Aly Morrison Dies Months After Retiring From Games Workshop

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Aly Morrison has died, only six months after retiring from Games Workshop at the end of a career that started in 1983.

Sadly, Aly only got about six months of retirement after spending more than 40 years making miniatures, starting with freelance work for Citadel. His former wife and fellow sculptor, Trish Carden, shared the news on behalf of herself and their daughter Mharaid, saying he passed unexpectedly but peacefully on Wednesday, November 11.

He’s the second original Games Workshop legend the hobby has lost this year, following John Blanche in June. The good news is that if you’ve ever painted a bright orange mohawk on a Dwarf Slayer, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve already spent some quality hobby time with Aly’s work.

Trish and Mharaid Asked for Stories, and the Hobby Answered

The news came straight from Aly’s family, which is never easy to hear. Warhammer Original Artwork posted it first, and Trish later confirmed it, describing Aly as “a very much loved father” and a friend to so many people in the hobby.

She asked everyone to respect the family’s privacy, but she also wanted people who knew Aly to share their stories. Apparently, he loved telling stories himself, especially about the games he’d played and the good times he’d had with friends over the years.

And wow, did people respond. More than 1,500 condolences came in within roughly three hours, including plenty from current and former GW folks. Darren Latham summed it up pretty well: “It was an honor to work alongside him and call him a friend.”

Aly Morrison Gave Classic Citadel a Lot of Its Personality

Aly’s start in the hobby goes way back. In the late 1970s, he was working with the Scottish D&D fanzine Underworld Oracle and its miniature range. That got Bryan Ansell’s attention, and by 1983, Aly was freelancing for Citadel. Then he joined the design studio full-time in 1986, putting him right alongside the early crew who molded GW into what we know it as today.

You know those classic Warhammer minis with the chunky proportions and faces you can actually make out from across the gaming table? Aly was a big part of that whole look. His models had tons of character, and that’s a big reason people still love them.

And he sculpted a lot more than just Dwarfs.

We’re talking some of the earliest Blood Bowl teams, 4th Edition Dark Elves, and 3rd Edition Chaos Space Marines. He also worked on the Wizard with a Sub-Machine Gun (but denied sculpting it entirely), which might just be the rarest and most sought-after GW miniature out there.

Then you’ve got Jayne and Gabs, the female Space Marine figures from 1988 that always seem to pop up whenever the female Space Marines debate gets going again. Yep, Aly was one of the sculptors behind those, too.

Aly Morrison’s Marauder Miniatures Slayers Are Still Around Today

Now, if you’re into old-school Warhammer collecting, Marauder Miniatures is probably where Aly’s name really rings a bell.

He and Trish started Marauder Miniatures in 1988 as a Games Workshop-backed range. It gave them both a little more freedom to do their own thing outside the main Citadel lineup, and they made some seriously memorable models along the way.

Citadel eventually folded Marauder back into the main range around 1993, but that certainly wasn’t the end of those miniatures.

Just look at the Marauder Dwarf Troll Slayers. Those old metal sculpts are still connected to Warhammer: The Old World all these decades later. That’s a pretty impressive run for miniatures that came out back then.

You could even make the case that those classic Slayers helped set the look that eventually turned into the Age of Sigmar Fyreslayers. The family resemblance is pretty hard to miss.

Collectors have also been sharing their favorite Aly sculpts, and one that keeps coming up is the Dwarf Lord with the Sutton Hoo-style face-mask helmet and a big two-handed axe. You probably know the model if you’ve seen it, even if you never realized Aly was the one who sculpted it.

Final Thoughts on Aly Morrison

It’s kind of wild how many of us have been collecting, painting, and gaming with Aly Morrison’s miniatures for years without necessarily knowing his name. Whether it’s an old Blood Bowl team tucked away in a box or a unit of Slayers still rolling dice in The Old World, his work is still very much part of the hobby.

So, if you’ve got one of his sculpts sitting on your shelf, maybe pull it down this week, give it a fresh coat of paint, and get it back on the table. Trish asked people to share their stories about Aly, and really, what better tribute to a miniature sculptor than seeing his models getting some love and rolling dice again?

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What’s your favorite Aly Morrison sculpt from your own collection?

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