Hobby Spends 2024

Afternoon #Warhammer Community Following on from previous year's spending record I've kept another log for 2024 [and will do so for 2025]. Funnily enough when I first started writing this the final figure was just under £746. But now it's just over £858, representing a significant another increase on last years gross spend of £621, almost a further 30%! And there was me hoping 2024 would be frugal. However, I had saved up some Christmas money and my Google Adsense finally matured. That helped subsidise my spend on the hobby by £180. Then I just went on a second Christmas binge, with some early Christmas 2024 money so I could get some Warlord Titans [wait until you see the deals I got]. This brings my net spend to £582 which is around £48.47 a month. Here's the breakdown:

I'll admit I am somewhat disappointed in how much I've spent. It's a lot more than I expected to and again a lot of additional figures and games too. That said I know some of those purchases are a mix of getting the best value for those figures while they were still available; and also retail therapy. There were times when I said to myself 'just buy it, life's too short'. It's not a strong justification and not helpful when I get satisfaction from being frugal but ultimately it doesn't really matter - I can always try and do better in 2025. I genuinely want to crack on with some of these purchases. I've just restated my hobby goals for the season. Now I have a much clearer idea of what I want to do before August.

And actually it's not unreasonable to think I can be more frugal, even after such a blow-out. Last year I predicted I'd get the Armigers, Adeptus Titanicus and an Acheron, which I did. Going to the weekday MESBG tournament was unexpected but I refuse to feel bad about spending money, or on spending time with my friends. So, for 2025 we may well go to some more events. Although, there are rule changes for MESBG and none of us are prepared for a 40k tournament so maybe not. Figure-wise I can't foresee anything, unless the new Knight Codex brings new models...? As it is my plans focus on painting my Cerastus Knights and my Leviathan Tyranids as well as my new Titans. However, my hobby efforts are slowing a bit as there is less motivation, so they should keep me busy and therefore discourage any purchases - we'll just have to see.

What's on my palette?

Bless me #Warhammer Community for I have sinned, it's been 7 months since my last confession! Long time and a mixed amount of progress but I just wanted to take stock of my changing priorities for my hobby projects this season.

So my revised priorities are:

1. Leviathan Tyranid Prime
2. Leviathan Neurotyrant and Neurolids
3. Leviathan Barbgaunts x5 [x10 at a stretch]
4. Leviathan Von Ryan's Leapers x3 [x6 at a stretch]
5. Leviathan Termagants x20
6. Termagants x30 base extensions

• Genestealer Cult Sentinels
• Ironsoul's Condemnors x2
• Cerastus Knight Acheron
• Cerastus Knight Castigator
• Adeptus Titanicus Warlord Titan 1
• Adeptus Titanicus Warlord Titan 2
• Adeptus Titanicus Questoris Knights x3
• Adeptus Titanicus terrain

All the Tyranids are for next year's Armies On Parade. I've RAYG rated them. Everything highlighted green has been started and is at least over halfway done, some don't require much to get them finished. yellow ones need a bit more effort and orange ones are pretty much at the start point, maybe haven't even been finished building. The Termagant basing extensions haven't been started but I've no idea if that will get done or if it will be done instead of the Leviathan Termagants. it really depends on how onerous a task painting the Leviathan models becomes.

The Cerastus Knights and the Warlord titans are a big ask. I'm stalling on making the models so I can dismantle them at the waist. I have at least primed the the legs on both of them. I need to do the Red Planet BASE! and then I may feel happier. But check out this sweet Warlord Titan I got off ebay and all its extras. It was a great bargain, with a decent starting point. I just need to try and fit it in with the rest of my Legio Gryphonicus.

Anyway, I've just had a look back at my To Do List and most of this commitment was unnecessary as pretty much everything was already on my list. Rather than streamlined it I've ended up adding things to it that weren't previously there! 😂 Regardless, I think it will help me focus on what I have to do in the new year.

Battle Report - Achtung Panzer!

