Citadel Miniatures

Citadel Miniatures

Citadel Miniatures logo
Industry	Miniature wargaming
Genre	Scale models
Headquarters	Nottingham, England
Products	Metal, plastic and resin miniature figures
Parent	Games Workshop Group PLC

Citadel Miniatures Limited is a company which produces metal, resin and plastic miniature figures for tabletop wargames such as Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000.

In the past Citadel Miniatures was a separate company but it has become a brand for Games Workshop miniatures. Although its models are used for the wargaming hobby, the painting of its miniatures (and miniatures in general) is a hobby in itself.

Citadel Miniatures was formed as part of the British game company Games Workshop in early 1979, as announced in White Dwarf issue #11:

"Games Workshop and Bryan Ansell have got together to keep-alive Citadel Miniatures, a new miniatures company that will be manufacturing several ranges of figures. Ral Partha are already in production, but Citadel will also be producing own ranges, including the Fiend Factory figures, Fantasy Adventurers and Fantasy Specials. Citadel will not be limiting production to SF/F figures, but also new ranges of historical wargaming figures".

The following issue of White Dwarf contained the first advertisement for Citadel's forthcoming figures.

Originally miniatures were produced using a white metal alloy including lead, although in 1987 Citadel began to produce plastic miniatures as well under the name "Psychostyrene" and "Drastik Plastik". These were made of a harder plastic than other plastic miniatures at the time and allowed for greater detailed sculpting. Citadel has continued to produce white metal miniatures as the economics of plastic make it only suitable for large runs. Some models are a combination of both materials, with the arm-less bodies and heads metal and the arms, weapons and other accessories plastic.

In 1997 Citadel switched to a lead-free white metal because of concerns about lead poisoning particularly in children.

Most of the models created by Citadel require some form of construction after purchase. With smaller models this usually involves attaching arms, weapons and the base. Larger models come in many pieces and require more construction.