New Years Resolution

Happy 2015 Everybody

Looking back, 2014 was sadly aa very quiet year for the blog (and, associated with that, my gaming productivity). A combination of “Space Marine Fatigue”‎ from my overly ambitious 40k Blood Angel force and just generally a lack of painting time made 2014 probably the least productive year of the decade.

So I wanted to start 2015 with a resolution to step up the painting rate again. Specifically, I am hoping to tackle at least some of the projects that have been lingering in my “active projects” cabinet for a while (yes, I have such a cabinet with some 40+ drawers full of “active” projects… see picture).

Warhammer 40k

Blood Angels: I really want to finish these just for the mental achievement of seeing it through. I am missing some finishing touches on a few of the “red” infantry, a dozen Terminators, the Death Company and all the vehicles (4 Rhino/Predator/Whirlwind magnetic chassis, a Death Company Rhino, a Land Raider, a Vindicator ‎4 assorted Dreadnought, a Drop Pod and a flyer).

Other Projects: The same “fit of airbrushing enthusiasm” that led to the Blood Angel project also saw me pick up 200 or so Ultramarine models. I also still have a large 300+ model Ork army left but I doubt that I will even start either of these in 2015 to preserve my sanity.

Warhammer:

Empire: About a decade ago I participated quite actively in the North American Grand Tournament circuit and even picked up a few awards. My Empire army from that era was painted to my (then) best quality which means that it is still adequate today. My goal for 2015 is to finish up the few remaining units and photograph the army for the blog (gotta get some 28mm forces up here!).

Other Projects: ‎None of my other armies are really re-furbishable either due to low painting quality (done in the 90’s) or totally outdated models. The only thing I could see myself doing is to dip my super old Dwarf army (300+ Marauder era models). They were painted cleanly back then but without any shading or washes (not invented yet). I think a nice dip followed by updated basing might just bring these guys to a presentable level with little effort. Maybe…

EPIC Armageddon:

I was on quite a productivity trend with EPIC armies and generally enjoy completing those. Then GW hit the TacComs hobby modelers with a Cease and Desist letter. The subsequent “purge” sort of killed my enthusiasm. I would like to get back into the groove and finish at least one of the remaining EPIC armies in 2015

Tyranids: about 10k points all based and ready for painting.

Adeptus Mechanicus: all ready to go but 100% proxy models. Not sure if TacComs would allow images of those these days.

Titan Legion/Knight: 8 Titans and some 20+ Knights waiting to be done.

Other Projects: I don’t actually own anything else for EPIC but the recent release of Dark Eldar and Sister of Battle proxies by Onslaught Games is really tempting (so are their Tyranid proxies but I have those already). Maybe I will pick up a small force of each just for fun.

Warmaster and Warmaster Middle Earth:

When Specialist Games shut down, I did a bit of a panic purchase of all the remaining Warmaster armies (as well as most of Lord of the Rings forces just for good measure). For 2015, I hope to paint at least two of these armies to reduce the lead mountain a bit:

Warmaster (3k-4k each): High Elves, Dwarfs (re-basing and adding some units), Kislev, Lizardmen, Vampire Counts, Bretonnia, Dark Elves‎, Skaven

Warmaster ME: Rohan, Gondor, Isengard, Sauron‎, Battle of Five Armies box.

If I am particularly productive, I might reward myself with a Chaos Dwarf or Beastmen force from the awesome Eureka line.

SAGA: 

I have always been intrigued by historical settings but starting another huge army never seemed appealing. Along came SAGA – a Dark Age skirmish game. As usual, enthusiasm got the better of me and I bought a few hundred models from Gripping Beast, Warlord Games and Wargames Factory (thus utterly negating the small model count benefit of a skirmish game…). At minimum, that’s enough to build decent sizes warbands for Saxons, Danes, Viking, Jomsvikings and maybe some Welsh or Scots (for once, I didn’t really plan much beyond getting all the available plastic kits and some metal models – historical models are dirt cheap to somebody used to Games Workshop prices so I just bought all the available boxes from the three manufacturers). In 2015, I hope to finish at least two of these warbands.

Mordheim/Necromunda/Blood Bowl:

Talking of skirmish games, I still have lots of Specialist Games groups in assorted boxes. Ideally, I would like to paint a couple of these in 2015 but SAGA will take precedence.

Mordheim: Orcs, Goblins, Amazon’s, Carnival of Chaos, Beastmen, Chaos Warriors, Lizardmen, Ogres, Averlander, Ostlander, ‎Marienburger, Possessed

Necromunda: Esher, Delague, Goliath, Ratskin, Scabbies, Tau

Blood Bowl: High Elves, Dwarf, Lizardman‎, Chaos Dwarf, Halflings, Khemri

Other Projects: There are a few other items that would be nice for 2015 but they are all low priority:

– Dystopian Wars Prussian and British Fleet (basecoated but need detailing)

– ‎Flocking and river-pouring for a new set of half-finished terrain tiles

– Finish painting a few already built Hirst Art buildings to complete the Mordheim terrain collection

– Build some more display bases for the model cabinet

– Finish the Man-o-War Chaos fleet to complete the collection

So, finish a 40k and Warhammer army each, an EPIC army, a couple of Warmaster armies, a couple of Saga warbands, a couple of other skirmish game warbands. Maybe 400 models which seems somewhat manageable in a year. We will see :).