The company was founded by
Andrew Chernak, president and head sculptor, and
Ray Rubin, vice president and head artist. Chernak and Rubin had previously partnered in
Canterbury Pewter Ltd., a gift-market sculpting business which they had established in 1972. The duo were not new to historical miniatures. Chernak had previously sculpted for
Superior Models and Rubin was a co-founder of
Squadron-Rubin Miniatures. Grenadier Model's first product was a line of 25mm
American Revolution figures released in anticipation of the 1976
United States Bicentennial. The company received its name from their first miniature, a grenadier. In partnership with its European distributor, Grenadier formed
Grenadier Models Ltd UK in 1984. By 1991, the British office became the center of the company's design and development. Grenadier Models published a product catalog in 1978, 1979, 1982 and annually from 1985 to 1994. Separate European catalogs were published in 1985, 1994, and perhaps other years as well. Their products were discussed in the
Grenadier Bulletin, a magazine which also contained games, comics, short-stories, and puzzles. The bulletin was published in several series. The first series contained issues #1 through #18 and were released between the fall of 1981 and late 1987. A new series of four editions was issued in late 1991 and early 1992 in the form of a full-color magazine. A third series, somewhat confusingly labeled "volume II," was produced in the summer of 1993, but appears to have been terminated after a single issue. Grenadier's British offices produced a separate "International edition" of the bulletin called the
British Grenadier. There were at least thirteen issues and it appears to have been produced around 1988. The British offices also published a bi-monthly newsletter
Warrior: The Newsletter for Fantasy Wargamers which supported Grenadier's
Fantasy Warrior game. The
Warrior included thirteen issues published from December 1992 / January 1993 to April / May 1995.
Historical miniatures, 1975-1980 By the end of 1976, Grenadier had produced miniature soldiers from
Classical Antiquity and the
American Civil War, and
American Old West gunfighters. Although they were primarily focused on the well-established market for historical miniatures, their early products included
science fiction themed Starsoldiers (product codes #S01-19) and
Space Squadrons: Stellardate 2998 (#SS01-SS19)
spaceships, 25mm fantasy figures called
Wizzards & Warriors (W1-60, WS1-5), a
Special Sets line of furniture (#WS01-WS12), and a small selection of 15mm fantasy figures. As the fantasy and science fiction market began to out-pace historical miniatures in 1978, Grenadier released box sets containing select portions of their fantasy, space ships, and gunslinger lines. In 1980 these boxed sets included fantasy game oriented Dungeon Adventure (WW01) and Monsters Sets (WW02), Western Gunfighters (WW03), and Space Squadrons Set (WW04). New figures were crafted for the Gamma World Adventure (WW06), Gamma World Denizens (WW07), Woodland Adventurers (WW08), and Tomb of Spells Sets (WW09). The new lines attracted the attention of
TSR, Inc. who produced the
Gamma World and
Dungeons & Dragons role-playing games and began a short, but lucrative partnership between Grenadier and TSR, Inc..
"Your D. & D. Figure Company," 1981-1982 In the fall of 1981 Grenadier Models had begun to refer to itself as "Your D. & D. Figure Company" and began a newsletter
The Grenadier Bulletin to advertise its status as the official producer of
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures, and of miniatures for
TSR, Inc.'s
Gamma World role-playing game. Its first editor
Kim Eastland became an influential author of role-playing games and fiction published by
TSR, Inc. The
AD&D lines included
blister packs of monsters (#101-116), small box sets (#2001-2013), and large box sets (#5001-5004, 5009). A collateral product was
Action Art box sets (#8001-8004) which included paints and painting instructions and served to introduce customers to the hobby. The
Gamma World role-playing game was supported by a series of
blister packs (Gxx), a box sets of adventurers (#5005) and post-apocalyptic monsters (#5006). Grenadier also produced figures (SN1-4) for
TSR's ''
Snit's Revenge'' board game. In late 1982 Grenadier Models and
TSR, Inc. ended their business relationship. The point of contention was Grenadier's plans to produce figures for other game companies. Grenadier later described the separation as "a bold decision... in order to provide players of all fantasy games with a broader range of quality fantasy miniatures". Since many of Chernak's sculptures predated TSR, Inc.'s artwork, Grenadier Models retained the rights to many of their sculptures and re-released choice figures in the
Dragon Lords (#2001-2013, 5001-5004),
Fantasy Lords (#6001-6005, 101-112), and
Action Art (#8003, 8004) lines. In 1982 and 1983 Grenadier conducted a ''Wizard's Gold Contest
