2021 Roundup and Future

 

Another fairly productive year for me, lets have a look at the round up of 2021. 

Firs of all - what did I paint. The answer is:

376 Minis of all sizes and scales. So overall, down on 2020 by just over 50 minis. That I think is due to two things - there was a lot of 10mm in 2020 (quicker to paint) and my usual summer hobby slump was very bad this year. Still, that's over a mini a day so I can't complain.

Hobby Bingo wise, that gave me:

30 boxes complete - 300 points

5 lines compete - 250 points

For a grand total of 550 points. Sadly, I didn't complete the grid but that was never very likely due to the fact it contained kitbashed minis and scenery - not something I do very much of. 

Where do we go from here? Well, first off here is the traditional update on the Christmas Haul:

Gives you a very clear idea of what I want to get into next year. I have always wanted to do Lord of the Rings, though these will be for the mass battle "War of the Ring" rather than the skirmish game. I also want to start work on a personal Napoleonic big battle project. The main choice on that will be scale - 10m, 18mm or 28mm? I suspect, in true wargamer style, the answer will end up being all three!

I am terrible at keeping to targets and plans but here is my rough guide to 2022:

- Complete 600 minis (aim high!) 

- Do more of my personal stuff (of last years 376 minis, only 75 were for me)

- Get a games table sorted out finally.

- Buy less than I paint (even if the pile of shame only goes down by a few models, I'll call that a win!)

- Continue with two blog posts a month. 

Not grand ambitions for some, but for me, that's a good guide to work to. We shall see how long it lasts into 2022.

To all my readers - thanks for tagging along on my sometimes sporadic blogging. I hope you all had a good Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. 

Post Sumer Update

 

I always find that I have a lull over the summer months with the hobby - too much drinking beer in the garden, going away, and generally being busy. However, this summer was a particularly bad one, and whilst I did do some hobby, I totally failed at Blogging.

But here we are to give it yet another go. I am going to try and do just do two posts a month, which will be much more more manageable than trying to update every little thing I do. 

On to the updates. I won't post pictures of everything done over the summer, just the recent stuff. The desk has taken on a very Napoleonic flavour recently.

First off - personal projects. I have started a small British Force for Sharp Practice 2, which I had my first game of recently. I am nearly half way through the force with three units all done:

The idea is to use up some of my Napoleonic's that I had lying around so I didn't have to buy yet more stuff to add to the unpainted pile. As a result, these are mainly Perry Plastics, but hiding in the middle unit is a single Warlord Figure and some Front Rank minis. These are lovey minis and I shall look to get some more of them next year, slightly bulkier than the others but a joy to paint. 

On the commission front, it's the dastardly French. I have no less than four, 36 man Battalions for the 8th Light Infantry Regiment to do. One is now complete:

These are all metal Perry Miniatures and with their all blue uniforms are a joy to paint. I am already well into the second battalion as we speak. 

Finally, where are we with the Hobby Bingo:

Well, I have marked off all the "Unit" boxes and anything else I can with the units above. I have also just realised I have missed a box (the "any model" box on the bottom), so I am currently at 13 boxes done, so 130pts. I have been hampered by the fact most of my painting this year has been big historical units and very few characters or vehicles. I was never going to finish the whole grid as I don't paint terrain but I do have a few characters in the works so I am hoping to close off a few more boxes before the end of the year. 

Irish Brigade: Dorringtons Regiment

 

Another post about the Irish Brigade!

This time I have completed the fifth and final regiment - Dorringtons regiment. Without further ado, lets see a picture of the battalion in all its glory:

 

 Again, red coats, but with blue facings and yellow hat lace. 

This regiment was a little more time consuming than the rest as there was also yellow lace edged around the cuffs, pockets and waitscoats of the soldiers. Not a tricky thing to paint overall but it did mean they took a bit longer. Here is a look at the individual bases of the unit so you can see more detail:

The troops:

The centre company:

The left company with drummer:

The right company with the NCO and Grenadiers:

Some differences from the last regiment is you'll not the lack of reversed colours for the NCO and drummer. I am not really sure why, but it seems some regiments did and some didn't when it came to reversing colours. 

Finally, the command stand, again with the amazing flags:

At first glance, with the red coats and red cross on a white background, you could be forgiven for thinking these are English troops, but nope - definitely Irish. 

That makes the Brigade of five battalions all complete. I have laid them all out out together to photograph (which is very ticky!), and I plan on doing a post next week with some of the history of the Irish Brigade to go with the photos, so stay tuned. In the mean time they will be posted off to the new owner this coming week.

For the 2021 Hobby Bingo, it closes another box, making five in total for 50 points. I have yet to complete a line but I think I remain in second place at present. Hopefully, I will have a more prodcutive March to catch up.

Belated January Roundup

 

Just a quick post (albeit weeks late) to round up the first month of the year. 

So, we had the following miniatures all completed last month:

2 x Irish Brigade Regiments (42 minis in total - 28mm scale)

1 x Brigade of Scottish in Dutch Service (24 minis in 28mm scale)

1 x Unit of Roman Hastati (24 minis in 15mm Scale)

 

That's a grand total of 90 minis finished in one month - I have to say I am very, very happy with that. In terms of my target of the year of 600 minis, it gives me a great headstart and it adds up to 378 points (under the Analougue paiting system) towards my 2021 target of 2000 points. 

For the first month of the year - I'll take it!  

Hobby bingo wise, we weren't allowed any duplciation in January, but I was able to use those four units to close three boxes - a "unit of 10+ models", a "unit of 2+" models, and "any model." 30 points overall so far, which i believe puts me in the lead amongst the three of us taking part.

 

Bingo!!

 

As you have no doubt noticed, my last attempt to get the blog up and running failed miserably! 

However, one my friends contacted me the other week, saying he was starting hobby bingo for 2021. I was curious and gave it a look. Here is what it is:

Now, at first I looked at it and though while it was interesting, I initially dismissed any idea of doing it as not possible, as it's clearly tailored towards GW stuff, very little of which I paint these days. However, the more I looked at it, the more I thought I would give it a go. Even with historical stuff, doing units, hero's, vehicles and scenery won't be a major issue. The big struggles I see ahead will be Behemoths/Lord of war and kitbashed models. 

I shall try to get around the behemoths with some big stuff in my orc and goblin army and the kitbash stuff I shall worry about later down the line. 

All this will start in January and I will try and keep a monthly log of how I am going. I think this is a three way competition with my main rival being the Sachiel Returns blog!

In the mean time, Merry Christmas and a Happy new Year!