(All pictures are of Bootleg’s work and were used with his permission)
Howdy all – want to tell you people about a guy named Dale aka “Bootleg”. He has been doing the community circuit for a long time and posses one of the most well rounded channels in the youtube wargaming community.
From his GI Joe rants, wargaming nights at his tattoo shop and to the highly informative Gamer Nation series – everything Dale does is highly entertaining and most defiantly worthy of your viewing.
And as a added treat, Bootleg kindly agreed to allow me to do an interview! Well this is my first ever interview… so here it goes!
Adam: Bit of a cliche question, what kicked off your wargaming bug?
Bootleg: well i had always been a rpg-er and even back in the day there was minis around, i had always been into trains and model building (thanks to my great grand-pa) so it didn’t take long before i grabbed one and tried to paint him up. now for years i didn’t paint a bunch of them but I did keep it up here and there over the years. now flash forward ten or 15 years I have a little bit of money and bored I got back into painting them again, first wanted to do a diorama, then I wanted a whole army of skeletons then another army then another. well before you knew it i had somewhere between 3 to 5 grand wrapped up in little toy soldiers. then as I’m showing them off to someone they mentioned how much i had in them (at this point i didn’t realize how much i had spent) and once i counted it all up i realized i had thousands into a game i had never played (actually 3 games i had never played) and figured i had to go buy the rules and learn how to play so the little guys did more than collect dust
Adam: Have you got a dream target to achieve with the hobby? like a mega game?
or a army of certain theme? etc?
Bootleg: nope….. no real target or goals, i guess I’ll do it until i get bored with it and move onto something new.
Adam: What inspired you to begin the Gamer Nation series?
Bootleg: actually a buddy had mentioned it to me after he watched a few episodes of my old tattoo show i had on local cable (years before Miami ink or any of the others…..if i had only known i could of gotten rich). but he said we should do a show about gaming and let people into some of the hobby tricks I’ve picked up over the years…… well before long we had it up and going (after a ton of problems….not much of a computer guy so it was a challenge)
Adam: Is there a goal which you want to take the series to?
Bootleg: again not really…….. i just want to help people out, once they quit watching I’ll move onto the next hobby. but as long as people enjoy it and keep watching I’ll keep going and doing it. i would like to add some more web presence, maybe a web site or something…. not quite sure but as i said eariler i’m not real good with computers so it will have to come from someone who is into stuff like that and has some extra time on their hands (was that what they call a shameless plug??? or maybe it is one of those “hint hint”)
Adam: What is the current rule-set that your enjoying at the moment?
Bootleg: ummmm i think it is fifth…. the current one, i still use the last one for the match types or the game set-ups as the newest one don’t have as many diff types. i think there is what maybe six with six diff layouts maybe (cant remember off the bat but i know they cut a bunch out) so our group will use some of the older set-ups and use the current rules, even though i think they changed some rules….. and not for the better. even though our group isn’t into going to tourneys and we could use an older rule set, i figured if i did want to play someone else, they are going to be using the new rules so i should as well, that way it doesn’t look like I’m cheating (even though i think some of the older rules are better….but that’s just my two cents)
Adam: In one of your Gamer Nation vids, you and Lex mention the “glory years” of a RPGer’s first character – so we got to know – what was yours? 
Bootleg: my first character was a wizard…… i have always been into the magic users…… even though they wasn’t that strong or good in a fight, i figured the magic could save our skin some time. that and most of my group was warriors of some sort so we needed someone who could do something other than swing a sword. now my fave and longest lasting character was a necromancer, i figured if i could control the dead there would always be troops for us. look at it this way….. if my group came to invade you lands, every soldier that dropped would be added into my force so the more killing there is the larger my side would get. that and i have always had a thing for the undead……i mean how do you kill something that is already dead???????
Adam: Lastly dude – what’s on the horizon for us Bootleg fans?
Bootleg: ummmm not really sure right off the bat……. but you can be sure there will always be something as my life is far from boring. i have always said i should write a book about my life and what goes on around me cause there is ALWAYS something going on. 
now i would prob have to change the name to protect the innocent as well as the guilty, but it would be good reading I’m not sure but what would you the fans of Bootleg like to see ? ? ? ? ? ? if there is something you want to see or know….don’t be shy speak up that’s what I’m here for anyway to help you guys out so let me know and I’ll see what i can do for ya…. sound like a deal????? send everything to me at bootleggamernation@att.net
ok guys thanks for reading this and thanks for giving a hoot, if it wasn’t for you guys I wouldn’t be doing this. and lastly thanks to adam for doing this article. maybe someone will learn how to do something they have been wanting to learn for awhile and i was able to help them out, because if he had not wrote this some of you might not of found me or the great group we have over on youtube. so thank adam and head on over to youtube’s gaming community and watch a few vids and become a part of our community….we’d love to have ya
thanks again guys and may the dice roll in your favour
So there you go people! Please give his channel a visit, also his Gamer Nation podcast series is on itunes
