Editor's Note: Russ Dunaway of OLD GLORY is an old friend. I can't recall the year, but it must have been a dozen or so years ago, when I some how found out his name and called him. I think Russ lived in Iowa at the time. I was interested in having some 25mm Sudan Dervish sculpted and cast for me and somehow I figured Russ could help me. From that time on, we have exchanged letters and phone calls from time to time and his company, OLD GLORY, has grown into perhaps the largest manufacturer of wargames figures in the world. Over the years, I've felt the excitement Of OLD GLORY figures and growth having received more figures than I can remember in the mail tons of 25 and 15mm ACW as well as 25mm SYW for my armies. He's always been a gentleman to me and I hope you enjoy this "chat" with him!

MWAN: You started Old Glory some ten years or so ago. Can you give us some background on the history and progress of the company?

RUSS: The concept for Old Glory happened quite by accident when I contacted the late Dave Allsop to sculpt Civil War 25mm figures for my personal use. Upon their completion, Dave took a vacation to the USA and an immediate friendship was struck. We both agreed that the concept of high quality miniatures with unimaginable variance was needed in the hobby. So, with Dave sculpting, me casting, and my wife, Connie, shipping, (I must add, all of this was with no pay for anyone) Old Glory was born.

MWAN: I remember talking to you early on in Old Glory's history and you mentioned that one of your goals was to do the American wars in detail. Is that still a priority to you?

RUSS: Yes, doing the American wars is still high priority and I believe this summer when we release the War of 1812 that gives us FIW, AWI, Mad Anthony Wayne, Texas War of Independence, Mexican American War, ACW and Plains Wars, all in 25mm. Then we will repeat them in 15mm.

MWAN: Old Glory is famous for its reasonable prices. Can you discuss this at all with us?

RUSS: At the very beginning of Old Glory, I was determined to let the actual production cost of the figure have a bearing on the price. I myself, loving low figure ratios and large epic battles, wanted the wargamer to be able to field large forces. I am especially proud that Old Glory has had only one price increase in 10 years. Of course, we know there will be another one; however, I can guarantee it will simply reflect a rise in the cost of metal, labor, etc.

MWAN: You have released a 25mm Napoleonic line, your second attempt at this line. I remember the first line and why are you doing it again? Also, I know you are taking the approach of not releasing the new line until such time as all of the figures are available. Can you tell us about this new extensive line?

RUSS: The first 25mm Napoleonic range was sculpted by Dave Allsop. With Dave's tragic death and with so little of his range done, I felt it better to start anew so that through such an enormous range we could keep style and continuity in design.

MWAN: Do you have a "real" job? How do you manage to do that plus run Old Glory?

RUSS: I am a licensed and ordained minister and full-time pastor of a Church which I have done for 19 years. You ask me how I do this - let me think awhileokay, yeah the question - I have had to learn to delegate.

MWAN: What is your favorite Old Glory line and why? What is your least favorite and why?

RUSS: Anything Napoleonic in both 15 and 25mm scale simply because Napoleonics are my one true love when it comes to soldiers. I can honestly say that I have no "least favorites" because I admire and appreciate all miniatures.

MWAN: What influences you as far as deciding upon a new period/scale to release?

RUSS: The loudest and the most numerical voices, Hollywood, really neat looking games, or uniforms that I might see.

MWAN: Tell us something about your background as a wargamer and why you decided to start Old Glory. What, if anything, would you do differently if you were starting over again?

RUSS: I started wargaming officially in 1973, and was deeply inspired by the late Peter Gilder's wonderful layouts and variety. As I stated earlier, Old Glory wants to enable the gamer to have large armies with as many variants as possible. I would do nothing different.

MWAN: What advice would you give to a wargamer who is seriously thinking of starting a wargames figure company?

RUSS: YlKES!! Get ready for a roller-coaster ride. From one phone call to the next your figures will vary from the worst to the best on the market. Also, remember the old adage, "Do not make your avocation your vocation."

MWAN: I know Old Glory made both lead and pewter figures available to the wargaming community after the big "lead-scare" a few years ago. Personally, I do not see this issue ended. What are your thoughts on this subject and what was the consumer response to you making pewter available? As a manufacturer, do you prefer lead or pewter? What are the pros and cons of both materials from a manufacturer's viewpoint?

RUSS: Of course, not being a chemist or in any way associated with the medical field, my response to this is truly just "my thoughts." Here at Old Glory, every employee must get a company-mandated blood test. Keeping in mind that we handle tons of product every month, we have yet to have an even slightly elevated level. Very few people have chosen to order products in pewter. I would prefer to cast in pewter as there is a better flow because of the properties in pewter itself with the end result of a better looking figure.

