Fall Hobby Goals

Would fall hobby goals taste like pumpkin spice?  Do Orks like Pumpkin spice flavored squigs to eat in the month of October?   Is there a shrine to the elusive pumpkin spice aspect on every craftworld? I wish I could say all the answers to these questions will be contained in this blog post, but I'm actually going to use this space to lay out what I'd like to get done hobby wise before Christmas.

Attending the NOVA Open this year for the first time was an awesome experience.  Even though I have been reading WD and playing 40K for 29 years, I had never been to a gaming tournament or convention bigger than a in-store event.  One of the many products of the inspiration gleaned from that weekend is to approach my painting and model building in a more organized fashion to get the most enjoyment out of every thing I have for the hobby.  Using this space to bore fictitious readers and keep track of my hobby ideas at the same time seemed like an original idea until I reviewed many of my favorite blogs and realized I've been reading other people doing that for several years.




Unconscious motivators for my desire to blog aside, here are some areas to focus on this fall to have more models ready to play with by 2020:

1. Take better pictures of miniatures  - mentioned in an earlier Dreadtober update, I need to apply all the photo tips I've read about.

2. Finish painting my game table scenery - I realize whenever I take a picture of an in progress game that the proto battle report pictures would look way better if all the scenery was base coated.  I have four 2' x 2' gaming board sections I've built out of foam and cardboard.  I finished covering them with sand and rocks this summer, and I have base painted three out of four of them.

"Sir, after we've secured the hill the Chapter Master insists we next occupy the entertainment center adjacent to the blanket rack..."

To round out the other 2' x 4' section to make my total playable space 6' x 4', I purchased some Tablescape tiles from Secret Weapon miniatures.  These interchangeable 1' x 1' molded plastic plates are really amazing.  The level of detail that is sculpted into them is amazing, and I got a set of eight that had no repeated features.  Unfortunately according to their website they are no longer able to make them so they are a limited quantity.  I'll have to do a longer post about them in the future as I paint more of them.

Yeah, I hand base coated 1 & 1/2 of them before I just bought a can of flat khaki spray paint

3.  Paint more models - once again this one seems obvious for a blog that allegedly exists to give me a place to post photos of my miniatures.  Participating in Dreadtober has given me some inspiration that I can easily complete even a detailed project in a month if I try and get in at least one hour of painting a day.  I'd like to finish at least one unit or vehicle  from now through the summer so I have as many options when planning for Nova next year.  Speaking of Nova ....

4. Planning for Nova 2020 - as far as army lists for next year I'll have to wait until February to see what I can sign up for.  However I know I'll be playing 40k and my Dark Angels army needs to make an appearance before non-primaris marines are codexed out of existence.  This dovetails nicely with the aforementioned painting goals above, I have several squads base coated that could be finished with a little organized attention. 

5.  Read more WD - I cleaned up in some clearance sales at Noble Knight Games this year and doubled my collection of WD back issues.  Besides loving reading these great issues of years gone past, they are also filled with hobby tips of yesteryear that fits my Oldhammer-Middlehammer style.

Well that seems like plenty to work on for the next two months, have to check back in after the new year to see how things have progressed.  Will New Year hobby goals taste like kale and broken resolutions?  Tune in around January to find out.