Review of the Year

Yes, it's that time of year again. You know the score, so let's get started. Back in January I got the Undead army to a really pleasing state of being big enough to game with. This article on the Vampire and Wraith contains links to the rest of the army. Sadly, I have never played a game with them. I really must rectify this and either play a few games of WHFB or find an alternative system. Painting 1 Gaming 0. I continued the fantasy painting spree into spring with a regiment of the Avatars of War corrupters, but again I have yet to use them with dice and rules. Painting 2 Gaming 0.

As spring ended I went back to the dark ages and painted up some Tanatus archers, at that time probably the best unit in my dark ages collection. I have actually used these in games on a few occasions, so the score now stands at Painting 3 Gaming 1. Then after a brief holiday by the sea I was inspired to paint something in a coastal palette and plumped for a very old unit of high elves, with a mad idea to complete a whole army in a similar Ulthuan coastal theme. Little did I know that the clock was ticking and the glorious background of my favourite warhammer realm was about to suffer a tsunami. Of course I have not gamed with the pointy eared ones so the score stands at Painting 4 Gaming 1.

The summer was dominated by long haired, bearded warriors, from both Rohan and Scandanavia. The plastic Rohan warriors were my first serious foray into painting a good contingent from Lord of the Rings to battle my orcs and uruk hai. And I love them! If I had to name my favourites for the year I reckon it could easily be the strawheads. Lovely figures and very cheap to buy on ebay, pleasing on the eye and the wallet, the perfect combination. The foot troops can be found here and here. I also enjoyed painting the Drabant Miniatures vikings, which quickly leapt into number one slot as my best painted dark ages unit. I still think that historical metals lag behind the strides forward taken in other parts of the industry, but finally I can heartily recommend viking models to those seeking nice models. Best of all, I managed to get games in with all these figures, so the score now stands at Painting 6 Gaming 3.

Lord of the Rings continued to dominate into the autumn, with a few games of the rather interesting and elegant ruleset War of the Ring. I also added to my collection with the first of my dwarfs collection, which easily give the Rohan troops a run for their money in my eyes. I also added a few uruks to my collection and played a huge game with these (and many other) figures. A point each there I think, so now it's Painting 7 Gaming 4. The year fizzled out with a real decline in my painting output, though I did manage a decent start on my Dystopian Legions collection. I also made a start on gaming with the Dux Britanniarum ruleset, which promises to provide many hours of campaign gaming.

Not surprisingly then, as a painter first, gamer second, the score ends at Painting 8 Gaming 5. I reckon in 2015 the score could well be much more even as I have plans to paint mainly with gaming systems in mind, and even to dig out my already painted collection for games galore. More on that in many a future article. Happy Gaming New Year to all hobbyists everywhere.