Ed Pugh, you will be missed

[Adrift]

My last vivid memory of Ed was playing in that massive, 4-person, town-defense game with the hordes of enemies rushing across at your small warband. It was an absolute blast!!! My prayers go out to all those with memories as fond and as rich. May you rest in peace.

[Guindyloo]

I haven't known what to say, I still don't. Ed was always so nice to me; he had such a kind light about him. Like many of us, he changed my life in so many ways and I hope he knew how important he was to so many people. He knew me mostly as Kwindylarue from the streams, but my favourite thing he ever called me was "Buglips' lovely wife". He had this nice way about him that made you feel like family. My heart is broken for everyone who knew him and I hope we can all keep our best memories of him in mind.

 

Here are pics from when Buglips put together the "I ❤️ Ed Sculpts" silliness at Reapercon and all the peeps that got together for pics with Ed:

 

 

 

 

And my favourite twitch clip of him:

https://clips.twitch.tv/ScrumptiousHyperRhinocerosPartyTime-R7Q-qHqYtRezfB9J?tt_content=url&tt_medium=clips_api

 

[haldir]

Wow, what to say. I've known Ed since 2005, thanks to ReaperCon. Now, while I've been to RC many, many times I never really interacted with Ed that much, but when I did he knew who I was from previous trips & every time he was very nice & there was a few times during the Con that Ed intervened on our behalf if something wasn't right at the Con. I missed seeing Ed this year at RC, but I also felt that way whenever I didn't see anyone from previous years, so I didn't think anything was wrong. At the time I heard some things regarding management & such & just chocked it up to that. I had no idea he was sick till a few weeks after the Con.

 

I have to admit, in 2005, Ed was overweight, but he looked healthy. When I showed up that year that he lost all the weight to what he looked like currently, I kinda felt like wow, is Ed ok? Which turned out just fine, he just changed his diet & lost the weight. I wonder now if that might have been factor? Who knows, just know, Reaper, the gaming community lost a special person. Sorry to hear about the lost & I'm sending hopes & love to Reaperpeeps & Pugh family right now.

 

Thank you Ed, for making Reaper, ReaperCon & everything else I'm forgetting.

[Adrift]

Here’s a picture of the table I mentioned above! You can’t see Ed’s face…or anyone’s for that matter, but you can see his name tag as he’s leaning forward on the table.

[ManvsMini]

I once read that when a man passed away, the ancient Greeks had one question: "Did he have passion?" Whether there is any historical accuracy to that or not, I don't think anyone can doubt that Ed Pugh had passion. Passion for Reaper, for the hobby, for the community as a whole, there's no doubt that Ed loved what he did and was driven to give us everything he was capable of giving. And I believe that seeing our joy for Reaper's products (and I daresay, at times even criticism towards them) drove him to work even harder. His contributions to the hobby and miniatures world will never go unforgotten.

 

To Ed Pugh! May you finally have time to paint and rest.

[Bruunwald]

Reaper has been a big part of my life for a long time now.

 

His work and life are very much appreciated.

 

RIP

[Clint Lundgren]

I've been collecting and painting miniatures for more than four decades. Ed and Reaper were an transformative force that was integral to building the Golden Age of Miniatures that is happening now. His passion, his talent, and his generosity will be greatly missed, and my thoughts are with his friends, co-workers, and family. What a legend!

[Humansquish]

Just saw the news, what a punch in the gut. Prayers and good wishes go out to his family and Reaper.

[Sophie was taken]

My condolences to Ed's family, friends, and other loved ones. Never got to meet him in person, but he was always a welcome sight on twitch. His passion and love for the hobby really shined through.  Mini painting got me through some rough times over the years, and Ed was a big part of making that possible. He will be missed.

