Kevin Smyth

I'm a mid-50's miniature wargamer. In my real life I'm a father of two grown sons, happily married to my wife Lorri for 33 years. I teach high school American Studies and journalism. I'm also a dog lover with three miniature Australian shepherds: Lucy, Rusty and Amos. I love books, movies, music and, unaccountably, the Seattle Mariners.

I've been playing miniature wargames for over 40 years and it's an integral part of my life. My friends would say my interests are offbeat and eclectic, but I have several core interests. I have a fascination, and large figure collections for the Hundred Years War, the American Revolution in the south, the War of 1812, and a what-if war between the U.S. and Spain in the late 18th-early 19th centuries. I love air racing and hydroplane racing games, as well as Frank Chadwick's Space 1889. Nearly all my projects are now 28mm.

I love to paint figures, though my skills have diminished a bit with my eyesight. I have considerable affection for my gaming brethren. I find miniature wargaming to be an amazingly creative pastime that stimulates my intellectual curiosity and, once or twice a month, gets me off my hilltop to hang out with great folks. I also believe that Larry Brom's "The Sword and the Flame" and Rich Hasenauer's "Fire and Fury" are the two greatest rules sets ever written. Despite their pedestrian quality Old Glory Miniatures is the most amazing gaming company in the biz.

My illustration is "Regulars by God," by Charles McBarron that illustrates the 22nd Infantry at Chippewa in 1814. It is one of my favorite actions, and McBarron remains one of my favorite military illustrators.