"Hobby Promises" - 2011 and 2012

And so another few days whips by leaving me wondering "Where is the time going?" The answer is, of course, to my family... and extra sleep. It has been an interesting six weeks since my second daughter was born, and I'm starting to learn a few things that probably should've been evident before. But more on that later...

2011 Hobby Promises

Around this time last year I made a few promises about things I was going to do during 2011. Let's see how I did:

• Participate in the huge charity project with the Storm Wardens team - DONE
     - We went very large and raised over $31,000, thanks to everyone who gave of their time and effort,  and thanks to everyone who pitched in their hard earned cash for a worthy cause. But boy was it grueling! I'm going to take a back seat in what ever comes next.

• Finish my Artillery Train of Nuln at some stage - DONE
     - Not only did I finish it, but I entered it in the Armies On Parade competition. It won at the local level but didn't quite make it on the National stage.

• Add a few more units to my Blood Pact and Genswick 33rd - FAILED
    - I even bought models to add to these two armies, but got caught up in other projects. As I don't expect to see too much new IG stuff from GW this year, these armies might be my 40K projects for 2012.

• Complete another 120 models for my Napoleonic British army - DONE
    - With two units of Highlanders, two units of Caçadores, two units of Dragoons, and a handful of Command bases I think I hit this target. Not too shabby : )

• Add four more tutorials over the year - FAILED
    - Strangely enough, I thought I had hit this one, but a quick search reveals not. : (

• Participate in four painting competitions over the year, with some models specifically painted for the comps - FAILED
    - I participated in three comps, not four, and mostly with existing models. Hopefully this year will be a bit better in this aspect of my hobby.

• Attend a Masterclass Seminar by Mathieu Fontaine - FAILED
    - I didn't allocate the time or money to attend one of Mathieu's classes last year, and I don't think baby number two will allow that to happen this year either : (

• Paint another Flames Of War army, with Infantry in it, and play some games - DONE (mostly)
    - I painted about 1,700 points of Infantry- army based units that work well with the tanks I painted in 2010. It was a great exercise in switching up my hobby and feeling for FOW. I did not, however, play any games with it. Perhaps 3rd Edition in 2012 will get me going there.

• Continue to have a fantastic time working on Wargames Illustrated and talk about it more often on my blog - DONE
    - Another great year had, with more shared on this blog, and another awesome year planned for 2012, including a massive WI300 issue!

So, nine "promises" with five DONE and four FAILED. That's not a particularly good score.

I know I have a tendency to take on too much at once, and that sometimes I can let myself down by not completing tasks. I'm always looking beyond the next deadline and getting annoyed when I come up short. At the same time, however, I just can't float along without structure. My mind won't let me work like that. So, I've decided to reduce my number of goals this hobby year, and see if I can't get that percentage up ; )

On to 2012 "Hobby Promises"

• Participate in the (now) annual charity event in a much diminished capacity. I'll be doing something, but I won't be leading anything.

• Add four more tutorials this year - I have a few thoughts on what they will be too.

• Participate in two painting competitions with models specifically painted for those comps.

• Start work on my Napoleonic Russian army

• Paint up those new Genswick 33rd and Blood Pact units!

• Work hard on the Procession of Morr army for this year's Armies On Parade.

There we go, only six promises. Should be easier to keep, particularly as most of them are suitably vague ; )

Take care, everyone, and has a glorious year of hobby goodness in 2012!

Cheers
Dave