Planning ahead

Assuming that the fallout from the more unexpected political events of 2016 isn't actual fallout, I've made some hobby-related plans. Although last year's Geekstarter worked quite well, I'm going to go for something even simpler, if no less grand in its aspiration. My plans are...

[drum roll]

Main Goal
Complete a 3,000 point Chaos army, as per the Big Orange Book*, but with the simplified equipment points costs (and centaurs) from Warhammer Armies. I'm going to give it its own Page tab at the top.

Optional Extras
I've various other bits and pieces I'd like to get sorted as well this year and will turn to when I want a break from my Main Goal.

• finish my orc Blood Bowl team
• add "water" to my terrain board dry rivers
• trees for the terrain boards
• finish the retinues for my medieval reskin of Space Hulk, Catacombs
• get more gaming rules writing done, and shared

And that's it! I'm going to assist in maintaining my focus by also undertaking a Pledge

Pledge
Not to buy any new miniatures for myself. Ok, I'll allow myself a couple of exceptions: bargains, if they won't be available again, or if I've sold a similar number already. Ideally, I'll end the year with no more miniatures than I started it.

There you go. That's it. Do you have plans? Feel free to share them in the comments below.

Happy new year,
Rab



* i.e. the 3rd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle rulebook

2016? Least said...

Well, 2016 certainly seemed to be determined to cause as much damage as possible, didn't it? Still, this blog isn't the place for my thoughts on current affairs and/or politics, so let's get back to pretendy-elf-games.

I rather let my monthly review of spending/painting/gaming slip over the last couple of months but here is the full round-up, with Deadcember to follow soon in a separate post. Way back in January 2016 (when it was just Lemmy who'd left the stage), I posted my idea of "Geekstarting" my hobby year. While I've by no means fulfilled all the goals, it has kept me semi-focused in terms of my geeking.

[GS review] - September 2016

September; back to the chalk-face, oodles to do, the first hints of Autumn darkening the evenings... and the restart of my S&W group along with the renewed attraction of "indoor" hobbies. I even painted.

The overview:

The pictures:

[GS review] - July and August

I realised I never posted July's data, so here I give you a particularly thrilling double whammy of me not quite achieving what I wanted to , except to play more games! Lots more games, particularly Space Hulk, with my two little boys.

The overview:

[GS Review] - June

Half way through the year, June (and early July) rather got swallowed up by national and global matters so hobby time was squeezed to the point of non-existence. I did shed some excess lead, however, so my hobby budget is looking healthier. A bit.

The overview:

No painting pictures, I'm afraid. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. But thanks to sales this month I've now painted more than I've purchased. Yay for me!

[GS Review] - May

Nearly half way through the year, May was a time for painting more and spending less. My spending even went down!

The overview:

The pictures:

Bloodbowl has been the focus this month and, until I get my team finished, will continue to be the focus of my brush-based geeking.

[GS Review] - April

So, how is the 2016 campaign going? April has been a big month. Big project, big spending, big increase in figures bought.

The overview, with new style cumulative graphing:

Fancy, eh?

The pictures:

[GS Review] March

So, how is the 2016 campaign going? March has been rather taken over by family, an overseas trip, and other (mostly pleasant) time consumers. However, some geeking has happened....

The overview:

The pictures:

No completed figures in March, although there are some orc archers nearly done. Honest! I did get on with my gaming table, though.

[GS Review] February

So, how is the 2016 campaign going? February has been a more productive month :)

The overview:

The pictures:

[GS Review] - January

So, how is the 2016 campaign going? A slow start in January, it's fair to say, but February has already been better!

The overview:

The pictures:

Geekstarter - more details

Last night I posted about my idea to "kickstart" my 2016 hobby endeavours (I work best when I have a structure with achievable goals!) within my pun-tastic idea of a personal Geekstarter, and how I was going to split it into four sections (Painting, Building, Gaming, and Blogging), each with Core and Stretch goals.

My Core aim overall is to play a two games of Dragon Rampant on my own gaming table, using different warbands I've painted myself in each game, and to keep you lot informed of my progress. So what does that look like in detail?

Old year / New year

I love New Year.

It's not that I'm a party animal, or that I have any great fondness for Auld Lang Syne, I don't make resolutions that I tell myself will make my life better. I don't use it as an excuse for catching up with family as I am thankfully on good terms with all of them, and I'm lucky enough not to need to undertake some punitive diet or exercise regime for the sake of my health, so there's no false self-promise of "this year it will be different". I'm a fairly contented chap, really.

I love the freshness of it, though. I have previously admitted to my enjoyment of stationery and to the deep sense of satisfaction that a new sketchbook or notebook gives. New Year (and any new beginning, for that matter) shares some of that same potential for me. I also am something of a traditionalist (conservative with a small "c", if you like), and it is traditional to review the year just gone set out one's stall for the year ahead. Here goes.


2015

At the beginning of 2015 I set out three aims for myself, modest aims. And I failed in all three! I didn't finish writing Knights' Quest, I didn't finish painting my giant, and I didn't build my gladiators' arena. I did, however, build a gaming table, paint some of the aforementioned gladiators, and get my teeth into developing Knights' Quest in a way that made the core more solid and the additions (skills, traits and magic) consistent and balanced. I was scrupulously honest about my spending (an interesting exercise!). I put together some thoughts on undead creatures in 2nd and 2rd edition Warhammer that were well received. I also painted fifty-six miniatures! More than my secret goal of averaging one per week, and some of them turned out to be pretty snazzy in my eyes. In addition to December's splurge of skeleton painting, my chaos warband in particular got some attention:

That lot, along with the more recent chaos warriors that I painted will form a burgeoning warband for Dragon Rampant as well as their Oldhammer duties!

Enough of the old, on with the new! Look at that lovely blank page....

2016

Encouraged by the kick that painting for Deadcember gave to my output, I looked around for another structured project approach that would kickstart my output and minimise my outlay. But what to choose? I needed a kickstarter... no, I needed a:

Borrowing the structure from the crowdfunding site, I shall set out my core project and stretch goals to see if I can successfully complete my stated project by the end of this year. I'm going to have four categories: Painting, Building, Gaming and Blogging. Each will have their own core and stretch goals and I will monitor progress towards them each month in the way that I tracked my spending in 2015.

More on the details over the next few days, but now to bed.

Happy New Year,
Rab