DUNCAN MACFARLANE

1948 - 2021

At the start of June I got a text with some bad news. Duncan Macfarlane, first editor of Miniature Wargames and then creator of Wargames Illustrated and contributor to so very many other facets of the hobby had died.

Aged 73, Duncan had done so much for our beloved wargaming: born in Driffield in Yorkshire he studied at the University of Leeds. After graduating he became a Librarian at Sir Leo Schultz High School in Hull and engaged with the students teaching wargames, organising board games events and more.

It was whilst working in Hull that Duncan first met the late Peter Gilder and that relationship continued for many years, with Duncan enjoying many games at Peter’s Wargames Holiday Centre (which, later on, facilitated the photography of so much of Mr Gilder’s splendid figure collection!) until his passing in the ‘90s. But – before that in 1978 – Tyne Tees’ TV produced a show called Battleground, fronted by actor Edward Woodward (of Callan fame, with its occasional wargaming component). The show was supported with materials – terrain and so forth – supplied by Peter Gilder. This meant that Duncan – as an associate of Peter’s – was chosen as one of the opposing generals for the first programme refighting the Battle of Edgehill.

Within wargaming, Duncan is probably best known for his publishing. In 1983 – in that magazine ‘fallow period’ between the demise of Battle for Wargamers and the launch of Practical Wargamer in 1987, an opportunity arose for a new periodical for the hobby: Gilder and the businessman Stanley Gee decided to produce a ‘glossy’ wargames magazine and Duncan was chosen as its first Editor. What you are holding in your hand (or, perhaps, reading on your screen) is the fruits of that decision: Miniature Wargames was born. It set out to publicise a spread of quality articles over a myriad of periods – both historical and even the occasional non-historical one – all accompanied by high-quality photography of well painted miniatures. Duncan would visit clubs and shows across the UK with his large format camera and lighting rig to get the images he wanted and they backed up the well edited written copy he oversaw. He was quite the trailblazer: for example it’s because of Duncan that – since the mid eighties until the present day – the club I was heavily involved with had their show programme printed in Miniature Wargames and Salute carries on that tradition to this day, 35 years later.

However – and despite his best efforts to promote the magazine (I came across him on more than one occasion cycling around London delivering magazines by hand to a wargaming shop!) – most would accept that Duncan wasn’t the best businessman and – in 1987 – he lost editorial control of

Miniature Wargames. However, he then went on to do something unheard of: he produced a new wargames magazine – Wargames Illustrated – and both now stand as testaments to his love of the hobby. But there was so much more he was involved with: he helped launch and

– until the mid ‘90s he was one of the organisers – of the

Partizan wargames show. After selling Wargames Illustrated to Battlefront Miniatures in 2009, he owned and ran several figure manufacturers, including – most recently – Trent Miniatures.

I didn’t know Duncan Macfarlane particularly well – we’d meet and chat a few times a year (usually at shows and the occasional phone call) and I’ve relied on some background material from others who knew him rather better than I did for this piece (and thanks are due for that to Richard Tyndall and Nick Eyre). What I do know is that I never heard him say a harsh word about anyone and the hobby will miss him greatly. However, his contributions live on: fine testaments, all.

“Within wargaming, Duncan is probably best known for his publishing... What you are holding in your hand (or, perhaps, reading on your screen) is the fruits of that... Miniature Wargames”