Something about laying down big plans at the beginning of the year is so appealing to many of us. The prospect of a full year ahead of us and the possibilities that await. A fresh start, and blank canvas – the blind optimism that excites us to get up and make cool shit.
I started this year with grand plans. I had a full 5th Edition Warhammer Skaven army waiting in boxes, primed and ready to go. I thought I would paint it all this year. I had multiple Necromunda projects sitting on my desk and ideas bouncing around my head (and in my notes). Was I actually going to get to making my Ash Wastes terrain? Would I finally paint those 10 zombies that have been only desk for two years? And BattleTech; so many mechs to paint and more on the horizon.
Well, I got down and painted up 10 Skaven Clanrats in the first week of the year. All Contrast, and super fun to paint. Great start, right?
Well, the Hobby ADD hit and I pivoted hard to Necromunda. I decided that I wanted to host a private event, in the style of BuffaloChicken’s Necro Spa Weekends. Unofficially-offically called the Necromunday Invitational, I invited all my friends for a weekend of Necromunda in the Hambarn.
I had the lofty goal of building up my terrain collection for the event so I could run three full tables of Sector Mechanicus. I did an accounting of what I had and made a list of what I needed to make and got down. I had some long-standing wants to start with and some simple stuff to bulk out the real estate. I finally made a stand-alone vent section and some new open, half-size floor tiles. And so much scatter and so many more bridges.
I finally got to painting my hab block. It had been primed for a while, so I just needed to spend time with oil paints. Have I actually finished it? Nope. I still need to oil the underside of the walkways. But I got it done-enough for the event in May and, in the process, learned that I need to make some clip-on barricades to make it more playable and not the hellish deathtrap that it currently is for gangers. It rips though and absolutely dominates the table.
I made some special swag, bought physical things to represent the Fancy Things from our very-good Loot Crate rules and had a super chill, 3-day event with my friends. One that I want to, and plan to, do again.
And that was mid-May. And friends, here’s where the plan for the year unraveled. Back in 2023, I had some uncertainty in my marriage which I thought had mostly resolved been resolved. But in May of this year, it came back, making doing anything hobby-related very difficult.
I did a little hobby over the summer. I painted up some Spyerers for an article, played around the with the Snot Goblin terrain, and worked on my Fantasy and 40K terrain backlog, knocking a lot out of stuff that had been sitting for a long time.
At the end of the day, this hobby can mean a lot to us. It’s a place of solace for some, a distraction for others, a lifestyle for a few of us. We make friends through gaming, and sometimes, some of those friends become more than our gaming buddies.
But sometimes, life gets in the way of hobby. It gets in the way of gaming. It gets in the way of being able to enjoy what was once a huge part of your life. And that happened. The ability for me to dive into a project and enjoy the process, the ability to sit and paint and get lost in the process was gone.
Sadly for me this year, hobby felt super trivial and unimportant in the face of what I was dealing with personally. Seeing a life you’ve created and invested yourself in over 15 years come to a screeching halt and having to face the reality that it’s crumbling is sobering, and it forces a change in one’s priorities. Depression and anxiety can rob you of the will to enjoy what you once did. Trying to understand the new reality and where you and your partner in life are going and seeing the writing on the wall is not conducive to hobby progress.
My wife and I separated in September. It’s life. And while tough, it’ll be for the best in the long run. I transitioned to being a single parent for the majority of the time and found myself struggling to do anything past my kid’s bedtime. The mental effort of life didn’t leave me with much energy for anything beyond my responsibilities. I looked at the obstacles to my hobby (besides my brain). And while the Hambarn is a magical place, sometimes the fact that it’s a different building is just too much for me to go and do. Now, I know that if I can out there and get going, I’ll be productive, but it’s getting out there.
To address that, I set up a desk in my house, a place that I can sit, be comfortable, and get some simple stuff done. I’m looking at using it to assemble stuff, cause lord knows, I have plenty to assemble.
So, here I am and it’s the end of the year. My bingo card for 2024 was not at all what I expected and life both looks very different than where I started the year.
I’m grateful beyond measure for the friends I know through gaming. Over the years. we’ve gone from friends who play games and chat, to friends who chat and play games and I wouldn’t trade that for the world. The love and time they’ve show me is invaluable, from chatting and supporting me, to building army lists for me so we can get a game in.
In the end, it really is about the friends we made along the way.
Let’s wrap this up, y’all want some stats?
Somehow, I managed to paint 162 miniatures this year. I’ll admit, about two-thirds of those are scatter terrain for Necromunda. But hey, they count!
And! I played 38 games this year, mostly Necromunda, but a few games of AoS and BattleTech too.
Well, that’s all folks. Here’s to new beginnings in 2025. To new experiences, new friends. But also reviving old passions and projects and thinking about the hobby and hobby goals in a new light.
Be good to yourselves.
If you’re going through some life shit, it’s ok, we all do. If you want to talk about it or need a friend in dark times, feel free to drop us a line at contact@goonhammer.com.
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