Goodbye 2012… Hello 2013

Yes, it's that time of year again where we get to sit back and reflect upon the last twelve months saying woulda, coulda, shoulda; then draw a big fat line under it all and make exciting plans for the next twelve months.

2012 was the year that never was for me and mine. There was so much that was going to happen, things that would change our lives completely, that didn't for reasons that we have no control over. My career continued on its downward spiral, working for obnoxious ***** and not able to get out (other than to walk out and lose the income), whilst my wife's career had ups and downs but is significantly better than it was at the beginning of the year. We went on an amazing holiday to San Francisco, Napa Valley and Yosemite for my 40th birthday, which kinda blew my mind.

From a gaming perspective my only real ambition for the year was to not lose my hobby mojo – to paint more, to keep the weekly gaming with Fug going and supplement that with games against Bull.

I have definitely managed to keep the mojo going, I'm really enjoying what I do because I'm doing what I want to – the record number of blog posts this year (more than double last year) is testament to this. I gave up all the resin base making because it was becoming like a job, and things that would expand the business were not what I wanted to do, so I stopped. I organised a charity painting project at the back end of the summer which pushed my painting ability (and my sanity) and I have painted at a consistent rate throughout the year.

The gaming has gone a little awry. Tuesday night gaming with Fugs lasted until March when he moved out of his mom's place and stopped coming. My dedicated interest in Malifaux stopped about the same time too. With Salute I got very excited about Warmachine and Hordes, purchasing many Everblight models over the summer. Alas, Bull and I only managed a couple of intro games. The back end of the year has been all about 6th Edition 40k, something I couldn't have predicted. I got out my shelved Nurgle models and added some new shiny bits. We've also managed a string of narrative games as we reacquaint ourselves with the 40k universe. That's been fun, and awoke the old 40k player in me.

As the year draws to a close I have built my first Batman models – something that looks very exciting on paper but whether it will develop into something other than a new model collection, we will see. I also managed to persuade my family to buy me the X-Wing game for Christmas – no model painting required. I'm very excited about this too as it takes me back to my childhood. With the release of the Millennium Falcon and Slave I due in Feb, things are looking good. I get to play Star Wars without so many frowns.

So what about 2013?

As usual I won't be giving myself any specific ambitions as such. The only thing I have announced that, by hook or by crook, I shall not be working at the same place this time next year. To be stuck there for another year will seriously affect my sanity and my health – life is just too short. By the same token I can't ignore my responsibilities as the man of the house and just sit on my backside on income support (besides my wife wouldn't let me get away with it!). 2013 will be a year of change.

One the hobby front I would like to play more games. I got my friend Chris playing Malifaux, which he enjoyed. I'm hoping the "straight out of the box" aspect to X-Wing will help this generally. My 40k games with Bull will no doubt continue – his Dark Angel codex due in January will boost his enthusiasm. I hope to finish painting my Nurgle models and then have a look at my Iron Warriors.

If Batman does not take off as a gaming option for me I hope to cherry pick the models I want to paint. I'm pretty much done buying into Malifaux but still have plenty to paint. My love of converting models has been reawakened with the return to 40k and I still have loads of "bitz" in the attic to make stuff with.

Looking forward to Salute as always. Not looking for anything in particular this time around (so far) but definitely want to meet up with some of you fellow bloggers – Postie's crew in particular.

I'm also looking forward to the next Hobbit film. Now we've got that first one out of the way (which I did enjoy) you know the next two are going to be better – a dragon and a battle of five armies!

Aside from that little lot, let's see what life brings us.


To all my fellow bloggers, gamers and painters – all the best to you. Have a Happy New Year and fingers crossed for the next twelve months!!

Batman Begins!

I've had a day or so free since Christmas to get some hobby stuff done. I managed to get my two favourite Batman models put together on custom bases as planned. The models themselves were in as few pieces as you could hope, but weren't without their issues.

Batman is quite a heavy model and had almost no mold lines. There was significant flash around his bat ears and there was very little definition around the joint between his arm and batarang hand – quite bad miscast. I managed to pin body to legs easily before pinning hand to arm (this will need filling as you can see in the photos.

For his base I did simple flagstones that can be painted as if he is in the street. I stuck them on a wedge of plasticard to raise him up a little, but the idea here was simplicity.

Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel (Harley Quin) was a different matter. She has to be one of the skinniest models I have ever worked with – a size 0 for sure. The photo shows a space marine for size comparison.

My pin was too thick to attach her lower and upper arm parts together so I had to clean up what was there and stick the bat to the back of her head to strengthen the whole thing. There was a lot of flash on her arm piece which, given how thin it is,  was rather disappointing. I have probably lost some detail trying to correct this.

I wanted a little more detail on her base than B-man's so went with a variation on one of my original sewer bases. As part of Joker's crew she will probably spend more time in the depths than the caped crusader.

So there we go, a new project begins. I need to clean and fill these two a little more and then go out a get some new spray undercoat – then it's on to some paint!

Nurgle Heldrake – part 1

The above image shows my shiny new Heldrake that made its debut in a recent game against Bull's Dark Angels.

I'd been horrified when I first saw the model but have to hold my hands up and say that it has grown on me… a little. Its abilities in-game made it a must-buy model and so, with some reluctance it has to be said, I parted with my cash and built the Chaos flyer.

It had a reasonable debut, but the implied threat was far worse that what it actually achieved on the day. I went home pleased with my purchase, but the model itself has always bothered me and I promised myself to make it more suitably Nurgle when I got the chance.

It was never going to be pretty but this is how I trashed a £40 model!

The first thing was that it's all too spikey. The front wing is so long it often catches on the table, so that was another issue. The 'veins' that appear across the various surfaces was also too fussy. it all had to go. The flyer looks very Khorne-like in its natural state but that goes against everything that is Nurgle.

I dug out my Dremel, found my box of accessories and spent the next hour chewing the plastic to pieces – literally.

…and this was the result.

A very folorn specimen, looking very sorry for itself. I have to admit it did cross my mind that I had gone too far. However, you have to have faith in your convictions. At the end of the day, no matter how trashed the model got, it would look infinitely more Nurgle-esque.

I set to with greenstuff in hand to pull the model around… but that's for another time.

To be continued…

To everyone out there in the blogsphere who has visited the site in the last year I say a big thank you!
I hope everyone enjoys the holidays and gets what they want from Santa – Merry Christmas everyone!!