2024 Hobby Recap

 Most of 2024 was very slow from a hobby perspective, but it ended with a flurry of activity in Nov and Dec as we got excited about a big Warhammer Weekend. 

Score: (infantry) + (vehicles/artillery * 5) + (terrain * 5) + (games * 5) + (battle reports * 5) + posts

(Blog posts from Pete or Bill also count toward the blog score as it is just total posts for the calendar year.)

2020 output:

• 54 infantry
• 3 vehicles/artillery
• 2 terrain pieces
• 6 games played
• 7 battle reports
• 18 total blog posts
• Score: 162

2021 output:

• 81 infantry
• 1 vehicle
• 3 terrain pieces
• 7 games played
• 6 battle reports
• 52 total blog posts
• Score: 218

2022 output:

• 27 infantry
• 4 vehicles
• 1 terrain piece
• 4 games
• 3 battle reports
• 22 total blog posts
• Score: 109

2023 output:

• 72 infantry
• 3 vehicles
• 0 terrain pieces
• 4 games
• 4 battle reports
• 20 total blog posts
• Score: 147

2024 output:

• Built and painted the canyon gaming table (calling this three terrain pieces)
• 10 mech drop suits (counts as Ogryns) for the drop troopers
• Blood Angels vs Death Guard game and battle report
• 2 White Scars Sicaran Arcus tanks
• 3-way battle Militia vs Militia vs Death Guard and battle report
• Climax battle for the bridge: Blood Angels & White Scars vs Sons of Horus & World Eaters (no report yet)
• Zone Mortalis battle Death Guard vs White Scars (no report yet)
• Militia Cargo-8 Hauler
• 30 Termagants
• 10 Hormagaunts
• 1 Ripper Swarm
• 5 Drop Trooper infantry
• 21 Ork boys and nob, mostly finished (going to call this a 2024 achievement)
• Got a new battle mat and snowy trees for terrain (not counting this for points until I at least finish the bases for the area terrain)
• 6 games played in the last weekend (no reports yet)

Totals:

• 77 infantry
• 2 vehicles/artillery
• 3 terrain pieces (the octagon table)
• 10 games played
• 2 battle reports
• 32 blog posts
• Score: 194

We achieved a lot in the end, with the majority of the output coming in the last two months (112 points in Nov and Dec).

Looking back at my goals for 2024, I accomplished a few and missed on a few. But the idea to do a 4th edition campaign was not on the radar at the beginning of the year and that really energized me late. After a few years playing almost exclusively Horus Heresy, it really got the creative juices flowing to mix in Orks and Tyranids. And a personal highlight for me was to use the D-99 drop trooper list from Anphelion Project for the FIRST TIME ever, and in a game vs the Tyranids. That is one "life time" hobby goal checked off. 

Looking ahead to 2025, I have a ton of battle reports I should work on. It can be hard to find the time and energy to sit down at the computer in the evening after being on a computer most of the day at work. I will probably do a few as just quick recaps to speed things up. 

I want to expand the Deathskulls with a warboss and a few units. I want to add to the drop troopers since they are actually fun to play in 40k 4th edition. I actually painted five with Contrast as a test, but wanted to finish the squad before posting to the blog. For Heresy, I have a jump pack squad for my White Scars that I built but just couldn't get excited to paint in 2024 so hopefully I will finish them. I should do something for the neglected Sons of Horus, but my current recipe for them is quite painstaking with lots of sharp edge highlighting so I just haven't had the will to tackle them. 

On the gaming front, I would like to get in a proper pitched battle between Space Marines and Orks for our 4th edition campaign. I need to try out my new White Scars Arcus tanks. But then we need to think about where our Horus Heresy campaign is going and spark some new narrative there. Perhaps the big bridge battle gives new life to the loyalists and makes things more interesting? We need some ideas for what is next. 

Finally, I will say it again. Contrast paints have been a game changer for me now that I feel comfortable using them. It makes painting fun again because I can see the progress from even a short 30-minute painting session after the kids go to bed. The downside is that my armies were started without Contrast so the look does not match, and that Contrast does not work nearly as well on some models, such as space marines, as it does on others, such as Tyranids or Orks. So that will impact which armies I work on going forward as well. 

Here's to another fun year in the hobby. Cheers.