From time to time I’ll reach into the hobby vault to feature models painted before I started this blog.
Tigurius, like Marneus Calgar, was purchased back in the 90s when it was first released, but painted in about 2014 when I got back into miniatures.
From time to time I’ll reach into the hobby vault to feature models painted before I started this blog.
Cassius was the first character I painted in the modern era. It would have been late 2011/early 2012, when I was piecing together an Ultramarines army from the models I got back in the 90s along with some more recent purchases.
At the time I was super proud. I still am — this is a great sculpt and a competent paint job. Today I’d try to do a bit more shading on the armor, but the detailing still looks great.
I’m very slowly photographing models from before the blog. This Shadow Assassin must have been purchased around 2000 in my D&D days. I would have painted it somewhere around 2012 as a break from 40k.
Once again, I’m obligated to produce a year-end retrospective.
Overall
I started the year strong, and burned through outstanding projects once, but then bought back up, of course. It’s been managed pretty well, although I just spiked due to Wyrd’s Black Friday sale. 40k went on the back burner this year, with only a few models painted and a handful of games played. Malifaux (including adding Gremlins as a new faction) and Dropzone Commander (new to me this year) has been taking my attention.
I built and started regularly using the Spin-o-matic this year, which produces neat 360º views of my models. I just almost completely replaced the setup with one which should be easier to use in a consistent way. Maybe someday I’ll post about it.
I also upgraded my photography setup in the middle of the year, with a new lens and lighting set. It’s improved the look enough that I’m tempted to reshoot old stuff when I got back to look at it. I doubt I’ll ever find the time.
I started playing Malifaux the middle of last year, and it has become my main game this year. I did Tale of Malifaux Bloggers with Zoraida in the spring. After Adepticon I realized I needed a second faction to keep things fresh, so I moved Zoraida over towards Gremlins. Now I swap between the two every couple of months.
I got a free starter box at Adepticon and managed to squeeze a demo in between other events. After I got home, I decided to give it a go, and built up a UCM army. It’s behind Malifaux in favorite-ness, but the mobility and scale is very interesting.
I decided late this year to build a board for home use, to allow gaming when I couldn’t get away from the house. It hasn’t seen a whole ton of use, but I’m glad I have it. I’ll probably slowly build up the terrain collection, and hopefully get people over more often.
Other
No list would be complete without an ‘other’ section. This includes the only Reaper model I’ve painted this year, and a few projects I’ve done with my daughter and wife. It also, surprisingly enough, includes the few 40k models I’ve done in the last year. 40k hasn’t been grabbing my interest so much these days, although I’m sure I’ll be back.
Looking to 2016
I expect Malifaux will continue to occupy most of my gaming attention, with Dropzone sprinkled in for flavor. I’m not finding myself super pulled towards another Malifaux faction, but Resistance in DZC has been tempting me. I’ve also just picked up a Team Yankee US starter, although I haven’t played any games or decided how much energy it’ll get.
I’m signed up for Adepticon for a second year. Malifaux, Dropzone, Space Hulk, and seminars are scheduled. I’m hoping to have time to explore other games and products.
We’ll see how much Team Yankee grabs me. I dig the WWIII semi-modern setting, and 15mm scale tanks are cool. I don’t know how many games I’ll actually get in, since there don’t seem to be a ton of players around, but I’m looking forward to trying to airbrush camo.
