Inquisitor
was always a niche game, with a limited number of miniatures that
were not all available between the game's release and Specialist
Games' demise a couple of years ago. The initial line of models
released to coincide with the rulebook became available in 2001, with
a number of additional models, and conversion kits for the original
line released over 3 years until the demise of print support for
Fanatic Magazin
e. As I recall, the Callidus Assassin and the Thorian
Inquisitor were the last miniatures released, both coinciding with
the Thorian Sourcebook (writing this, I have realised just how short
a shelf life Inquisitor had, and it's quite incredible really that
its short run managed to capture and sustain the imaginations of so
many players). The availability of the miniatures dwindled over the
years, as moulds failed and the components, or “bitz” catalogue
was discontinued, until the plug was pulled on all the Specialist
Games miniature ranges in 2013. Ebay and other trading sites are the
only place to get models now, and the number of untouched kits is
falling.
Even
amongst this small window of opportunity, there were a number of kits
that didn't make it through to 2013. There were a couple of
reorganisations of Games Workshop's online store that saw models like
the Unbound Daemonhost, the Purestrain Genestealer, and the Bodyguard
disappear from the range. Kal Jerico famously became unavailable as
it turned out GW didn't have the rights to sell the model as his
image belonged to the artist of the comics. The mould for the
Vindicare assassin died, but not before a number of very poor quality
casts were sold. These models, and a few others like Inquisitor Scarn
will fetch a high price on Ebay because comparatively very few were
actually sold when they were available for purchase.
A converted Unbound Daemonhost
Amongst
all these scarce models there are a couple that are like gold dust.
The Imperial citizens were four miniatures released during the
Fanatic Magazine run, as an attempt to populate the 41st
millennium with characters that had no place on the battlefield and
would lend some authenticity to Inquisitor games in the deep and dark
places of the Imperium. NPCs were in short supply and these four
provided a welder, dock worker, rat catcher and messenger boy to
litter the scenarios of eager GMs. Sculpted by Bob Naismith, they
were nowhere near the prettiest and well-executed models of the
range, but they had an ugly charm quite unlike the noble and dashing
Inquisitors that would have to work around them in-game. The release
window for these models was probably around 6 months or so, and
therefore they sold in small numbers. The welder and dock worker were
bundled together, and are occasionally seen online and in the wild;
the rat catcher and messenger boy however are the rarest of all
Inquisitor miniatures.
My Armageddon Ork Hunter with rat-catching bionic arm.
Chance
would have it, I acquired all four in a big Ebay job lot in about
2004, long before it became obvious that the rat catcher and
messenger boy simply weren't leaving GW's warehouse even when
specifically ordered, as happened to an acquaintance of mine. At the
time I split the lot with a friend, and he took the body of the rat
catcher and head of the welder for a model of his own, which I don't
believe I ever saw. I had the rat catcher's rather fantastic bionic
arm which went on my Armageddon Ork Hunter, and the rat catching
pole, which went on a mutant. The chest from the welder went on an
arcoflagellant, and the legs on a scrap-armoured desperado. The
docker never got painted and lies somewhere in a bits box. Which
brings me to the messenger boy.
The rarest of the rare?
I
slightly converted him with an auspex, some gubbins and Eisenhorn's
scroll cases, and named him David Burrell, an archeotech prospector
in service of Inquisitor Goddard. He was a mainstay of his war band,
and despite his incredibly average stats, infamously blew the head
clean off a cultist in the Dark Magenta battle reports of years past.
For
years I have been on the lookout for another messenger boy model, as
aside from David the only other pictures I saw of one were in the
original Fanatic Magazine article. Does anyone else have one? Is he
truly the only one ever sold to the public by GW? I'd love to know if
anyone else has one.
The
Carthaxian Inquisitor
