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10mm SYW Austrian and Prussian Cavalry face off at Chotusitz

It is time for the annual counting of the collection!  Once again time to reflect on my assault on lead mountain to see where I have succeeded and where I have created opportunities for future growth...  As always, I begin with the raw numbers (with last year in Parenthesis)

Points Painted:  4863 (6121)
Total Castings:  3429  (3405)
Line Items (units):  210 (168)

Breaking it down by period, I was surprised to find exactly how much Science Fiction and Fantasy models dominated this year

This was do in part to my Son and I getting a copy of Runewars fro Christmas last year, but mostly from our foray's into Rangers of Shadowdeep and Ghost Archipelago over the summer.  This also resulted in a healthy addition of 28mm terrain into the collection which benefits all of my tables.  The Samurai Era collections came in second primarily from my efforts to finally complete my Imjin War Korean armies as well as my remaining Ashigaru.  The 10mm SYW war collection came in a close second as I managed to almost complete the collection last spring.  (Those last few light infantry Regiments continue to vex me.)

Overall, I did not get as much done as I had planned.  This year saw my most productive summer ever, followed by my worst Fall/Winter ever.  I was well on track to break last years goals when real life hit hard in September resulting in only the second ever '0-point' total month since I started maintaining this blog.  Overall on-line presence and real world gaming took a similar strike, leading to an overall weak finish to the year.  

2019 Achievements versus Goals

 First by scale:

2019 Proposed

2019 Actual

 28mm came howling back to the forefront this year thanks mostly to the aforementioned Fantasy and Samurai figures.  The arrival of C&C medieval resulted in a significant rally for the long neglected 6mm scale figures, though even the Veteran's Day release of Midway was insufficient motivation to get those 1/6000 scale US carriers and battleships knocked out.

By year of Purchase:

2019 Proposed

2019 Actual

 I am going to call this a success as I managed to achieve my 1/3rd- 2/3rds rule for models this year.  I managed to make a significant dent in the lead pile.  More importantly, I don't have a lot of unpainted lead from 2019 added to the pile.  I only have about 150 models from 2019 on hand, and most of those came in within the last month.  

By Period

Success Stories

10mm SYW:  Almost complete.  I need to complete 2 Prussian and 2 Austrian Light Infantry units.  I considered expanding to add the Saxons, but thought better of it.  Unless Old Glory decides to expand their line to include the Russians, I should be safe.

Armies arrayed for the battle of Chotusitz

28mm Koreans:  I managed to complete all of the on-hand models including the Guard Infantry.  I may add some more units in the future, but these are otherwise complete.

28mm Samurai:  I managed to clear out all of my Perry Minis as well as the Warlord figures for Test of Honour.  I even managed two named Generals (Kato Kiyomasa and Oda Nabunaga).  Only Takeda Shingen remains.

28mm Cold War: All of the rank and File minis on-hand are now complete. I still have a few heavy weapon figures awaiting conversion, but otherwise complete.

Goals left wandering in the woods....

10mm ACW:  Not as good on this one.  I managed to finish one Cavalry unit only.  I still have six regiments to complete for this one.

28mm Kushite Egyptians:  These have seen many starts and stops on the painting table, but  I managed to leave not a one finished by years end.  That said, all of the chariots are between 50-75% completed, so 2020 may see the project finally completed. Maybe by Easter?

28mm Italian Wars:  Jon and I managed to actually get this collection to the table, and I even added another pike block.  That said, there are still several cavalry and artillery units forced to wait another year for their chance to shine. 

My fourth quarter goals;  Yeah. lets pretend that didn't happen.  At least I got a bunch of Frostgrave and Viking minis completed.  

Other items for reflection...

This year did see a lot more Father/Son gaming than in year's past and for that I am very thankful.  I didn't get in as many grown-up games as I had wanted, but the ones I managed were well worth it.  

On the painting front, I managed to try out several new techniques including the incorporation of the new line of GW's Contrast Paints.  I enjoyed the opportunity to play with the new pigments and see how they could benefit my painting style.  They definitely made painting reds easier.  I only regret they came out after I complete that entire 18mm SYW Russian Army.  

On-line activity took a massive hit this year, though I did manage 107 updates to the blog.  My comments on other blogs, however, took a massive decline.  This has more to do with accessibility issues than a lack of interest, and some fixes are in the works to rectify my lack of due care and attention.  

Finally, my goal of standardizing the collection continues to bear fruit.  I have almost completed the conversion of all of my 28mm models to a 20mm round base standard.  In addition, I have added enough movement trays to deploy both sides for any conflict with my existing collections.  Some still need trays in need of flock and gravel, but that will come with time.

Thank you to all for sitting through this update as well as all the kind words and encouragement provided throughout the last 947 updates.  You are all an appreciated part of my hobby world.  Warm regards, and have an outstanding 2020.  

-Jake