What got you started?
What got you started on wargaming? I was reminded by a Frothers thread and finding the book that started me off on toy soldiers at the back of the under-the-stairs cupboard last week: I was quite obsessed by this book and it's illustrations, then discovered Donald Featherstone and realised I could play with them as well. My bank manager has wept ever since. What got you going?

I had lots of Airfix HO/OO figures and had begun making WW2 tank and vehicle models when a school friend told me about the games he played with his models that had rules, dice, measurements etc Suitably fascinated he lent me his rule book that I think may have been an Airfix publication and I played a few solo games. A year later I moved schools and met quite a few lads who were into gaming, Shuke B, was one of those. Collectively they introduced me to metals. SB and I used to travel on the train to school so much of our time was spent discussing our gaming plans. My history teacher started my ECW interest which rose above WW2 and Napoleonics. After about a year I went to my first Salute and finally got a reasonably sound set of ECW rules – WRG George Gush. SB and I played all sorts of things plus my school friends had simply massive 25mm Naps collections that I played with…

Issue 1, Volume 1 of Military Modelling and reading a copy of "The Wargame" by Charles Grant. Before that, I'd just "played" with my Airfix figures. In fact, I was painting and converting before I wargamed, as I bought some Almark books on ACW uniforms (only recently sold them to Tel D :) ) and used them to produce more varied units.

My parents/uncle purchased metal/plastic Toy figures for me every week. From the age of five I was making my own figures from plasticine and pins. Then like many I purchased Airfix but never painted any. In my late teens met Steve Hezzlewood and away we went on a great journey........ and I have never looked back. John

A friend in college. He owes me big time.

Airfix ACW figures. Still got them, in the original 40+ years old horrible paint job.

My first ever painted army was Airfix Romans and Ancient Britons, complete with a general in a 4 horse roman chariot :)

"The Wargame" by Donald Featherstone found in my local library, soooo many years ago.

I painted 1/72 Airfix figures when I was 11 ... probably WW2 americans, brits, and germans; and/or Americans and Brits from AWI. None of them particularly well ... and my interest didn't last long because the paint kept flaking off. Actual wargaming with standardized rules started for me in High School. My friends and I played Avalon Hill and SGI bookcase games -- Panzer Blitz, Panzer Leader, Squad Leader, Air Assault on Crete, etc. I wasn't until this year that I've tried combining the two.

I used to do the old model kits thing when I was a nipper. But they were just toys really, until I got into D&D and all that malarkey and realised that rather than moving tanks around and making tank noises (although I still do) you can actually make a game of it. From then on it was Warhammer and it's been steadily down hill ever since...

Started on model kits then started on Donald Featherstones books because they had a shelf full at Bleakhouse Library near home,Got my first metal figures(Hinchliffe Naps) from a shop in Brum.Progressed to Quarries Napoleonic rules which we still use in a modified form,then WW2 and ECW with somw WW1 naval WW2 coastal,never done any serious Fantasy except for Call of Cthulu mainly because ive read most of the stories. :)

I`ve played with soldiers as long as I can remember, my Mum says i was an easy child to please a box or two of Airfix and i was happy :clap: They serialised the Airfix WW2 rules in Action/Battle comic around 1970 and this was the first time I saw real rules. Then i discovered Military Modelling and Battle magazines when i was 11 and started secondary school. I also discovered Featherstone, Charles Grant and Terry Wise at our loacl library about that time. Had a technical drawing teacher who was a wargamer, he introduced us to board games. Took up D&D, Runequest and CoC at about 15 and actually ran a role-playing club for 10yrs until I rediscovered historicals and turned away from the dark world of fantasy :blah:

Started as others with numerous Airfix figures but even though throwing and rolling things at them we still had 'campaigns' - the Danish Civil War comes to mind! Then found a book on Wargames, can't remember by who, which dealt with Kriegspiel through to modern military wargames. Found the usual books at the library and then talked to my history teacher, Mr Smith. He was a star. When we did Quebec he taught us all musket drill, took us outside and had one lot loading and the others marching then charging towards them, making us stick to the drill to see how effective our volley was! Anyway, he introduced me to a fifth year lad who gamed and from that I started going to Shrewsbury Wargames Club And rest as they say, is (military) history... Andy

An uncle of mine who was a WWII Pacific vet who always bought me Britans Deetail soldiers when I was a pup, and who had a moth=eaten copy of Little Wars...

I was already a roleplayer when some one gave me a box of epic models.