YEAR IN REVIEW: 2018 Wrap-up and 2019 Goals

HOBBY GOALS - Every year in late December/early January bloggers everywhere post about their goals for the new year. Not one to be left out I figure I’d follow suit.

In 2018 I painted (to completion) a grand total of: 901 models.
Most of those were obviously commissions and I have another
50-60 models that were started but not completed as well as
several terrain projects. I’m pretty happy with those results.

I’m less happy with the fact that I’ve failed to completely finish any of my own projects. But I was able to make some progress with the escalation league earlier in 2018 I put a good size dent in my Night Lords force and I got many of my other projects to at least a tabletop standard.

Hobby-wise I’m super happy with how the year turned out. I didn’t play many games other than Warhammer 40k and Gaslands but that is mostly because the rules for 40K have been good and I haven’t felt the need (or been able to convince my group) to branch out to other games.

You may have notice the Goodreads sidebar at the bottom of the Journal page. This is a nifty site that helps you keep track of the books you’ve read. In 2018 I was lacking a bit with only 42 books completed, significantly less than the 157 I read the previous year but then again 2017 I tried to read every collected DC comic the library had to catch up on a universe I ignored as a kid. (In the 80’s and 90’s I was a big X-men and Image fan.) In 2019 I figure I can read 100 books if I catch up on the various trades I haven’t read. I also need to finish the Horus Heresy Series now that most of it is in Mass Market Paperback format.

Looking forward to 2019 I’ve decided to pair down my goals and paint 2,000 points of each of my existing armies before moving on or playing anything else. I know I did made a similar plan last year but I feel like I might be able to stick with it this time. (Maybe)

First up I want to finish a Blood Angels list. These are of course my Home Brew Space Marine chapter that can work for any of the power armored codexes but currently they’re playing the part of a Blood Angel Successor chapter.

Here’s the list I’m considering as my go to for 2019 (at least until the Genestealer Cult Book Drops):

Blood Angels Battalion (68PL/1054 pts):
HQ - Jump Pack Captain with Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield
HQ - Chaplain in Terminator Armor with Combi-Flamer
TROOP - Intercessors 5-man
TROOP - Scouts (5 with Shotguns)
TROOP - Scouts (5 with Shotguns)
ELITE - Death Company (15-man with 3 Thunder Hammers, 12 Bolters and Chainwords)
ELITE - Terminator Assault Squad (5-man Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield)
TRANSPORT - Landspeeder Storm with Heavy Flamer

Blood Angels Battalion (31 PL/565 pts):
HQ - Chaplain on BIke
HQ - Jump Pack Librarian with Combi-flamer
TROOP - Intercessors 5-man
TROOP - Scouts (4 Sniper Rifles + Heavy Bolter)
TROOP - Intercessors 5-man
FAST - Scout Bikes

Blood Angels Outrider (23 PL/381 pts):
HQ - Jump Pack Lieutenant Thunder Hammer
FAST - Landspeeder 2x Heavy Flamer
FAST - Landspeeder Multi-melta/Typhoon
FAST - Landspeeder Assault Cannon/Mulit-melta

I feel like this is a solid core of a force and rather than mixing armies like I did most of 2018 I think I want to try and focus on some single book lists. This won’t be super competitive but I think having a solid core and good understanding of what your army can do by itself is key to improving your game.

The added benefit is I own all these models and ave them in some stage of completion. So cranking through them early this year will hopefully inspire me to move onto my next list.

I’m also hoping to convince my group to do a narrative campaign or at the very least have a battle-honors system carry through for anyone that wants to run the same list for an extended period of time.

My second goal for the year is to finish off at least one of my terrain sets for my tables. I’d love to finish the city but I think it’s more likely that I complete the desert board. If I’m focusing on my Imperial forces they have a desert wasteland base that matches this terrain set. Most of the rock formations are done and I just need to finish up the MDF buildings. I will probably also build a few extra terrain features to add to the board.

Thirdly if Soda Pop sorts out their financial woes and gets the last set of Super Dungeon models out to the public I want to spend some time painting Chibi Minis again. Doing something cute once in awhile is nice and I think I can potentially introduce my kids to the game as an entry point into the larger world of Tabletop Gaming. But that outlook isn’t so good and honestly if the company folds or renege on their promise to deliver the last Kickstarter I’m not going to be in the mood to paint any of their stuff. Which is a bummer because the game is fun, and my kids recently discovered Castle Crashers and Super Dungeon would be a cool entry point for them to get into dungeon crawling on the tabletop.

Finally I’d like to play a few games of the Batman Miniatures Game or DC Universe game. I’ve picked up plenty of models and haven’t had time to paint them yet. But before the end of the year I’d like to have two crews painted to at least a tabletop standard and play a few games with one of my gaming buddies.