2022/23 Hobby Season To-Do List

 

Image courtesy of 40kaddict

It is time to join the 2022/23 Hobby Season with 40kaddict.  This is the sixth season that I'm formally taking part in and I'm looking forward to earning my stamps! Special thanks and a shout out to 40kaddict for the cool annual stamps and the inspiration to keep the mojo alive!

My To Do List for the 2022/23 season as it stands today:

The Horus Heresy

• Complete two Dark Angels Legion Characters
  
• Complete two Dark Angels Legion Infantry Units
  
• Complete two Dark Angels Legion Vehicles
• Completed two Predator tanks
  
• Complete another Dreadnought
  

Warhammer 40K

• Complete five Intercessors

Adeptus Titanicus

• Complete Legio Tempestus Warmaster Iconoclast Titan
• Complete Legio Tempestus Reaver
  
• Complete Legio Ignatum Reaver
  
• Complete some more weapon options
  

Aeronautica Imperialis

• Complete another starter box, or another faction.
• Completed Skies of Fire and Necron planes
  

Bonus Projects:

• Complete Two More Blackstone Fortress Characters
  
• Complete a Second Legio Ignatum Warlord Titan
• Warlord Built...
  

When I head into a new hobby season, anything on the hobby shelves will be fair game as long as I make progress each month.  In this way, the list of goals will focus, but not constrain, my efforts. I am not playing many games, nor do I compete at all, so I do not need to work towards any external constraints.  This work is pure hobby joy for me - a chance to break from the responsibilities of Husband/Father/Worker and just chill out with something I'm really into.

I've chosen to keep 30K/40K/AT as my three main game systems that I want to put time into.  However, this season I'm adding Aeronuatica Imperialis as a forth to focus on.  The game is fun and more factions will make it more enjoyable overall for sporadic games with friends. Blackstone Fortress drops to the bonus section, but I REALLY need to get the last few adventurer models painted.

I welcome you to join me on this journey into the unknown as we enter into the 2022/23 Hobby Season. We have goals, but we also know there will be lots of new stuff coming out as we work on it all...how will the season turn out? Check back from time to time to see.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

 

Results from the 2021/22 Hobby Season

 

Image courtesy of 40kaddict

So we've come to the end of another hobby season and it is time to reflect on the season past to discuss what got completed, what did not, and showcase the fruits of my labor.  Here's where the 2021/22 To Do List stands as the hobby season wraps up. Items crossed out were completed, the rest were not.

The Horus Heresy

• Complete Dark Angels Legion Inner Circle Knights Cenobium
  
• Complete Dark Angels Legion Deathwing Companions

Warhammer 40K

• Kill Team - Complete DKoK team
  
• Complete five Intercessors
• Complete a Vehicle 
• Complete a Grey Knights unit
  

Adeptus Titanicus

• Complete Legio Ignatum Warmaster Titan
• Complete Legio Tempestus Warlord
  
• Complete Legio Tempestus Warbringer
• Complete some more weapon options
  

Blackstone Fortress

• Complete Starter Set

Bonus Projects:

• Complete another Unit for the Custodes
• Complete some Aeronautica Imperialis models 
• Complete a Dark Angels Legion Vehicle
• Complete The Lion (Am I ready?!) 

Not a bad tally at all! As we will soon see, there were more projects completed that were NOT on the original list, and that's cool too!  For example, I went deeper into Adeptus Titanicus than I originally planned.  At the start of the season I declared 30K/40K/AT as my main game systems, with Blackstone Fortress a close 4th, due to progress made there during prior seasons - I'd really like a complete painted set of the original box.

For the Horus Heresy (30k), I decided to pull back for two reasons this season.  First, the rumors of the new version started to circulate and I wanted to see more of what that meant before building and painting more models.  Second, I can't really play Horus Heresy at this point, but I can (and did, once) play AT because I have two forces and can invite friends to play who don't currently collect the game.  It felt better to get work done on the two Legios I owned to get more gaming in with friends - even though that only translated into one game over the 2021/22 season. 

For 40K, I once again didn't have games to look forward to and decided to just tackle a couple easy projects before stepping away for AT.  I had started the season with a Grey Knights strike squad, then moved into a DreadTober dreadnought for the Adeptus Custodes, followed by another handful of Custodes later during Squaduary, before turning my full attention on Adeptus Titanicus.

In the mix, I got a set of Aeronautica Imperialis planes completed and one more character for Blackstone Fortress.  The tiny planes were another concession to the reality that it's just easier now for me to get small games together, where I own all the needed models and materials.  I'm not a "hang out at the hobby store" dad, and so don't have easy access to players that I haven't personally converted over the years (and some of those have justifiably become weary of my efforts after a little over 25ish years).  Anyway, the effort did net me a game of AI and a promise that there could be more to come.

With that for commentary, here's a look at what got completed:

The season kicked off with this squad of ten Grey Knights, who can also be fielded as two five person squads. That ticked off the Grey Knights unit item from the To Do List right out of the gate.

