2022 Review

2022 was a lost year for any hobby work, as my spouse deployed for half the year and I was kept busy with other things. I only painted one mini, a mouse droid for a friend, and that was on the last day of the year! I did spend many hours working with my spouse on a Captain Phasma cosplay, so the airbrush got some use.  

I also painted exactly one droid.

I did get quite a few games in with friends and taught my son how to play, and got to play in two tournaments at small conventions in Alameda and Auburn.

CarrierCon

VetCon

I did get back into buying some minis, though I also sold quite a few to help balance it out. 113 minis and models purchased and given to me, mostly Flames of War and Legion, and 1 painted for a total of +112  items added to the mountain. 

2021 Review

 Finally, there was a (limited) return to the tabletop!  2021 was another year of high expectations that ultimately got away from me.  Kids and other family commitments kept me from much hobbying, and without any large or consistent events, it's always tough for me to find any motivation.  I did, however, find a bunch of Flames of War models, either by way of gifts, prizes, or a late-year surge in army-building interest!  I initially planned on attending Nationals at LVO in 2022, and bought some minis to complete a Panzer IV force, but those plans have now changed.  

HG 7.5cm PaK40s

Panzer III Observer

Rebased Panzerschreck teams

SdKfz 250 Observer

I only managed to play seven games of Flames of War all year, but played four of them against old friends that I hadn't seen in about two years.  Crazy times we're living in.   I did get a few items painted up for a great event hosted aboard the USS Hornet in Alameda, and hope to attend another event there planned for the spring.

Event on USS Hornet

  Besides a handful of random minis, my largest purchase was about a dozen 28mm pirate figures that I hope to use for Ghost Archipelago, and a few dozen new (and used) Flames of War minis.  85 minis purchased/traded for/acquired in strange fashion vs. 7 painted, and a pair of 1/72 scale models sold brings me to a +76. Maybe I can get some Bulge Germans built in 2022?

2020 Review

 Man, what a strange year!  I was able to paint a bunch of minis during the first half of the year, but all of them were for other people.  Pre-shutdown I managed to get a single game of Flames of War in, and a handful of other games before March.  I only purchased a few units for Legion, and added a few scale aircraft to my stash, but sold a ton of 28mm D&D minis and some other random bits from my mountain.  That's one way to reduce the pile of unpainted minis I guess, just not as much fun.  I also picked up some Transformers minis from WizKids, but there's no game for me to use them in.  Maybe 2021 will see an eventual return to normal gaming, but I don't see that happening before summer.  I find it hard to paint anything without an event on the horizon to use them in.

Flames of War Japanese Type 89 Tanks

Flames of War Japanese Type 94s and Type 97 Tankettes

Flames of War Polish 7TPs

Flames of War Polish 7TP Dual Turrets

Flames of War Polish Vickers Mark Es

Flames of War Polish TKS Tankettes

Flames of War Polish wz.34s

Flames of War Polish C2P Tractors

Team Yankee West German Panzergrenadiers

Team Yankee West German Leopard I

Team Yankee West German Leopard 2s

Team Yankee West German Marder I IFVs

Team Yankee West German Roland AA

Team Yankee West German Fuchs

I managed to reduce my mountain of unpainted miniatures and also painted more than I bought, even if I didn't get to keep any of them!  I painted 74 models, sold 113 more, and only bought a few things here and there, for a total difference of -175.

Some new projects for 2021!

2019 Review

Last year I seemed a bit lost game-wise, as Flames of War was played less as V4 has struggled to find a footing in the NorCal area and the meta shift on the national level left me cold.  Strangely though, I seemed to get quite a bit of new units painted in the first half of the year before commission work made me put my own projects back on the shelf for a time.  I also reached out and picked up several new games, such as Star Wars: Legion, BattleTech, and the Harry Potter Miniature Adventure Game, though I've only had a chance to play the first of those.  Conventions were attended in Nevada and here in California, West Coast Nationals in Las Vegas, Gauntlet here in Sacramento, and KublaCon and Pacificon in the Bay Area.  Several smaller events were held locally, though most of these were more casual than in the past.  I got into Legion on the recommendation of some good friends, and even played a few games of X-Wing.  I also managed to paint quite a few minis!

Flames of War painted in 2019

Team Yankee West German Panzergrenadiers

Team Yankee West German Marder I AFVs

Team Yankee West German Jaguar 1s

Team Yankee West German Jaguar 2s

Team Yankee West German M109s

Team Yankee West German Leopard Is

Team Yankee West German Luchs

Team Yankee West German Gepards

Team Yankee West German Fliegerfausts

Team Yankee West German LARS 2s

Team Yankee West German M113 OP

Team Yankee West German PAH-1s

Team Yankee West German Tornadoes

Elven Rogue for Rob

The Gauntlet - Sacramento, CA

West Coast Nationals - Las Vegas, NV

Pacificon - Santa Clara, CA

KublaCon - San Francisco, CA

Had I not decided to get into Legion, I would've made my goal of painting more than I bought.  Oh well.

New stuff to paint!

I still have a few commission items to finish before I get to try my hand at painting Stormtroopers!

2018 Review

A whole year back home now and I saw a large uptick in the amount of games I was able to play, even though the NorCal Flames of War club saw diminishing numbers and less frequent events.  I also ran several events.  Sadly, I only painted two things, though I did build quite a few that are ready for the airbrush.  2019 will see me finishing a huge Team Yankee commission for my friend Dave, and hopefully some stuff for me!

Gaming wise, I got to play in three major events in Arizona and California, plus a bunch of smaller local events and friendly games.  I finally got play some Star Wars games, both Armada and X-Wing 2.0.

2.8cm sPzB 41

British Para Objective

New crew for my StuG III A Batterie

Shifting Sands

Kublacon

Pacificon

I completely went crazy when it came to buying more than I painted, but I blame new Flames of War plastics and the purchase of a Bolt Action army.  116 new models versus 2 painted.  Hopefully I get closer to breaking even in 2019.

Additions to the Mountain

Next up is MidWar Nationals in Las Vegas this February.  I need to finish a West German Team Yankee army from a commission and a pair of Panther ds for myself before then.