This is the first in a series of interviews of the wargame personalities, suppliers, and manufacturers that impact our hobby. Gloria Miceli put in a lot of effort at the various conventions, gathering the thoughts of a wide variety of people for this series. As we can, we will fill in the gaps with interviews of foreign personalities as well. G.M.: Steve, how did you get involved in wargaming? STEVE: Well, I've always played wargames. I played with toy soldiers when I was a kid. In high school, I played some of the early Avalon Hill games. In the old General magazine, I saw an advt., for a book by Don Featherstone, "Wargames" and sent away for it; One look and that was it. l went to Polk's Hobby Store in New York City and found some Airfix figures and that's how I got started. G. M.: What aspect of the hobby interests you the most? STEVE: My favorite period is the Seven Years War. I also played Ancients, Renaissance, and a little Napoleonics. Actually, I'll try pretty much of anything and enjoy it all. G.M.: In your opinion, what set of historical rules has had the most impact on the hobby? STEVE: That's hard to say, certainly in Ancients it's WRG, which, more than any other rules of any period, have provided a vehicle whereby people can come to a convention and play in a tournament with common rules. Column, Line and Square rules have certainly been around the longest in the Napoleonic period, probably widest spread among older gamers, although, Empire is pretty popular. G.M.: Do you think the trend is gaming with 15mm figures exclusively? STEVE: Oh absolutely not. It's the same story as in model railroading when they came out with N gauge, it was said the HO would go down the tubes. It didn't. HO is as big as it ever was but N guage has carved a big niche for itself. Most seem to think that the 15mm collector is out to save money. Actually, the 15mm guys spend just as much as the 25mm wargamers do. A lot of guys are in one period using 25mm and in another period using 15mm. I think there's room for both. G.M.: Speaking of 15mm, when will your new Napoleonic 15mm line come out? STEVE: Our new one? We have an existing 15mm Napoleonic range which is very large, there will be about 60 new additions to that over the next couple of months. We're also going to do what we call a brand new connoisseur 15mm range with 2-piece cavalry and a tremendous amount of detail. I suspect that those who are really into painting will find it very appealing. G.M.: How did you get into the manufacturing end of the hobby? STEVE: In 1973, I was looking to go into business for myself, l was very interested in doing something I would enjoy for a change and I thought there was a real possibility that MiniFigs would go over well in this country. As far as I was concerned, they were the best figures and felt that there was a definite market for them. As it turned out, we're very happy. G.M.: Are you planning any other new lines besides your Napoleonic 15mm? STEVE: Constantly. In the next several weeks, in rapid succession will be the 25mm Ancient Egypt in Assyria, 25mm Sikh and Sepoy Mutiny, 15mm Medieval, that's just for openers and shortly after that, there will be 25mm Greek and Persian Wars, a lot of new releases in 15mm Ancients and 15mm Napolenics. There's a brand new fantasy range in preparation and a bunch of other things, for example, the armies of the Dark Ages in 25mm. We just brought out Space Wars figures and we'll have the spaceships to go along with that shortly. G.M.: What do you think contributed to the hobby over the years? STEVE: Well, the fantasy part of the hobby is something else! But the historical part really makes history come alive. There's something about miniatures in particular than intrigue people by its visual aspect -- the color, perhaps. I suppose it means a lot of different things to different people. It's a passion. G.M.: If there was one thing you could change about the hobby what would it be? STEVE: The price of metal, so we could keep the prices as low as possible and thus, encourage more people to get into the hobby. G.M.: Do you think there's a place for women in historical wargaming? STEVE: I think there's a place for anyone who's interested. We have women customers, it's a small percentage, but we do. They're mostly into fantasy. But there's a place for anyone who has a passion for history and for recreating the battles of history in that fashion. G.M.: Do you think wargaming can ever be viewed as an art form? STEVE: That's a tough question. I think it's creative which is one of the most intriguing aspects of wargaming. rules tend to be a guideline and the people are creating a situation that changes every time. No two wargames are ever the same. So in that sense, it is an art form, sure. G.M.: What do you think of the new magazine, THE COURIER. Do you think is will help the hobby? STEVE: I've always bought THE COURIER. In fact, I subscribed to THE COURIER long before I ever got into the business of making figures. In fact, I met my partner, Bill Abrams, who is our production manager through THE COURIER. I answered an advt. he placed in the magazine and we've been wargaming together for the last 10 years. I have never had so many wargamers come to me end complain about anything as they did the passing of THE COURIER. I think the gamers are very delighted that its come back. Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. 1 #3 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1979 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com