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| Short answer - No. They have no hands in anything good. |
What did the year bring us?
Return of the King
40K is back, and I'm loving it. The streamlining of the new edition really helped me back in, as did the initial feeling of balance between factions. All the codexes and rules errata have muddied that initially clear water a bit, maybe, but I'm back in after a ten year Grimdark absence, and I can't wait to play more of it.
Tyranids and Inquisitors/Scions are going to be my army picks. There looks to be a good chance that the Inquisitors aren't going to get their own codex, which would be a shame, although at least it keeps me from trying to buy any more new stuff.
So many Kickstarters that I didn't touch this year. Mdf scenery, elaborate board games, fancy dice, but I stayed strong! No, my leadpile has grown by very conservative amounts on the whole, although the arrival of Massive Darkness definitely left me behind in terms of painting. I'm also amazed I didn't cave in for Necromunda, that was always one of my favourites back in the day. Give it time. Once the Delaque come back, I'll probably weaken.
Computer games are still keeping me up at nights. Total Warhammer II came out this year, and my big bonus nerd points come from having voiced some of the Skaven for them! Playing as the High Elves, I found I particularly enjoyed battles against the ratmen, as I could hear myself screaming in pain from dozens of ratty throats as the Lothern Seaguard massacred clanrat battalions from afar. Another lifetime ambition to check off - acting work (indirectly) for GW. Whoop whoop!
Right, enough laurel resting. Time to do the taxes.
Looking back, I see that I foolishly decided I would try and have Massive Darkness finished by the end of this year. It got a bit delayed in the end, only arriving at the end of August, so that proved to be hopelessly optimisitic. Not that I haven't made some inroads into it, mind, but I got sidetracked.
I did finish Dungeon Saga off, though, and it now languishes proudly in boxes in the cupboard. Massive Darkness will get there in time, no doubt, but the Stormtroopers and Genestealers took over the end of my year.
But did I get out of the red?
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| My lead pile seen from space |
Let's save the boring maths lists for way down the bottom of the page, so scroll away if you really want to read the full tally. In short, and I'm surprised here despite a ridiculously productive year (in painting terms, anyway).
Grand Total Painted - 731
Of Which Owned - 277
Net Lead Gain - 50
Take that, Lead Pile! Much better than I anticipated, basically. Although I really have painted a lot more than I realised this year. Like, roughly two models a day. Where did I find time to anything else? Who is raising my children?
The agency called. I was all that was available at short notice.
And in that paint storm, I would like to take credit for three small but complete 40K armies (Eldar, Scions and Imperial Knights), four complete box set board games (Dungeon Saga, although I started that last year, Aliens vs Predator, the tail end of Shadows Over Camelot and the long awaited Space Hulk, which I got when I was thirteen) and what could feasibly amount to two tables' worth of terrain. And apart from Massive Darkness, everything I bought got painted bar a single (quite big) model. That'll do, pig, that'll do.
In fairness, I went through several periods of relative unemployment during the year, and rather than my usual hour-to-an-hour-a-half a night, I found I was often sitting for a couple of weeks, doing two or three hours in the morning as well. It is quite possible I might be president of the United States if I spent this time bending my will to greater and more worthy tasks, despite being a Sweden-dwelling Brit. To my credit, by sitting about on my arse painting Genestealers I am at least making a better job of it than the present incumbent.
Swap the whispering advisor for Big Oil and slap a toupee on the Patriarch, and we're there. I give it ten years before an actual Hive Fleet turns up in Earth orbit.
Excelsior! For the year ahead, I shall once more pledge to finish Massive Darkness. And I shall also pledge to try and do less commission work, I'm afraid, because then I might actually clear my lead pile by the end of next year.
But first, let us bend our minds to the incoming Swoffboot...
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| The agency called. I was all that was available at short notice. |
And in that paint storm, I would like to take credit for three small but complete 40K armies (Eldar, Scions and Imperial Knights), four complete box set board games (Dungeon Saga, although I started that last year, Aliens vs Predator, the tail end of Shadows Over Camelot and the long awaited Space Hulk, which I got when I was thirteen) and what could feasibly amount to two tables' worth of terrain. And apart from Massive Darkness, everything I bought got painted bar a single (quite big) model. That'll do, pig, that'll do.
|
| Swap the whispering advisor for Big Oil and slap a toupee on the Patriarch, and we're there. I give it ten years before an actual Hive Fleet turns up in Earth orbit. |
Excelsior! For the year ahead, I shall once more pledge to finish Massive Darkness. And I shall also pledge to try and do less commission work, I'm afraid, because then I might actually clear my lead pile by the end of next year.
 |
| Fun Fact! Type Swoffboot into Google and a bunch of pics from our blog show up! Er, which isn't really that surprising if you think about it, not sure the word means anything to anyone else. |
Acquisitions
Redbox Games Northern Warband - 11 Models
Massive Darkness - 183 Models (if I've counted right)
2 x Taurox Primes
2 x Commissars
20 x Tempestus Scions
1 x Valkyrie
3 x Venomthropes
1 x Neurothrope (converted)
2 x Baleful Realmgates
1 x New Slambo
1 x Tyrannofex
Total - 227
Painted
Terrain
2 x Ophidian Archways (one winter, one summer)
1 x Numinous Occulum
6 x Dungeon Saga doors
2 x Baleful Realmgates
1 x Treasure Chest (Dungeon Saga)
150 x 40K Industrial Sector bits and bobs, although I'm including bits of pipe and wire in here. Give me a break! Three Imperial Knights are being counted as three models further down the list, not the shoebox of components they really were!
