Dennis Mize Tribute Page

This is a dark day for pewter miniature fans - we have lost Dennis Mize. The gaming industry has lost another one of the greats with the sudden death of Dennis Mize sometime around March 13, 2006. He died alone in his home of a massive heart attack according to the autopsy report. I am still in shock as this was unexpected and came out of nowhere.

Dennis could sculpt almost anything. But he preffered the ladies...Matt and Anne painted these up.

Dennis Mize was only 49 years old. Dennis had so much ahead of him in terms of sculpting more fantastic miniatures, hanging out with his good friends watching bad B movies and attending barbarian parties. Dennis was a pretty private guy and was not a huge self-promoter of his abilities. He always felt his finished product spoke for itself. Those who knew Dennis will speak of his love of dinosaurs, King Kong (he did not care of the new version by the way), Ray Harryhausen, mushy weapons, bad B movies (as Fitz from Croc will tell you) and of course sculpting. His ability to lavish sharp detail on miniatures is what he is best known for. That and of course is love of sculpting female miniatures - with sharp detail of course…

Dennis Mize and Tom Meier were always in my mind the "once in a lifetime two-headed dog" that will never be repeated in this business in terms of their sculpting styles and abilities. Tom Meier and Dennis Mize were the first two sculptors for Ral Partha and they really raised the bar for miniature sculpting in a very young industry. As I look back, it is fitting that they were the first two sculptors for Dark Sword Miniatures.

Samples from the Caldwell Masterworks line that is nominated for Best Miniature Line of 2006. Matt painted these up.

Dennis kept improving with each miniature he sculpted and always told me "Jim, if you can look at a miniature you sculpted two years ago and not be able to sculpt it better now, then you ain't trying hard enough to get better at what you do." Dennis was simply one of the greats.

Samples from the Visions in Fantasy line that is nominated for Best Miniature Line of 2006. Matt painted these up.

I was never able to let Dennis know the good news about the Caldwell Masterworks and the Visions in Fantasy Lines getting nominated for Best Miniature Line of 2006 earlier in the week. Dennis sculpted both of these lines. Dennis Mize and Dave Summers won the Best Miniature Line of 2005 last year for the Elmore Dragons line from Dark Sword Miniatures.

Laurent from Fenryll likes our miniatures so much he had one of the top French painters do up Elmore Set # 3 for his collection.

Dennis is best known for his impressive body of work from his years at Ral Partha (now owned by Iron Wind Metals). I am honored that his second largest body of sculpting work was with Dark Sword Miniatures as I was such a huge fan boy of Dennis and Tom growing up in the 1980's. Dennis also sculpted a number of pieces for Reaper Miniatures. The 2006 Elmore Amazon below is the final piece that Dennis Mize sculpted for Dark Sword Miniatures. It will be released in the next couple of weeks.

The Elmore 2006 Amazon is the final miniature Dennis sculpted for Darks Sword Miniatures.

This is such a young industry that we have not lost too many of the greats yet. This has been a tough six months with both Keith Parkinson and now Dennis Mize passing away. I guess that means this young industry is starting to get on in years.

Alison Scheirman and Matt Vezani painted these miniatures up.

To send Mr. Dennis Mize off in style - we will be getting some industry folks together at Gen Con Indy to conduct a bar-wide SALUTE/Toast for Big D. I am also moving forward with getting Dennis Mize inducted into the Origins Awards Hall of Fame - seeing as he won 10 or more Origins Awards during his years at Ral Partha and at Dark Sword Miniatures. He was the 2nd sculptor at Ral Partha (behind Tom)and he needs to be recognized for his massive contributions to this industry.

Anne Foerster from Reaper Miniatures took best diorama at Gen Con Indy 2005 with this most excellent Dennis Mize piece from Elmore Masterworks Set # 2.

So in the meantime folks - when appropriate, raise your mugs and toast one of the all-time great sculptors - Mr. Dennis Mize. He has left an impressive legacy of outstanding pewter miniatures and is already sorely missed by those of us who have had the privilege of knowing & working with him over the years he has been a key part of this industry.

Above is the first of many pieces that Dennis Sculpted for Dark Sword Miniatures - The Green Witch from Elmore Masterworks Set # 1. Susan Wachowski painted up the piece to the right of it. Dennis was buried with a platinum plated copy of this miniature.

