Well, that was a year never to forget...
It's not often you can say you've seen the world come to a grinding halt, but 2020 delivered in a truly monstrous way. The combination of a global pandemic and subsequent lockdowns has easily made this year the most challenging of my life. It would be expected to focus on the negatives considering that. However, in some ways, I feel it more valuable to look back on the year and focus on the positives and self-improvements I've made.
As part of that retrospective, I wanted to take a minute and recount my hobby achievements this year, no matter how small they may be. I know for myself and the other bloggers here, we've all used the hobby to escape from what felt like the ever-encroaching doom that 2020 was bringing. So in this post, you'll find a recollection of each of the projects that I undertook this year, as well as a glance into my plans for 2021. Let's get into it!
2020 Begins and The Ossiarch Bonereapers Awaken
The start of 2020 saw us all full of hobby gusto coming out of 2019, and the addition of Thomas to the blog meant it was time for another big group project. That took the form of a meander into the Nine Realms as we attempted another Tale of Warlords series, with each of us electing to command a force of intrepid warriors questing on their Path to Glory.
For me, that meant putting paint on the collection of Ossiarch Bonerepaers I'd already amassed. Like Nagash himself, I'd secreted away a collection of these lovely new miniatures when they were released in November 2019, so I was ready to unleash my army ready to tithe the realms.
While we were all excited to start in January, motivation, unfortunately, fell away fast as several other new and exciting things popped up demanding attention. This meant that by March, the project fizzled out and, rather than force ourselves to keep painting something we weren't all committed to, it would be better to follow our hobby hearts.
As a result, the Bonereapers have sat untouched for the rest of the year. Looking at them now, I'm frustrated that I didn't make more progress on them. I really like the Ossiarch range, and Age of Sigmar is a game I've long believed to be one of Games Workshops best and most enjoyable products. Rather than focus on the negative, I will instead give myself a gentle pat on the back for designing a paint scheme I'm delighted with and eager to continue in the future (more on that at the end of the post...)
Venturing into the Unknown in The Blackstone Fortress
Following our short-lived exploration into the Nine Realms, I was left in a bit of a conundrum. I had several smaller projects to get on with, all of which were products from Games Workshops specialist games section; but I had no idea where to start! I eventually ended up deciding to finish painting up my copy of Blackstone Fortress. Myself, Medge and Thomas had all been spending the odd weekend evening playing through the quest to open the Blackstone Vaults, and it was a lovely way to relax and roll some dice with friends. I decided to get the core set painted so we could at last play a proper adventure, and that way I'd be able to paint up an expansion, then we could play through with all the models fully painted. Perfect!
I was actually very pleased with my progress on this, as I managed to paint up the models in a simple and fast manner, but they still retained a good level of detail. It felt good to prove that I didn't have to spend a ridiculous amount of time painting a model to get a good end product.
For Obsidius Mallex and his Chaos Space Marine bodyguards, I decided that it was time for a real test of how far I'd come: could I paint these models to a similar or the same standard as the studio ones?
I looked up every painting guide I could, got my best brushes and sat down for about a month painting just these three models, and I was absolutely chuffed with the end result. They didn't hit the same exquisite level as the studio models, but I managed to replicate the scheme to a level that surprised me. It was a big confidence boost moving into the rest of the year and whatever hobby madness the group could cook up.
Sadly, my time venturing through the Fortress was not to last, and later in the year I actually ended up selling everything Blackstone Fortress related (but more on that down below).
Levelling up my Hobby Desk
As if the lockdown stress wasn't quite enough, I had the unfortunate situation of needing to move house twice right when things were looking grim. Despite all of that, I'm glad it happened. It allowed me to get out of the 6 person houseshare I was in, and into a rental with three friends that was a lot more enjoyable to live in. As an added bonus, I got to fill my room with possessions I owned, not the landlord.
This meant I could treat myself to a proper hobby desk to work at, so after a few clicks online I had a lovely little set up that I've been enjoying for the past 6-7 months. It's been one of the single best purchases I've made and has really helped to pull me back into painting when I've not been completely "in the mood" for it.
Crusading for the Craftworld
This was the big project for the year and the one where I can clearly see I learned the most. 2020 was a big year for 40k as the 9th Edition Core Rules were released, and with it, a bevvy of welcome changes to the game; suddenly 40k was a lot more accessible at low point levels, and a lot of the less enjoyable rules had been removed in favour of streamlined gameplay. For us, that meant it was time for another group project. Enter - Xenos on Crusade
This endeavour began with us all selecting a Xenos faction of choice; in my case, that meant returning to one of my absolute favourite 40k factions, the Craftworld Eldar. I'd already got a fairly sizeable start to the army in an apocalypse box that I'd been gifted at the end of 2018, so I was more than eager to get started on the models, and this project was the perfect opportunity.
