2025 Half-Way Assessment

Frog Mage takes command of his legions.

As one of those who enjoys making lists and goals and such, and as we've reached  passed the mid-point of 2025, it seems like a good opportunity to figure out what I want to do with the rest of the year hobby-wise. 

Now, I don't expect everyone to be so enamored of planning when it comes to their hobbies, but without a plan, I'm liable to just make effort (even enthusiastic effort) in random directions with the end result that nothing gets to anything resembling a point of completion - even "complete for now" is still better than perpetual "in progress" to my mind. 

In no way is this intended to suggest that you, too, should be thinking about the next six months of hobby stuff.

In my January goals post, I noted the following were areas I was going to make efforts on for 2025: 

• Arrange more social gaming
• Focus on making terrain and scenery
• Limit spending on figures to gift money only

So, how am I doing?

Arrange More Social Gaming

While I had guessed at the specifics incorrectly, I have made effort here and it has paid off.

My family & friends RPG group has embarked on an episodic Basic Fantasy RPG campaign - we've had three sessions so far (Session 0, and two gaming sessions). Plot lines are emerging outside of the adventures themselves which is always a good sign and people are asking when the next session is, which is a better sign. 

The Georgia One Page Rules group I was thinking off back in January is only on Facebook, but I no longer am.  However, I found a different group on Discord in early June and have arranged and played Grim Dark Future: Firefight face-to-face with another human twice already. 

Focus on making terrain and scenery

My scratch-built terrain featured in May's update is my proof that I've made efforts on this front.  It's very enjoyable turning trash into useful bits for the game table and my sci-fi games are substantially improved with the additional cover available for the figures. 

Limit spending on figures to gift money only

Well ... the best laid plans.

So far, I've purchased: 

• One sprue from the old Adepta Sororitas Combat Patrol box - it includes a Penitent Engine, four Battle Sisters, a Seraphim (I think that's what it is), two Sisters Repentia, one Arco-flagellant, and a Repentia Superior. 
• 10 old metal GW Black Orcs (painted by the previous owner, for the win). 
• One 3D printed "#5 Sister Repentium  with Big Chain-Sword" from a Ukraine-based seller , WargameExclusive, on Etsy. It's a very nice figure armed with a two-handed chainsword to act as a High Sister for my Blessed Sisters.
• 10th Edition 40K starter set - so many Tyranids and Space Marines

Plans for the Remainder

Well, they are basically the same.

Arrange More Social Gaming

Our RPG campaign is on a break until late July/early August now, as everyone has vacation travel plans, but we'll get back to it then. 

I don't plan on running the Family Fall Festival game or the Christmas game this year, in order to give others a chance, now that I've established the tradition. But I may run a holiday themed game not part of the holiday celebrations for the RPG group. 

There are lots of suitable adventures for Halloween and Christmas.

I can't make the weekly Wednesday evening OPR meetup, but I'm hoping to pick up where I've left off when I get back from traveling in July and double-down on starting a regular bi-weekly Saturday meetup that I *can* make. It's two to three games in two hours and a nice time being social with people with similar interests (outside of playing in bands, socializing is not my strong suit) and spreading the word about OPR.

Focus on making terrain and scenery

I still have more I plan to make - especially in case I end up providing the terrain for one of those OPR meetups. 

What I would really like is a 4x6 desert or wasteland mat (Firefight/Skirmish are played on 4x4, full Grim Dark Future and Age of Fantasy use 4x6. You can play smaller, and I do at home, but the game store has big tables). 

I really like the Cigarbox desert print and it is fleece, which I personally prefer to mouse-pad or vinyl, but it's a little pricey - we'll see. It might just end up being sand colored felt to have money to spend on other hobby things.

Speaking of ...

Limit spending on figures to gift money only to my hobby budget

This one needed a tweak - I want to limit my spending generally, but if I spend my hobby budget on figures, as I did the first half of the year, that's fine. 

Admittedly, I really don't need any more figures realistically speaking - certainly not for the rest of this year unless I miraculously learn to paint faster.

The most likely (but not the only) scenario is me purchasing items for my Christmas presents to myself.

My Blessed Sisters plan requires additional toys in order to hit 2000 points, most likely a box of Repentia, a 3D print Mortifier equivalent, and a 3D print APC.

My Battle Brothers will likely receive a 3D print APC, and my Alien Hives a box of Tyranid Warriors. That would bring both of those forces up to 2000 points (the 10th ed starter box supplies the bulk of both armies). 

For my element-based fantasy games, I'm on the lookout for a few trolls for my Orc/Goblin army (I know which ones I want, just watching for low prices) and some acceptably painted old GW metal orc boar riders on eBay, just to give that army more options. 

Finally, for my 54mm Lost World/Lemuria/Venus plan (which has changed radically), I'm thinking some Armies in Plastic Boer Commandos to paint up as explorers/adventurers, and I am on the lookout for a Victorian era photographer type with camera on tripod.

Paint up the 10th ed Starter box (new objective)

Both sides are easy to paint, (compared to the Blessed Sisters) and I hope to have them done sooner rather than later. Certainly, before the end of the year (famous last words). In any case, they will make up the bulk of my painting the rest of the year. 

The box includes:

11x Space Marines (I might paint them as Ultramarines, for variety or not)
- 1x Captain in Terminator Armour
- 5x Terminators (I can only field in units of 3 in OPR Grim Dark Future, so I may consider buying one just to do that)
- 5x Infernus Marines (to bring my total to 8)  

27x Tyranids
- 1x Winged Tyranid Prime (this one might not be easy to paint)
- 1x Psychophage
- 3x Von Ryan’s Leapers
- 20x Termagants (bringing me to 40)
- 2x Ripper Swarms (bringing me to 4, but I can only field in units of 3 in OPR Grim Dark Future)

Neither one will get me to 2000 points without small additional purchases as noted above, but cost-wise they are significantly less expensive than the Blessed Sisters will be. 

Not officially "goals" but there are a good number of things in progress in the paint queue already that I aim to finish:

• 2 GW Infernus,
• 4 Wargames Atlantic Lizard warriors
• 4 Wargames Atlantic Lizard warriors Sci-Fi Style
• 2 GW Repentia
• 2 Reaper Bones Rangers  

And to the above I'd add a strong likelihood of the following getting paint before the year ends:

• 1 Reaper Dark Heaven Gator Warrior 
• 1 GW Arco-flagellant
• 1 3D Print High Sister with Two handed chainsword
• 3 Wargames Atlantic Lizard warriors Sci-Fi-style but close combat
• 1 GW Repentia Superior
• 6 GW Battle Sisters

The only downside about traveling right now is that I don't have my paints with me so all of those have to wait until August.