Recap and Resolutions: 2019

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Well, where to start?

2019 was the year I properly got back into the hobby. My interest was piqued way back in 2011 and I dipped my toe in and out here over the next 8 (?!) years without ever fully committing. That all changed in 2019.

One of the biggest reasons I finally managed to become a fully-fledged miniature painter again was clearing out the spare room in our house. We have a box room that was previously just used as a dumping ground. It was the room where we put everything we didn't know where else to put. I changed jobs back in February and had a week off so I cleared the room out, put a shelf up and set it up as my hobby room. Having a dedicated space really made a difference. One of the reason's I never used to have the motivation to do any painting was because I couldn't be to get all of my stuff out of a cupboard and put it all away again once I was finished.

The other big thing this year was setting up this blog and my Instagram account. Being able to take photos of my models and post them online was something I really enjoyed doing. I ended up with around 3,000 likes across all of my Instagram posts last year which is mind-boggling really. My blog numbers still aren't really that high but it's not something I'm particularly bothered about, and I'm getting views from all over the world which is so cool!

Recap

 So, as well as the above, here's what I actually managed to accomplish in 2019:

I also think I improved my airbrushing technique massively. I still only use it for basecoating and varnishing entire models but I can pretty much always get a smooth, thin coat now, and I don't take half as long cleaning it as I used to!

On the face of it, the above doesn't look like a lot. But compared what I managed to achieve between 2011 and 2019, I'm really happy with myself. I had a LOT of holidays in 2019 too which I won't be doing in 2020 so I'll have less time away from my little hobby cave.

Resolutions

I've set myself some targets for 2020. I can't wait until the end of the year so I can see how I've done:
  • Finish the remaining 15 Ork Boyz from the Assault on Black Reach box set
  • Paint an entire 10-man unit of Space Marines (I haven't decided what type of unit or even what chapter I want to paint yet, but I've got some ideas)
  • Repaint Shazam. This was my first model after getting back into the hobby and I made some very rudimentary mistakes on him. Redoing him should be another quick and easy project
  • Paint an entire 10-mini unit of Tyranids
  • Paint an Ork vehicle
  • Reach 500 followers on Instagram
  • Read 10 more Horus Heresy novels (this will take me up to The Outcast Dead)
I think those are achievable targets. At time of writing I've already cleaned up the remaining Ork Boys so they're ready to be primed and batch painted.

Finally, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's taken the time to read my blog posts or take a look at my Instagram account. The online hobby community really is brilliant. Here's to a great 2020!





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