Thank you to Mike, Crazy, & Crew from IWM, Ron from Reaper, Jeff Wilhelm, Chris "Mr. Sculpting Rules & Guidelines" Clark from Mag Ego's, Susan & Art Wachowski, Kevin Walker, and Dave "I'm Already Smashed on Green Beer" Summers for the emails and telephone calls on such a damn sad day.

In Memoriam - Dennis Michael Mize September 15, 1956 - March 13, 2006 Click Here to Return to the Dark Sword Miniatures Home Page Click here to see the Dennis Mize Mini Tribute Page (get those pics in here folks!) New pics posted as of April 23rd 2006. Check them out - VERY nice... June 30th, 2006 Update: Dennis Mize has been inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame to stand alongside the gaming industry greats such as Tom Meier, Julie Guthrie, Larry Elmore, Dave Arneson, Margaret Weis and Gary Gygax (and more). This was something I felt very strongly about pursuing for Dennis when he was alive, but he would always blow it off and play it down. Now that he has passed on, I went after it pretty hard to get him in on the first ballot after he passed away. And the academy was right there beside me in their feelings that he was an automatic lock for this top honor. Mike Noe from Iron Wind Metals and Melanie Mize (The niece of Dennis) will be accepting this award on his behalf on Saturday night at the Big Origins Hall of Fame Dinner. So, the first three sculptors from Ral Partha are the first three sculptors inducted into the Hall of Fame. I have also learned that Crocodile Games has bested Dark Sword Miniatures, Warmachine and Rezolution for Best Miniature Line of 2005 - CONGRATS to Fitz and Marike on this top honor! Croc has now joined the ranks of Award Winners - great job Croc Crew. Thanks to Chris and Deane for the update tonight. The 2006 Origins Hall of Fame Induction Award for Dennis Mize. I went out to Ohio to attend the memorial service and send Big D off in style. It was great to see everyone out there. A huge thank you must be extended to Dave and Sue Summers for their hospitality. You will all be happy to know that buried with the ashes of Dennis Mize were four things: His Iron Wind Barbarian Clan Medallion, a Cig for the journey, ashes from the last barbarian clan gathering, and of course a platinum plated Green Witch Miniature from Dark Sword Miniatures. This was the first miniature Dennis sculpted for Dark Sword Miniatures and is to this day still one of my favorite miniatures. A couple of close friends of Dennis pulled me aside and told me how jazzed Dennis was to be working with one of his biggest fans (that would be me) and that he told them numerous times how much more extra effort he put into the Dark Sword pieces that he sculpted. That made me feel pretty dang good. I knew Dennis really liked what we were doing with these lines, but Dennis was a man who did not get too excited about anything. To know that after all the years he has spent sculpting (almost 30) he spoke to his close friends about his work on these lines from Dark Sword really shows how special it all was to him. I would ask all the painters out there to send in their pics of Dennis Mize painted pieces to me via the email address below. I will post them up on the Dennis Mize Mini page for everyone to see. His family would get a kick out of seeing his work beyond what is on this site. Please send in your Dennis Mize painted pics to: jludwig@DarkSwordMiniatures.com Mr. Mize in one of his classic shirts.
Dennis getting the recognition he deserves by joining Tom Meier and Julie Guthrie in the Origins Hall of Fame.	The detail on the Origins Hall of Fame Award.
A very young Mr. Tom Meier and Mr. Dennis Mize - These are the two young cats that put Fantasy Miniatures on the Map. They were the first two sculptors for a little company you may have heard of - Ral Partha (now IWM). Ahhhh to be young again. Tom still has that same smirk by the way...Even back then it seems he knew he would rock the industry. What about Dennis you ask? As you can see, he was chilling out and having a smoke...He too would rock the industry.
A very young energetic Mr. Mize on the table at a gaming session at the old Ral Partha factory with a flexing Brian Hitsman (Master Mold Maker) in the background and an older more wise Mr. Mize sitting down and taking a load off with cig in hand (a common sight I am told).
Above is the type of mini that Dennis really liked sculpting up....
