, but its story doesn’t end there. It might become somebody’s first painted model, the pride of a collection or a familiar face in a friend’s army. Years later, it can still bring back memories of games played and people met along the way.

Aly’s work has been part of that experience for countless hobbyists. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, colleagues and everyone who knew him. For the rest of us, there is something rather fitting about remembering the people behind the miniatures the next time we sit down to paint or roll a handful of dice.