Wednesday 26 August 2020

Hobby Season 2019/20 Review

The 2019/20 Hobby Season draws to a close, and how did I do? Events from October 2018 still mean the hobby isn't high on my list of priorities. Add in COVID19 lockdown for this year and my first task has been an odd one:
Develop a more healthy hobby/life balance - go to bed at a decent hour[ish]   
I think I managed the first part of this, I certainly feel less compelled to hobby if I don't feel like it. However, going to bed at a decent time is less of a success, in fact the clocks going forward in spring meant I was quite happily staying up to 1am because it just felt like midnight. On the plus side, because of lockdown I haven't needed to get up at 5:30am so I've actually been getting more sleep. I've been keeping track of this on Google Fit and so far this year 3 months have been +7 hours. Again, that's not sustainable, at some point I'll be back travelling to work and I'm going to have to get that bed time down. However, my eldest is off to Oxford University in October, so I won't be watching TV shows with him when he deigns to grace me with is presence. So I should be able to start painting earlier and I'll get into the habit of finishing at a sensible time. I'll probably even schedule specific nights for hobby and specific nights for family time.
 Find time to play some games, not just tournament play...
Secondly I was supposed to play more games. Obviously a global pandemic has but a dent in my gaming, but we did get together for a few games of Blackstone Fortress. Definitely the most fun we've had gaming as a group. Sadly that's meant 40k has been mothballed for a while, even 9th edition hasn't ignited my passion. I'm not upset by that, we'll be back playing BSF as soon as we all feel safe to do so and eventually see what 9th is about. Tournaments? Well I don't feel I'm missing out on that either. Sure I enjoy the experience but the current costs and events that are available aren't filling me with any desire. Add to that I'd struggle to keep up with the new rules doesn't inspire me to book any in the future.
Now to my actual hobby goals - by the looks of it I only managed to complete 5 out of the 16 realistic items on my list. That would appear disappointing but I'm genuinely OK with it. Here's what I did manage despite everything.

Ferron Fire Firs. I didn't take full TO DONE! pics and this is just one of the sets that I painted to add to the set I already have. One day I'll get to see all 3 on my table together - maybe that's a goal for next year? Great to get some terrain done though. 38 models though, that's not to be sniffed at 😉


I also painted up this banner for the base of Lady Pettorini. I'd felt the base was lacking something and a filthy Nurgle banner trodden underfoot seemed appropriate. With hindsight I'm not sure it did need it but it was an opportunity to play around with free-handing so I don't regret it.



I painted this Redemptor Dreadnought for Dreadtober, although I'm not going to include Primaris Marines in my Dark Angels army I felt I could fit this in.

We started playing Blackstone Fortress and between the 4 of us we all took a couple of heroes and villains to paint so we could have fully painted game quicker. I got Espern Locarno as my hero.


And the Chaos Beastmen as my villains. I painted them like my Garrek's Reavers.


I also finished up my original team colours Middenheim Marauders Blood Bowl team.

Blood Bowl Ogre was next to join the Middenheim Marauders and then I decided they'd look better with flocked bases.


So they got flocked!


Round about this time COVID-19 struck and lockdown began. So much hobby time one would think but I was totally tied up with my Deathwing Knights. They took SOOO long to do, which felt like forever, but without the lockdown it would have probably seemed even longer.


I also got these other 2 terminators painted.



And this Callidus Assassin. All of these models have been on my painting list for ages so it was such a relief to get them completed even if it wasn't a huge quantity of models for so much effort and time spent painting.


I followed up the hardship of all those Terminators with some 'easy' Tyranid Rippers. Painting something I was so familiar with was so refreshing, even though Rippers can be a a real pain to do whatever challenges they posed just felt so much easier to resolve compared to the Deathwing. My only frustration is the 2 missing Ripper bases I can't seem to locate in my boxes :(


These Imperial Knight extra weapons had been around for long time. In fact the black twin Icarus Auto-cannons are from Euronymous, my first completed knight. The new points increases in 9th mean that the carapace weapons may get more use as I try to fill out the odd points here and there, so really useful.


I painted 5 of my Blood Bowl Nurgle Team players, including their turn and re-roll counters.


Galvanic Servo Hauler. This sat 98% complete for so long, just the dials to do and varnish. Not totally convinced on the weathering for realism, but it was fun to do and that little push allowed me to get it varnished and complete.


Genestealer Familiars - another couple of hangers on. It was just the various bits of debris on the bases holding them back but again perseverance got them over the line.



