2023 Reflections

Completed AHPC 13 with Reilly, which is always hugely fun

Another year, another look back at my hobby - in fact this is the fifteenth time I've done this. Most importantly, I enjoyed a range of great games with my mates, spread as ever over a wide array of genres.

1st game of the year was with Alan  for Dark Ages Dux Bellorum

Napoleonic action with Valour and Fortitude

15mm Punic Wars with To the Strongest

Space 1889 VSF with TMWWBK

Gladiators with Blood on the Sands

Getting utterly pulped by Reilly in Bolt Action 

Getting my revenge and having a rare Father's Day grudge match win in Dungeonbowl

Last game if the year was with Alan, John and Marty: Middle Empire Romans vs Gepids in To The Strongest

I painted stuff too, but thats all secondary to spending time at the table rolling dice and having laughs.

I also managed to attend THREE conventions - admittedly CanCon and MOAB here in Oz are relatively routine but attending WARFARE in the UK was wonderful, with the best part being to meet face to face with great people I've only been 'e-mates' with until now.

Work travel wise I was again busy on the road and afloat with trips to New Zealand, Indonesia, USA, UK and France. Highlights included time at sea embarked in USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT and USS AMERICA, and visiting Portsmouth UK where we lived 20 years ago.

I also completed my 11th annual reading challenge (though admittedly many are audible books while driving, travelling and painting). A minor achievement but I really enjoy this and it gives me great impetus to discover new authors and titles over the year.

Whats up hobby wise in 2024? A whole lot more swapping and chopping across periods and genres most probably! I'll likely move interstate again at the end of next year so will focus this year on completing projects with the local gang before I go. On my painting table right now are Gladiators, Caesarian Romans and some VSF stuff but in a month...who knows? 

The Old World and Legions Imperialis do beckon though. And I've got my eye on the planned Victrix release of Early Saxons next year too - the previews look very tasty!

May 2024 be good to you, with happiness and health aplenty!

and the Real World stuff that happened along the way

AHPC Season 14 begins!

Aaaaand we're off once again on another exciting challenge!

November Hobby Wrap Up & AHPC 14

In addition to attending the WARFARE show in the UK recently, I also got to play a great game of tabletop Space 1889 which was a hoot. You can see a full write up and lots of pics at my VSF blog here:

https://pauljamesog.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-men-who-would-be-warlords-of-mars.html

Separately, I've been gearing up for the 14th Season of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge which is always a hoot and a real highlight for me over the Summer period. I'm signed up this year for a very specific 603 points, to take me to a lifetime total of 8,000 points. 

So I'm in that agonising period where I'm prepping figs and trying to work out what projects will make the cut.  As ever, its an eclectic mix- and inevitably changes halfway through the challenge anyway!

Having just got some Moongrunt reinforcements from GZG Jon at Warfare I'm feeling every inspired by that. Helping that along are two interesting project discoveries around the net. The first is "KOSMOS 68", an alt history where Soviets dominate the Space Race and Mankind's reach for the stars. Using the Traveller system for mechanics, its fabulous artwork is really captivating. Check it out here:

https://kosmos68com.wordpress.com/

And then there is "The Lunar War" project, a labour of love by fan L5Resident building Hard SF themed spaceships based on the PC game "Children of a Dead Earth". He has used a range of highly skilled 3d artists to generate amazing depictions of warships from armed stations and battleships, to fast attack craft.

All graphics from Theo Bouvier's Artstation channel here

Just the kind of craft I can imagine duking it out in the approaches to the contested Lunar orbits overhead of my Moongrunts. So yes, very inspiring to get cracking

You can follow this project via Twitter here: https://twitter.com/L5Resident

And finally I've been enjoying a talented Amateur Space Photographer Andrew McCarthy who is sharing some amazing shots on Insta, including this one of the ISS transiting across the Moon. Again very Moongrunt inspirational!

https://www.instagram.com/cosmic_background/

Hope you are all well!