Rackham (company)
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| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Miniature wargaming and role-playing game publisher |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Fate | liquidated 2010 |
| Headquarters | France |
| Products | Confrontation Cadwallon AT-43 Hybrid |
| Website | [ www. rackham. fr] |
Rackham (later, Rackham Entertainment) was a French miniature and role-playing games production company.
History
[edit]When Jean Bey was 11 years old, he became fascinated with metal miniatures, and became a passionate collector, a hobby that he continued into his twenties.[1] After he graduated from school, an opportunity to work for a miniatures manufacturer fell through, and he decided to start Rackham in 1997, naming the company after Arthur Rackham, one of the leading figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration.[1] Bey also decided to create a miniatures combat system of rules called Confrontation set in a fantasy campaign world. After finding and hiring graphic artists and sculptors, running into design and production issues, and working his way through 14 drafts of Confrontation, Bey's company produced its first figurine three years later.[1] Confrontation was translated into five languages and marketed in 41 countries.[2] In 2003, Rackham released a two-player board wargame called Hybrid. By 2005, Rackham was listed on the Euronext stock market.[2]
After a chance meeting with sculptor Paolo Parente at the European games convention Monde du Jeux, Bey and Parente worked together to design a new line of science fiction figurines for a campaign setting called AT-43, which was released in 2006.[1] Also in 2006 Rackham published the role-playing game Cadwallon set in the world of Confrontation. At its peak, Rackham had over 70 employees, including designers, illustrators, writers, sculptors, painters, and foundry-workers, who produced 30,000 to 50,000 packages of figurines each month.[1]
In late 2007, Rackham ran into financial issues and went into receivership. A year later, venture capitalist Entrepreneur Ventures re-monetized the company under the new name Rackham Entertainment.[3] The production facility and foundry was not started up again; instead, the lines of metal miniatures were replaced by plastic pre-painted figurines.[4][5]
In October 2010, Rackham Entertainment liquidated its assets and ceased operations.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Bouet, Gregory (2001). "Critiques". Backstab (in French). No. 28. p. 16.
- ^ a b "Rackham". Miniatures Collectors Guide. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
- ^ "Rackham re-emerges as Rackham Entertainment". Tabletop Gaming News. 2008-10-28. Archived from the original on 2008-11-01. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
- ^ "Rackham Assets Acquired". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
- ^ "Rackham re-emerges as Rackham Entertainment". Archived from the original on 2008-11-01. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
- ^ "Rackham Entertainment". Archived from the original on 2010-11-07. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
External links
[edit]
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