2015 Retrospective

This a reflection on the last 12 months, and looking at the plan for 2016.

I started 2015 playing in the Warmachine competition at ValleyCon, having picked up the game in 2014 and building a Protectorate army in support of my son who was playing Khador. Sitting down after the comp, I decided that this year I wanted to try and get back into Flames of War after a hiatus of eight years.

That plan has had mixed results. There's very little FOW being played at the local club, as there are so many other games that people are enjoying. And I wasn't as proactive as I could have been about hunting down potential opponents. I've only played maybe 10 games, but they were all good games against people I enjoy spending time with. In particular I enjoyed a couple of themed 2000pt Mid War games that were played on an 8x6. Flames of War works really well when you have space and stick with historical opponents. As well as the games, I have managed to put together a new Early War army and some terrain, and chip away at a few bits and pieces to fill gaps in existing armies.

Here are some of the things that I have worked on during the year:

Early/Mid War DAK Panzer Company HQ: 2 x Panzer III G

DAK 88s - I had lost the barrel for the one on the right, and scratchbuilt a replacement

Early War Matildas

Late War Gebirgsjager Nebelwerfer Battery

Gebirgsjager 15cm NW41

Gebirgsjager Heavy Anti-Tank Platoon - 7.5cm PaK40

Gebirgsjager HMG Platoon

Jagdpanthers - just because

Comets - again, just because

Protectorate of Menoth - Reclaimer

Deliverers

High Paladin Dartan Vilmon

So, what are my hobby aims for 2016?

1. Finish the AWI Continentals over the next couple of months, and hopefully get in a practice game or two of Blackpowder before the main event.
2. Start an army for another game. That's looking like Impetus at this stage, but Bolt Action is another game which people are getting into locally, and could be worth a look. Although I also need to keep in mind the next item on the list:
3. Give Team Yankee a go. I am skeptical about moderns in 15mm, but I wonder what influence it will have on FOW 4th Edition. If I pick it up seriously, I would be looking at playing in 6mm instead.
4. Finish the Late War Gebirgsjager, and play a couple of games with them. I have all the bits I need, just needing to paint them up: Pioneers, PaK38s, StuGs and a mountain artillery battery.
5. Continue painting Comets until I can field a squadron, and give it a run. I'm hoping that the plastic Cromwells will become available as individual sprues, as a pair of plastic Cromwell CS tanks would be a better fit with the plastic Comets than the resin models.
6. Rebase and touch up my Mid War 8th Army to match the EW units I've just finished. I'm looking forward to the upcoming re-release of the North Africa lists.
7. For Warmachine, touch up my older units which aren't at the same standard as my more recent efforts. I also see Reznik2 and Hand of Judgement as being kits that I'd like to pick up this year.
8. Set up my train set. I've been lugging bits of OO-scale model railway around the country through numerous moves over the last 15 years, but have never had anywhere to set it up. We do now, and it's something that the kids will get a lot of enjoyment out of, so I think it's time to get it up and running again.

That should be enough to keep me out of trouble for a bit. I'll look to keep blogging about progress towards these goals. So, happy new year, and thanks for reading. All the best to you for the year ahead.