Trade Publications

Model Retailer & Craft, Model & Hobby Industry

In the early years, the Boardgaming, Wargaming, and Collectors Military Miniatures was more of a "closet hobby" than a real hobby here in the U.S.. It was not recognized by the "Hobby Industry Association" nor was it covered in any of the trade publications of the day. Also, while The Avalon Hill game company did have some retail exposure, most of the other game companies’ and military miniatures products were not available in retail stores. Finally, during that time, nobody would admit that they played games of war or played with little toy soldiers. As I surveyed the landscape of the hobby in 1975 there was a tremendous number of new products being designed and only a handful of people who would take the time to review the new products.

Model Retailer

Model Retailer was the first Trade Publication that began to publish some of my Press Release Column material. This started around January 1976. This was the first time that Wargaming, Boardgaming, and the Military Miniatures industry cracked the veneer of the Hobby Industry. It wasn’t much, as the only items that Model Retailer was publishing were my photographs of New Products. You can see the issues of Model Retailer by selecting the Menu Item below Historical Documents or clicking here.

Craft, Model, and Hobby Industry

Then sometime in early 1977, Moe Gherman (click here to see In Memoriam) co-founder of the trade magazine Craft, Model, and Hobby Industry asked me to write a monthly column talking to retailers. I immediately jumped at this opportunity and my very first column in a Trade Publication was printed in June of 1977. In this, and subsequent editorial columns I attempted to teach retailers what this hobby was all about. I provided them with ideas on how to market the hobby to their customers, how to get the customers into the store, and how to get their customers involved in store activities. I suggested things like competitions of all types and meetings in the store where likeminded individuals could meet and exchange ideas. I produced all the material for this section of the magazine every month. Every month I had to create a new editorial with fresh ideas, take pictures of new products, process the film (this was way before digital cameras), write short descriptions of those new products that would go under the photo in the magazine, select the products that would be placed on the pages of the magazine, and finally deliver all of this material to the magazine offices which were on 34^th Street in New York City. As you can imagine, this column for Craft, Model, and Hobby Industry was a full time job unto itself. At the same time, I had a full time job in the electronics/computer industry. I wrote for the trade magazines for a total of 4 years and 2 months and produced the monthly column for Craft, Model & Hobby Industry for approximately 21 months . Everything always came down to deadline time and it was always the last few days of pressure to get it all done, to get the section of the magazine produced. Taking the pictures, writing the descriptions, making sure I had the latest products, being creative for a new editorial, performing these steps month in and month out and somewhere during all of this, the Wargaming, Boardgaming, and the Military Miniatures hobby became a multi-million dollar industry (remember this is 1970’s money) and the hobby was finally accepted by the Hobby Industry Association as a legitimate hobby. Below are the issues of Trade Magazine that were published from January 1976 through March 1979.  Some of the issues only contain pictures and short written captions, while others (the Craft, Model & Hobby Magazines) contain editorial columns devoted to the retailer or mail order stores.  You can access the issue by clicking on the issue below.

• Model Retailer 1976

• Model Retailer 1977

• Craft, Model & Hobby Industry 1977

• Craft, Model & Hobby Industry 1978

• Craft, Model & Hobby Industry 1979