2015 In Review

In 2014, I basically stepped away from the hobby to focus on my personal life and for some reason I ended up deleting my old blog “Close the Ranks” (and about 3 years of work).  Not sure why when I reflect on it now, but when 2015 started I resolved to start a new blog and track my hobby progress.  It’s been worth it.  Not only do I feel like I’ve reconnected with internet "friends", but also discovered some new people to follow and it's fun seeing their projects develop as well.  We have a lot of wonderfully talented people in our hobby!

Blogging takes some effort but one of the benefits is at the end of the year you can flip back through your entries and see what all you’ve accomplished.  I must say I was really surprised at what I was able to complete this year.  Here’s the stats…

WWII (15mm)

121 Soviet Troops

51 Fallshirmjager

4 AT Guns

1 Russian Church

1 Russian Log House

Mexican Revolutions (28mm)

41 Rebel Troops

20 Federal Troops

1 Field Gun

1 Mexican Church

1 Train Station

1 Stucco Stables

Assortment of Mexico terrain (railroad tracks, telephone/telegraph poles, cacti, hills, etc…)

Sci-Fi (15mm)

66 Figures (humans and aliens)

Vietnam (15mm)

14 Viet Cong

Random Stuff

2 Dark Age Scots

1 Fantasy Adventurer

4 Vietnam Era X-Men

Commissions (not shown on my blog)

5 15mm Sci-Fi Cars

12 15mm Sci-Fi figures

So, if I pushed all the calculator buttons in the right order that’s 342 figures and 5 buildings.  I’m quite happy with these totals and pretty pleased with how 2015 went on the hobby side!

Now it’s time to focus on 2016.  I have to sit down and determine what projects/goals I want to accomplish and make a plan.  It will be a flexible plan though, because it's SO easy to get distracted by new releases and games.  I think it's really part of the whole hobby!

Thank you all for stopping by my little blog and offering comments and encouragement.  It is very motivating.  I wish you and your families all a blessed and happy new year!

Warm regards,

Rod

SAGA Scots

Today's post is just a random bit of painting from the lead pile.  One of my Christmas presents was some really nice Windsor Newton Series 7 brushes.  Maybe normal for some of you, but really fancy stuff to me.  I generally buy the cheap old pack of brushes from the craft store.  My wife asked me what I was going to paint with them first, and I answered "No idea.  Go pick me something."  So my wife rummaged through the lead pile and returned with two left over Scots from my SAGA army.  And so here we go!

I honestly haven't played SAGA in a long time.  I was playing with an fairly active group when I first started it, but some of the folks got just a little too competitive for my taste.  So I ended up just shelving my army and it's been collecting dust ever since then.  After painting these two figures it makes me want to dust them off and get them on the table.

Here's the two new additions...

Next post we'll be going from the Dark Ages to the Ion Age.  Have a good week friends!

Rod

Cheap Paint Rack

Hey everyone!  Sorry I haven't posted in a bit.  Life has been interfering with hobby time because of the holidays and everything else.  There are a few items on the workbench in various stages of completion.  Hopefully after Christmas I'll get a chance to wrap some of them up.

On a side note, I got one of my Christmas presents from my wife early.  She wanted to find me a rack for my paint that would help me haul them back and forth to my painting desk and storage closet.  She didn't really like anything she saw online but did find this $10 cosmetic display on Amazon.  I think it's supposed to hold nail polish.  As you can see from the pictures it works perfectly for GW paints.  It will also hold the pigment bottles and washes from Mig Ammo comfortably too.  I liked it a lot so we went ahead and ordered 2 more!!



Hope you all enjoy the holidays and get to spend quality time with family and friends.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Rod