in which they placed gold-plated castings within random boxes of figures. The box also included a certificate for a drawing. The grand prize for 1982 was a one-half ounce of gold for the purchaser of the box set and the store which sold it. The 1983 certificates awarded gift certificates and were placed in 6001 - Dragons of the Emerald Idol
and 6002 - Skeleton-Raiders of the Undead'' box sets. Between March 1984 and February 1985 Grenadier released twelve monthly installments in the popular
Dragon-of-the-Month series. Each box set included a variety of fantasy
dragon, a jeweled base, and a portion of a map of the mystical land the dragons inhabited. Those who collected all twelve dragons were eligible to receive an additional dragon figure. Other 1984 introductions included the
Masterpiece Editions 5501 - War Mammoth of the Undead Legion,
5501 - Death Dragon, futuristic war machines called
Warbots (#4501, 4502), and miniatures for
Mayfair Games's
Champions (#4001, 4002). Grenadier also released four gaming scenarios:
The Horrible Secret of Monhegan Island by Gary Pilkington for
Call of Cthulhu,
Cloudland by Tony Fiorito for
Tunnels and Trolls or
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons,
Raid on Rajallapor by Gary Pilkington for Blades'
Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes, and
Disappearance on Aramat by Gary Pilkington for
Game Designers' Workshop's
Traveller. Grenadier celebrated its 10th anniversary by adding 10,000 commemorative
Paladin figures to boxes of
6007 - Fantasy Lords Dungeon Raiders. Grenadier signed on
Julie Guthrie in 1987 to sculpt their first signature line ''Julie Guthrie's Fantasy Personalities''. By 1988 Grenadier became the manufacturer of miniatures for
West End Games' role-playing system,
Star Wars. This miniatures series was based upon the first three George Lucas films, and included representations of the main characters, Rebel troops, droids, villains, storm troopers, and vehicles. In 1989 Grenadier released the first
Shadowrun miniatures for
FASA's role-playing game. The Pennsylvania office provided traditional themes from fantasy and history. Andy Chernak revived his 1978
Western Gunfighters boxed set (#4901) and a line of existing figures entitled
Fantasy Classics,
Nightmares, and
The Best of Julie Guthrie boxed set (#7001). Julie Guthrie introduced the
Lords of Light and Decay boxes sets (#8801, 8802), a line of
Fantasy Personalities II, and added the
Cyberpunk line. Janine Bennett introduced a range of
Amazons (#3312) which were suitable for use with
Fantasy Warriors. In 1992 Grenadier Models underwent a period of revitalization. The company's founders Andrew Chernak and Ray Rubin returned to their creative responsibilities. Kim Eastland returned to Grenadier Models from TSR, Inc. The return to the early structure of the company may have been prompted by the loss of their partnerships with game manufacturers. By the beginning of 1993, their licensed figures had dwindled to the point that they only produced Andrew Chernak and Sandra Garrity's sculptures for
R. Talsorian Games'
Cyberpunk. Despite the additional cost, numerous manufacturers anticipated parental concerns, similar legislation in other states, their own workplace safety, and they began using white metal alloys. Grenadier began converting its lines to a non-lead alloy they called
Luminite in the winter of 1992. However, Grenadier Models did not return to producing in lead. The product lines for 1994 were a mix of European and American designs. Mark Copplestone and Bob Naismith introduced new sculpts for the
Fantasy Warriors game, and Nick Lund and Doug Cowie authored
Fantasy Warriors Companion an expansion of the rules. Mike Daley began a series of large scale
Master Wizards (#4401, 4402). William Watt added a
Battle Giant (#2701) to the
Special Edition line, and a signature line of ''William Watt's Dragons'' (#2901, 2902).
Post Script At
Gen Con in August 1996 it was revealed that the molds and master sculpts of Grenadier Models Inc. had been purchased by
Stratelibri, their long-time distributor in
Milan, Italy. The rights have since passed to
Mirliton S.G. who continues to produce many of the figures from Grenadier's last years in business. Some of Grenadier's artists retained the right to their work. In 2001
Mega Miniatures purchased the production rights to 180 of the ''Julie Guthrie's Grenadier Personalities''. Those 180 Grenadier Personalities were sold to
Center Stage Miniatures in the fall of 2012. The production of all UK designed and sculpted miniatures are currently licensed to
em4miniatures of
Rustington,
West Sussex,
England by the holder of those rights. Since the sale of Grenadier Model's assets, Andrew Chernak has taken his sculpting to the other extreme and now creates monumental scale bronzes commemorating fallen soldiers. He is also available for lectures on military history and art. ==Reception==