Andy Belsey - Modelling World War I Trench Warfare

MODELLING

World War I
Trench Warfare

MODELLING

World War I
Trench Warfare

Andy Belsey

First published in 2021 by
The Crowood Press Ltd
Ramsbury, Marlborough
Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2021

Andy Belsey 2021

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 859 7

Cover design by Blue Sunflower Creative

Acknowledgements and Dedication

The author wishes to thank the following for their help:

Adrian Bay, Pete and Tansy Belsey, Sue Belsey, Sam and Mel Belsey, John Bones, Mike Butler, Toby and Richard Dingle, Craig Hedgecock, Paul Marshall, Simon Parfitt, Darren Parker-Mead, Bryan Parry, Andy Robertshaw, Oliver and Sarah Taylor, William Wood, 10th Essex Living History Group, Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917, Lee Atkins and Kevin Mullane of 3DD Models.

This book is dedicated to my grandfathers, Gunner Ernest Belsey and Corporal Herbert Sanders, who survived the Great War.

Gunner Ernest Belsey, RGA.

Corporal Herbert Sanders, Essex Yeomanry.

Introduction

I did not originally intend to make a series of section models, but one model led to another as I thought of a sphere of trench warfare that I had not tackled before. My models are visual explanations of World War I trenches and I have considered carefully what to include within parameters that were set when building my first section model. These educational models can show visually what would take many words to explain. The miniature world has a fascination for many of us and modelmaking is a craft that gives great pleasure to lots of people. I am a modelmaker who enjoys history. I have gathered information about trench warfare from many sources, processing the most important details, and can now consolidate most of that in this one book. I am a perfectionist when it comes to representing details correctly, which means that I try to refine and improve my work wherever possible. Any mistakes in my models bother me terribly, but perfectionism is a blessing and a curse.

The author with his ten trench sections.

I have learnt much from other modelmakers, but I have tried to find easy techniques of my own that should be straightforward to copy. I used to blog about the construction of my models on the Military Modelling Forum until it ceased operations in early 2018. The worldwide attention that my models gained inspired my own website ( https://andybelseymodels.wixsite.com ), and I continue to blog about their construction on the Scale Models Forum and planetFigure. The beauty of the internet is that it connects those with similar passions and I have recently teamed up with Mike (the Kiwi) Butler in New Zealand. I can create intricate detail and sculpt, but Mike has an extraordinary ability with paint and you will find that he has painted and enhanced several figures in this book. Our skill sets combine to the best advantage, and we have fun together while we do it.

Mike Butlers amazing painting of my converted Tommys War figure. A 54mm figure with hairy arms and veins on his hands!

My own interest in the Great War started with how it affected my grandparents and their siblings. I inherited a large collection of family memorabilia (mainly paperwork) from World War I and have spent years researching how my family were involved.