A fresh start

I've tried a few times to start a hobby blog. It hasn't really stuck. I'm not a regular hobbyist. I gaze with admiration and envy at the likes of Tale of Painters. I try and do something once a week, but it's usually just a few hours here and there, most often on a Sunday afternoon, and I don't finish much. The picture shows the boxes I had to hand at the time but represents about 5% or less of the unpainted models I have that are awaiting attention. I did a tally of finished miniatures for last year (2014) and it came to 42—a sweet number if you're a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fan, but not great if you're looking to game. Luckily I'm not looking to game (at least not yet), which is just as well as those models were for about ten different factions across two different game systems. But that was last year. This is 2015...

This year I'd like to be a bit more focused. I'm not saying I won't paint a wide selection of models, because I probably will. But I would like to try and get something resembling an 'army' for a few factions. In the last year I've been streamlining several of my painting processes to allow me to paint more quickly but still at a fairly decent standard. I'm not looking at competition level, but something that will look good when I have several miniatures together. I'll spend a little more time on centrepiece models, characters and one-off pieces, but I'm looking to improve the efficiency with which I paint rank and file troops.

I primarily paint models from Games Workshop. I have nothing against other manufacturers and game systems, but I started with Games Workshop in 1992 and have so many of their models still to paint that I'd rather not add anything else to the list for now (maybe later!). I collect models with a view to building a full army, but as yet I haven't finished one. I have collections from a lot of different armies—both Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000—but I'd like to focus on a handful of those this year to get something finished. As I said, I'm not looking to game, but I would like to 'finish' an army or two.

With that in mind, this year I want to focus on the following three factions...

• Horus Heresy: Imperial Fists
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolves
• Warhammer 40,000: Blood Angels

I also have a couple of individual models I'll work on for some variety, one of which I've already started. I've spent the last week or so painting one of my Christmas presents: an Imperial Knight from Warhammer 40,000. I'm painting it in my own colour scheme, complete with freehand decorations. I started it on Boxing Day and I'm really proud of how it's going so far. I still have the weapons and a couple of minor details on the main body to paint (mainly the hanging banner), then it'll be done. It should be finished around the middle of January if all goes to plan. That'll free me up to work on some other projects. Call it a new year resolution of sorts.

All being well, this blog will see a few updates a month. Time will tell...