"How Did You Get Involved in Historical Miniature Wargaming?" Topic

My grandfather was a toy salesman in the midwest when I was a little boy. TSR was one of the lines he sold. He also repped some plastic model lines. So I had all the TSR stuff growing up (I was a test case kid for grand-dad. I also got tons of 1:72 soldiers all the time.)

I went into the Soldier Factory in Cambria CA in 74 and met Jack Scruby.
"N" Gauge ACW

Here's a link for those who may not know

link

My first foray into miniatures was a game of Longsword (still have the rules and the companion set, The Arte of Siege) at a convention in Akron. From there I played in a campaign run by Tom Moldvay, and then another gentleman got a group of us into Napoleonics. My first army was an H&R Prussian army of 1813. I've since traded my 6mm armies for micro-armor, and I do horse & musket in 10mm now.

I voted for loved history as a child and it is true but….

there are ten or eleven other that also had a major impact.

While a lot of the things on the list contributed to getting me into historical minis wargaming (Airfix tank kits, love of history etc), what actually got me involved was a friend at high school that had a couple of figures and belonged to a club. So, at 13 I went along and discovered mini gaming, rpgs, boardgaming etc. Ancient mini wargaming was my first love but at 13-14 , 25mm (which was the size at the club) around were too expensive for me, so I did Airfix WW2 (Tractics), any boardgames, traveller RPGs etc. Have never looked back. Still regard gaming as my main hobby, even if the last few years I have done very little actual gaming.

So I picked "club" from the list as that is what actually got me involved, the rest were the impetus.

I've always been interested in military history and got started playing roleplaying games in college. I used to collect plastic 1/72 toy soldiers and attend game conventions too. Somehow, my interest in miniature games overtook my interest in RPGs. Though I do play scifi and fantasy from time to time, I am pretty much a historical mini gamer.

FORTY KAY….when I was maybe 6-7 my cousin in Belfast gave me three little Marine Scouts. I adored those little fellows and broke out into roleplaying games and board games but never had anyone to play with, mostly doing it solo. Then moved out of home when I was 15 and found an old box of Risk so I'd play DBx solo using the miniatures from that on cardboard squares. Always reading about Alexander, Caesar, the Greeks. Loved history, always. Moved around a lot and kept buying, painting then giving away 1/72 models. Then came military service, a new passion for history…
Met the writers of the Alzo Zero rules in Milan and played a great deal of that, discovered there was an Eastern Front, delved further and on into the Cold War. The RPGs for ages, sci-fi skirmish, Blood Bowl, Necromunda, DBx…
Took up Warmaster, started trying non IGOUGO rules. Then now Blitzkrieg Commander, a "grown up" job (with Grown Up disposable income!) and discovering the joys of 1/285
Might have painted 1,000 figures in my life, all different scales, all different periods (except Napoleonic…for now!)
S.