2024 is dead; long live 2025. I’m just about getting this done in time to be published without people wondering why – as long as people are still saying Happy New Year, it’s fair game! It’s been another year of hobby, another year of real life, and another year of Goonhammer. Let’s see what I’ve been up to, shall we?
January
The first thing I finished this year was a Varghulf Courtier in my Morgaunt colour scheme. I was expecting Flesh-Eater Courts to play a lot larger part in my 2024, but some lacklustre performance at the end of 3rd edition Age of Sigmar, thus far continuing into AoS4, put me off a bit. Also I lost Ushoran’s face for quite a while, which is embarrassing given that I’d finished painting it. I never found the face, but a kind friend did furnish me with a new one that they’d left unused after using the kit for a conversion.
Also this month, I finished a really good Bretonnian Knight for the Old World, which immediately convinced me I did not want to replicate the process several more times. I eventually sold the army. The Old World seems like a fun game, but I didn’t find myself enamoured enough with it to chew through the painting on Bretonnia. Finally, I finished off three Gore-Gruntas, five Brutes, and a Weirdnob Shaman for my Ironjawz, just in time for Brotherhood.
Brotherhood is the team AoS tournament in Cardiff, which I’ve attended several times at this point. We did admirably this year, with a solid mid-table performance against some really quality teams (love to match into Team Wales in round 1). Some of the team also joined up with some other players to become the Mighty Deployers (reborn later as the Mighty Redeployers) to attend the Crucible team one-dayer in London this January, which was also a blast! Apologies to Bair for the podcast we recorded about this, only for me to never edit it.
February
In February I finally finished a unit of Tome Keepers Terminators that had been kicking around half-finished since Leviathan came out. I’ve fallen a bit out of love with how I paint these in recent years – more on that later in the year.
Elsewhere this month, I got ten Cryptguard and six Crypt Horrors finished for the FEC. No events, bit of a quiet month!
March
March heralded more Flesh-Eater Courts, in the form of three Morbheg Knights and ten Crypt Ghouls. Ghouls come in twenties, so technically that’s not a finished unit, but I won’t tell if you don’t.
I also finished my first models for Conquest – a couple of foot characters, and the Ipparchos and Companion Cavalry, all for the City States faction. At this point I’d been added to the team in preparation for the launch of the Sorcerer Kings faction, and had been sent some leftover City States models to get done.
Knowing I wanted to invest a good chunk of time in the Sorcerer Kings, I opted for a kind of “concept army” living statue scheme here. I like the result, but ultimately I think I am going to repaint them more traditionally.
I also took part in the first Goonhammer Open AoS event this month, as the spare player! I had a blast, hung out with friends and made some new ones, and we even got to give away a golden ticket to the World Championships of Warhammer! Inspiring stuff. I’m hoping we can run some AoS again in the future.
Not content with attending events, I also ran a 1-day AoS RTT for my local community! Event organising is a huge strain, it turns out, but it was really fun and I had a lot of good feedback. This prompted me to start assembling some tables of terrain for myself, both to use at home and to supplement my FLGS’s supplies for future events. Huge thanks also to pod co-host Laura, who travelled for the event to be my spare player and extra judge. The support was invaluable.
April
In April I finished: no models. Couldn’t tell you why, 8 months out. I do tend to get periods where my brain would rather escape into video games or doomscrolling rather than painting, so we’ll put it down to that. I did build a ton of Sorcerer Kings for Conquest, and looking back through my photos I am reliably informed that I got excited by the new T’au book, bought a load of battlesuits, spent ages posing them, did a great airbrush paintjob, then fucked them completely with a combo of varnish and oils. Bummer.
I did get a couple of fun games in this month though. With the end of third edition AoS on the horizon, I got together with pod co-host Matthew and pod sometimes-guest Chris for a three-way game of Triumph and Treachery, the multiplayer game mode from one of the campaign books. My Lumineth, Matthew’s Idoneth, and Chris’ Daughters of Khaine all stood in a triangle, pointing at each other. Looks like we got ourselves a good ol’ fashioned elf-off.
This was honestly a hilarious game, we had a blast! I wasn’t expecting to find so much joy outside of normal 2,000 point matched play, to be honest, but Triumph and Treachery provides enough framework to keep the game interesting. The only downside: I left The Light of Eltharion nestled under a piece of scenery, and he’s trapped at Matthew’s house to this day.
I also played a rare game of 40k when my friend Jamie came to visit! Jamie is a wonderful friend and a fantastic person, which I believe is the traditional way of conveying that I completely bodied their Death Guard somehow, despite playing the game incredibly rarely. It was a truly lovely time, and I hope it was for them too!
