Expenses 2015
My friend Tim
tracks his gaming expenses monthly on his blog. I've never done this in the past, but it seems like a wise idea to have a better handle on hobby expenses. So, here's my (probably over detailed) attempt for the past year:
Obviously, my use of the logos/banners of the companies whose products I have purchased in the past year is in now way intended to imply any infringement on their trademarks, copyright, etc., or endorsement on their part, but IS intended to indicate my support for, and endorsement of their products!
January - $289.78
Lancashire Games (Prussian Landwehr and Grenadiers) 138.18
Renew Old Glory Army Card 50.00
Perry (DB Carabiniers, Wurzburg, Italian Clergy, Flag) 101.60
February - $284.10
Old Glory (Lots of Napoleonic Prussians) 284.10
March - $31.63
Litko Order (Bases) 31.63
April - $139.09
Amazon (Dice for Die Fighting II) $92.16
Joanne's (Felt for "Ancient" table covering, Ribbon) $27.50
Michael's (Birdhouses [Towers], Paint) $19.43
June - $246.60
Old Glory (100 British Napoleonic Cavalry) 246.60
July - $550
Historicon Purchases ( Misc 141, Sash & Saber guns 78) $219
Hotel, Gas, Tolls, Meals $331
August - $74.05
Digital copy of To the Strongest! 9.99 GBP = $15.69
12 decks large index playing cards, 100 poker chips (Amazon) $41.38
1 8.1 L Really Useful Box 11.99
1 Locktite Ultra Gel 4.99
September - $115.60
Litko order (Bases, Markers Tufts, Pin Vise) $115.60
October - $65.93
Michael's ((Foam sheets x 23, Craft paints, Micron Pens, Acrylic Spray x 2, wood discs) $42.66
Joanne's (12 x 6 feet of Turquoise Blue Felt for Naval table cloth) $15.27
Galleys and Galleons PDF $8
November - $259.30
8 Really Useful Boxes 75.42
GMB Flags for British Troops 63.88
Masses of Macedonians (bought from local gamer) 120.00
December - $179.20
Murasaki Order ( 36 Baden Infantry, 18 Polish Uhlans) $179.20
2015 Year Total = $2,235.28
Wow, that's considerably more than I expected; close to $200/month. However, I painted (and purchased) a LOT this year due to the rather late decision to run Ligny at Historicon, and I also took advantage of a number of unique sales, and of course the Old Glory Army Card. I have until the end of January before that expires, and will place another order with them before that to get the most mileage possible out of it. The non hobby costs of attending Historicon are also considerable (and I keep them very low by sharing a room with Tim, and using the Carlson hotels discount program), but Historicon is a highlight of every year, as well as a big driver of painting! I expect 2017 expenditures to be much lower, certainly not averaging over $150/month and hopefully closer to $100/month. How about you?
Games Played 2015
September: Rome vs Carthage with To the Strongest!
October: Battle of White Plains with FoB2
November: Semiwitz with FoB2
Convention Games Run 2015
March: The Katzbach, with Snappy Nappy
April: 200th Anniversary Watrerloo Campaign-in a Day, with Snappy Nappy
July: Ligny with Field of Battle, 2nd edition x 2
July: France vs Prussia with Die Fighting II
July: La Biococca, with Hostile Realms
Both the hugely successful Waterloo Campaign in a Day and Ligny were very big, and very rewarding projects. Still. I fell somewhat short of my plans and targets on the gaming side - probably due to too much time spent painting! :-)
Blogging 2015
94 posts, a bit less than last year, but still 2nd highest yearly total for me.
107,731 Page views for the year (a fair amount by Russian/Ukrainian bots, it seems), highest ever. Along with current work, I'm also enjoying posting and cataloging the many elements of the collection that predate the blog (often by many decades). The Blog exceeded 400,000 page views all time as of late December, 2015. Amazing! I need to update the links in the Napoleonic Painting guides section again with the posts from the past 4 months.
The Unpainted Lead Pile
I haven't (ever) tackled cataloging this, but as I think of it, I really should. No, I haven't finally lost my sanity (my wife might disagree, of course). It isn't
too bad. Really. Seriously! However, it is probably at an all time high after the unplanned purchase of all those 2nd hand unpainted Macedonians from Edgar! It does help with planning projects, though, as well as restraining future purchases to know how much of what there really is "out there". We'll see! My estimate is that it has ballooned to about 800 figures, and I will add another 100 or so more to the pile from the upcoming Old Glory order by the end of January. Even with a good painting year like 2015, that's almost 2 years of painting. I'd better get busy!