This is a dark day for pewter miniature fans - we have lost Dennis Mize. The gaming industry has lost another one of the greats with the sudden death of Dennis Mize sometime around March 13, 2006. He died alone in his home of a massive heart attack according to the autopsy report. I am still in shock as this was unexpected and came out of nowhere. Dennis could sculpt almost anything. But he preffered the ladies...Matt and Anne painted these up. Dennis Mize was only 49 years old. Dennis had so much ahead of him in terms of sculpting more fantastic miniatures, hanging out with his good friends watching bad B movies and attending barbarian parties. Dennis was a pretty private guy and was not a huge self-promoter of his abilities. He always felt his finished product spoke for itself. Those who knew Dennis will speak of his love of dinosaurs, King Kong (he did not care of the new version by the way), Ray Harryhausen, mushy weapons, bad B movies (as Fitz from Croc will tell you) and of course sculpting. His ability to lavish sharp detail on miniatures is what he is best known for. That and of course is love of sculpting female miniatures - with sharp detail of course… Dennis Mize and Tom Meier were always in my mind the "once in a lifetime two-headed dog" that will never be repeated in this business in terms of their sculpting styles and abilities. Tom Meier and Dennis Mize were the first two sculptors for Ral Partha and they really raised the bar for miniature sculpting in a very young industry. As I look back, it is fitting that they were the first two sculptors for Dark Sword Miniatures. Samples from the Caldwell Masterworks line that is nominated for Best Miniature Line of 2006. Matt painted these up. Dennis kept improving with each miniature he sculpted and always told me "Jim, if you can look at a miniature you sculpted two years ago and not be able to sculpt it better now, then you ain't trying hard enough to get better at what you do." Dennis was simply one of the greats. Samples from the Visions in Fantasy line that is nominated for Best Miniature Line of 2006. Matt painted these up. I was never able to let Dennis know the good news about the Caldwell Masterworks and the Visions in Fantasy Lines getting nominated for Best Miniature Line of 2006 earlier in the week. Dennis sculpted both of these lines. Dennis Mize and Dave Summers won the Best Miniature Line of 2005 last year for the Elmore Dragons line from Dark Sword Miniatures. Laurent from Fenryll likes our miniatures so much he had one of the top French painters do up Elmore Set # 3 for his collection. Dennis is best known for his impressive body of work from his years at Ral Partha (now owned by Iron Wind Metals). I am honored that his second largest body of sculpting work was with Dark Sword Miniatures as I was such a huge fan boy of Dennis and Tom growing up in the 1980's. Dennis also sculpted a number of pieces for Reaper Miniatures. The 2006 Elmore Amazon below is the final piece that Dennis Mize sculpted for Dark Sword Miniatures. It will be released in the next couple of weeks. The Elmore 2006 Amazon is the final miniature Dennis sculpted for Darks Sword Miniatures. This is such a young industry that we have not lost too many of the greats yet. This has been a tough six months with both Keith Parkinson and now Dennis Mize passing away. I guess that means this young industry is starting to get on in years. Alison Scheirman and Matt Vezani painted these miniatures up. To send Mr. Dennis Mize off in style - we will be getting some industry folks together at Gen Con Indy to conduct a bar-wide SALUTE/Toast for Big D. I am also moving forward with getting Dennis Mize inducted into the Origins Awards Hall of Fame - seeing as he won 10 or more Origins Awards during his years at Ral Partha and at Dark Sword Miniatures. He was the 2nd sculptor at Ral Partha (behind Tom)and he needs to be recognized for his massive contributions to this industry. Anne Foerster from Reaper Miniatures took best diorama at Gen Con Indy 2005 with this most excellent Dennis Mize piece from Elmore Masterworks Set # 2. So in the meantime folks - when appropriate, raise your mugs and toast one of the all-time great sculptors - Mr. Dennis Mize. He has left an impressive legacy of outstanding pewter miniatures and is already sorely missed by those of us who have had the privilege of knowing & working with him over the years he has been a key part of this industry. Above is the first of many pieces that Dennis Sculpted for Dark Sword Miniatures - The Green Witch from Elmore Masterworks Set # 1. Susan Wachowski painted up the piece to the right of it. Dennis was buried with a platinum plated copy of this miniature. Thank you to Mike, Crazy, & Crew from IWM, Ron from Reaper, Jeff Wilhelm, Chris "Mr. Sculpting Rules & Guidelines" Clark from Mag Ego's, Susan & Art Wachowski, Kevin Walker, and Dave "I'm Already Smashed on Green Beer" Summers for the emails and telephone calls on such a damn sad day.
Hal, Myself and Big D in from of Zip's in Cinci. Dennis loved Zip's Chili. This pic was taken on the day I first met Dennis in person. Such a fan boy...Could not stop smiling... Good travels Dennis - we will see you on the other side.
Fare Thee Well Mr. Mize.... For a really cool tribute page to Dennis from his friend C. Bradford Gorby click here. Also take a look around the rest of his site. Very nice stuff. Click Here to Return to the Dark Sword Miniatures Home Page