There were six main areas of intended progress for 2023.
Ayton 2023 – I intended completing the rebasing of my C19th shiny ImagiNation stuff for Ayton. Got most of it done that I needed and then had to withdraw from the weekend. Probably need to finish the rest at some point.
C18th ImagiNation – yes. I did add some more units and have a few more to do. I also did a big sort out and got rid of a lot of odds and ends. I may have added a few Minden French to do but not many… The sort out was good as it gave me a feel for what ridiculous amounts I still feel I need to do… But I did split off my British/Hanoverian figures into a separate sub-project that I will start at some future point.
6mm ImagiNation – the one project I did make a lot of progress on. All the reasonably well painted stuff got rebased, a few more units added. Quite pleased really.
Games – managed a few games (well…two at the Tyneside Club) but failed on getting to my local club… Again…But the C17th game at Newark and the November Ayton more than made up for it.
Reading – I did get a little bit more reading done but nowhere near what I wanted to achieve. And definitely not the six books I planned for…Still a bit depressing considering how much I used to read…
Blogging – I’d hoped to do more blog updates but I’ve onl;y really manage a few big posts. Though in the last month I’ve started doing more frequent Workbench updates just to keep it more active.
So overall not bad. Apart from reading and actually playing…
Plans for 2024….
2024 is a bit of a big year. I hit 60 in May so am using that as a bit of leverage to do a few more gaming things. Ayton in May is booked. As is the Wild Geese Weekend in Kenilworth in June. And I hope to make Salute. I last went for my 50th… And Vapnartak, Partizan and my local shows. And hopefully another gathering near Newark in March. Hopefully all that will pan out…
So what are the plans for the year.
Ayton in May – no big game this year so apart from a few figures for Simon’s Lace Hulk game I’m planning on joining other smaller games and not needing to paint anything… Still undecided on exactly which games… There may be more of Paul Bright’s Dark Age game and Tim Hall will hopefully bring his ACW collection. We shall see. Looking forward to it though.
C18th ImagiNations – the plan is for myself and Iain Burt to finally have a BIG Altefritzenburg versus The Gateway Alliance game at Ayton 2025. I have plenty for that game so obviously I will paint more…but what exactly?
French – having painted the Clare Regiment I have the figures to do another two units and some cavalry
Braunschweig – need a couple more units of cavalry
Naval contingent – boats and naval stuff. Just because….
6mm ImagiNation – I’ll keep adding bits to this… No real plan as yet. I want to recreate the actual Altefritzenburg army as I have it in 28mm. It’s quite nice to just be able to do an odd unit quite quickly. But I think I might benefit from a list/plan so I can tick things off….
10mm Napoleonic – I have my little 1806 Prussian army. I want to do the core French opposition. And some Saxons… I have the figures and again should be a nice little dip in dip out project.
28mm ECW – I REALLY must make a start on these. Just enough for skirmish stuff. Just enough to maybe take down to Dave Hall’s sometime for another game.
Games – I want play some bloody games!!! Although there are a few weekend games planned I MUST get to my local club. And as I now have the 6mm stuff usable I really should do some small solo games. No excuse. No excuse. No excuse….
ImagiNation Admin – I made several attempts over the year to plan out my ImagiNation world. I started a draft blog post about this a while back and I think I’ll expand it into a full blog entry soon. More anon.
Social Media – over the course of last year I dropped off ALL Social Media. It was just doing my head in. So it all went. I did try Mastodon and BlueSky but I really felt I needed a break. I do miss some of the interaction and feedback and seeing what others are doing. I’ve since spent more time looking at blogs which is good. I’ve had another invite for BlueSky and I keep pondering a return. I quite liked doing a daily post with hobby progress and it DID help me do a little of something EVERY day. We shall see….
Reading – I just need to make the time. Again. No excuses…
Hobby Purge – made a good start on this and then stalled. Need to return to it. There is a LOT that can go…
Summary
So there we have it. All a bit vague and no structured plan but that may be good. I think if I had to pick one area as a priority it would be more games. Closely followed by painting more 28mm ImagiNations so I can pummel the Gateway into submission next year….
So, basically, no plan at all then? The only actual tangible thing you say you’re going to do is a pipe dream – “pummel the Gateway”……………hahahahahahahahahahah……ha…..haaaaa.
But good luck with the other stuff.
Iain
Ps Did you finish that 6mm game? It looks a cracking set-up.
There is a plan in there. Somewhere… Maybe (as I mentioned with the 6mm plan) I’ll produce a list…
You didn’t expect anyone to read all of it did you?
I read it, and good stuff it is too. Good luck progressing some of the initiatives!
Thats not actually an impossible list ! will be interested to see how it turns out !
Have you considered online games, say over Zoom or Discord?
I need to work on my own Imaginations stuff…
I’ve played boardgames over VASSAL before but not sure figure games would work for me. I have actually agreed to go play at my local club next Tuesday. Hopefully the start of something more regular…
Good read Andy, good luck for 2024.
PS. The Gateway are already Mayor of Submission, so you can focus your efforts elsewhere.
As long as you had fun. Hopefully, this year you will get more games in and books read.