2022 Round up! (and a look in to 2023)

 Argh! 6 months without a post. Not great!

Hobbying over the summer was pretty light - I managed a few games of Epic which we got in the can for the Life of Die YouTube channel, and I painted a handful of minis.

November saw the start of a new project that has been burning in the back of my mind for a long time... 6mm Cold War.

I picked up a couple of job lots from eBay to get me started, then added some bits I felt were missing. The main driver though is rules. I've checked out Cold War Commander 2.0 and a few others but my real desire is to write my own set, and it's been a really interesting experience.

I went in with 0 research, only my experience of playing a lot of games and working on engineering projects as my real world job, but it really pleased me to see that after getting a lot of ideas down and stitching them together, I was very close to what looked like a playable set of rules, then this was further validated by watching the 'Rule of Carnage' podcasts where indie game designers chat, and i was unknowingly following a lot of their processes.

Anyhoo - I'm hoping to have a decent 1st draft ready shortly - selfishly designed around the minis I have and my desire to see them on the tabletop.

Other than that the year is ending with bloomin' Space Marines... 

We are starting a slow-grow OnePageRules Grimdark Future campaign set in the Badab War conflict in 40k, where lesser represented legions of space marines battle it out. Should be a good cleanser project and get me back in to the swing of painting!

In terms of 2022 hobby goals achieved... Yeah, not great!

I did at least buy very little this year, and fairly sure I painted most of it. I was sooo close to a 0 pile of shame at the end of last year that I'm a little disappointed that my collection has grown again.

There was a decent amount of gaming at least!

Plans for 2023

Badab War - paint/repaint existing 40k stuff - buy nothing!

6mm Cold War - finish the rules, paint what I have - buy nothing! (sell the excess - ended up with far too many helicopters in one job lot!)

40k Other - Still got some Eldar and the Blackstone Fortress box to crack into if I want to paint something different - buy nothing! (maybe even sell some stuff).

Bolt Action - Get more games in! still got a box full of Winter Germans, British Commandos and British Commonwealth infantry I could do something with if the notion took... Again, buy nothing!

Everything else...

I got the Flames of War 'Hit the Beach' set for Christmas. It's an amazing box, similar to the 'Open Fire' one I had years ago when I first got back into the hobby. It's staying sealed for now as I don't need another scale in my life (again!). If the rules writing bug gets me it could be a great candidate/muse for a company level WW2 game, as FoW doesn't grab me, or could be great for proper sized Bolt Action Tank War games...

Epic - keep playing. We have a docket lined out for next year for games of Net Epic gold, and some discussion for 3rd edition too.

And now, an out of context photo dump!

 

January roundup

 Decent month for hobbying was January.

For some reason my photos have uploaded in more or less reverse order, but hey ho.

Finished off the German Grenadiers, Nebelwerfer and FJ HQs that I started in December.

Managed to get some games in at the start of the year, including some Tank War and getting to field my USMC, so lots of fun was had.

I also completed some pacific terrain, a rice paddy field and some volcanic rock things.

I then moved on to building a whole new river/canal/harbour system which should work for most theatres and scales, although I'm still hoping the mod-podge dries clear on the harbour section!

I treated myself to a nice MDF bridge from Kristoff Designs as I had a £5 off voucher and it's lovely!

The Rubicon Shermans and all their add-ons arrived and i managed to knock them out, giving me a USMC M4A3 105/75mm and a M4A2 that can pull double duty as a British Firefly VC with a turret swap.

Overall I am happy with how they turned out, but feel I made some mistakes with colour choice, the hard edge markings, the oil wash (I applied it too early) so a little disheartened there, but all part of the learning process.

I also picked up the Italy : Soft Underbelly of Europe book, which inspired me to revisit my Brits to make some silencers for my Sten armed Commandos and also pick up a Highlander officer and bagpiper for some nice in-game buffs!

It has also meant I've taken a notion to bring my Commandos up to a better painting standard, and i've picked up some of the new plastic Warlord models, some Paras and desert Commonwealth sprues to do some Italy 1943 era kit bashes and make some Commandos, SAS/SRS, and some regular Scots infantry to support them.

I should also have some Winter Germans coming to fill out my Volkstrum and a Stuart M3A1 to use with my USMC and Brits.

To offset this I've continued my clear out, getting rid of a bunch of old terrain on eBay, as well as my whole 40K bits box, some of which dates back to my childhood, so a significant 'all-in' on Bolt Action for my 28mm fix now!

July/A bit of August Roundup

Very little progress hobby wise. The weather has been great so spent most if it outside and the times when the pang to hobby has hit, it's been too hot in my office.

I managed to get a wee terrain piece, a couple of Gargants, and some Chaos stuff for an upcoming battle painted, including some rather weird Slaanesh Knights that came out of necessity and what was to hand;

some 28mm Dark Eldar legs, heads and weapons, and for a couple of hours cutting, gluing and painting, they turned out just fine (i think!).

Other than that, I picked up some Rogue Trader IG stuff randomly, and have some actual games planned.

Next up - The ever looming Squats... Maybe this month will the time for them to be painted? 

Bolt Action - DAK

 It's been a relatively busy hobby period since my last post.

I cracked open the DAK starter box and made up the first few squads, played my first games and then added more to my force including the Flak 36 88mm and a squad of kitbashed assault pioneers.

I'll dump what photos i have below - with the usual caveat that i knocked out these troops 'quickly' to get them tabletop ready for some upcoming games, and i will go back at some point and finish the highlighting and details... probably!

As far as the game goes, it's pretty cool - a wee bitty random in places due to the reliance on dice/luck, but good fun and looks great on a table full of terrain!