It's been a while...

Afternoon peeps, how are we all? It's been a while since I've posted anything on here so firstly, apologies for that. Real life has overtaken hobby time a bit at the moment and I've been getting slammed at work so to be honest I've not had the energy to do much when it comes to hobby due to being so tired!

But, I'm starting to shake off the January blues and I'm getting geared up for 2014. I've got ambitious plans for this year, to which I'll be sharing my progress with you as I go along. As you know, I've already embarked on my Salamanders 2nd Co. project and I plan on entering Golden Daemon 2014 later in the year all being well, but on top of that, I'm also hoping to start attending more tournaments and picking up some new games to start playing (more on that in a minute). 

The biggest news since the last post though is that I'm now a staff writer over at Talk Wargaming. I've been asked to contribute to their painting guides and general tactical posts which is nice, so keep an eye out for some extra stuff over there.

Now to go back to my plans for starting new games. At my new gaming club, although its small (i.e it's held in a room in the local community centre), they have a staggeringly large range of games being played, which is awesome. So, I plan on getting back into Malifaux (not strictly a new game but I haven't played for about 18mths and they've released 2nd edition rules now so it's kinda new to me again), but I also intend on getting into Bushido: New Dawn. Now for those of you who don't know what Bushido is, it's a small 32mm scale, D6 based skirmish game based on a fictionalised version of feudal Japan, so it's chocked full of Samurai, Ninja and Sumo. On top of that, it has some stunning mini's to go with it so I'm really excited about the hobby aspect of it too. 

So there we go, a bit of an update on what's been going on and what's coming up. Now, time to settle down in front of the TV for the rugby!

Hobby Focus - Salamanders 2nd Co. PROGRESS REPORT #1

Greetings fellow gamers, Geochimp here, how did you all fare on the hobby front over the festive period? Personally, I did rather poorly on getting actual "stuff" done, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy!

In between all of the booze and chocolate, I've been making steady progress on gathering stuff together for my Sallies project, namely spending money and buying plastic crack!

My hobby haul was rather spartan this year as my rellies were like "well we didn't know what to get you so here's some money/vouchers instead so you can get what you want". On Boxing Day, armed with a fist full of cash and GW vouchers, I trundled off to my local store to pick up some bits and bobs to keep me going for a while. I also hit up GW direct and Forge World for some other goodies which I'm waiting to be delivered, hopefully before the weekend so I can get building.

So, in addition to the stuff I'd already started on, I've now added 2 drop pods, a box of vanguard vets (not to use as vanguard mind you, but to construct veteran assault sergeants from & to raid for bitz),  a chaplain and the legion praetors from Forge World. I'm also waiting for some brass etch to arrive with the praetors.

So far then, this is where I'm at with the progress:

HQ:

• Captain - purchased, waiting for delivery
• Chaplain - purchased, waiting for delivery
• Librarian - purchased, assembled, painting WIP
• Techmarine - completed, however it's an old model I may do a repaint on, I'm undecided
• Command Squad - all assembled, standard bearer, champion & apothecary completed, 2 vets WIP

TROOPS:

• Tactical Squad 1 - assembled & undercoated
• Tactical Squad 2 - 5 marines assembled

HEAVY:

• Devastator Squad 1 - Sarge & Heavy Weapons troops assembled, x5 bolter marines required

ELITES:

• Ironclad Dreadnought - assembled & undercoated
• Venerable Dreadnought - purchased, waiting for delivery of FW bits for him before assembly

VEHICLES:

• Drop Pods - x2 purchased, awaiting assembly
• Land Raider Redeemer - assembled & undercoated
• Rhinos - x2 Rhinos requiring repaints
• Vindicator - requiring a repaint

As you can see, that little lot is plenty to be getting on with for the moment. What I'm going to try to do is get what I've got finished first before buying any more so that I don't end up drowing in a sea of sprues and getting overwhelmed with things. I'm hoping to get the librarian and command squad finished completely within the next fortnight, time permitting.

I've also set myself a target of getting 1850pts worth of Salamanders completed in time for the 40k Team Challenge at the Giant's Lair in Plymouth at the end of April as I want to try and go for best painted army as well as trying to place in the overall tourney standings. I'm not sure if that's a bit ambitious though, we'll have to see.

For now though, I'd like to wish everyone a very happy, prosperous and most importantly, hobby-filled 2014!