First Post of the New Year

There seem to be a lot of end-of-year and start-of-year posts on the blogosphere this week, so I might as well jump in the pool too.

2014 was pretty slow for me, gaming and painting wise. I started the year by finishing up some Genestealers and my Hive Tyrant. They were part of that failed "let's start Tyranids!" project where every model was going to be showcase quality, blah blah blah. In short, it got effing boring painting the same exact model over and over. I only made it through five Genestealers!

Then there was a long lull in February, after which I got some inspiration and decided to start work on my Ultramarine Command Squad with More Personality. I wrote up back stories for every model, and armed/modeled them all to match. And then it took me ten months to finish them (yes, I finished the last model last night, but I want to showcase him in his own post later this week). That is how glacially slow my painting tends to be these days.

I did manage to sneak in time to finish my first painted drop pod ever (I'd fielded some template-built pods way back in the Fourth Edition Codex days), as well as my first non-metal Vindicator.

This year I also started buying, listening to, and reviewing Black Library audio dramas as well as various Marine Dataslates.

Yeah, very slow 2014 for me.

I'd like to say that 2015 will be much busier, but I'd probably be lying. This year is going to be a VERY busy one in terms of non-gaming life. I'm currently engaged in remodeling a bathroom in our house in preparation for selling the place. I have a few other DIY projects in line after that, though none as major as the complete gutting of a bathroom. As a plus, I now know how to sweat copper piping, install toilets, reroute plumbing, remove and rehang drywall (rehanging involves paying a professional for sanity's sake), and remove and replace vinyl flooring.
That's all in preparation for buying an old farmhouse to fix up and turn into a working farm. The plan is to "homestead" for a while, while getting the hang of being a farmer and a stay-at-home dad. Vegetables, goats, chickens, and rabbits in my future, with maybe one or two pigs at a time. The wife will be the sole income earner once she finishes her master's degree in early spring.

But, with all of that being said, I do have several projects I'd like to work on for the year in no particular order:

• Name the Command Squad. I figure the group as a whole needs a nickname. For example, Cato Sicarius' Command Squad in the background fiction are "The Lions of Macragge." I'm not sure if I want to go with an "X of Y" title, or a "The SoandSo" title, or something pseudo-Latin (though that tends to work better for vehicles than living beings).
• Give the Command Squad a ride. I figure these guys deserve a cool transport, but will likely just end up painting a heavy bolter turret for a Razorback and slapping it onto an existing Rhino chassis.
• Find a model to lead the Command Squad. Now that the Command Squad is done, I'd like to build a brand new HQ model to lead them. I have several HQ models in my collection, but they're all older and don't match the general design and detail levels of the new kits from which I built the squad. I'll post more about this after the Command Squad is displayed. It'll take a full post to ramble on about.
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• Finish the Vindicator. This one is pretty easy to complete. It's already largely done, needing just edge highlights, metallics, and small details painted. In fact, I'm hoping to have this tank make its tabletop debut at the FLGS monthly tournament for January. *fingers crossed*
• Start my Raven Guard. This is a pretty big project as well. Not due to its size, but due to the big plans I have for the models. I plan to start with a small, 5-man Scout squad first. Pistol/blade and shotgunners. I'm planning several weapon swaps and arm alterations. Unfortunately, Scout legs aren't all that dynamic, so all the posing will rely on torso and arm positioning. After that, I'll build a Raven Guard Librarian. This guy will probably be the first time I ever magnetize an infantry model. He'll get a magnetized backpack for fielding him on foot or in a jump pack. Once he's done, I'll start on a small Tactical Squad. These guys are where the big, ambitious plans kick in. I intend to model them all in Mk6 armor, from head to toe. In addition, I plan to chop up their legs and arms pretty extensively to achieve some interesting "sneaky infiltrator" poses. This is all a change from the initial plan to build a throwaway 5-man Scout squad to allow me to run a Captain and a gunslinging Vanguard Veteran squad. That can come later.

I figure that's a solid base to start dreaming from. I'm sure I'll get distracted here and there with other projects and likely abandon the Raven Guard idea, but it's good to have goals.