2019: A year in review

Greetings fellow wargamers and welcome back to Wargamer Ramblings!  It's been a helluva year for many of us in this hobby and in our lives so I hope you are doing well and that fortune has favored you in your endeavors.  It's been a year in the making but here is the last wrap-up post on the journey in 2019 where I resolved to "just try and paint more minis."  I can say that compared with a lot of years in my hobbying career that I did just that.  So grab a nice drink/snack, get comfy, and enjoy this segment on your Sunday morning/afternoon/whenever.

In total, I have painted 235 (forgot to include the 8 Battletech minis on the board) miniatures this year which as a ratio of miniatures to days I have painted the equivalent of a "mini a day" for about 62% of the year!  Compared to my historical average of about 0% I'd say that's a pretty nice change of pace.  So what can I say I've taken away from this information?  Well, earlier in the year I had a personal revelation where instead of relying on motivation I would discipline myself to try and do some kind of hobby-related thing daily.  For the most part, this was painting but there were times where I gamed some, assembled some, and truthfully allowed myself a break from time to time.  I think for me personally this resulted in a lot of painted stuff than I would have any other year!

Now I won't say that I'm a pro-painter or anywhere super-skilled compared with a lot of folks out there, but I like to think that I did improve somewhere along the road here.  I've experimented with some weathering powders, started using contrast paints as a base, and trying out different basing textures.  I think mechanically I've got some work to do on things like edge highlighting as they still end up being thick, but now I'm able to go back and fix them a little instead of just leaving them thick and ugly.  Throughout the year I have learned a lot of valuable lessons and have made an effort to try and be less afraid of new techniques in fear that I'll "ruin the model" and "waste money."  I hope in the end I improved my skills as well, which after 235 models I would hope so!

So does this mean my model queue has been relieved somewhat?  Uhhhhh...........

Not really...

I'll get to that in a second but 2019 was a great year in my hobbying world and I have felt great being able to sit back and complete projects that I have for the longest time let fester in my mind.  Some were new and goal-directed, such as the Thousand Sons for NoVA Open, and others because I either really liked the models or the game, much like the 4 Blood Bowl teams and Shadespire bands.  Motivation does have a use in sparking that "ooooh I should paint X next," but in making sure I actually follow through and complete the project I rely on discipline.  It's inspired me to continue the process of painting and I would be interested in seeing the hobby results in 2020.

So now what does that mean for the blog?  Well, I started this blog at the end of 2015 because I love this hobby and just getting my thoughts out there.  Last year was hobby/painting focused and for my resolutions this year I am still keeping "paint more minis" as one of them.  I also want to try and expand my projects from just minis.  In a couple of recent games I've played I kept thinking to myself "man if only this terrain was painted up. We have our armies painted up but the scenery isn't," and with that, I want to (weather permitting) start getting terrain painted up.  First I have to get a gameplan established but then once spring hits I should have some terrain up.

Also, I have recently invested in Age of Sigmar for real this time as I have purchased a 2000 point set of Ossiarch Bonereapers (hereafter referred to as Bone Daddies).  I've dabbled in AoS models but not the game, however, with the release of these Bone Daddies I have taken the plunge and so with that in 2020, in addition to the paint more minis and paint terrain, I will take a monthly look at my progress in building, playing, and painting up these Bone Daddies.  I am very excited about this upcoming prospect and I hope here in the next week or so I should get to cracking down on assembling some of them for a 1000 point game.

So that's 2019 in a nutshell with pictures of models all throughout the year.  I hope your year has been kind or productive, especially both, and that I hope 2020 is a great year for your hobbying.  What are some of your resolutions this year?  Did you keep your 2019 resolutions for the hobby?  I'm curious to hear what you have to say so leave a comment below and as always happy gaming until next time folks!

Mid-Year Painting Progress Report

Good tidings my fellow wargamers and welcome back!  For my American friends happy recent 4th of July, and for everyone else, I hope you have had equally fun times with friends, family, and hobby time.  These past 2 months have been pretty productive in terms of the hobby and I am very excited to show you some pics of my completed projects.  Hopefully, things have been equally productive for you all in whatever fashion it has been, but let's go ahead and get to business!

In my previous post, I already went over the new fad that is Contrast paints from GW, but I still attest to their usefulness.  They've become a quickly added tool in my overall repertoire and have helped me save a lot of time and energy on getting started with the basecoats.  One thing I have noticed, especially for skin/flesh, is that they've helped me figure out which areas to highlight and have helped take the guesswork I've been mostly operating on in the past.  I'm still figuring out how to best use them to not only get some pretty decent effects but also to just keep shaving time off my paint.  Speaking of time...

The progress over 6-months board

So it's the halfway point to the year and I have to see that I've been pleased with being able to stick with my goals of painting more models.  Comparatively, I would rarely paint anything but would always tell myself "I don't have time" or "I just wish I could."  Going along the idea that any progress is better than no progress at all I've now reached the 6-month mark and I've been recording models/units that I've finished painting.  Looking back it's been pretty amazing to see what I've been able to knock out, but also how long it took to finish each one.  As you can see around 6/15th when Contrast paints dropped I think my paint time went by considerably faster (please note I recorded when I felt like I was 'done' with that group so even if I painted a unit for let's say Infinity, I wouldn't feel like it was done until ALL that faction was painted up).

Sons of the XVth Legion

Not only did I spend a lot of time painting, but I also ended up getting some gaming done as well!  That's right sometimes I do actually play these games.  I've been making an effort to try and get into the communities more in my area.  I live where there are a lot of groups who play a lot of different games and yet I often have said the same thing I said to myself when I wanted to paint, "I'm too busy, I don't have time, blah blah blah."  Well, I'm trying to change that and before June was out I ended up playing in two events: a local Steamroller event and my first Blood Bowl tournament!  Both were great events, and great chances for me to get to meet new people, play with some familiar faces, and lose a lot of games!  Regardless of my ability to win, I am just happy to get out and engage in the community more.

So I've finished several projects these past 2 months.  As far as my goal for being ready for NoVA I am almost there.  I think I've got a couple of Aristeia! models to finish up (after I select my 4 fighter group that is) and I've got the Infinity event to also work on as well.  I finished my Horus Heresy Zone Mortalis event force and shortly after Contrast was released and I completed both starting warbands for Warhammer Underworlds shortly after my Malifaux crew was finished.  Suffice to say I've been pretty busy with painting to have reached these milestones!

Well, that's it for today and it's been a pleasure sharing with you my progress.  It's been a little surreal to look back over the past half-year and to think about how far I've progressed when before I painted like...never.  I hope to encourage you if you were in the same boat as I was with wanting to paint and not actually doing it, just do a little each day if you can.  Some progress is waaaaay better than none at all and if you just try daily then eventually you'll get that model done.  Or that unit, or army, or whatever it is.  Eventually, it'll get painted up with your efforts because even if it feels like it takes forever you're still doing something. 

I hope you're all making progress in your efforts whatever they may be and until next time happy gaming!