2016 - Thoughts on the New Year

It's that time of year again.  A new year and another chance to step back from the hobby and take stock of where things are going.  I do this every year and every year I wonder if it makes any difference.  Probably not but it is still fun and good for the brain cells.  So here goes!

Flames of War - World War II

The old standby will be back and, hopefully, stronger than ever.  Things get started quickly this year with the Shifting Sands 2016 event in just a couple of weeks.  This two day event is themed on Blitzkrieg and I will be playing a French tank company.

Late last year I tried to get a Kursk campaign started but things did not workout.  I would like to revisit this idea early in the year and see if I can get this going. If this gets going it will likely inspire me to get started on a Soviet force.   have been collecting models for a long time and I really need to get something usable painted up.

I also have a winter themed German Panzer army that needs to be completed.  This is my 11th Panzer division December '42 to January '43.  I have tons of models built and most of the base painting done.  The winter camo is tougher to pull of than I thought be I need to buckle down abd get this done.

It looks like Battlefront is targeting Q1 for the long awaited release of the Pacific War books and I must say I am pretty excited about this.  I am not sure if I will do more than start buying stuff for this but it will be on the radar.

Flames of War - Great War

I really like this variant of the Flames of War and I really want to keep this game going this year.  I have several units to paint for both the British and the Germans.  I would also like to add Americans this year.

Flames of War - Fate of a Nation

I must complete my Israeli tank company this year.  No excuses, I just need to get this done.  Then I need to get in some games.  Once that has been accomplished maybe I will start working on an Egyptian army.

Bolt Action and 28mm WWII

Bolt Action will see some table time soon as preparations for the Gathering in the Desert Operation Torch event go into full swing.  This event is in February.  The event and prep will account for several games but after that I am not sure where this game will go.  I have been thinking a lot about jumping into the Pacific for this game.  I would love to build armies for Guadalcanal.  I would like to get in more games of Chain  of Command this year.

Black Powder

I expect this year will go similar to years in the past so I will try and keep the expectations low.  I need to keep painting items for the ACW and, with some luck, I would like to get an ACW game in by April.  A couple of my friends and I have set a target of May to run our first Napoleonic game so I need to keep painting French to make that happen.  Warlord games will be releasing an ACW book this year so that will, hopefully, help spur interest in getting the game on the table.

28mm Fantasy Gaming

Kings of War will be played this year.  I plan to continue rebasing my WAB Dark Age collection for use in this game.  I might try and get into my first KoW tournament this year to see how that works.

Frostgrave needs to be played.  If I can get in some games that will be a win for the year.  I do need to collect and paint more monsters for encounters and scenarios.  I also need to get some terrain for the various scenarios.

SAGA

I expect this game to be played a lot this year.  I would like to put together a Norman force and a Rus force this year.  This is another game I would like to add some period specific terrain items.  This might be the year that I delve into the Crescent and the Cross.

Hail Caesar

Every year I make bold predictions for the game and every year I do basically nothing so I will not make any predictions this year.

X-Wing

My collection of ships for this game continues to grow but I don't really play it.  I just want to get in some games this year...more than one.  If that happens, then the year will be a success.

Wings of Glory

I got the rules for my Birthday last year and I added some planes and a play mat to the collection.  I have only played the game once and that was a couple of years ago.  I have always love the image of WWI bi-planes swirling in dog fights!  I want to expand my collection of planes this year and get in some games.  I might also collect some WWII planes specifically for the Pacific.

WWII Naval Gaming

I have been thinking about getting into naval gaming for some time.  The Pacific War in particular is very interesting.  I have been looking at Victory at Sea and maybe 1/1200 scale ships but I might just go with the 1/2400 GHQ stuff.  Not sure about this but I have a dream of doing Guadalcanal campaign in the air, on the sea and on land...

28mm Sci-fi

I have not played any sci-fi games since my last 40K game 3 years ago.  I would love to get back into sci-fi/near future gaming this year but I am not sure where to go.  Several friends are jumping into Beyond the Gates of Antares and I also like the look of Infinity.  I am very influenced by the style of Neill Blomkamp and the visuals of Black-Ops III.  I have also found inspiration in  the latest movies of modern special operations.  I might just buy some cool figures and do some painting to see where this takes me.  Stay tuned...

Other Stuff

Modeling and painting will, obviously, continue to be a major part of the hobby for this year.  I doubt I can match the painting figure from last year but I would really like too.  I have a HUGE pile of unpainted stuff and I would love to clear that out so that I can minimize the guilt of buying more stuff. 

I have several terrain based projects, other than the ones already noted, that I need to address this year.  This includes new woods for 15mm and a cool Monte Casino piece I have had for a couple of years.  I need to get a Cigar-box mat for the Bolt Action event next month. 

I would like to get back to a regular gaming schedule with my friends this year.  Last year, due to a variety of factors, was kind of random when it came to what I was playing, when I was playing it and with whom I was playing.  Variety is a good thing, for the most part, but I really like to keep the projects I am working on limited to maximize my productivity.  Ironically, last years issues with getting in regular games actually helped me do more painting and modeling as I spent less time actually playing games.  I want to game this year.

Let's see how this all turns out...let the fun begin!