May
May arrived with a bang as I attended a RMRO (Rollmodels Roll Out) with my main hobby community (Rollmodels). We convened in Nottingham for two days of gaming at Warhammer World and it was wonderful as always! I played 40k with David, a doubles game of the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game TM (henceforth MESBG) with Caelyn, Rune, and Rachel, and definitely some other stuff which I have completely forgotten. I can’t remember if I ended up playing it in the end, but I speed-painted Zondara’s Gravebreakers for Warhammer Underworlds, promising myself I’d return to finish/highlight them after the event. Haven’t done that yet…
Honestly the social aspect of these events is a bit more important that the individual games – Rollmodels probably counts as my main friend group these days, but we’re spread across the UK and beyond, so I really treasure the time we spend together in person. Bair also attended this event and we ordered “midnight chicken” to our shared hotel room, which for some reason is an experience that has really stuck with me.
On the painting table, spurred on by enjoying some MESBG at RMRO, I painted a ton of old metal models this month, for the Rangers of the North, and the Grey Company legendary legion. I think I got 12 models done, but my favourites are probably the Three Hunters, assembled from my favourite metal sculpt of each. I’m so happy with the finish I got on these.
I also attended the AoS4 launch day at Warhammer World in May! It was a fun hang with some friends, it fell on my birthday, and I also managed to pick up a Gold in Legends of Paint with my Vampire Lord! What a birthday treat.
June
In June, I returned to the Tome Keepers via an airbrushing course on army painting with Henry from Cult of Paint. Henry is a great teacher and an all-time top dude, so it was great to spend a day learning from him. I worked out a new way of getting some more volumes and contrast into my Tome Keepers, using Tamiya paints through the airbrush and following up with some more targeted oil pinwashing. I haven’t actually finished any yet, but I got through all the pictured models in practicing on the day. I’d recommend the Cult of Paint courses to anyone, they’re well priced, well taught and you’re bound to learn something.
I painted Halbarad with the banner of Arwen Evenstar to round out my Grey Company list. I also lost a ton of games with them at the Bistro Bash, although I did manage a pretty awesome trifecta of Best-painted, Most Sporting, and the Wooden Spoon!
Finally, I painted the Sorcerer Kings Maharajah for Conquest. I really fell in love with this model range, they’re very characterful and so different to what I’m used to painting.
July
Keen to get through a bit of the shame pile, in July I painted up my whole collection of the Army of the Dead for MESBG. This was a mix of older metals and newer plastics, and I think it’s 42 models in total.
I also played some great games this month, including a game of Legions Imperialis with Pete and some games of AoS at the local club. Legions is a weird game – it feels a bit like you’re just going through the motions of a wargame that someone described to you. But the tiny tanks are cool so it’s impossible to say if it’s good or bad.
This month I also went on a very cool tour of Bacchus 6mm at their open day, organised by my good pal Nick. It was really fun to learn about their manufacturing process in particular – it’s like catnip to my engineer brain.
August
I slowed down a bit in August – I finished three units for the Sorcerer Kings, namely the Efreet Flamecasters, Windborne Djinn, and Steelheart Djinn. These bigger brute units are where the faction’s individuality really shines, in my opinion.
I also finally got hold of a bit of a holy grail for myself, the Grymkin faction for Warmachine/Hordes. These are all kind of nightmare/dream themed, and I got to work painting up Lord Longfellow – he’s a duellist, but you might notice that it’s actually a cunning disguise and he’s a spider walking like a man. He does know how to use the guns though.
Also this month, I attended a two-day MESBG event run by a local friend. He always runs great events, and this was no exception. I do suck at this game though, good lord.
Finally in August, I wrapped up the ADHD assessment process that I’d been going through over the previous couple of months, with the ultimate verdict of a positive ADHD diagnosis. This helps to explain my scatterbrained approach to the year, and also the previous 34 years of my life. Heavy.
September
To lighten the mood, in September I oscillated wildly between being depressed and being incredibly busy. I’m very thankful for all the friends I managed to see over this month, they kept my spirits up with games and social activities, including seeing all three Lord of the Rings movies at the cinema.
One big hobby event for right at the start of this month, Blackout, a 2 day AoS GT in Cardiff. I wrote about it here, but in short I came away with a 3-2 (podcast number) record, and the judges’ choice of Best Army for my Ironjawz! Thrilled is an understatement.
October
October was an event-focused hobby month, with the narrative A Shadow in the West event towards the end of the month. This time my friend James was coming along, and I’d agreed to paint some of his army for him. I finished off ten Marauder Horsemen and five Chaos Knights for him, and just had time to add an Abhorrent Cardinal to my Flesh-Eater Courts too.
The event was a blast – I feel like I’m falling out of love with narrative AoS gaming a bit, but this event never fails to please and the guys pour their hearts and souls into running it every year.
I also attended War in the Mortal Realms at Bad Moon Cafe in London, a 1-day AoS event. I took the Ironjawz, and came away on a 1-2 record against some stiff competition. Somehow though, thanks to a good showing in painting and sports scores, I came away with Best Overall!
