Year in Review: 2013

I don't do a lot of "discussion" posts without newly painted figures to show off, but this is one of them. Buckle in, or ignore!

Painting

I painted up 20 entirely new armies in 2013. This includes

• Nine Flames of War Armies (EW Polish 10th Motor, EW French, FoW 'Nam US and PAVN, EW Soviets, AIW Arabs, LW US Tanks, MW Italians, LW Hungarians)
• Four Bolt Action armies (French, Polish, Partisans, Italians)
• Cygnar, including two Stormwalls
• Two BFAS armies (Swedish and Polish)
• One 40k army (Chaos Marines and Demons combined)
• One Fanticide army
• Two SAGA armies, one of which was given away at WWPD4Vets

I also did tons of additions to random projects, including a lot of FoW Soviets and British, touching up a lot of WFB Skavens, and significantly expanding my DZC UCM and Scouge.

As a side note, I had a 2013 New Year's resolution to paint up a Forgeworld Phantom Titan. That never made it past base coating, primarily because I decided to change the color scheme and never got around to it re-base coating.

Gaming

My main foci of  2013 were Flames of War, Bolt Action, Dropzone Commander, and By Fire and Sword. I played a bit of some Infinity, Chain of Command, Warhammer 40k, Warhammer Fantasy, and Warmachine. My board gaming saw a steady decline in 2013, but I did pick up some real gems like Firefly and Boss Monster.

 

I played in eight Flames of War tournaments this year across five different states. I ran three FoW tournaments, one at Huzzah and obviously the two at NOVA Open. I also played in two Dropzone Commander tournaments, one of which I also ran, and played in two Bolt Action tournaments.

Traveling and Conventions

I traveled more in 2013 than I ever have for nerd-gaming. I attended all three HMGS conventions, which are all within a three hour drive. I drove up to Templecon in February and out to GenCon in August. I also ran the FoW events once again at NOVA Open. I had a ton of fun at each of these conventiosn, and will be retuning to all of them in 2014. I am most excited about Templecon.


I'm not sure if I'll add anything to the calendar this year. Possible considerations include Adepticon, Wolfkrieg, or something west-coasty, but only time will tell if it happens.

Looking Forward

So what do I expect in 2014? Probably a pretty drastic slow-down on new projects. At this time, the only new projects on the horizon include FoW Israelis and WW1 Russians, BA Americans, and Pike and Shot (which will double as a WFB Empire army).

I intend to increase my pushing of Dropzone Commander and By Fire and Sword - both truly amazing games. I would also like to attend more FoW tournaments this year.

Hope to see you at a gaming store, nerd convention, or internet forum soon!