Hi guys,

As many of you know Allesio Cavatorre and the Perry twins were given extra parts in the Return of the King films as Riders of Rohan. Unfortunately some time before that Alan Perry lost his right hand and some of his arm. Being right handed would be enough to discourage all bu the most hardy from continuing sculpting, but as many of you will know he has managed to to adapt and continue to craft beautifully sculpted miniatures to the highest standard with his left hand and a prosthetic right hand. The Lord of the rings and Hobbit ranges would be significantly poorer without his talented contribution.

I noticed the following miniature cut out from the Mumak base whilst admiring Gandalf the Greys handy work:

gallery/image_page.php?album_id=18&image_id=139

I work in fine art and enjoy seeing work that has meaning and feel in many ways inspired by what I have read from it. I posted the following thoughts:

"I find this miniature intriguing as it appears that Alan Perry has made light of his own disability, and by carving it he has ably demonstrated that he has overcome such a serious set back. To me this is not just a miniature but a serious statement of victory over adversary in a mans life."

I am not a particularly sentimental individual, being a bit English and all that, but I have to say that it has genuinely moved me.

Genuinely powerful stuff. I can't sculpt with both hands, never mind if I was missing an arm.

VG

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"Dark have been my dreams of late."

I honestly never knew that Alan Perry only had one arm. As far as I am concerned the GW Lord of the Rings mini's are the best in the world and the fact that a good third of them were designed by someone missing an arm is mind boggling!

I never knew he only had one arm, it makes me appreciate his sculpts even more.

You learn something new every day!
I didn't know about that, as the others have said it makes me appreciate his work even more. Very inspiring!

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Better, though difficult, the right way to go, than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe. John Bunyan - Pilgrim's Progress

It was blown off by the firing of a cannon during a re-enactment of the Battle of Crecy, when a burning ember of a previous charge fell in, and shot the ramrod (held by Michael, actually) out of the cannon, pretty much ripping his and and part of is arm off.
He was already sculpting again very soon after that, however - how's that for persistence...

It happened in the 90's if I'm not mistaken, so anything sculpted by Michael for the LotR range (or their excellent own range, for that matter) was done with just his left hand.

What an amazing individual.

I believe one of the older rulebooks/ sourcebooks/ journeybooks had a picture of him sculpting. He made it look so easy.

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"Mickey, my friend!"

Have a look at the fantastic stuff the Perry's are turning out on their own site - from The Wars of the Roses right up to WW2 Western Desert - marvellous sculpts and very good value for money too!
http://www.perry-miniatures.com/index.php

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Published ebooks:
Instrument of the Empire
A Note of Defiance
Phantom Ships, Ghost Flotilla
More to come!