First Check-point

I've decided to make this post the first test of progress for the year towards the goals I set out at the start. Final update:

• Glued together Parliamentarian Dragoons, twelve foot and twelve mounted (W:ECW). Undercoated the mounted figures, ready to start painting.

So, how did I go in the first third of the year? Considering my achievements tailed off something drastic over the last month (partially due to a new computer and PC game, and partially due to lack of focus), I think I've done quite well considering my standard painting efforts over the course of a given year!

Done (towards specific goals):

1. Completed the Angmar army for War of the Ring (around fifty 28mm figures)
2. Completed the Thaniras Elf Fleet for The Uncharted Seas (10 ships and 2 dragons)

Missed:

1. Good effort toward the Teutonic Order army for Field of Glory (2 commander elements and 2 Knight elemnts done, another 4 knight elements mostly done, and several previously completed elements finally based up).

Extras:

1. 2 Byzantine Cavalry elements completed
2. a 54mm Grey Knight completed
3. a Dark Angels Rhino half painted and a unit of Dark Angels Scouts constructed
4. a Command squad, Renegade squad, Psyker squad and Leman Russ Vanquisher conversion, Leman Russ Punisher and Armoured Sentinel all constructed for the Chaos Renegade Guard
5. a block of 16 Parliamentarian Foote (pikemen) constructed

In light of the hits and misses above, I think I've achieved a reasonable 'score'. There's something to be said about having a looming deadline (for the Angmar and Thaniras forces) to get the motivation up. The possiblility of a game of Inquisitor was too much to pass up to not get distracted by the Grey Knight.

Getting the Teutonic Order army painted for an early-May game was really a tad ambitious for me. I have, however, painted enough new options to go for something completely different with my Komnenan Byzantine army for the tournament.

With all of this in mind, I think I need to adjust my targets for the rest of the year. Here is the revised To Do list:

1. 500 points of ECW Parliamentarians for Warhammer English Civil War in 25/28mm [due August, 2010]; with an additional unit or two to be done for November.
2. 800 points of Teutonic Order for Field of Glory in 15mm [due 6th November, 2010]

The 'wish list' remains relatively the same:

1. Continue painting 1,500 points of Dark Angels for Warhammer 40,0000
2. Continue painting 1,500 points of Chaos Renegades for Warhammer 40,000
3. Start 1,200 points of Noldor Elves for War of the RIng
4. Start a couple of battlegroups of Muromachi Japanese for Field of Glory

Then there's the inevitable new-comer to the scene: a Napoleonic army for either Lasalle or Black Powder, or possible both! Yet to decide on a scale, but likely 6mm. The plans for this are still 'under negotiation'...

Ok - now to set myself a target for my next post! Next week's blog will have a progress report in photos of the progress I make on the Parliamentarian Dragoons... Let's see if THAT keeps me motivated...

A Brief Hiatus

I know, I know... It's been more than a week since I updated last... Ok, more than two weeks... Hush.

• Continued painting four bases of Teutonic Order knights (FoG)
• Completed two bases of Byzantine Cavalry archers (FoG) to finish off the unit. Also completed the basing on a couple of dozen bases to make them look a little prettier than bare card.
• Finished gluing together my Daemonhost Coterie for the Renegade Guard army (WH40K)
• Completed my Grey Knight Adeptus Astartes for Inquisitor!

Yay! I got the old guy finished and he's turned out better than I had hoped (even if I do say so myself). I thought I'd manage to get him painted faster than it actually took (about 6 hours total), but he was finished in time for the Inquisitor game last weekend so all is good. See the following three shots:

The game was heaps of fun. Brother-Justicar Ezekiel teleported down into a rocky canyon to be faced by an Arbites enforcer and her pet metal dog and then hit in the back of the shoulder by a las-bolt! The unfortunate mutant with the lasgun was turned into a bloody pulp by a hail of storm-bolter rounds, an act that seemed to upset a nearby Inquisitor who seemed to be interested in talking to the old fellow. Said Inquisitor then seemed hell-bent on asking numerous irrelevant questions while a swarm of local fauna (read: hormagaunts, genestealsers and a tyranid!) decided to join the party. I managed to convince the Inquisitor that maybe the present was not quite the best time for a friendly chat, and engaged all and sundry alien monsters with bolt shell and mind-powered force halbard!

After we dispatched numerous xenos beasts, it became apparent that there was quite likely a rather limitless supply of the beasts, and I extended the invitation to the Inquisitor and his cronies to join me in my transport ship in high orbit. With a crackle and a flash of light, we vanished from the surface of the supposedly 'barren' world to ponder the content of the unfortunate mutant's pockets. It was a great game, and I look forward to having another crack.

Other than this my time has been rather poorly spent on the miniature wargaming front. The purchase of a new computer and Napoleon: Total War has absorbed rather more of my spare time than I had intended (although no less than anticipated). The likelyhood of me achieving my goal of a painted Teutonic Order army in time for the Lionheart tournament in two weeks is next to nil. Instead, I'll give my Komnenan Byzantine list another go, perhaps with a few tweaks learnt in my game against an interestingly constructed Late Imperial Roman army last weekend.

Additionally, I seem to be getting once more sucked into the idea of Napoleonic wargaming. I purchased a copy of the Lasalle rules last week and I'm quite impressed by what I see so far. The Prussian army is appealing to me, so maybe there's something more I need to add to my To Do list...