DreadTober 2021 was next and I completed this Telemon Heavy Dreadnought with all the fixin's.

Then I took a pre-holiday break to bang out the planes from the first Aeronautica Imperialis boxed set.

Next I completed Dahyak Grekh from Blackstone Fortress. I have all the Hostiles from the initial box set painted, but I still have a handful of the Adventurers yet to paint.  I will force myself to make more progress here in 2022/23.

I was tickled with how the cloak came out, though!

Then the Goonhammer Christmas Kill Team Challenge came along and I banged out this unit of Death Korps of Krieg Veteran Guardsmen from the initial Kill Team reboot box set.

For Squaduary 2022, it was back to the Custodes.  I actually painted one squad of three Custodian Wardens and two additional models here - but it counts. :)  The lone Custodian Guardsman helps fill out an under strength unit and the Vexilus Praetor adds another character to my available units. He was built from the Wardens box set, so hit fit in to the project overall. The Custodian Guard...not so much.

Then I bit down hard on Adeptus Titanicus projects.  I was so close to building out my Legios that I just let the muse run off on its own for the remainder of the season. The madness began with a pledge to paint this Legio Tempestus Warbringer and the Warlord below for MonsterMarch.

I got close, but I didn't quite get both across the line - my first DNF for MonsterMarch or any other blogger challenge.  No matter though, I soldiered on and completed the projects shortly after.

THAT was so fun that I decided to not only build the Warmaster titan for Legio Ignatum, but add on two Warhounds in the bargain. They were fun to paint and it felt great getting them battle ready. 

This Warmaster, also for Legio Ignatum, was the crowning achievement to the 2021/22 hobby season. It took the summer (between vacations and what-not) to complete, but it was worth it.  It's a proud centerpiece to the Legio and gets me excited to paint the Warmaster Iconoclast for Legio Tempestus during MonsterMarch in 2023! I have that and a third Reaver titan for each Legio yet to paint.

In all that is 26 infantry models, 1 dreadnought, 5 tiny titans, and 9 tiny planes complete for the season. Not a bad haul for me.  It feels a bit shy of the 52 infantry models, two dreadnoughts, and four AT titans completed during the 2019/20 season - but not by a lot.  How do we compare infantry vs tiny planes, or a Warmaster vs dreadnoughts and other models? I know that I let my foot off the gas a bit this past season and spent a bit more of my leisure on other pursuits. Further, I don't tally builds, just completions - and as regular readers will know, I build A LOT of models from time to time.  This takes up some of the available hobby bandwidth for sure, but gives me a nice palate cleanser between and among painting projects.

So that's 2021/22 in the bag.  Next I'll share some plans for the 2022/23 season kicking off September 1st. There's SO much to do that I'm certain to have another banner year of painting projects completed. And who knows, maybe I'll get a game or two in as well!

I wish you the best of luck with your own hobby projects. May the hobby lighten the load of life, even if only a little, and bring you peace and happiness throughout the year.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

On the Workbench [August] - Heresy Era Dark Angels Reinforcements!

On the work bench this month, I've been working through my backlog of collected models for the Horus Heresy game.  The launch of the new rule set has definitely increased my enthusiasm for painting marines and their vehicles! First up we have a Legion Vigilator for the First Legion.It's going to be a little tricky to deal with the partially covered shoulder pad when it comes time to apply transfers.  I'm planning to cut on to fit there where the cloak partially covers the symbol.

Next we have a Legion Heavy Support Squad with multi-meltas, in MkIV armor. I love this aspect of the Horus Heresy Age of Darkness game where entire units are fielded with heavy and support weapons. I have standardized on transverse crests for my Sergeants.  Here I have maintained the standard MkIV helm to make that easier.  It's sort of a pain to put crests on the resin DA helms due to their shape and style.

Then I included a Legion Heavy Support Squad with Lascannons, in MkIV armor.  This is all part of my plan to finally assemble the MkIV armor form the original box set they came with (Betrayal at Caalth?). I wanted all the MkIII and MkIV armor assembled before I decided what to do with the latest MkVI armor from the new boxed set.

It's great fun shaping and attaching the power cables from these Forge World heavy weapon upgrade kits.  If you don't know, the cables come straight as a ruler off the sprue and must be heated and shaped in order to be attached to the models. Hot water works, but it's no fun to keep the water warm through out a whole session.  So I've taken to using a heat gun on its low setting to shape resin.  A pair of tweezers comes in handy to avoid burning the fingers...

That brings us to the beginnings of a new Legion Tactical Squad in MkIV armor.  Here are the first ten models.  I have ten more remaining to build - five will join this squad and five with reinforce and existing 10 model Calabanite squad.  That will leave me with three tactical squads, one with 20 models (MkIII armor) and two with 15 models each in MkIV armor. Once those final ten are built, I've pretty much assembled all of my existing infantry collected prior picking up the latest Age of Darkness boxed set.  I have three rhino transports to assemble, then I'll be free to move on to the Spartan, new Contemptor, additional terminators, and all those fabulous new MkVI marines.  Yikes...so many models...I have truly amassed a portion of the Legion now.

