Thousands of soldiers fight famous battles in Orv Banasik's basement game room. And for 50 years, since the centennial of the American Civil War, he has marveled over the details of uniforms, the tactics of generals and has studied the lands and seas where they fought.

"As a kid, I spent hour upon hour on summer days outside casting lead soldiers," Banasik said. "When I was eleven, my dad gave me a lead casting kit. Today, they'd probably arrest my parents for child abuse, letting a kid play with lead. But, I still do."

His game room is filled with glass cabinets, with shelves filled with soldiers from the Civil War, Napoleon's armies, Texans and Mexicans who fought at the Alamo and more.

He's either made them, or has ordered them and painted many of them.

"I have between eight and ten thousand soldiers," he said. "Some people have 20 or 30 thousand. I've got what I need."

Banasik's soldiers are all in 25-millimeter scale, meaning they're less than half the size of an average adult finger.

"It's a Baby Boomer hobby," he said, "creating these soldiers and playing war games on a board or table. It all kind of started out with the toys we had in the 1950's. Marx Toys created soldiers that we used to play war with. I made all sorts of models. As we got older, it kind of evolved as a hobby."

But it wasn't Banasik's first hobby. In his youth, he raced formula cars for 10 years. He thought about making it a career, but "it was becoming too expensive to go full time."

An insurance adjustor for GAB Robins, Banasik grew up in Fargo, N.D., moving to Marion with his wife, Sharon, in 1980.

"I came to Iowa for the weather," he said. "I really did. I thought it'd be warmer down here. The first winter in 1974 it was."

About the time the Banasiks came to Marion, he started casting soldiers again. He found magazines at hobby shops and realized there was a whole world of collecting and gaming out there.

"Miniature war gaming is the biggest indoor hobby in Great Britain," he said. "Modelers and collectors, they come in all varieties. I became a gamer."

Banasik explained that the games are flexible, in that you can play games by yourself, commanding two different armies, or you can compete with others.

"A typical game is an afternoon of three to four-and-a-half hours," he said. "There's a set of rules for every period. You can make them up yourself or there are guide books."

Some rulesets incorporate playing cards or dice or dart boards. Dart rules involve throwing darts to determine what boat's been damaged or sunk or which general might get bumped off.

"Those are what we call 'beer and pretzel games,' said Banasik. "Drink beer and throw darts."

Today his downstairs game table, about the size of a ping pong or pool table, is filled with blue ocean and brown and green islands of the South Pacific of World War II. Look closely and you'll see miniature American PT boats and Japanese supply and war-ships.

"It's called Papa Tango at Guadalcanal," Banasik said. "Papa and Tango were call signals for the PT boats."

The ocean and the islands are actually permanent boards in sections that he can set up on the table in about 15 minutes. He can change it out and build the likes of the Battle of Gettysburg or the Alamo, as well.

About 12 years ago, the Banasiks moved into their home on West 33rd Ave., which was designed to house Banasik's game room, television room and office downstairs. His son, Kevin, has played various games over the years, but Banasik acknowledges that younger generations have found other mediums for gaming.

"Today, the young people can do all of this on the computer and there's more action," he said.

"Our hobby is not so much about war and killing, but instead about strategy and history," he continued. "Sometimes you can re-write history on how a battle might have gone instead."

Banasik spent a year-and-a-half studying the Battle of Gettysburg, actually going to the battlefield and reading about 40 books, before creating his own battlefield and soldiers.

In the past, he's gone to conventions and made friends around the country through his hobby. His brother, Mike Banasik, is retired from the military and is a Civil War writer.

Banasik said he knows four or five others in the Cedar Rapids area who have tables similar to his. He added, if they ever have to take his table out of the basement, it will have to be disassembled because it can't go up or down the staircase in one piece.

His next project is a re-creation of the Battle of Waterloo. Banasik's already built a chateau that was key to the 1815 battle, which resulted in the defeat and exile of Napoleon Bonaparte.

"It's a great stress reliever," Banasik said. "At the end of the day, home from the job, I spent at least 20 minutes painting a uniform or adding a flag. Some days I spend more time on it. This way, I at least accomplish one thing every day."

He credits his love of history to his father.

"My dad liked to stop at battlefields and museums," he said. "We stopped at places like Deadwood and Tombstone. Mom liked churches.

"With this hobby you can really exercise your imagination."