15 x Massive Darkness Doors
16 x Massive Darkness Chests
2 x Massive Darkness Chests
6 x Massive Darkness Pillars (o god why)
1 x Massive Frozen Tower
2 x Sector Imperialis Ruins
Total - 214
40K
22 x Renegade Marines1 x Renegade Marine Sorcerer
11 x Renegade Scouts
7 x servo skulls
3 x Teleport Homers
1 x CAT
1 x Goblet
1 x Jokaero Weaponsmith
1 x Watcher in the Dark
30 x Eldar Guardians
3 x Eldar Weapon Grav Platforms
20 x Kabalite Raiders
6 x Fire Dragons
6 x Swooping Hawks
6 x Dark Reapers
6 x Warp Spiders
6 x Striking Scorpions
6 x Howling Banshees
3 x Eldar Warlocks
1 x Death Jester
1 x Autarch
1 x Autarch on jetbike
1 x Farseer
10 x Harlequins
1 x Solitaire
1 x Shadowseer
1 x Jester on Jetboard
1 x Necron Warrior
1 x Squat
1 x Crypt Angel Renegade
3 x Imperial Knights
1 x Advanced Space Crusade Scout
10 x Crypt Angel Scouts
1 x Drop Pod
3 x Centurions
1 x Genestealer Hybrid (old school)
8 x Genestealers (Genestealer Cult Version)
5 x Genestealer Hybrid Acolytes
15 x Genestealer Hybrid Neophytes
1 x Barracuda
2 x Remora Heavy Drones
2 x Darklight Drones
1 x Shielded Missile Drone
2 x Skyweavers
1 x Voidweaver
1 x Land Speeder Storm
5 x Scout Crew for said Land Speeder Storm
11 x Ork Boyz
4 x XV 89 Crisis Suits
40 x Genestealers (Tyranid Version)
3 x Venomthropes
1 x Neurothrope
3 x Crypt Angel Sorcerer Librarians
1 x Cypher
1 x Grand Master Voldus
1 x Crypt Angel Terminator Librarian
1 x Brother Captain Stern
1 x Typhus
5 x Space Hulk Terminators
1 x Space Hulk Terminator Librarian
2 x Large T'au Walker thingies
1 x Valkyrie
<20 x Tempestus Scions, 2 x Commissars, 1 x Servitor, 2 x Taurox Primes, painting ongoing but in the reckoning here anyway because I was feeling kind to myself>
Total - 294 (+25)
Fantasy
9 x Skeletons6 x Zombies
2 x Zombie Trolls
1 x Zombie Troll Shaman
1 x Blaine
1 x Mortibris
8 x Goblins (various)
4 x Orcling bases
4 x Mawbeasts
12 x Orcs (various)
1 x Orc Warlord
1 x Ba'el
4 x Trolls
Salamander Hero
Dryad hero
Dwarf hero
Paladin hero
Halfling Thief hero
Elf Archer Hero
Valendor
Valendor (converted Chaos Warrior Version)
Reaper Sahaugin
2 x Reaper Elven Heroes
Reaper beetle
Reaper Thug
1 x New Slambo
1 x Glottkin
11 x Frostgrave Warband Minions
1 x Maggoth
3 x Maggoth Riders
6 x Marauder Goblins
4 x lead Reaper Goblins
1 x Wardancer
1 x Chaos Lord on Manticore
1 x Archaon, Lord of the End Times
5 x Skullreapers/Wrathmongers
2 x Frogmen
2 x Tortoisemen
1 x Basilisk
8 x Assorted Massive Darkness Heroes
1 x Unicorn
1 x Hellhound
1 x Marauder Troll
1 x Ettin
1 x Fomorian
1 x Giant Spider
1 x Hellephant
19 x Massive Darkness Goblins (Various)
1 x Reaper Giant Demon Maggot
1 x Slaughterbrute
Total - 153
Misc
Reaper Indiana Jones-a-likeReaper Sci-fi Trooper
Reaper Houngan
2 x Reaper Steampunk Scientists
10 x USC Marines
2 x Automatic Turrets
1 x Cargo Loader
20 or so Xenomorphs, I never actually counted all of them
4 x Bases of Facehuggers
1 x Alien Queen
1 x Predalien
6 x Predators
2 x Predator Dogs
12 x Tiny Catapults
3 x Celts
3 x Saxons
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