American West (Less popular in the US since 1970, a victim of changing attitudes towards Indians)

    World War II (Very popular since the late 1960s, fueled by the next generation of collectors who entered the hobby after 1950.)

 

 

Why do these conflicts account for over 95% of the hobby? By the same token, why do conflicts such as Vietnam, the 1^st Gulf War and Philippine Insurrection have such small followings?

 

Here are things that increase a wars appeal to collectors:

 

Variety. The sheer variety of uniforms, units and equipment contributes greatly to popularity. The more types of troops, equipment, uniforms, etc., the better.

 

Time. Short conflicts do not generate much interest. The most popular wars lasted more than three years.

 

Geography. Limited wars have little interest. Those that were waged over a larger area with varied terrain tend to be most interesting to collectors. Look at all of the conflicts listed above, and you see in each a struggle that covered many miles.

 

Scope: the more popular wars involved large numbers of combatants and affected multitudes. The stakes were high. These were not battles fought for small gains, but conflicts of epic proportions. Entire cultures and nations were swinging in the balance. The end result was not merely the winning or losing ruler, but the lives of soldiers, civilians and entire countries.

 

Epic Struggle. The nature of a war increases its popularity. There is a hint of Good versus Evil, with their attribution usually relative to the individual hobbyist. We see the heroic English longbowmen humbling the nobility of France, the altruistic Washington throwing off the tyranny of the wicked King George, and the valiant efforts of the allies against the evil triumvirate of Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo. In other terms, it is more relative. Folks from the North of the USA see the Civil War differently from those of the South. Germans understand the Seven Years War differently than the French. Either way, the epic factors contribute to popularity.

 

Great Leaders and Personalities. The popular struggles have memorable commanders, rulers and characters. Each has great generals, famous rulers and legendary heroes. Their activities tend to be so well-documented that they can be discussed in detail. Be it generals such as Marshall Ney and Erwin Rommel, rulers like Abe Lincoln and Frederick the Great, or heroes such as Joan of Arc and Audie Murphy, the presence of notable characters contributes much to a conflicts appeal.

The lack of colorful personalities diminishes interest. Vietnam, the first Gulf War and the Philippine Insurrection are examples. For each of them, most can name only one or two names. On the other hand, a great conflict has within it the conflict of know leaders against equally famous opponents. For instance, Rommel faced Montgomery and Lee faced Grant. But who is the general who opposed Schwarzkopf, and who was it that commanded the Spaniards on San Juan Hill?

 

Controversy. Great conflicts have controversial incidents that are still open to debate. There are episodes for which there are no definite conclusions. A good example is one that has raged among World War II buffs for years. Was Rommel really a great general, or were his successes largely due to bumbling by his opponents? Every popular conflict has similar quandaries. We can debate whether the Battle of Monmouth was a victory or a draw. We can argue as to whether Reno and Benteen could have reached Custer in time. All of these controversies add to a wars interest for collectors.

 

Exotic characters. The presence of unusual and exotic troops can boost a conflicts appeal. This is especially so among collectors of 19^th Century figures from Colonial Africa and Asia. It is also part of the interest which European collectors feel for American Indians.

 

 

These things can diminish the appeal of a conflict:

 

Shortness. A brief war tends to have less interest than a long one. The Gulf War and the Invasion of Grenada were quite brief. The Spanish American War, Opium Wars and First Sino-Japanese War lasted less than two years. A lack of time means a lack of battles Personalities of generals and heroes do not have enough time to develop into characters of interest. Likewise, short duration usually means a limited geographic range. However, even a wide ranging war, such as the Spanish American war, does not have enough time to make it popular.

 

Lack of Variety. Without an assortment of uniforms and units, a conflict has little appeal. All of the popular conflicts have a wide array of units, uniforms and equipment. Wars such as Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf have fewer differences in uniform. The units are also hard to distinguish at a glance. World War II illustrates this another way. While each Allied army had several types of uniform, they were still a small assortment. The German Army had a wider variety of uniforms and equipment, and happens to be the most popular among World War II collectors.

