The Tally of 2015

So that was 2015, and this is the update to "Project: Micawber"...

I'm looking for an image of Old Father Time...
But as a Terminator...
Holding some kind of melon!

"Annual leadpile twenty orcs, annual painting nineteen orcs nineteen goblins and a snotling, result: stagnation.
Annual leadpile twenty orcs, annual painting twenty orcs nought and a snotling, result: progress."

Project: Micawber

The premise is simple: paint more models than I acquire, add them up at the end of the year and bring down that leadpile!

In 2014, I scraped by with 6 models to my credit. This was due in no small part to some creative accounting whereby I carried over the Dungeon Saga Kickstarter package from the year I bought it into the year I would receive it.

Canny, but it meant that, even if I bought nothing, I would still have 113 models to counterbalance.

(damn you, younger me, for having no foresight - this is why I eat so many biscuits!)

I also relaxed my 'rebasing does not count' rule. Partly because some of my rebasing got so extensive, there was not a lick of original paint left visible (I'm looking at you, Night Goblins); partly because I wanted credit for the Herculean effort of scraping the pebbles off my Dwarves (what a way to spend Election Night); and partly because I knew if I wasn't scoring points for rebasing, I wouldn't be motivated to do it.

(if I start counting scenery next year, I might actually get some done).

This was my 2015:

Bought

I thought I was rather restrained this year (although I also said the same last year, so I'm sensing a pattern here). Although I maintain I only bought what I really had to.

For all that, I still ended up with quite a few new additions to the leadpile (plastic pile, resin pile, etc), due to:

• The aforementioned Dungeon Saga Kickstarter
• A newly-acquired interest in SAGA, which led to about 70 new minis (you only need a few dozen, but those Gripping Beast plastics are just such good value!)
• A unexpected return journey into Lord of the Rings miniatures, of all things
• The liberation following Age of Sigmar, where I could just buy whatever beasties of chaos I fancied, and still have a game with them.

Acquisition total: 245 models.
(more than twice as much as last year - ulp!)

Painted

• 2 x Mangler Squigs
• 1 x Treeman
• 1 x Branchwraith
• 1 x Glade Guard Standard
• 20 x Glade Guard
• 1 x Glade Lord
• 1 x Waystalker
• 3 x Dwarf Lord and Shieldbearers
• 1 x Wood Elf Battle Standard Bearer
• 1 x Anglo-Dane Warlord
• 4 x Anglo-Dane Huscarls with Dane Axes
• 4 x Anglo-Dane Huscarls
• 20 x Dwarf Miners
• 25 x Night Goblin Archers
• 1 x Night Goblin Warboss
• 3 x Night Goblin unit filler
• 1 x Night Goblin Netter
• 1 x Branchwraith
• 1 x Branch Nymph
• 1 x Dryad
• 19 x Dryads
• 3 x Treekin
• 4 x Doom Diver
• 6 x Squig Hoppers
• 8 x Moria Goblins
• 1 x Night Goblin Big Boss on Giant Squig
• 12 x Mordor Orcs
• 5 x Beastmen Gor
• 8 x Moria Goblins
• 1 x Cockatrice
• 2 x Skin Wolves
• 4 x Flame Cannon
• 4 x Grudge Thrower
• 5 x Doom Diver
• 1 x Warboss on Wyvern
• 4 x Rock Lobba
• 1 x Night Goblin Shaman
• 1 x Black Orc Big Boss
• 1 x Night Goblin Great Shaman
• 1 x Orc Bully
• 25 x Night Goblin Spears
• 4 x Dungeon Saga Adventurers – elf, dwarf, barbarian, wizard
• 9 x Dwarf King’s Quest – skeletons, zombies, revenant, ghost, zombie troll
• 1 x Waystalker
• 10 x Waywatchers
• 5 x Beastmen Gor
• 2 x Skin Wolves
• 1 x Josef Bugman
• 6 x Anglo-Saxon Geburs

Painted total: 246 models
(oooh - more than twice as fast as last year!)

I win! I win by one! I'm making no impression on this leadpile, am I?

This must have been my most eclectic year for painting. No single-minded determination here, just a plethora of goblins, dwarves, wood elves, squigs, forest spirits, orcs, monsters, undead, beastmen, dungeoneers and Anglo-Saxons.

It's also been the most fun I've had painting, so expect the same next year: I doubt if I'll complete a single project, just dip into the random pile and pull out another one to paint.

Other notables of 2015

• Favourite unit: I was really chuffed with how my Night Goblins were redeemed with a new paint scheme, but if I was to choose a unit that were painted fresh off the sprue, I'll take the Beastman Gor - nice to finally paint some of Warhammer's iconic goons.
• Favourite model: There are a couple of winged contenders here - both Cockatrice and Wyvern were a blast. So were the Mangler Squigs, right back in January. I'm giving an honourable mention to my Dwarf Lord on Shieldbearers, but the winner has to be the Night Goblin Big Boss on Great Cave Squig.
• Favourite battle: There were some very good battles this year. I particular remember how my Wood Elves fluked a win over Archaon. We also finished off our epic narrative of Phlothos the Unbeatable. But the title goes to my all-squig avalanche in Age of Sigmar
• WoffBoot XI: I wanted to improve on my 5th-placed finish, and so I did: coming 4th (out of five players, rather than six, so I'm still second-last). Next year, I'll either need to play better, or invite more players who are worse than me.
• Battles played: 22 - not only the most played, but the most varied (taking in SAGA, Frostgrave, Dungeon Saga and, yes, Age of Sigmar)
• Blog posts: No awards for us this year (I think we lost out in the swimsuit round), but more views and more comments, so I guess more of you are reading (and watching, now we have launched WoffBoot TV), so thank you all.

In fact, it was a bumper year for traffic. I thought we were going to fall shy of 100,000 views (which is a shame, because I had a corking gag for the number 99,000) - but no, we went ahead and doubled our traffic, getting as many in the past year as the previous three combined.

(who'd have thought that talking about current releases, as and when they happen, would actually be of interest?)

So, I don't have a 100,000 gif ready. What I do have is a basic grasp of mathematics:

FIFTY THOUSAND!
+

FIFTY THOUSAND!

Have a great 2016, leadfellows. May you always roll sixes.*

*unless you're playing Frostgrave. In which case, your D20 are worse than mine.