Being able to look at the "finished" collection in my display cabinet leaves me very satisfied with what I achieved, and as and when a new codex, and fingers crossed new models, releases I'll be right back to the Craftworlds. Due to lockdown, they've never actually hit the tables altogether, so it'll be a nice thing to be able to do once the more high-level lockdowns are over.
Clearing out the Backlog
The last real hobby achievement for me was at last clearing out my backlog of hobby projects. Around the mid-point of the year, I was sat on an incomplete Nighthaunt army, 2 seasons of Underworlds warbands, an entire Titan Maniple and Blackstone Fortress. All of these were in various states of barely painted. So, I was presented with a choice.
Option 1 was to build and paint all of my outstanding models. This option would have taken years for me to achieve, and that would assume I actually wanted to paint all of it. Unfortunately, a lot of my backlog was a spur of the moment purchasing that had now left me with a mountain of plastic, a monument to my lack of self-control.
Option 2 was to take the regrettable choice and sell everything off, and that was the option I went for. Looking at all my backlog was actually leaving me pretty defeated, as I'm too slow a painter to ever progress through any project quickly, yet I'm also unwilling to lower painting standards for an army project; I always want to paint my larger forces to the best level I can. This double-edged sword means that my armies may look pretty, but require a serious level of commitment to get done. And so, smaller things like my Specialist Games collection sit collecting dust and just make me feel bad that I'm not working on them.
After selling everything I hadn't been using for over a year or was really passionate about painting, it actually left my backlog in a very reasonable situation. Two armies to paint (Imperial Knights and Ossiarch Bonereapers), some Age of Sigmar terrain and my Necromunda collection. Much more manageable, and something I can reasonably clear out in the next couple of years. Is 2021 the year I finally take a large chunk out of my backlog? Speaking of which...
Goals for 2021!!
We've finally made it over the hurdle of 2020 and can look forward into 2021 with a sense of optimism and potential. Hobby-wise I have several things I want to achieve this year.
1 - Paint all of my Age of Sigmar terrain
I've been sat on my terrain for AoS for a while now, with most of it coming from the Warcry starter set that I bought in July 2019. I've already got most of it done, but it'll be nice to finish off the box and add a few extra pieces to get a complete 6x4 worth of terrain done.
2 - Assemble and paint all of my Zone Mortalis terrain, and a Goliath and Slave Ogryn gang
Much like Warcry, I've been sat on Necromunda Dark Uprising for far too long, and it's about darn time I got everything in there painted. I absolutely love Necromunda, and with all the new House of books, my excitement for the game has never been higher. So I'd like to get a complete 2x2 board painted up to start with, as well as 2 gangs ready to fight to make their mark in the Underhive.
3 - Paint my Ossiarch Bonereapers
Aah, the abandoned ones. My Ossiarch Bonereapers are currently sat in the display case, all assembled up but lacking a fancy paint job. I've already determined a scheme, it's just a case of cracking on and painting everything now, and 2021 is the year I get it done. By chance, I've managed to collect 2000 points on the nose, and it forms an army I'm excited to play on the table as it contains a wide variety of units. Before I crack on painting the rest of the army, I want to go back and rebase the few things I've currently got painted as it's the one thing I'm not happy with. This will probably be something I look to tackle in the second half of the year, once we have a good idea where Broken Realms is heading story-wise. It could very well be an exciting time for the Nine Realms, and the Ossiarch are ready to conquer in Nagash's name!
4 - Paint test models for a Space Marine and Necron army, and finish a small 25PL force
Despite my best efforts, the gorgeous new Necron and Space Marine models have pulled me into collecting a small amount of each army. I've bought myself a recruit edition for some tester models to try out a few paint schemes on, and by the years end I'd like to have painted up a starting force of whichever army grabs my attention first. Though there is no doubt, I will be collecting both eventually. The Citadel design team and Eavy Metal are too damn good at their jobs I say. I just keep wanting to buy stuff.
5 - Contribute more to the blog
I made an effort to get more involved in the wider hobby community in 2020, which was cut a bit short once the pandemic hit and we weren't you know, actually allowed to see anyone. I did sign my soul away to Instagram and have been posting infrequent updates regarding my projects there (something I'd like to get more frequent at as well); however, my blogging has tailed off a bit as I didn't even manage one post a month. So, for 2021, I'm aiming for 15 posts this year, with a larger goal of 20 posts. Only working on one or two projects limits the amount I can post about, so I'll be looking to broaden my horizons and start doing some book reviews for some of the Black Library offerings, and also start recording my paint schemes as I've begun forgetting how I actually painted older models.
And there we have it, my 2020 hobby summarised in a single blog post. It's been a gruelling year for everyone, and I hope anyone reading this has been able to keep safe and well. While the pandemic has shown us just how nasty some folks can be, it's also provided me with an opportunity to get to know my friends better and strengthen many personal bonds. I'm looking at 2021 with a lot of optimism, and I hope everyone else can see that light at the end of the pandemic's dark tunnel. All the best reader, and here's to winning in 2021!
Until next time,
James
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