 

[buglips*the*goblin]

Ed Pugh was someone special.  I've been in this hobby a long time, and I've got the grey in my beard to prove it.  In fact, it's been an even 30 years this year.  I didn't know anything about Reaper when it really started, by which I mean the very early days of tiny metal airplanes as the Distinguished Flying Collectibles.  I came to know Reaper sometime late 1995 to early 1996 when the very first of the Dark Heaven Legends came about.  I've watched Reaper grow since then, and thrive through many changes in the industry - some of which took out storied names like Ral Partha, Grenadier, and others.  Difficult days indeed.  When Reaper came on the scene, I thought them something of an upstart company and - I will admit - in the beginning I grossly underestimated them.  I had no idea what that tiny batch of Dark Heaven blisters would become.  Since those early days my relationship with the company has gone from being a random customer picking lime-green blister packs off a rack, to these forums, to attending Reapercon, to even being made into a figurine.  I have met many of my heroes - sculptors, painters, the people behind the company.  I visited the factory, which meant so much to me it was practically a holy pilgrimage.  It has been my distinct privilege to meet all of these very fine people, as well as those among you on this board I have met (and recruited into mischievous plans).  And even among the company of all these legends, Ed was something special.  Many hands built Reaper, and none of those efforts should be in any way diminished because all of this is the fruit of many great talents, but I think it is fair to say that the heart and soul of Reaper has always been Ed.  Ed the gamer, Ed the imaginative setting developer, Ed the businessman, Ed the guy whose passion became our passion.  Ed was one of us, living the dream.  His passing has not only left an unfillable emptiness for us, but for the entire industry.  His legacy is vast, unimaginably vast.  The products that came from this company have enriched the games of countless people, perhaps millions of them, all over the world.  That is a positive impact anyone should envy.  In terms of sheer scope and scale, that impact may be rivalled only by those intrepid pioneers who developed the first fantasy roleplaying games.  

 

Thank you, Ed, for all the fun.

Thank you, Ed, for starting all this.

Thank you, Ed, for changing my life.

I will miss you more than I can ever say.

 

  

[Guyra]

Living on the other side of the world, I've only been able to experience whom Ed was mainly through the Reaper videos and streams. But even only through that medium it was obvious he was such a great guy. Instantly likeable, very down to earth, and very "just one of us hobbyists and enthusiasts" energy. And at the same time, he's had an immense impact on the tabletop and miniatures hobbies in ways most of us could only dream of. I can honestly say I've never before been this sad about someone passing that I never had the pleasure of even speaking with, let alone meet. Ed was someone very special.

 

I've ordered myself a couple of Arachno Assassins, and will be painting them while remembering him.

[Baphomet69]

I just heard the news. I haven’t been on these forums for at least a couple of years, but I had to return for this. I have tears in my eyes as I write this and that’s a very rare thing. I had several personal email conversations with Ed over the years. He was truly one of those rare authentic and kind human beings. The world is a little bit darker without your light, Ed. You’ll be terribly missed. 😢

[Olaf the Stout]

My only personal interactions with Ed were via email, but he was always super nice and friendly. It was also clear he had a big passion for the hobby and Reaper. I'm sure he will be sorely missed.

[Glitterwolf]

My sympathies. 

Because of me living in the Netherlands I never met him, but it is clear to me what he meant for Reaper, this Forum and the people who did meet him.

Way too young to go.

 

[ced1106]

Reaper Bones I was my first KS and my entry into miniature painting. I helped crash the KS servers with Cthulhu, who, sadly, has still not been painted. 

 

Ed's "State of the Industry" video (or the other one he made) was one of my most reposted videos on various threads during the advent of KS, when everyone thought it wasn't necessary and you could do it retail. Ed's video told us about how retailers and distributors "cherry picked" what *they* thought would sell to *their* customers, versus what fans of companies actually wanted. (Ed pointed out the wildly successful Clix miniatures line, which distributors initially did not want to carry.) KS allowed companies to bypass a system that did not fulfill the wants of customers for product *others* thought would not sell. I wished Ed would have continued these videos, which I though were very informative.

 

Thanks, Ed.