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With the year coming to an end I take a look back before casting my eye forward once again…
A GOOD YEAR
It’s been an eventful year, 2012 saw great change in all aspects of my life. I quit World of Warcraft, a game I had been a part of for years. I began playing Warhammer after over a decade away from the hobby. 2012 also saw the biggest change in my entire life, the birth of my son.
The new addition to the family has brought on all sorts of changes and challenges on his own, I’m now officially a stay at home dad. And so far, it’s been the most exhausting job I’ve ever had. Much of the time since his birth has been spent enjoying him, with the new year looming I wanted to take a moment to appreciate my work and progress in 2012.
2012: A MODEL YEAR
I actually started collecting my Warriors of Chaos force in November of 2011, but I didn’t really get started with the game until January. That month I attended my first tournament, the Shiloh Slaughter. I placed 27th, with a score of 27 Battle, 66 Composition, 64 Paint (157 points total). It’s obvious where my weakness lay, but I was very rushed. I assembled and painted the entire force in 30 days, hell I painted a unit of 30 Marauders the day before the tournament! Further, round one of the tournament was my first game of Warhammer in nearly 15 years. My lack of experience really showed in my army selection, I was running a pair of Chaos Spawn, 2 level 2s, a Chaos Lord on a Juggernaut in a unit of Knights. Marauder Horsemen of Nurgle with Shields. A 20 block of Warriors of Slaanesh with Shields, 5 Chaos Ogres of Slaanesh with Great Weapons, a Tzeentch Warshrine. 30 Marauders of Tzeentch with Shields, in short my list was all over the place.
I decided that this year I would do better, and with Shiloh 2013 less than a month away I can honestly say I’m certainly better prepared. I have what I consider a much more respectable list, that I’ve actually practiced with ahead of time. I’ve been painting and converting the army over months, and I even have a Display Board this time around (yeah, I managed a good paint score without a display board last year). I also began selling some of my painted work, I’ve actually reached the point where commissions have offset the cost of the hobby and I find myself adequately supplied with paint and other things to keep me happily busy with the hobby.
As far as painting and conversion skills go, I feel I’ve improved markedly over the past year. And now, armed with new tools and new skills I’m confidant I will learn and improve in the year to come. And speaking of 2013…
2013: TIME FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT
With my main Warriors force nearing completion, I can take a look at other projects. The winds of Chaos are strong, and I’ve started collecting models for a Vampire Counts army. I picked up this years fantastic Army Box, along with a handful of additional boxes, and of course the army book. I’ve got a solid list worked out, and all of the models to make it happen. Additionally, I worked out a deal for an Ogre Kingdoms force. It’s fairly lean, but with some conversions should be just about all I need for a 2500 point list.
I’ve also picked up something else entirely, Super Dungeon Explore. Fellow gamers at my FLGS have been playing this on Friday nights and I was sufficiently impressed to pick up the game myself. This is likely to be my first project of the New Year, I certainly hope to have the game running with some friends soon because so far, I’ve had a blast playing it.
And then there’s 40k, with the release of Codex: Chaos Space Marines I’ve been looking very intently at the game. We play 2000 point games here, so I’m seriously thinking of getting a force going. First, I think I’ll want to play a couple of games to see how I like the latest rules. Let’s face it, 40k and Fantasy are pretty different animals.
GOALS THIS YEAR
With my son around, I have to be realistic about what I can accomplish at any given time. I want to get more games in, I will likely hit more tournaments this year with my Warriors. And with my army as it is now, I can field a good force with multiple options without embarrassing myself too much. So, next year I shouldn’t be as concerned with finishing an army for Shiloh. That leaves me free to play with the new stuff, I will likely jump around a bit – working on units that I’m really interested in. I’ve wanted to paint a Mortis Engine since I first saw it, so now that I have 2 I can see some time spent there pretty quickly. Same goes for the Stonehorn in my OK army. Additionally, I want to get my studio in better shape. I’d also like to continue branching out, getting involved in more games. And I want to improve, both as a wargamer and hobbyist.
Ultimately though, my main goal is to just have fun with it. And when I’m more confident in my available time and abilities, I will begin doing more commissions. So, it should be a pretty good year. Hell, maybe even better than the last. Either way, I can’t wait…
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