Once again it’s time for a reflection on a year of hobby.
Overview
I started the year with a deadline looming. A Team Yankee campaign was getting started. I had just acquired enough models to fill out an army and only had about five weeks to get it table ready. I also had Dropzone Commander and Arena Rex backburnered.
Now in its third year, let’s take a look at my hobby work over the past year.
Overview
I started the hobby year working through the Malifaux Black Friday order and getting a few things ready for Adepticon. Then the queue got real. In 2015 I felt I had been a little too stingy at Adepticon. Let’s just say I didn’t have that problem this year.
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.
It’s almost the new year, so I think I’m contractually obligated to write up some kind of retrospective. I started tracking my backlog (and therefore all hobbying) in January, and blogging in May, so I actually have a pretty good record. In the last few weeks I’ve caught up with all the projects I completed in 2014 but hadn’t yet written up.
Overall stats
I started the year pretty deep in hobby debt, with a significant backlog from a store closing sale, and went deeper after buying a Space Marines Strikeforce for some Inquisition War projects. I dug myself out, though, and worked all the way through the backlog.
The Warzone Harat three-part campaign finished up in January. The finale was an apoc-style event, which got me to buy and paint up a Revenant Titan, my first experience with Forge World. The other big ongoing event was the Inquisition War campaign at Endgame, which gave me the excuse to paint up old Necromunda models as the Inquisitor and retinue, and finally do the Deathwatch Kill Team I’ve been considering for ages.
In addition, I had a pretty large backlog to work through, which meant quite a bit of Ultramarines, Dark Eldar, and Eldar got hobbied.
I’d been contemplating adding a second miniatures game into the mix, but had never pulled the trigger. Early in the year I got a demo of Malifaux. Then, Wyrd’s summer painting contest convinced me to pick up and paint a box. Once that was done, I had no choice but to play.
Since then, I’ve built up a decent selection of models. I still don’t really know what I’m doing, but I get more confident with every game.
I participated in the first Reaper Bones Kickstarter back in 2012, which was delivered in 2013, and I finally started painting in 2014. For a while I was trying to do one per Thursday (Random Rursday), but that stopped being fun, so I stopped. I’m still painting them when the urge hits me, and keep a couple primed on standby.
I got back into miniature wargaming a few year ago through scale models. The nice thing about wargaming is that it has a built-in excuse to show off your work. I only found a little time for it this year, but like the results.
Looking to 2015
Malifaux is occupying most of my miniatures brain these days. I’ve got a pretty decent backlog already which will probably take me through February or so.
I’m going to Adepticon in March. I’m signed up for a mix of 40k, Malifaux, and hobby seminars. I haven’t decided what, if any, hobby goals I have ahead of the con. If I want to do anything special (build out my Deathwatch for Combat Patrol, maybe?), I need to get serious about it soon.
Beyond that, it’s hard to say. I have a hard time imagining myself starting a new 40k army at this point, but I can see myself building my existing ones out. I have an desire to complete the Neverborn faction in Malifaux (well, the plastics, anyways). I get to play few enough games that I worry I won’t understand all the rules, much less actually play with them. Or maybe I should collect masters instead of factions.
I’ve also got my eye on both Dropzone Commander and Firestorm Armada, but I’m pretty sure I already have too many games…
