I have been collecting, painting, and converting miniatures for more than
20 years. It started with 1/72nd scale WWII models. My brother, cousin
and I had hundreds of American, British, and German soldiers and we spent
hours fighting epic battles across the living room floor, or better yet, the
backyard, without the benefit of dice, tape measures, or rules. We painted
them with glossy Testor paint and chunky model brushes.

I discovered Dungeons and Dragons around 1979 and soon had piles of
25mm orcs, elves, and wizards that replaced my interest in history for a
time as we embarked on new adventures. Ral Partha paints replaced my
enamels and artists brushes found their way into my growing collection.

When I was in college, I attended a "Wargames Show" and watched a demo
game that portrayed a Viking raid on a Norman settlement, complete with
model longships and stone keep. I also got to play in a WWI trenchwar
participation game where I commanded several dozen hapless German infantry
who ended up cut to pieces by machineguns while they were trying to navigate
the wire. As I remember the games now, neither were presented very well, but
at the time I was hooked! I bought a batch of new 1/72nd German infantry,
some trucks to mechanize them, and three Panzer tanks. I also found used
copies of Operation Warboard by Gavin Lyall, Charge! by Brig. P. Young
and Lt.Col. J. P. Lawford, and a WRG Ancients Wargames Rules booklet.

It was Games Workshop that got me started on serious painting. I
collected models for Warhammer and Warhammer 40k. White Dwarf had regular
articles on painting and modeling and took some of the mystery out of the
various techniques I had observed on other models. but never had satisfactorily
explained to reproduce them. Wargames Foundry combined excellent models,
well painted adverts, and unusual periods to pull me back into historical collecting.

I have the attention span of a five-year old and change periods constantly.
My focus depends on the last book I read, movie I saw, or new release from my
favorite companies, but I have recently tried to focus my energies on several
limited periods to produce professional quality armies for them before moving on.
In 2005, I was fairly successful at concentrating on the English Civil War, amassing
something around 150 models and writing my own ruleset, Victory Without Quarter,
that has caught on with a small number of players around the globe. I also spent a
couple of months painting Inquisitor models, both in 28mm and 54mm (the later have
yet to make much of an appearance on the site... maybe this year).

2006 will hopefully be the year I finally build up a collection of 28mm Napoleonics,
which rank among my favorite period. Thanks to all of the people who support the site!
The website has been an amazing motivation to keep painting (I've got to finsh this
regiment so I can post it on the site). Stay tuned to see if I can maintain some sort of
focus... well with minor distractions... where did I put all of those 15mm models
for FOW?

March 31, 2007
On this day, I married by best friend, Sara.
She is an amazing person who has allowed the invasion of our home for game night on
a regular basis for the last thirteen years. She is also an incredible artist and although I have
yet to convince her to paint up a battalion or two of "little men" as she calls them, she has
helped me with terrain and has never complained that one of the rooms of our home has
always been designated as the game room. She has always encouraged my projects, including
this website, listened patiently as I describe the different roles that cuirassiers, dragoons,
chasseurs, and hussars play on the battlefield (or something equally tedious), and has
never asked me to explain why I ordered models for the ECW when I have so many
Napoleonics sitting around unpainted.