2019 is upon us!

Hello again!

2019 is indeed now upon us, so a Happy New Year to everyone!

2018 was not the best for all sorts of reasons from a personal perspective, so I am rather glad to be into a new one, albeit still less than a day old as it is.

Before I started writing this post, I had a quick look at what I started the year with twelve months ago and, it appears, some things do not change. Last year, I was some way through the lengthy process of finishing my British Grenadiers for the French & Indian Wars and this year, I have a unit of British foot for the same conflict part done. I also find myself contemplating some sort of agenda for my hobby activities which, as with last year, I am most unlikely to stick to. "Agenda" is clearly the wrong word for me to use. As someone who is usually pretty disciplined at work, it is somewhat odd how the butterfly takes over when I get into my hobbies...

"Agenda" somehow morphs into "whim".

In 2018, I was supposed to be preparing a gang or two fro "Necromunda". I was supposed to be moving my FIW collection back to Europa for regular Seven Years' War games. I even thought I might get my French Wars of Religion project going or return to my Williamite Wars in Ireland  project that stalled a few years back. As you can see above, I have not even finished the British forces for my FIW games yet! Let alone moved back across the pond!!!

No, 2018 saw activity in mainly three places on the painting front and two main areas on the purchasing front:

1. French & Indian Wars, ready for the Barrage Show back in July.
2. Crimean War, initially with a view to converting Regimental Fire & Fury, but now with Black Powder 2 in mind.
3. Oathsworn Miniatures and their "Burrows & Badgers" offerings.
4. Boxed games - HOW MANY did I buy last year?!?!?!?
5. See point 3...

2018 was not a classic year for quantity, but I had a great time painting single figures again. Those "anthropomorphic animals" are very more-ish indeed!

So, what do I THINK will happen on the painting, gaming and collecting front this year?

1. Boxed games - there is "Necromunda", for which I have all the gangs available to go at as well as many of the supplements. I have "Kill Team". I have "Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game". I have "Blood Red Skies". I have "Strontium Dog". I have "Gorechosen". I have "Battle in a Box". I have terrain for all those games in this list that can use it.
2. More "Burrows & Badgers". I have completed a paltry 24 figures so far, have four more underway and seven more undercoated. That just leaves around a score remaining to do something with and the muse does not seem to be leaving me yet.
3. Crimean War. I simply MUST crack on with some more Russians, but those British NEED to see the light of day first. (If only to stop my dog taking a shine to the unpainted castings and taking them off on holiday to the back garden like he did with the Light Brigade back in the summer...
4. Finish the last British Foot regiment as the 35th before they become lost in a sea of dust on my painting table.
5. I may even look to sell off some of the stuff I feel will never get an(other) outing!!!

And after that, it is fair game.

• There are a couple of interesting looking games/ rules sets on the way, such as "Cruel Seas".
• There are my 10mm Sassanids, eagerly awaiting a set of rules I like for 10mm Ancients games, and they will need opponents.
• And then there are the numerous part-done and never-started projects that weigh heavily upon the house's foundations:

 

Romano-British vs Saxons in 28mm;

Hellenistics in 28mm;

French Wars of Religion in 28mm;

Williamite Wars in Ireland in 28mm;

Japanese WW2 in 28mm, who will also need opponents;

Lord of the Rings in, yes, something like 28mm;

Warhammer 40K in more like 38mm;

20mm Bolsheviks to take on my WW1 Russians, aka Whites;

20mm Vietnam War US & VC forces;

20mm something or other to fight my Taliban (probably Russians in the 1980's);

15mm Ostfront Russians for WW2;

15mm Austrians/ Prussians/ Italians for 1848 to 1866;

54mm WW2 skirmish.

 

As well as the potential to add units to the projects I have "finished"...

 

But I also fancy finishing off some terrain, getting a few more games in this year than I have in the past couple of years, getting some sort of work/ life balance back into vogue and jumping on whatever wargaming whim flits past this Spring as I wander lazily around a show!

 

Enjoy 2019 folks! It could be a bumpy ride!!!

 

G