For the fifth year now, it’s time to reflect on a year of hobby.
Overview
The year started with some leftovers from Wyrd’s 2017 Black Friday sale, including a special Christmas themed Rasputina crew. Then, as Adepticon approached in March, I tried to get through my purchases from the year before.
Adepticon saw two system purchases: Dust and Relicblade. Both got painted up relatively quickly, and have seen a fair amount of table time.
In the midsummer I got caught up in Age of Sigmar with the second edition and an escalation campaign at Endgame. Unfortunately the campaign was canceled out from under me. I’ve still got the last 500 points of a 2000 point Fyreslayers army sitting of sprue waiting for some love.
At the end of the year I was further drawn back into the clutches of Games Workshop with Kill Team.
In sad news, Endgame has announced that they’re closing at the end of January 2019. Endgame has been my favorite shop for events and organized play. Over the years I’ve participated in campaigns for 40k, Dropzone Commander, Team Yankee, Bolt Action, and Age of Sigmar. I had been psyching myself up for another Bolt Action campaign there next year. Thanks to Mike and the rest of the Endgame crew for all the years of fun. And thanks to Adan, who doesn’t work for the shop but has run a ton of great events and campaigns there.
I’ve been trying to have a more consistent posting schedule for this blog. A side effect is that there’s often a lead time between when I finish painting something and it getting posted here. Some of the things mentioned below won’t be posted until sometime next year.
I’ve been slowly working through re-shooting models for old posts, or posting old models from before I started the blog. This year I finished refurbishing all Reaper models, plus all Imperium 40k. There are still a couple of Ultramarines that have never been posted.
Total: 155 models newly painted (7.74% decrease from 2017)
- 23 Malifaux models
- 13 40k / Kill Team
- 12 Bushido
- 15 Dust
- 20 Relicblade
- 53 Age of Sigmar
- 17 other, including terrain
- 4 models by kids
- 2 foamcraft costumes
- 66 re-photographed
- 19 previously unblogged
Malifaux has fallen out of being my main game. Third edition was announced in the summer, which makes it hard to stay excited about painting anything. And without new shinies to play with, other game shinies seems to win.
- Arcanists
- Vogel / Beast Within
- Blessed of December
- Winter Wonderland crew
- Rasputina
- Ice Gamins
- Snowstorm
- Ice Golem
- Wendigo
- Silent Ones
- Carlos
- Myranda
- Sabertooth Cerebus
- Ice Dancers
- Gremlins
- Other
I picked up Bushido at Adepticon 2017, but didn’t get around to painting it until early 2018. I still haven’t played since the demo game, though in theory I have enough stuff painted for two players.
Kill Team
Kill Team has filled the very end of the year. My friend Sean got very excited about it, and I had been eyeing it for a while. So I took the plunge and got Genestealer Cults. I don’t quite have the hang of the game yet, especially that it’s hard to keep in assault.
I’ve seen Dust over the years, but hadn’t given it a try until Adepticon this year. It’s WWII, but with walkers, zombies, and gorillas. And now Mythos Cthulhu monsters. What’s not to like? I picked up the Mythos. Unfortunately there aren’t a ton of models available for the faction, although that seems to be improving. I’m signed up for a Dust event at Adepticon 2019, so I should probably get some of the new stuff.
- Avatar of Nyarlathotep
- Spawns of Cthulhu
- Lilith / Possessed Lilith
- Cultist Fire Squad
- Mi-Go Assault Squad
- Terrain
Relicblade was the other big Adeption purchase. It’s a fantasy skirmish game which oozes character. I meant to make a second purchase, but got sidetracked. I got in to this year’s Kickstarter expansion, so some dwarves are on the way.
- Advocate
- Adversary
- Generic
Adan started talking about an Age of Sigmar escalation campaign in the summer, so I signed up. Unfortunately there wasn’t a critical mass of interest and the campaign was canceled partway through. I ended up with Fyreslayers, as I loved the look. I should have looked a bit harder at the lack of variety in units, but I’ve found some with allies.
- Fyreslayers
- Allies
I’ve watched a ton of YouTube videos on making costumes, so I decided to try my hand at foamcrafting armor for the kids’ Halloween costumes. It took a lot of time, but the pieces look great. I’d like to do more, but I need to find more excuses for it.
Other
I like far too many systems and models. I’ve gotten a few random Arena Rex games in this year. I’m slowly building out my post-apoc/future dystopia collection. Relicblade has inspired some terrain work. And I’ve supervised some hobby work by the kids.
- Arena Rex
- Future Dystopia / Post Apoc
- Chibis
- Terrain
- Kid projects
- Giant Cthulhu
- Scout ITV
Looking to 2019
I’ve got a few loose ends, but for the first time in a while I don’t have a specific hobby goal I’m working towards. Endgame closing plus a bit of burnout from pushing hard for the fizzling Age of Sigmar campaign has taken a lot out of me.
I’d like to finish the Fyreslayers to 2000 points. I may have a few gaps to fill in the Kill Team army. I should probably flesh out Dust a bit. I’m sure Adepticon in March will bring something new.