Yeah, Ok, so eh... It didn't quite go to plan! (2018's hobbying that is!)
Lets recap on the goals from 2018 and see how I got on;
Epic:
Finish painting Dark Angels (mix of GW/Vanguard minis) - its about 50-75% done. just need a final push!
- Nada! haven't touched them. On the plus side I think that we are planning on ditching all other 'epic' rule sets in favour of the Imperious Dominatus rules under current development, so it means i've got time to build this army up around the slightly different formation sizes in that game.
Put together a chaos army - Finally picked up some sprues of GW plastics after the last lot got lost in the post/warp. Bit of a slow grower here, as the metal minis are crazy expensive so just biding my time until i spot them a decent price.
- Nope! picked up a few more odds and sods for this project. As mentioned above, we are currently playing ID in favour of NetEpic, for which there are currently no 40k Chaos lists, so, these are on the very back burner!
Paint remaining missing Ork and imperial units and sell the rest (not too many left to do).
- Maybe? I honestly lost track, think i've painted a few bits and bobs for both forces, and certainly don't have much left in the unpainted pile for either.
Re-base Blood Angels - started putting sand/grass on over the old 'Goblin Green' bases and need to continue as the mix and match is a bit crap looking.
- Yes?! Pretty sure i re-based the lot and they are now in my coherent desert/scrub basing scheme. Hurrah!
Build some more terrain for fortifications, mine fields etc to use in game.
- Nah, on the list still. I have made some epic scale terrain (mostly for AT. I expect i'll get round to this once i start playing again.
Play more epic (got a campaign starting soon!)
- Sort of? We played a mini-campaign at the start of the year and have had a few games to playtest ID, but other than that, not a lot. Must do better!
X-Wing;
Not much here - will continue to pick up the odd ship that takes my fancy and hopefully get a regular game in.
- As planned, i picked up a couple of ships, and i think we played a few games. then 2.0 came out and everyone lost a bit of heart at the thought of buying back in to stay current. I'm still keen on playing 1.0 as I don't think my group hit the issues plaguing the 'meta' that forced the reboot. and i'd happily fly the Original Trilogy ships forever!
Imperial Assault;
Paint the last 2 troopers for the Return to Hoth Expansion which will mean everything is painted.
Play some more games of it! (no excuse now the companion app is out)
- Everything got painted. but haven't played Hoth yet.
Gaslands;
Quickly mod/paint 2-3 factions with some different load outs and get it played!
Make some terrain (road obstacles, billboards, fences, walls etc...
- Nope. 3/4 of the way converted/painted a bunch of cars, made some roads, got the token set but not played yet.
Warhammer 40k;
Play more Heralds of Ruin this winter, played a good bit in 2017 and it was decent.
- Haha! no... I bought the new Kill Team rules, painted a few dudes, and then nowt.
Paint Tau boxed set - Bought this for HoR and haven't got round to painting them yet
- Not really! I painted the Hammerhead to give to a friend if that counts?! the rest are still on sprue. Kill Team enthusiasm in 2019 will determine their fate!
Sell any excess bits, Tyranids etc - got boxes full of random minis as well as a pristine 2nd Edition boxed set, which are little or no use to me - set them free to get back some shelf space!
- Yes! chucked a good chunk of the excess on eBay, still scope to clear out more i reckon.
Necromunda;
Play it? - The White Whale of my hobbying... The game that may never happen!
Trim down to my Cawdor gang + a few hired guns and sell all the crappy old starter set plastics and excess terrain etc as it takes up a lot of space for a game that doesn't get played.
- Same old story! I've made moves to photograph it and box it up for eBay, next free weekend its going.
Misc;
Paint up 'Frostgrave' minis scavenged from Zombicide Black Plague box - just in case anyone fancies a game!
- Primed a bunch, they are definitely on the list and an achievable goal for next year i think.
Paint remaining Flames of War stuff - just a few tanks to paint, should be fun and a nice change of style/scale but not had the motivation yet - Still can't see me getting a game of it anytime soon, and don't really want to buy in much more.
- Didn't buy any more thankfully. keeping a few of the tanks around to paint as a bit of a palate cleanser should i feel i need one. Not taking up a tonne of space so not in the eBay firing line at the moment.
Paint Space Crusade and Hero Quest board games
- Yes!!! Ending on a positive note. I smashed out the Hero Quest minis (didn't bother with the terrain). Very therapeutic to get them done in good time, not the highest standard but perfectly serviceable. in the dying weeks of 2018 I've began doing the same for Space Crusade, so anticipate these will be done shortly.
So, 2019 - lets make some pledges, and see how we do! (There will be some running themes here)
Epic;
Paint very little (no pun intended) - choose to paint a few units for ID, start thinking of selling some of the excess, play more.
Adeptus Titanicus;
New entry for this year! Painted a decent amount, maybe 3k+ points worth? Don't buy anything else until playing it a few times. Pick up new releases sparingly.
40k/Kill Team/Necromunda etc;
Buy nothing! make some lists up, paint everything required, play some games! Sell the rest!
X-wing;
Buy Nothing, don't get tempted by 2.0, play some interesting games, e.g. Original Trilogy, narrative, Co-Op, Epic etc... don't let it gather dust!
Imperial Assault;
Buy Nothing, Play the Hoth campaign.
Gaslands;
Finish painting the cars i started. Maybe get a game.
Flames Of War/Tanks!;
Paint/Re-paint the stuff i have as a wee treat. Think about selling up if space gets tight.
Frostgrave;
Paint up the fantasy guys primed last year, and play some games, then try the home-brew Star Wars rules using Imperial Assault minis.
Space Crusade;
Finish painting the set, maybe play it, but not massively fussed, more of a nostalgia trip.
Terrain;
Finish off the AT/Epic terrain started. pare down the existing collection (it takes up so much space!) - chuck the crappy/damaged stuff. Add new stuff sparingly and only if its highly durable, quality and ideally works at different scales.
Misc;
Play more board games/RPGs.
Paint what i have for Zombicide
So in summary 2018 was a bit of an eye opener. I didn't get a huge amount of hobby time in for a number of reasons, some out with my control, others totally down to me.
As such I began to really think I've reached saturation point with the sheer volume of stuff I've accumulated in the 4-5 years I've been back into it all.
At the end of the year there I began taking my minimalist outlook a bit more seriously and cleared out a good portion of my wardrobe, attic and other rooms where there were items that had no purpose anymore, leaving me with my 'man-cave' the last bastion of clutter in the house. I fully intend on striving for the following big goals, in both the hobby side and other aspects of my life;
Buy Nothing!;
Slightly extreme, but what i mean is buy very little. Buy quality items only, aim to consolidate where possible.
Appreciate what i have and stop thinking about commodities;
In hobby terms I think i'd rather have a couple of games that i played regularly and had a nice collection, painted well etc rather than a dozen games that i never play, don't even know the rules and have half painted minis for laying around all over the place. I also need to get better at letting go of things that i'm never going to use, simply because they are 'rare' or were expensive. The worth of these items is minimal in the grander scheme of things, and their value is unlikely to rise to a level where keeping them around could be seen as an investment, so if it isn't being used, and isn't likely to be used, then move it on, If nostalgia comes knocking in the future, ignore it, or bite the bullet and pay the price!
And that's it!
Apologies for the slightly bleak tone of all of this, but trust me, its a positive really! More focus, less clutter... Time will tell!