I think that's 87 models all in, I didn't quite realise I'd done that many and the Deathwing Knights in particular feel like a massive achievement. They'd been so hard to do and so long I'm just glad I had the perseverance to get them over the finishing line. But the TO DONE! pile is only part of the story, I'll cover the Big Build in a bit but I was juggling so many other projects as well, getting them moved slowly forwards that could well conclude next hobby season. These WiPs include:
  • Nurgle Blood Bowl team [third completed, rest basecoated]
  • Orc Blood Bowl Team [very early days]
  • Adeptus Titanicus Reaver Titan
  • Adeptus Titanicus Warhound Titans 
  • Tyranid Warrior
  • Tyranid Hive Guard conversions
  • Tyranid Devgaunts [nearly done]
  • Tyranid Tyrannofex + additional weapons
  • Tyranid Carnifex heads [half done]
  • Genestealer Cult Abberants
  • Genestealer Cult Acolyte Iconward
AND...

I did a load of DiY. Granted not directly hobby related but lets go back to point one:
    Develop a more healthy hobby/life balance - go to bed at a decent hour[ish]
    I've highlighted the important part. Many of the following tasks have been put off for far too long and painting the hobby shed was dependent on achieving the other tasks. Despite the shed needing new coats of paint to protect it, and therefore a priority, the other elements have been long overdue.
    • Painted kitchen
    • Painted en suite bathroom
    • Fitted a new fence panel
    • Painted all my fence panels
    • Painted some of my mother-in-law’s fence panels
    • Painted an outbuilding
    • Painted my hobby shed

    On the one hand this feels like far from the most impressive Season I've ever had but on the other I actually I did a lot, the trees certainly helped my numbers. And the WiP stuff leaves me well placed for next Season and some quick wins if I can get motivated.


    The Big Build is my scaled down expectations to build miniatures. Building isn't always my favourite thing but without a construction phase I can't have a painting phase.

    I kicked things off pretty early with the Genestealer Cult Iconward. The plan was to have him painted for the 'character' category in Battle of the Brush.

    Espern Locarno from Liam's Blackstone Fortress was a quick win.
    As was the 4 chaos beastmen I pledged to paint for our campaign. 


    I got a Nurgle Blood Bowl team from my son for Christmas, we built these together and I based them up ready to paint together too!


    Although I have a challenge to beat last year's hobby spends I treated myself to a Blood Bowl Ogre to join my Middenheim Marauders [and also another character for Battle of the Brush].
    I've included 'easy build' models before and felt guilty about it and I do again, however Amallyn Shadowguide from Blackstone Fortress was quite a challenge. I just couldn't shake the idea of putting her on a step and so had to construct one out of a 25mm slotta base and a plastic gift vouchers.


    I was lucky to get the Galvanic Servo-haulers on a copy of Warhammer Conquest.

    I got all three of them built.


    Including the crane.


    I also built the Cerastus Knight Lancer for Adeptus Titanicus.


    Not sure I should claim these as Liam technically built them.


    But I did the bases and primed them so they're still within the Big Build parameters...


    I got this Blood Bowl Troll of my mate Pete for my birthday.


    And I built this Tyrannofex because I needed to throw another project into the mix to keep motivated and avoid painting my Land Raider Redeemer.


    6 comments:

    1. All in, a great season! Quite a variety of projects. I like that you include your builds. I build so much more than I paint (my own hobby "problem"), yet I generally don't call it out except for the once per month work bench posts I put up. you give me food for thought as we pass into the next hobby season.

      Keep on keepin' on! Cheers.

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      1. You can see why it was necessary then. Building can be frustrating as models on sprues can take up considerably less space. And the very fact their built then means you have less of a grey tide and more of a multi-coloured tsunami! Seeing all these part painted models can be just as frustrating as knowing they're unbuilt.

        I also saw this great video from Uncle Atom on build mode Vs paint mode - it's worth a watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg3iUlE3PZg

        Right now I should be thinking about building some of the things that will appear on next season's list. Getting them built and primed in the good weather means I'll have plenty to paint when I can't prime! Then again, pretty sure everything I've got on my plate at the moment could take me to February. Unless of course my son's absence gives me so much free time I steamroll through everything!?

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    2. Great work! Looking forward to the new hobby season.

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      1. Me too actually. Curious to see how my extra free time manifests itself. If I get more stuff painted or find myself burning out more?

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    3. That is an impressive count regardless. Well done soldier, fighting the good fight against the grey tide!

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      1. Thanks Siph, really appreciate all the support in the comments over the Season 👍

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