MWAN: Do you still wargame? What periods/scales? Do you ever use figures other than Old Glory?

RUSS: Yes, I have armies for 15mm Napoleonics, ACW, and SYW. Yes, I use figures other than Old Glory and have quite a few. However, I must admit most are Old Glory because I really truly love my own product, plus, face it, I cannot beat the price.

MWAN: What other manufacturer's figures appeal to you and why?

RUSS: When looking at figures, there are two things one must consider: 1) the detail, and 2) the animation. With this in mind, I as most people want both, with animation slightly more important than detail. The Peter Gilder style of sculpting has greatly influenced me in this, and I believe that you can see this in Old Glory figures. Consequently, other figure lines I like are AB, Battle Mansura, Connoisseur, Elite, Firing Line, just to name a few.

MWAN: Do you have any idea as to how many "historical" wargamers there might be out there? Do you see our portion of the hobby decreasing, staying the same, or growing? Where do you see our portion of the hobby in ten years?

RUSS: I have no idea; however, I do believe there are drastically more than people assume. Contrary to the gloom and doom of some, just a quick look around at the shear number of products, conventions, rules, etc. as compared to 10 years ago, I think we are an extremely healthy businessihobby environment.

MWAN: Do you have a feel for whether or not we are attracting "newcomers" to the hobby? If so, what age group do they tend to be in your opinion?

RUSS: Obviously, we are attracting newcomers. Unless you are building enormous armies Hal, these figures are going somewhere from all these manufacturers. Wargames Workshop has done us all a great service by teaching a whole generation that it is fan to push miniatures around a tabletop this in the middle of the computer game generation!!!! Amazing!

MWAN: Are there any approaches our hobby should be taking to attract newcomers?

RUSS: Be more positive. I am constantly amazed at the people who shout loudly about the greatness and fun of our hobby, the beauty and splendor and then in the next breathe say it is dying with no future McDonalds would die with this mind set.

MWAN: What is it like to be a wargamer; start a highly successful figure company; produce your favorite historical line; and know you can have as many figures as you want for your own personal collection?

RUSS: It is really fun!!

MWAN: Looking back over your years with Old Glory, what events have been a surprise to you; both positive and negative? Also, where do you see Old Glory in another ten years?

RUSS: The growth of Old Glory and, indeed, the whole hobby I find amazing. Andy Cooper, Old Glory's premier designer, is one of my best friends and a real joy to work with. All Old Glory employees are personal friends and we operate like a family. The negatives, I am amazed and saddened by the politics and on a personal note, the tragic death of Dave Allsop. This was a terrible personal blow and for a long time, I did not want to continue. However, I knew Dave would want me to. Many times when I am in the factory late at night, I look around and verbally say, "can you believe all this Dave?" As for where Old Glory will be in ten years; I don't know - Bigger and better.

MWAN: What has been Old Glory's most successful line/scale? Did you expect this to happen?

RUSS: ACW which one would expect, and 15mm. WWII being amazing.

MWAN: Old Glory has started producing rules sets to be released with figures lines, such as the French Foreign Legion and American Wild West. Do you see this continuing in the future?

RUSS: Increasingly so!

MWAN: If you had the "soapbox," what would you like to say to MWANers?

RUSS: Oh, I like soapboxes - I am a preacher you know. Seriously, there is one thing I would like to say. All this silly stuff about monopolies, cleverness, and evil empires is just that "silly." First of all, unless someone can convince the Supreme Court of the United States to allow the copyright of names such as Napoleonic, ACW, or uniform designs of any given period there will always be competition. I have heard theories that Old Glory has hurt the hobby and yet when I look around I see far more companies such as Gripping Beast, Guernsey Foundry, Redoubt, Kennington just to name a few. There are more buildings, terrain, paints, rules, resources, and other products then ever before. What is the problem? Let's push soldiers and have fun. Remember what our mothers taught us, "If you cannot say something nice, do not say anything at all." Furthermore .... La Gloire, contrary to what some think, is not "just a catalog." La Gloire was born from the idea that a magazine should be articles and not pages upon pages of advertisements. Consequently, we decided to use our pages for this purpose. It is another attempt by Old Glory to get a "quality" product with substance in the gainer's hand. La Gloire is about information not ads. If we feel the consumer would want ads then by all means somewhere in the future we would consider limited ad space.