            Variety is a major factor. Lack of variety leads to disinterest.

 

Insurgencies and Guerrilla Conflicts. Most insurrections do not make it in our hobby. The reasons are simple enough. First, regular troops opposing the guerrillas tend to have a small variety of uniforms and equipment. Second, guerrillas in civilian clothes do not inspire collectors. The insurgents tend toward bland dress, even if they are in exotic countries. The Filipino insurgents of 1903, the Palestinian Liberation Army and the Vietcong are not much to see. Simple clothing , a firearm and an ammo belt or bandolier do not make a very eye-catching soldier.

 

Lack of Personality. Most of us know something of the great military leaders such as Napoleon, Wellington, Julius Caesar, William T. Sherman, George Custer, George Patton and Erwin Rommel. We also know of various heroes such as Horatio at the bridge, the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, Lawrence of Arabia, Davy Crockett and Audie Murphy. These are the names that attach themselves to the great battles which enthuse collectors. Without great personalities, a conflict has less appeal for collectors. Ask about Vietnam and you get Westmoreland. For Gulf 1, there is Schwarzkopf. Aside from Teddy Roosevelt, do you know any other major personage from the Spanish American War? Most of us know Cochise, Custer, Sitting Bull, Red Cloud and Geronimo. Aside from Andrew Jackson, whom do we know from the War of 1812? A lack of notable personalties can diminish the appeal of a co0nflict. The wars we know least are the wars whose leaders are forgettable and whose heroes are unknown.

 

Distance. Wars that have a closer connection to the collector are more likely to appeal than distant wars. For American and European collectors, wars not connected to American or Western Europe engender less interest. The Tai -Peng Rebellion in mid-19^th Century China caused 30 to 40 million casualties, yet it is known by very few in the West. The Russo-Japanese and Sino-Japanese Wars have very few fans in Europe or America. Distance and a lack of connectivity to collectors makes a war less likely to be popular.

 

Lack of Great Battles. One of the hallmarks of popular conflicts is the study of battles. Major battles create a major genre. They go hand-in-hand with great generals and famous fighting units. We can discuss Gettysburg, Omdurman, Hastings and Cannae. Tactical and strategic matters come into play with famous battles. Indeed ,there is usually some controversy thrown into the event. An epic battle makes a conflict notable ,and several such battles make it more collectible. Compare this to Vietnam, where most battles were fought at the regimental level or lower. Aside from New Orleans, what battles do you remember from the War of 1812? Does anyone remember anything other than the Charge up San Juan hill for the Spanish American war? Contrast this with World War II, where just one region hosted a handful of epic battles: Tobruk, El Alamein, The Omars, etc. Without great battles, a conflict has less appeal to the average collector.

 

I have been asked how modern conflicts might be collected in the future. To be fair, neither Gulf War has the variety of uniforms and equipment to become a major genre. Like the Arab-Israeli Wars, interest will linger among builders of armored model kits. There is a chance Afghanistan might become a minor niche due to the variety of NATO forces and exotic nature of Afghan rebels.

Since World War II, no conflict has evoked a large fan base. This includes French experiences in Asia and North Africa, British involvement in everything from the Malay problem to the Falklands and Gulf, and US action from Korea to Gulf II. Most of the interest in for wars since 1950 has been among tank model builders.

The people who are responsible for starting the trends in this hobby were men who started collecting prior to World War II. Back then, the Napoleonic wars were barely a century old, and the Civil War was much newer. World War I was such a horror that few collected it, the preference being for earlier, more colorful conflicts.

Napoleonic and Civil War figures ruled the roost until the 1970s. Napoleonics slipped as the new generation took hold of the hobby. World War II emerged as a major genre. Napoleonics may have slipped a little, but they remain a prominent part of the hobby.

            Of course, we are speaking in generalities. We need remember that while most collectors have their favorites, few limit themselves entirely. Most collectors have pieces from various conflicts. While they may have a main genre or two, it is just as likely they have examples for seven or more conflicts. Rare is the serious collector who does not have a figure or two from other periods.

 

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