Modelling WW1 Trench Warfare Models but also Historical facts

22 March , 2022

Modelling WW1 Trench Warfare is a book about models, but it also contains lots of historical facts which explain what these educational models show. I had to do a lot of research to produce the models and this has been laid out in the book to explain many aspects about what trenches were like in the Great War. It is not only a book for modelmakers but is also a great source of information about trenches. The majority of the models are in 1:32 scale but there are others in 1:285 scale which explain wider aspects of the conflict.

Below is a review of my book by Andy Robershaw, who is one of the leading educator/historians on WW1 trench warfare. There is a further review by a model magazine in one of the images.

You can find many more images of my models on my website and articles about them by Googling my name.

I have had the great good fortune of being given the opportunity work with archaeologists excavating British and German trenches on the Western Front in both France and Belgium. Using this experience as a background I was able to combine my reach into the archives, photographs and film of the Great War to build a series of full scale replicas for teaching culminating in the Railway wood trenches at the Kent Show Ground. This led to the opportunity to work with film directors such as Sam Mendes and Stephen Speilberg to build trench locations for films such as '1917' and 'War Horse’. Although I work 'full scale' and assume that I know quite a bit about the subject Andy Belsey's book 'Modelling World War 1 Trench Warfare' came as a revelation. Drawing on unimaginable skill in creating miniatures and backed by in-depth research his book is a 'must have' volume for modellers, but will be a useful guide for armchair historians of the period and battlefield tourists. It should be on your book shelf or better still in your car as you tour the battlefield where, very largely, the trenches are now the 'battlefield beneath our feet’.

Andy Robertshaw, Director, Battlefield Partnerships Ltd