November
In November I painted…gnomes! I love these little sculpts from Warp Miniatures. I printed a bunch of them, and used them for a warband of gnomes (led by definitely-not-Gandalf) that I took to a meetup in Scotland with some pals. A varnish mishap the night before travel led to some incredibly frantic work to fix these and it’s possibly a top 5 for most stressed I have ever been. We were trying out the game Rachel has been working on for quite a while, Magewinds. It’s a really fun magical skirmish game played on a small (A3 paper size) board with relatively small warbands, and novel combat and magic card-based mechanics. It was a blast! We also got some Spearhead in, and some excellent mealtime catchups.
Also this month I succumbed to Legions Imperialis finally with the release of the Mechanicum army set. I painted up a test set of Ursurax, and I was determined to keep them bright. I think I succeeded!
Finally, I painted the mighty Mahut for the Sorcerer Kings. This elephant is actually an animated statue, and it’s a really fun take on a big monster to add to an army.
December
December was a real standout for me in terms of Goonhammer contributions and overall feeling of connectedness with Age of Sigmar, as I got to help put together the gigantic Battlescroll update alongside the rest of the excellent AoS team here at Goonhammer Towers. It’s a real joy to feel switched on enough to digest updates and comment on them for the readers’ benefit when it’s a game I really love.
Alongside that hefty chunk of work, I got to review the Wargames Atlantic Landsknecht Ogre kit for Goonhammer. I had great fun turning these into the beginnings of a Kings of War army, and I’ll be doing some more next year for sure.
Also in secret I was working on a Rollmodels secret santa gift. I was thrilled to have drawn Bair as my recipient because honestly I can’t say enough nice things about him – this year I feel he’s grown from a friendly acquaintance into a firm friend who is generous with his time, thought, and experience. It was great to lavish some attention on painting a model for him, and I opted for a Dwarf Runesmith to support his Old World army. I 3d-sculpted and printed the runestone/plinth and magnetised him in. In tribute to Bair, the Khazalid runes translate to “Never Scroll Up” because, well, he doesn’t.
My effort was rewarded in turn – I received this absolutely sick Bossrokk Tower scratch-built for my Ironjawz, made by Rachel (another friend that I truly cannot say enough nice things about). I can’t wait to get this painted, ready for my ladz to garrison.
Then it was time for a Christmas break! I didn’t get as much done as I would have liked, but I did finish off some more scenery for my MESBG Osgiliath board.
Wrap Up
That’s it! For the sake of brevity I know I’ve missed a load of one-off and club games off. If I played you this year,, rest assured, I enjoyed it.
Normally I’d do some more extensive hots and nots etc for the year, but I tried and it got far too emotional and heavy for an already-oversharing Goonhammer year in review, so I’ll just hit you with some unexplained bullet points.
Good:
- FDM 3D printing for terrain
- Bair
- Middle-Earth TM Strategy Battle Game TM
- Queer joy
- Self-reflection
- Receiving and giving absolutely sick Secret Santa gifts
- Knowing you have ADHD and it re-contextualising your life
Bad:
- Mental Health TM Strategy Battle Game TM
- Resin printing in your kitchen
- Buying too many miniatures instead of getting therapy
- Enjoying painting a miniature so much that you might start another Old World army
- Actually having ADHD
[CONTENT WARNING FOR THE NEXT SECTION: discussion of transphobia, homophobia]
As a closing thought, something that was said in conversation by Goonhammer heavyweight Lenoon in a shared space a month or two ago. We were talking about holding people to account, in particular in being willing to call people out over shitty behaviour towards our trans comrades and siblings. Succinctly put by Aaron, “If you don’t go to the mattresses for everyone, you won’t do it for anyone”.
This has really stuck with me. I am a queer person that is fortunate enough to enjoy the relative safety that being white, cis male, middle class, and straight-passing confers, but still I would be lying if I said I did not feel the pervasive, insidious threat to my identity that consistent media attacks and toxic narratives on trans and non-binary people represents. My freedom cannot be celebrated atop a sacrificial altar stained with the blood of others. The ladder must not be pulled up for the sake of an easy life. I have to reflect on how willing I am to call people out on their words and behaviours, and do my best to challenge these toxic ideas wherever I can. If I don’t do it now, for trans and NB people, will I do it for others in the future? How can I expect people to do it for me?
And most difficult of all, I actually have to do it. Not just write it on the internet, feel fuzzy about it, and carry on. Not avoid doing it where it would be difficult, or affect friendships. Not avoid doing it in public for the sake of having an easier day. So no hobby goals for 2025 here, although they surely exist. Just the goal to be true to my feelings and try to make the world around me a better place, even it if requires some discomfort for me.
Shit, I guess it got heavy after all. I hope you all have a great year full of hobby.
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