I ENJOY THE HOBBY BUT WHERE DOES IT SAY I HAVE TO GIVE ANYTHING BACK?
When I participated in the inauguration of HMGS (Historical Miniature Gaming Society) I did so because I felt that The Historical Miniature gamer needed a voice that would be heard by the manufacturers and convention organizers. We were being lost amid Fantasy gamers and role players to the point that historical lines were being dropped and convention organizers were heard to question the need for making any room for Historical Miniatures in their convention.
The basic premise of HMGS was to further the hobby by making the Historical Miniature presence felt at conventions; to form a block of people (voting with their $) who would make manufacturers listen to their gripes; to expand the hobby through advertising, demos and by generally making the hobby more visible and understood byJohn Q. Public; to divorce ourselves from the bad pressthat some areas of the hobby had received.
"This will be very expensive", I was told. "Nonsense", said I, "in this hobby there are people from all walks of life, with expertise in any area you care to mention that will come forth and render this expertise free of charge to help further the hobby!" Boy was I wrong!! Most seem to want to extract the enjoyment they can from this hobby without worrying whether or not it will be here to be enjoyed by future generations... it would take so little effort in an area in which you are already knowledgeable to help immensely.
Three of the major areas that need the expertise and the dedication I am talking about are:
1. INSURANCE: Someone knowledgeable in insurance has to develop a way that small conventions can acquire liability insurance for their affairs without too burdensome an expense. The hobby also needs instruction or a special insurance policy for insuring figures against fire, theft and loss while traveling (I fear that protection against breakage would be prohibitive).
2. PUBLICITY: HMGS has a script for a video tape explaining the hobby. Such a tape would be sold to hobby stores for rental to their customers, or be given to libraries and schools to spread the word. We need someone EXPERT in producing PROFESSIONAL level videos with access to the necessary equipment and to a club with figures and terrain of sufficient quality to produce this epic. This is an ideal way to promulgate the hobby!
3. PUBLIC RELATIONS: With all the local cable stations now available we have an ideal opportunity to present our hobby to John Q. Public. We need someone expert in the field to develop a program to be presented through facilities and in other media including Prime Time.
All this has been done with great success by the Model Railroad people. Let me hear trom you. Give back something to your hobby - Help out!
CHANGES ... CHANGES ... CHANGES
With this issue you will see major changes. First, the color covers. We have wanted to do this for some time and have finally found a way to do it without too much added cost. Hope you like it as we plan to expand color into other parts of the magazine as we can.
Mailing costs are continuing to increase, however, and we have had to raise the single issue cost and the subscription rate. See the masthead on page 4 and the subscriber return form on the mail wrapper for details.
Quotable Wargame Quotes
"I am doing historical research on my Orc Army."
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