R.W. Morrell, on the "Letters" page, seems, like a few others in the past, to have completely misconstrued the long standing aims of the Newsletter and the manner in which it has always attempted to influence the atmosphere of the hobby. It has always been the purpose of this magazine to propagate and further wargaming, to encourage beginners and to stimulate others to experiment and branch-out within the hobby. Over and above that, it is the aim of WARGAMER'S NEWSLETTER to encourage and support manufacturers and publishers so that they do not follow current commercial practices of solely turning out safe and popular lines. The highly personalised nature of our hobby makes it imperative for there to be available sources of off-beat figures and publications arising from the less popular pages of military history.
None of these aims can be achieved by adopting a policy of bitchiness, by censoriously criticising the well meaning efforts of manufacturers and publishers. Rather they must be cajoled and to some extent "flanneled" so that they continue to provide the excellent service to which we have become accustomed. This attitude may well arise from remembering only too well those days when there were hardly any commercial figures available and that one had to make moulds and cast ones own figures or go without. The trouble with people like Mr. Morrell is that they have it too good today; the multiplicity of items sharpens the critical minds of those who have never experienced shortages or the non-existence of desired figures and books.
There are no really bad wargames figures. Obviously, some are better than others but ALL look reasonable when painted up en masse (which is the desired state for most wargamers who lack time or ability to paint each individual figure to collectors standards). Every single make of wargames figures has its devotees -- there are none that everyone dislikes otherwise they would soon be out of business. It is not the intention of WARGAMER'S NEWSLETTER to completely damn or condemn any commercial figures - rather I have been toying with the idea of allowing manufacturers to write their own reviews of their figures because obviously they know more about them than anyone else!
Although in wargaming since 1957, I consider that, not being an artist or a designer, I lack adequate knowledge to condemn a figure on design grounds, nor do I have sufficient knowledge of all periods of military history to pick out minor errors in dress and equipment. I abhor amateur reviewers and I do not intend to join their ranks. Wargaming is all things to all men and few of us agree on any point or aspect of it, so it is suggested that subscribers read my reviews of figures, etc., and then, after surveying the product, make up their own minds. Being conscious of the high sense of individuality possessed by the average wargamer, I doubt if anything I say or write will be agreed upon by a majority at any time!
I speak on less steady grounds when considering books because as a writer who has had his share of stupid, misinformed and snide criticisms in reviews of my books, I have great sympathy for authors. When a publisher sends me a beautiful shiny new book worthing anything from three to ten pounds, before it is on sale in the shops, then he is already halfway in my good books! I do my level best to read them all before reviewing and major errors or omissions that can be authoritively checked earn an adverse review. Many book reviewers quickly leaf through the pages of a book, pick out one minor item and then tear the book to pieces on it, to give the impression that they have read it! I do not intend to join their ranks even if it loses Mr.Morrell and others like him as subscribers.
Advertisers do not receive preferential treatment when reviewing their products and a glance through the "Must List" will rapidly detect manufacturers who have never advertised. In fact, if I was to only review products of advertisers then I certainly would not be able to fill as many pages with the "Must List" as I do.
Concerning Mr. Morrell's disgust because the September issue did not contain ANYTHING that interested him. Oddly enough, I received the same complaint from Otis Eggthymer of Little Micklepath-on-the-Wold, bitterly complaining that there had been no articles of late on his favourite Carlist Wars, and another petulant missive from Major Jump of The Citadel, Wellington Road, Waterlooville, takes me to task for there being little on the Peruvian Invasion of Bolivia of 1841. As Mr. Morrell so rightly says, WARGAMER'S NEWSLETTER relies on articles written by its subscribers and if Ancient articles are sent to Slingshot and Pike-and-Shot articles to The Arquebusier, who can blame them? As Editor, I am only too pleased to receive what is left -- and there isn't much of it!
In suggesting that payment is offered for articles, Mr. Morrell again misses the essential complexion of this magazine because it is completely against the style and type of the magazine that payment should be offered for articles. In the course of my professional life I receive and contribute to professional medical journals and similar publications concerned with other professions and occupations. All include the most informative articles, written after months of research and the writer, without any thought of financial recompense, offers the fruits of his labour to others who might be interested or could make valuable use of them. This is how it should be with WARGAMER'S NEWSLETTER - it is a poor outlook if we cannot share the pleasure of our discoveries and experiences with our fellows unless paid money to do so.
Quite frankly Mr. Morrell I think you are in the wrong hobby. If you were a REAL wargamer then every single line of the Newsletter's contents would interest you, even the adverts!
Quote
"Thrice is he armed that has his quarrel just,
But four times he that gets his blow in fust."
Back to Table of Contents -- Wargamer's Newsletter # 152
To Wargamer's Newsletter List of Issues
To MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1974 by Donald Featherstone.
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com