A Hobby Review of 2019

As is the now an annual tradition, with the end of 2019 drawing to a close, it's time for a hobby review of the year.

My hopes and aims for the year were neatly summed up in a very similar blogpost about this time last year!

It's interesting to note that I really did stick pretty closely to those broad ambitions:

• I painted up numerous fringe-world buildings including the excellent Fogou Models scrap fort.
• I painted up an array of Necromunda figures including Adeptus Arbites / Enforcers, Brats, Venators and latterly Helmawr gangers.
• I had some fantastic games including two Necromunda campaigns, a Realm of Chaos Rogue Trader at BOYL 2019 and the occasional pick-up game dotted throughout the year, including some fun Space Hulk with my 9 year old son.

Crates and Barrels

My buddy Michael got himself a 3D printer earlier this year and has been testing it's capabilities pretty heavily, printing everything from 20mm car accessories for Gaslands to baby Yoda Christmas tree decorations. He gave me a selection of sci-fi barrels, crates and junk piles which I think came from Thingverse. I've yet to tackle the junk piles, but did spend some time working with the barrels and crates.

The barrels and crates were individually printed.

The Gun (and Chainsword) Fighter - Ash Waste Nomad

The marshals finally corner the ash waste bandit after years on the run.

Buoyed by the success of painting up the last two Marauder Venators, I decided to finish off another long overdue project - my Ash Waste Nomads. Painted between the end of 2014 and the start of 2015, my gaudily coloured nomads were the first gang I used in the first game of Necromunda I played after several decades away from the game. They've got a lot to answer for I guess!

Venators are Coming To Town

They're making a list.
They're checking it twice.
Gonna find out who's naughty or nice.

Nothing could be more seasonal than painting up a bearded man in a pointy hood, right? What about if the beard is sculpted onto a rather scary mask, and the hood is tied up with a noose? That will probably scare the children! And I guess that's the point of Venator gangs in Necromunda - they are sinister vigilantes hunting down the most dangerous of criminals.

A gaming opportunity arose to play some Necromunda with my good friend cheetor. After looking at my variety of Necromunda gangs, I decided that the best option would be to use the meet-up as motivation to paint up the remaining pair of Confrontation Venators from Marauder that had sat undercoated since I painted up the other figures back in January.

Like the previous two figures, these are Aly Morrison sculpts. They might have chunky details, but they really are a pleasure to paint.

The Baron and the Imp - Helmawr Leader and Attendant

I've made some more progress with my Helmawr gang, finishing off another three fighters. This time they include my planned leader and an attendant.