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BANKER'S MINIATURE HOBBY
TURNS INTO A BUSINESS
by: Luis F. Sanchez and Cara Buckley
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Roberto Argüello is living proof that a childhood dream can both come true and turn
a profit.
The Nicaraguan banker channeled his passion for metal miniatures into a blossoming Miami business, Arguello Military
Collections, all the while battling a rare and painful disease.
His figurine company began four years ago when Argüello, now 45 and vice president of the Lafise-Bancentro financial group,
underwent an operation for spasmodic torticollis, a debilitating disease of unknown origin that affects three in 10,000 people
and causes neck muscles to spasm and the head to roll uncontrollably.
Thirteen nerves were removed from the back of Argüello's head during the procedure, and the slow, difficult recovery kept him
away from work for eight months.
As a distraction, he toyed with the collection of metal figurines and soldiers he had amassed during his life.
When a friend brought him a set of metal figurines from Peru, Argüello began to seriously consider designing and making his
own little soldiers.
With the help of his friend's uncle, a Peruvian who makes and collects toy soldiers, Argüello turned his hobby into a business
venture, which he continues to run while working as an investment banker.
Argüello began fashioning chess sets of landmark battles that shaped the face of the Caribbean and Latin and North America.
And he's found a well-heeled audience eager to buy the sets. Sales, he said, should be about $250,000 this year.
In one set, Cuban patriots José Martí, Máximo Gómez and Antonio Maceo battle Spanish troops during Cuba's war of independence.
In another, Nicaraguan Col. José Dolores Estrada faces American adventurer William Walker at the Battle of San Jacinto;
Simón Bolivar and Francisco de Paula Santander battles the Spaniards at Colombia's Battle of Boyaca; Marshall José Antonio de Sucre
fight Viceroy José de la Serna's royalists in the Peru's Battle of Ayacucho, which sealed the country's independence.
The Dominican Republic is represented in two conflicts: Juan Pablo Duarte, Francisco del Rosario Sánchez and Ramón Matías Mella
fighting the Haitians, and Gen. Gregorio Luperón battling the Spaniards.
Argüello also brought the American Civil War to life, with Ulysses S. Grant squaring off against Robert E. Lee in one set,
Abraham Lincoln staring down Jefferson Davis in another.
The Crusades set depicts Richard the Lionhearted against Saladin, and the Battle of Waterloo has Napoleon Bonaparte feuding with
the Duke of Wellington.
Argüello also carved individual figures well known in the Americas, including Ronald Reagan and Elián González, the Cuban boy
whose arrival on a raft set off an international custody battle.
The figurines of Elián and his rescuer Donato Dalrymple face the semiautomatic weapon of an immigration officer when the boy was
taken from the home of his Miami relatives and reunited with his Cuban father.
Argüello said people's passion for history has fanned interest in his business.
"These sets are selling because we are recreating the history of the countries in the hemisphere," Argüello said.
"The Elián figures I made because it's certainly an event, and I wanted it to endure forever."
Argüello's company has also designed a soccer-oriented chess game for the Central American soccer federation, and is negotiating
American-football chess games with several American universities, including Argüello's alma mater, Notre Dame.
Players from the University of Miami, University of Florida and Florida State University are in the prototype stage, Argüello said.
The figurines are made of a combination of metals and stand about two inches tall on a wooden base. Each figurine is meticulously
painted by artists, and costumes and colors are carefully researched to ensure the greatest accuracy. All pieces are hand-made in
Peru by a team of 30 artists, and 13 chess games - priced at $225 and $550 for hand-painted sets - are available for sale on the
businessman's website, www.militarychess.com.
All content © 2000 The Miami Herald and may not be republished without permission.
(Printed on November 25, 2000 in Business Section)
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