Afternoon we've been playing games and the inaugural game in Shed 2.0 is one we've never played before - Achtung Panzer! No I don't know why we chose it either but Ben wanted to try it and however it plays it looks cool. Now I've called this a battle report, but we all know I'm terrible at writing them, particularly because I leave so long between the game and getting round to recording what happened. This is no different, but I promised this hobby season to find a way to keep track so I'm just going to ensure pictures are taken and I give the essence of what happened rather than worry about specifics.

Of course with this it's more about how the game works and hopefully you can make out each tank comes with a datacard, these were really cool, full of loads of counters to indicate if your crew is experienced and what armament it has. Despite the cool factor there was a lot to keep track of, perhaps too much, certainly in a first game.What is also important is terrain. Any piece of area terrain can be used for various cards, where things like minefields or infantry units may lie in wait to deliver vengeance on any nearby aggressor.

I was running the German force, sorry I have no idea which tanks they are, although I think the middle one is the obligatory Panzer. Otty had 4 smaller American/British tanks. There are a number of actions you can do each turn, I think it's 2. One can be a move, or to load a weapon, or to target a tank, or to fire [but you can't fire unless the gun is loaded]. You can also do a command check to try and speed up the loading process but that also depends on how big your ammunition is. If you fail the check nothing happens, but the checks also work for things like driving through a fence [as seen on my right flank, I think the smaller ones are Stugs]. 

Otty had a stratagem that allowed a bunch of GI's to appear in the woods to my left. They had anti-tank bazookas and given they were firing into my side armour easily took out the Stug. To say I was a bit miffed to be taken out by some card that didn't even have figures on the board was an understatement. Even Otty's kind offer to put some models in the trees to represent the tank-killers was little comfort. This was made more annoying by the fact he was able to fire with the tank at the end of the road. he rushed loading, fired, and either missed because you roll two dice, hit on 5+, but it has to be both dice. Or, the front armour was super tough and it just pinged off. it just illustrated that it was harder to kill with the tanks, while the ambushes seemed a little OP.

I managed to get my Stug forward. All my tanks had their commander inside with their hatches closed, which makes it harder to target but they're less likely to get injured. Otty was running the opposite, which kept on allowing him to spot, which removes one dice, so only has to score one 5+. Then if you target I think it makes it a 4+, but if you change targets you lose the bonus. I think my Stug hit his tank below, but the intervening terrain took the force of the blast. I also used my minefield ambush card, but didn't do much damage. 

With new cards I was able to send my own tank killing troops out of the middle farmhouse. They shot the small tank, and although it was not destroyed it was immobilised on the corner of the farmhouse. Meanwhile I'd drawn another strategy card that allowed my commander to do 3 actions. This allowed my panzer to fast-load an armour-piercing shell, target his nearest tank and fire all in one turn. Thankfully I passed all the command checks, hit with perfect precision, avoided the intervening hill and somehow blew up the tank. With that we called it a night with me sneaking a win, thanks to the smaller immobilised tank adding to my tally by a point.

OK I admit I was a bit underwhelmed. As a game, I did like the ambush cards, but they felt too powerful. They had much more impact on the game than being able to drive around  the tanks and feel like they were having the definitive impact on the game. Maybe with better understanding of the rules the tanks might feel like the star but currently they're support actors in their own film. Additionally it felt just too long to actually get anything done. Loading, spotting and firing takes 3 turns without trying to speed up. And if you miss it's all for nought. There is an interesting mechanic in that each game has a set amount of minutes, I think you roll D6, but whoever has the turn priority can choose to to speed the clock up and roll 2D6 - great if you're in the lead and want to burn the clock. But if a game is only 30 minutes long you can see how quickly that can be over and done based on good [or bad, depending on your position] dice rolls. An interesting but flawed mechanic. We may play again but for next time I think we'll try something else.

'nids part 372 - #DreadTober Norn Emissary TO DONE!

Afternoon #Warhammer Community I've been #PaintingWarhammer for DreadTober, failed to meet the deadline so rolled it over into #NidVember, blew that too so now it's some December pun that I'm not smart enough to create.

But the Norn Emissary is TO DONE!

