Research is half the job, and finding just the right information is sometimes the most frustrating thing about building a diorama, a miniature painting job or any model building project.

Research includes a wide variety of things including deciding on correct colors, determining proper accessories for a period and their placement on the figure, matching terrain to your figures or models, building construction and also on deciding on an appropriate composition for a single figure presentations, vignettes or dioramas.

Modelers and figure painters usually have an extensive network of research sources obtained from their hobby shops alone. When you add in the local library the opportunities tend to triple. However when doing your background work most builders and painters never seem to get enough. Personally I'm out of book shelf space.

Good researchers leave no stone unturned when digging for facts and information. Traditionally research has been confined to the printed material. However more eclectic researchers have not limited themselves to this single medium and have open their shelves to an ever expanding collection of videos. I won't even get into a discussion of the internet.

Listed below are some of the more interesting and useful sources I have collected for getting accurate, useful and often entertaining research materials.

VIDEOS:

"The Video Catalog" The best of Public Television, Arts and Entertainment, and Special Interest Video". P.O. Box 64267, St. Paul, MN. 55164-0267. 1-800-733-2232. Includes such classics as Victory At Sea, World War II with Walter Cronkite. Subjects cover a variety of historical periods from Ancients, the Wild West, the Civil War to the Gulf War.

"The British Collection" from Fusion Video. 17311 Fusion Way, Country Club Hills, IL. 60478 Tel. No. (708) 799-2350, Fax. No. (708) 799-8375. This interesting catalog from multi-faceted Fusion Video features many esoteric titles on a variety of subjects from a uniquely British Perspective, with side trips through Scotland and Wales. Included are many videos on things such as the arts and theater as well as history and a special section on WWII. Many of these titles were found on PBS/BBC as well as more mainstream sources such as A&E and Discovery. The section on Ye Olde England has a nice spread of Knight related films. Tatto fans will enjoy the section on Military Parades.

"The Military Video Collection" from Fusion Video. 17311 fusion Way, Country club Hills, IL. 60478 1-800-959-0061, Fax No. 708-799-8375. This specialized catalog is perhaps the best special topic video collection going. They have an extensive offering of WWII videos, a Great Speeches in History section, and other titles on World History. This company was a pioneer in Military Videos being founded in 1986 when it was really lonely out there. their catalog is broken down into periods and weapons systems. So if you need research on planes or ships there is a section just for you. This is the single most useful video collection for any figure painter and/or modeler.

BOOKS

"Zenith Books" A mega catalog of books and videos. P.O. Box 1, Osceola, WI. 54020-0001. 1-800-826-6600. FAX No. 1-715-294-4448. They do take plastic. This is the most organized catalog with pictures of many offerings, some in color. They have an incredible array of books and catalogs some at bargain prices. The used to cover mainly aircraft sources but have branched into the most complete source around. I even got a great book entitled "The Annual Smithsonian Paper Airplane Contest Winners" and used it here at work with the kids. My most useful purchase was the 416 page photo guide to US Tracked Military Vehicles which included all prototypes and production versions of every tracked vehicle in the inventory from the beginning of tracked vehicle history. The wheeled companion volume is now out.

"Edward R. Hamilton, Bookseller", Bargain books newspaper. Address to Edward R. Hamilton, Falls Village, CT. 06031-5000 No phone number and the most simple order form on the planet. No credit Cards. This newspaper hosts the most extensive collection of discounted books available. The catalog offers books from almost all categories found in any good bookstore. They are organized by category including such choice areas as Military History, Biography, American History, the Civil War, World Wars I & II and General History. I have found absolutely the best reference books anywhere in this catalog at more than half off prices in bookstores. Highly recommended.

"Squadron Mail Order" 1115 Crowley Drive, Carrollton, TX. 75011-5010. Phone No. (214) 242-8663 or Fax No. (214) 242-3775 24 hours a day. This is another major league source of books, plus the advantage of a full service model company with tons of 20mm stuff as well as many figures from around the world. The book library has references from the Eastern Block as well as Japan. They also stock the complete listings of Osprey including the Campaign and Armor monographs.

One nice thing is that they have a tiny photograph of each title listed. They are also the home of the books by the same name, "Squadron in action series". They also carry the complete Schiffer Publishing line of vehicle and aircraft books. An annual subscription of $4.50 includes the master catalog and 12 monthly updates with many sales items included.

CROSS OVER

"Military History from the Scholar's Bookshelf." 110 Melrich Road, Cranbury, NJ. 08512, Fax 1-600-395-0755. This is the wildest collection of books and videos I have seen. Some of their video deals include for $12.95 two sets of movies on such subjects as submarines, tanks and air aces. The book is neatly laid out in sections covering Military History from around the world. They also have great sales.