's brother-in-law has been able to leave the hospital after his cancer operation.
September 15, 1956–March (TBD), 2006
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 earlier this week. He died alone in his home, and the exact date of his death is TBD pending an autopsy. I am still in shock, as this was unexpected and came out of nowhere.
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 his 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.
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.
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.
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 is the final piece that Dennis Mize sculpted for Dark Sword Miniatures. It will be released in the next couple of weeks.
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.
To send Mr. Dennis Mize off in style - I would ask that Chris Fitzpatrick from Crocodile Games makes sure that we all toast Dennis Mize and his contributions to the miniatures industry at the annual Croc Party during Gen Con Indy (always a good time!). A bar-wide salute/toast is in order for Big D.
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 and working with him over the years he has been a key part of this industry.
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.