I am very happy with the final result. Considering how down I was on my abilities way back when I started it the finished article looks as good as anything I've done. I may never trouble a Golden Demon but my tabletop standard has presence.

The model is pretty cool too. I took it to show the guys and as we've finally got round to playing Adeptus Titanicus I was struck how this is roughly the same height as a Warlord Titan.

With the correct bases I think there are a lot of figures you could proxy into Titanicus as Tyranid Titan constructs. The Neuro Tyrant wouldn't look out of scale either I think. You could probably find something the Neurolids could be too. 

I didn't take any red pics with the Norn Assimilator harpoon claws, but the white background pics have some below.

The question is, will I ever use him in a game of 40k? My plan is to get the Tyranid combat patrol painted, as their rules are free. I'm not sure if we'll get to a point where we add extra units as some of the games have felt one-sided and I can't imagine this guy is anything but over-powered. Still it would be nice. Regardless he will fit in next year's Armies On Parade, with the rest of the Combat Patrol.

Did you know that this is the first Great Big Wooden Stamps of Approval of the season?! Now you do.

And here we have the white background pics.

And the first of the Norn Assimilator images.

Obviously I didn't include the carapace extension. It's probably not that hard magnetise but I hadn't originally planned on making it swappable so this is the compromise.

I think I could probably use those harpoon claws on the Emissary anyway, they do look cool.

And it's somewhat like the Trygon/Mawloc - nobody really cares about the specifics. You just state the unit type and the nids get away with a lot.

And here's the DreadTober participation badge, that I now feel is earned. Although the two Genestealer Cult Sentinels still need finishing off. There so very nearly done, I just need a final push.

But actually I was doing something else too.

I had this little special project painting a Genestealer for a friend.

The Norn Emissary gave me plenty of opportunity to add paint, not only to this, bt some of the combat Patrol models as I've shared.

It helped break up the enormity of the Norn project.

I had the spare resin base to make it something of a mini diorama.

I just thought it would be cool for them to have one of my Tyranids for their own collection.

Hopefully they like it, maybe we'll find out soon.

So 2 things completed for the Season of Wood.

And a Great Big Wooden MINOR GOAL Stamp of Approval.

Well Officer, I couldn't possibly recall how I ended up with all this.

Afternoon #Warhammer Community I've been a naughty boy. I've been on a bit of a retail therapy kick. I'd seen the Mechanicum Battle Group begin to disappear from 3rd party sellers and I thought now might be my last best chance of securing it at discounted prices.

I've always wanted the Triaros Conveyor, it's crazy to look but when it was resin that was never going to happen,

Now it's plastic and there was all sorts in the box too.

I quite like the robots, but I'm less enamoured by the Tech-thralls. Their ungainly zombie-like pose doesn't inspire the techno-confidence the Ad-Mech usually conveys.

That said I'm sure they'll look cool when they're painted, as will their sweet, sweet, ride.

Can't wait to get round to doing this project, but I'm not touching it until some others are done.

The decal sheets are pretty cool too, maybe some that I can use on my Cerastus Knights too?

And this is the other cause of this unnecessary purchase. Yes I got the 30k rules for the princely sum of £5 [plus £4.99 postage]. I mean the book is massive and thoroughly gorgeous throughout. It may say Warhammer but we know a Forgeworld product when we see one. Of course that also means that deciphering the rules in such a might tome is inversely proportional to how good the rest of the book is. The plan was to use my Dark Angels as a 30k army. With what appears to be a more stable rule system, one we're more familiar with from our halcyon tournament days and more balanced units we may like 30k more than 10th Edition 40k! Of course that does not explain why I then bought an AdMech Battle Group if I was going to try my First Legion in the game...

And alongside all this 30k shenanigans I actually decided to get some Guardian of the Covenant and heraldry decals from The Mighty Brush. The crossed swords will go on my Primaris army, should I ever get round to them and the mixed black and white heraldry scripts just look awesome.

Let's just say my hobby spends this year have gone out the window. But as recent events have reminded me you can't take it with you. So I'm treating myself while I can. Maybe next year I can be more frugal...