Maybe the fourth installment of a “short” history is an oxymoron? Anyway, the upcoming chapter on the reign of PHD Games will be a good one, but I first want to make some significant revisions to the last post on the Time of No Kings in light of some new information I have found. Before I do that, let me catch my breath with a shorter post on shorter miniatures.

The Old Guard, Ral Partha, Tékumel Journal, Tékumel Games, and PHD all made 25mm miniatures. Hobbyists quibble over details, but at this scale the height of an average man should be, well, 25mm and other things sized proportionately.   Later, Eureka and the Tékumel Project bumped up the scale slightly to 28mm, which gives room for slightly more detail and takes mercy on Boomers’ fading eyesight.

However, two lines of smaller scale miniatures exist and are among the rarest Tékumel collectibles. I only know of two people who have them.

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(I don’t have a lot of pictures of miniatures of this period.  I’d welcome any help from readers.  Please send your images and permission to post.  Thanks.)

Ral Partha stopped producing the Legions of the Petal Throne line sometime in the second half of 1980, shortly after Barker parted ways with TSR.  For about two years, no miniatures were produced, though retailers still sold existing stocks. Then a letter to readers dated October 22, 1982 in the Imperial Military Journal Volume II, #4 stated that the Tékumel Journal (then headed by Jeff Berry) had acquired the “molds, masters, and back stocks” for a $500.00 down payment and $2000.00 in installment payments.  Tékumel Journal originally contracted casting services from “TA-HR,” but in early 1983 took delivery of its own casting machine.  According to The Imperial Military Journal Volume II, #7, Mike Mornard then supervised production.

These individual packs are quite rare; the figures were usually sold in bulk.

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Ral Partha

(Note: Thanks again to Chiríne ba Kal for his help with the below information.)

Bill Murray was more of an artistic figure sculptor and not as interested in wargame miniatures. He soon gave up the Petal Throne line. Ral Partha started advertising that it had taken over the Petal Throne figures in April 1978. At the time, Ral Partha was aggressively expanding its ranges of figures. Ral Partha continued all the figures previously produced by The Old Guard and produced and sold some figures that had been sculpted by Bill Murray but never sold by The Old Guard.

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In the last post, I discussed the first set of miniatures rules for Tékumel., which prompted me to think about miniatures figures.  Miniature figures are the most complicated and difficult items for a Tékumel collector to track and identify. With the generous help of Chiríne hi Ba Kal, I’d like to try to chart the tortuous history of Tekumel miniatures. This is the preface and first chapter of that story.  In future posts, I’ll continue.

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