Plenty of Horus Heresy projects to paint this fall.  Let's see how many I can knock out before the holidays set in. I might take a break to paint up some more Aeronautica Imperialis planes or some such too. Well, and Squaduaty 2023 will surely seem more Horus Heresy painted...

But for now I will sign off and say...

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Warmaster Titan for Adeptus Titanicus - TO DONE

 

The Warmaster is finally DONE!  It's been a loooong summer project (with a 2 week family vaca in the middle, to be sure), but I'm pleased with the results.  There's always more that can be done with large, detailed projects like this.  In the end, I got some highlights on, applied the weathering powders, touched up a detail or three, then called it complete.

Now on to the Horus Heresy - and maybe some tiny planes...and other stuff...I have a few workbench items to share for Heresy Dark Angels, then I'll be back with a 2021-22 hobby season wrap-up post.  Lots of good stuff accomplished this year.

 

Here's the Legio Ignatum battle group as it stands today. If interested, you can check out the rest of the Warmaster completion pics after the break below.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

WIP - Warmaster Titan for Adeptus Titanicus - part 8

 

 

Welcome back!  Just a short progress post today.  I can imagine that things won't look much different than last week.  Such is the way with the project at this point.  I worked primarily on additional cleanup and highlights - none of which stand out in the photos. I did add a message on the large scrolls across the front carapace. It would have looked much better in some fancy ancient Latin script, but that's just not my forte...so we have a hastily scrawled message applied by the serfs prior to engagement during the heresy on Mars.

 

 

The first highlights were a lighter gold, followed by a chrome silver on just the highest/sharpest points.  Both seem mostly washed out in the photos. Clicking through the full size images helps some.

I then sprayed on a good coat of flat lacquer to seal things and protect the paint. This has dulled the gloss coat on the armor and added a unified fit and finish across the model.

Next, I'll be applying the weathering powders on the base and touching up any last issues that stand out on final inspection.  Then this big lad is done and I'll post a final set of photos from the light box to call it quits.

It's been a great, if long, project and I'm psyched to be finally drawing to a close here.  I love the results at this point.  There is always the opportunity to come back to these tiny titans and add additional weathering and what not.  For now, I've invested an appropriate amount of time in them and it's time to move on!
 

So one final Warmaster photo shoot next week and we're on to the Horus Heresy! I'll hopefully get two posts up next week too and get things hopping around here once again.  There really hasn't been enough material for two posts per week most times as I've been working on the Warmaster.

I wish you all the best with your own projects.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

WIP - Warmaster Titan for Adeptus Titanicus - part 7

 

So many subtle changes...welcome back to my on going series on painting this beast. I did make more progress on the Warmaster this week.  We're at the point now that these details and subtle shading changes are easy to miss upon casual inspection.

I put some work into the eye lenses.  Not sure if I'll stop here or go back in with some highlights to help things pop a bit.  I painted in the gold frames around the hourglass shaped intakes to either side of the head and added some additional shading with GW Nuln Oil to the carapace behind the head, including the intakes.

Then I looked at a few of the details on the carapace.  The void shield generators were highlighted with a little gold, and the muzzle brakes on the autocannons were painted black. Also there was a touch of clean up and some additional shading to the metal deck areas.

There's a close up of the autocannons and a couple void shield generators.

The lascannons in the knees also got painted to match the autocannon. It probably didn't show up in prior pics all that well, but these were still primer back up to this point.

Then I painted in the details on the plasma weapons.  The cabling was painted grey and shaded with GW Nuln Oil.  Then various metal details were painted either bronze or gold to add some interest to these ancient weapons. All of the metal was shaded with GW Nuln Oil as well.  This was thinned a bit with medium so it wouldn't be too heavy handed, while still adding some contrast.

Last up, I painted gold into the gears in the elbow and knee joints, where they were visible.  This is also an attempt to make the machinery of the titan a little more interesting to look at. The rear door got more shading, as did some bits and bobs here at the back that seemed to need it.

Here's a look at an elbow joint with the gold added in for the gear.  The gold gears in the joints were also shaded with GW Nuln oil to increase the contrast.

And that was really it for this week. I've no doubt forgotten, and therefore left out, a bunch of other little bits and bobs touched up, detailed, and what not.  But I think I hit all the main points.  I've really stretched this project out and I appreciate your patience in coming back week after week to basically see the same material. I will absolutely wrap this big boy up and move on to Horus Heresy shortly.

I don't have any gaming or challenge deadlines for this project.  I'm really just using it, like any hobby, to fill in my free time in the evenings before heading to bed.  I find I'm more motivated to make progress when there is some form of deadline in front of me. Eh, it is what it is!

Stay safe out there.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!