Hobby Aims - 2018

Well Hello There World,

No actual hobby progress to show today, I got absorbed in doing hobby yesterday rather than taking pictures of it! So it'll be a bumper update on Thursday instead. FYI I was in the process of batch painting 16 Deathguard Terminators. Those are some lovely sculpts, but the detail makes them a slog. I could do them in smaller batches, but I do get an immense sense of both relief and satisfaction of polishing off a large number at once!

So having failed dismally to keep up with or even round off the 40k Addict To-Do list of last year I've decided to keep things a little simpler this year. Just a few general aims and goals for the year including some related but not strictly 40k ones! Well one isn't related at all...

When you stare at the screen too long

Blogging

The first and most obvious is to return to blogging in a nice and consistent way. I'm happy with how posting twice a week feels thus far so hopefully this will be a pace that I can keep up with comfortably without pressuring myself to push out content. Additionally if I do fall off the wagon every now and again, it shouldn't feel like quite the insurmountable task to return to as it did this time. 

It is odd how blogging gets to you like that. I like to think I do an OK job with the blog and it is of a fairly high standard in terms of how I write and the creations that I display. But after such a long break I very nearly almost gave it up. I had this horrible internal monologue of failing, and coming back to it would just be a shade of its former self. I have thanks to both my lovely Wife, Serena, for encouraging me to return but also other hobbyists who in the past have had breaks and returned stronger for it. 

I think that internal monologue plagues us all at some time or another and can hit any aspect of our lives. Mine is has been a strong factor throughout my life, both personal and professional for as long as I care to remember, so to feel like I am getting one over it is always satisfactory. 

Anyway, the aim is to keep the blog going and put out fewer posts but with greater impact per post I should hope!

The mechanicum munching Orks... nom nom nom

Gaming

Playing games has fallen by the wayside somewhat as well, though the reasons for this are vastly different. Playing games of Heresy has declined due to the 7th edition ruleset. I sold all bar one of my Heresy armies (Mechanicum) due to the position of ForgeWorld staying with 7th. 

That isn't an 8th is better than 7th statement by the way, that is an I prefer 8th to 7th statement, I have little desire to start a debate on which is better. Though I will at some point lay out my likes and dislikes of 8th edition. 

Speaking of 8th, I haven't played many games of it because I was so heavily playing Heresy. I just didn't have any 40k armies ready to go! So it has been a long slog of getting a 2000 point playable force to the table, painted to a standard that I am happy with. That time draws near!

I am aiming to get a game a week or every 2 weeks in once my army is tabletop ready, as well as run a campaign at my local club hopefully. 

Tournaments

This. I would like to go to some tournaments this year again after none last year. The main prize I have set in my mind is attending one of the coveted SN Battle report tournaments so called No Retreat in Gibraltar. This event is open to submission but is ultimately a selected invitation only event, so I just have to cross my fingers!

There are other ones that I want to attend, but I have to work them around other life commitments and desires, but that is the big one!

Ooooh shiny!

Golden Demon

Having attained my first ever finalist pin at Warhammer Fest 2017, I would like to repeat that success at a Golden Demon event this year. I dare not suggest any higher achievement as I feel that is still prodigiously out of my grasp, but as they say... slowly slowly catchy golden demon!

I haven't gotten any specific plans for what I will enter yet, though I have drawn up several ideas that I will probably elucidate at some point. The standard is always insanely high! I can't stress how proud I am to have just one finalist pin from their premier event no less.

One day I might be this cool....maybe?

Cosplay

Ahh surprise!! Something that both myself and Serena have gotten into over the past year is Cosplay. We both like to go to anime and comic conventions and have long marveled at the amazing Cosplay skills on show. 

Originally I wanted to Cosplay something from Anime, but being the stout, rotund and bearded creature that I am that really didn't leave a lot of characters that I resembled physically! And I am the sort of person that really wants to look like the character, rather than be an approximation. 

So, naturally, a better fit for me was a 40k cosplay. I have begun work on an Inquisitor Cosplay costume that is in very early stages. I have a plethora of foam, elastic and contact adhesive in my flat now, and as parts of outfit progress I'd like to keep you updated on how it looks. 

The aim is to get this complete by the end of the year, rather than aim for a particular con. In an ideal world, I'd like it finished in time for Warhammer Fest 2019 so I can strut my stuff. 

Most likely not impressed

Magic the Gathering...

Oh ho! Another surprise entry. This has been a major distraction from the hobby I must be honest, and an expensive one at that! I won't be keeping you updated much about what I am doing with my decks, but suffice to say I have been really getting my competitive kicks out of this game in a way that I could never play 40k. Not to say I act like that guy, but it's much more forgiving or crushing your opponent as it is designed for that sort of play in particular formats. 

My main aim with this is to win 4-0 at my local club. Thursday nights are usually a round of 4 with 10-20 people attending. I have gone 3-1 several times now, but the clean sweep eludes me. I dream of it! Serena also plays, though her competitive tendency is much more directed towards the Pokemon TCG. But it is a really nice routine for us to pop down and enjoy games with the like minded.  

Finally...

...I would like to meet up with people more, people from the blog and people from the Youtubes in particular. It is one area where not being able to drive despite nearly being 30 is really beginning to hamper me. 

But I love meeting fellow hobbyists and sharing the joy of 3-4 hours of rolling dice. If ever any of you are passing through Bristol or just fancy coming down for a day to game, please let me know, it'd be great fun to meet, chat and game :)

Peace out,

Rob