The year I stop worrying and learn to love the hobby?

Hi all,

It's been an odd year in Monkeyland, at least as far as hobby goes.  Started off with a fairly long hiatus, at least in terms of the blog, and led into a period where I seem to have been bouncing around all over the place, between genres, periods, and scales. I started up at least two projects that are likely to have "legs" (my ogres for AoS, and 6mm Napoleonic Russians).  I picked up my first 28mm ancients, and will eventually get around to posting up some test figures.

Lots more where these came from

These guys are just . . . lots.

Most of my games were fantasy or sci-fi.  Some 40k with the Cub, lots of Middle Earth, and some AoS.  We moved house, and I finally have a dedicated hobby room, and space I can "occupy" for larger games if needed.  Mind you, my office spent the last several weeks as a storage depot for Christmas related stuff, so I'm looking forward to reclaiming my little den.

The boy's Space Marine fighter about to do terrible, terrible things.

One thing I've run up against this year is my tendency to "Magpie".  I have so many different projects on the go, I've gotten to the point where, whenever I work on one thing, it feels like I'm neglecting something else.  My hobby, at times, has begun to feel like work.  If there's any sort of coherent hobby goal I have for 2020, it'll be that I get over the tendency to feel "bad" about unfinished / in progress stuff.  My aim for the year will be to work on what I want, when I want (and can - there will be more demands on my time, with house and dog and work), and enjoy whatever it is I do.

I did play and paint a fair bit of MESBG.  Probably more in store.

There's some tantalizing new stuff on the horizon.  I heard just the other day that a new edition of Muskets and Tomahawks is due to come out early next year.  I have stuff painted up for the game, have more stuff to paint, and also have some half-finished terrain.  I can see the rules release being a spur to that project.  Although I ended up opting out of the Clash of Spears kickstarter (December has been a little tight between dog, Christmas, and some work on the car), I'm still interested in scaling up the Carthaginian project.  Might use Song of Blades and Heroes to start, and then see where things go.  Another maybe as an interim ruleset is DBA, for which I picked up the new rules in 2019.

The big book of armies I've never heard of.

If I'm going to play Cassandra, I figure these are the projects that will see the most traction in 2020:

1. 6mm SYW / Napoleonics.  These are pretty reliable for painting, as I enjoy the process, and can generate units in a feasible amount of time, which gives me the happy little endorphin rush from getting things done.  With Nap Russians, and Russians, Austrians, Anglo-Hanoverian, and French options in SYW (plus HRE, I guess), there's plenty of variety to keep me engaged, and even the prospect of a solo game, or a real one if I can round up an opponent.

Maurice is even fun solo.

2. AoS Ogres, and assorted Chaos.  I've got a backlog to paint, enjoy painting them, and there's an active gaming scene to keep me engaged.  The new Slaves to Darkness book dropped, breathing life into some of my favorite, but underused, minis.  Plus, I got the ogre half of the "Feast of Bones" box for Christmas, so plenty of ogors to mess about with.

The Khorne horde continues to expand, with some generic Chaos and Beasts to support it.

3.  Middle Earth.  Rohan just got a new book, I've got stuff to paint, and one of my most regular gaming opponents is a middle earth fiend.  Good odds on this stuff.

All the Helm's Deep stuff in the new book might get me to paint more foot models.

3. 40k.  Cub likes 40k, I like spending time with my boy.  One thing leads to another.

Also, kitchen table 40k is fun.

4. 28mm Carthaginians.  Going to make time for these, I think.   No rush, this is my "big boy rest of life" project, but if I buy new stuff this year for historicals, it's likely to be this.  Might even spring for a hard copy of HC or something.  This is also my historial outlet for the more "toy soldier" side of the hobby, which I've been missing of late.

I'd also really like to try and get an honest to god game in with the local club.  There's a napoleonics game scheduled for January, and it's close, so I'm going to book the day and call in my marriage points to make it.  Been too long since I've played some historicals, and I'd like to actually get to know some of the local historical players.  Fingers crossed.

Stuff that might happen, but is less likely to:

1.  Games at the G-Dub.  At least for the next few months, the puppy is, well a puppy.  She needs lots of love, discipline, and attention, and the Beloved and I are alternating nights on the couch, as she needs to get up fairly often still.  It means taking a whole evening off a week to go downtown and game is harder to manage.  Add in the extra work I'll be doing around the house come spring, some emerging projects at "proper" work, and the added distance to travel post-move, and I suspect free time will be a little more constrained in general.  Doesn't mean no games, but likely less frequency.  I'm hoping, once things settle a little, to maybe get some people over to the house for games, but again, that likely won't be every week.

2.  15mm historicals.  I have some ancients, some medievals, some Napoleonic Russians, and some FIW figures a-calling me.  I wouldn't write any of these projects off, as I enjoy all of them, but they're not current priorities, and there's little stimulus to get painting done on these as a priority over other stuff.  The Muskets and Tomahawks reboot might alter that, but without a local opponent, who knows?

3. WWII.  I occasionally get the urge to paint some 15mm / FoW stuff, and I did up another batch of 6mm 3d printed tanks, but unless something really odd happens, I can't see this being a major thing this year.  Wouldn't rule out a little tinkering though.

Glory days.  For the Motherland.

4. In the definitely maybe category, there's 28mm Napoleonics, or even (*gasp*) 54mm napoleonics.  This would be driven purely by the eye candy that Victrix keep throwing across my FB feed.  It also plays back to what I mentioned about 28mm being my "toy soldier" outlet.  As much as I enjoy "historical wargaming", and actually prefer smaller scales, esp 6mm, for big battle stuff, there's a joy in physically manipulating recognizable, discrete "figures" on the table.  54mm would be strictly a lark, but I've found I really enjoy painting the GW ogres; there's something about the large, chunky figures that's satisfying to handle, and I can see that translating to larger scale historicals.

I mean, most of us get our start in the hobby via this route, and while I cherish the effect of element basing, sometimes I don't want to use pretty game tokens, I want to play a game of toy soldiers.  I can't say this is something I'm consciously planning to do, but given it's an idea I've toyed with (ha!) for years, I wouldn't rule out some tinkering here either.

I mean, honestly.  How can I resist this? 

Whatever I end up doing, I think the goal this year will be to take my time, relax, and enjoy the hobby.  I have lots to paint, lots to play with, and, at least over the course of the year, lots of time in which to do both.

It's also worth pointing out that as of March of this last year, I've been running this blog for 10 years.  I started it at a time when much of my life was up in the air, and I really didn't know how things were going to work out.  The blog was a way to keep in touch with friends I'd left behind after a move.  Ten years later, I'm happily married, have two kids I adore, work that is stable and rewarding, and have a life that regularly fills me with satisfaction and joy.  Looking back through the blog, the friends I've made (both in real life and "virtually"), and the happiness I've shared through the hobby, I can't help but feel blessed.  For those of you out there who have followed, or still do follow, this diary / journal / record of my pastimes, I wish you the joy of the new year, all all the best fortune it might bring.

FMB