2013 Round-Up and Plans for 2014...

Well, 2013 was not a good year for me in general but I did get a fair amount done in regards to "The Hobby" and managed this by concentrating on only a few projects!

1) Doctor Who - over 100 miniatures now done for this, though admittedly I started in October 2012. Also got a great game in using the DWMG rules "Day of the Autons". Rob (GM) kindly painted up 30 odd Sea Devils and a few Silurians for me too!

2) 7TV - another 60 minis approx completed for this but only one game played, "GoldenSpy".

3) Stargate SG1 - about 45 minis and a Stargate done for this. Still not quite finished the MALP's / FRED's and need some scenery!

4) Strange Aeons / Cthulhu - a handful of figures done for this too including a horde of Deep Ones.

5) Viking / Dark Ages - an ongoing project over at Gjallarhorn. Topped up the Viking folk by another 30 or so.

6) Built up my scenery / terrain etc too over the last year but feel like there is a long way to go...

So, what's for next year?

1) Terrain / scenery / buildings etc - though I have a few bits and bobs I really need to concentrate on this over the next year. Anything generic is great but I think I need a lot more buildings, probably some Sarissa ones topped up with a couple of 4Ground and maybe a couple of Plasticville.

2) More Doctor Who - no surprises there as I still have a stack more of the Black Tree figures (picked up in sales) and a fair bit of 'not' Doctor Who stuff from Heresy and Crooked Dice etc. Also intend to actually play a few more games too now I have the figures!

3) More 7TV - again, lots of figures still to be done and want to play much more than I managed in 2013.

4) Stargate SG1 - bought some more Jaffa from eBay and must get the 'not' SG1 from Hasslefree!

5) Vikings - yep, more. Perhaps a few more games of Saga and Strandhogg. Might try out Pig Wars.

6) Strange Aeons - want to start concentrating on this more. I have loads of old Cthulhu minis and quite a few from the Artizan Thrilling Tales range. Andrew has been really working towards this (and all things Cthulhu) and I have only made a start. Really want to play!

7) Darkest Africa - progress slowed on this (By the Orders of the Great White Queen) but hopefully we will finally get to play something. I have a handful of bearers and villagers to do and we need more warriors.

New projects?

1) WWII - one of our other shared projects (A Project Too Far), so not exactly new but I want to start in a new area. It looks to be shaping up with Andrew painting up his Yanks and Rob adding to the ranks with some British Royal Marine Commandos (maybe?) and I would like to finish off a few Germans and French Resistance. As far as the new part of this I really want to get started on my British 'Home Guard'. I have a few of the Foundry 'Dad's Army' range and would like to pick up some Musketeer figures to add to this. Hopefully one of our first games of the new year will be using the Chain of Command rules by Too Fat Lardies.

2) Pulp - not bought them but looking at the Pulp Alley rules and fancy giving them a try. If I actually work towards some Strange Aeons stuff this will be useful here too, so not a huge commitment figure wise.

3) Greek Myth / 7th Voyage - bought the Crooked Dice 7th Voyage rules and have also picked up lots of the Foundry Greek Myth range (plus some monsters) so already committed to this!

4) Zombies - always a tempter as I am a massive Zombie fan. Obviously I have the 7ombieTV rules too being the Crooked Dice devout that I am. Andrew has the figures, I will aim to supply the buildings etc...

5) A Fistful of Kung Fu - very tempted by this but it would be a complete start from scratch. Definitely up for some 'Gun-Fu' action though.

6) Fantasy - well, I still have hundreds of unpainted fantasy minis (mainly Citadel) from my early Warhammer days. The Runequest stuff is calling to me as well... I fancy a getting a small Scorpion Man or Baboon raiding party together. Andrew made a lot of progress with this and bought an entire dungeon (not literally) so I feel obliged to assist.

7) Gladiators - I picked up some Gladiator minis recently and with the new rules coming from Studio Tomahawk this is on the cards too.

The main aim will be to try to actually PLAY more games!

I am sure I will find other distractions during the year (In Her Majesties Name, Dead Mans Hand, Judge Dredd, Tomorrows War??) but for now I think I have given myself plenty to be getting on with.

Best wishes to you all.

M

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Happy New Year!

7TV - Pandora King & The Man From 3000.

Pandora King - a mix of Emma Peel and Cathy Gale in one awesome package!

Pandora King.

Emma Peel (Diana Rigg).

Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman).

Man from 3000.

The Prisoner / No.6 (Patrick McGoohan).

Figures are from Crooked Dice.

Doctor Who - Vehicles.

The Doctor & Sarah Jane with Bessie.

Liz & The Doctor show off Bessie.

Rose Tyler / Daisy Taylor and her new Mini.

The Brigadier test drives his new UNIT transport.

Figures are Black Tree and Crooked Dice. Vehicles are Corgi.

The Man Cave...

Having recently moved and been offline for awhile (how I missed it!) I am finally getting my 'man-cave' sorted - it may not be the biggest room but I am pretty lucky to have one at all for my 'toys'. Plenty of storage space for little lead men, rulebooks, RPG's, painting stuff and all kinds of paraphernalia for 'The Hobby'...

How much stuff can you get in one box room?

Rulebooks etc.

Note the fetching pink 'Monkey Cushions'.

The Painting Station - not much happens here at the moment.

Still need to do some work, especially the painting area which isn't very usable at the moment, a good clear out of some unwanted books is on the cards too.

Doctor Who - Fifth Doctor & Companions.

The Fifth Doctor and his host of companions...

The Fifth Doctor was far more vulnerable, sensitive, and reserved than his previous incarnations and often reacted to situations rather than initiating them. Frequently, he made decisions by flipping a coin. Unlike his more authoritative predecessors, he treated his young companions as parts of a team, and often willingly participated in situations under the leadership of someone else who had the strong command presence that he apparently lacked. However, the Fifth Doctor's boyish appearance, nervous energy, and charm all hid the fact that he was a Time Lord of great age, compassion, and experience. He could decipher the ingredients of a drink by smell alone and rosemary made him sneeze.

This Doctor greatly abhorred violence and often hesitated about taking matters into his own hands. For the first time, indecision weighed seriously on the character, and it had its consequences – yet this Doctor was also one of the most courageous of his incarnations. He was willing to take chances with companions like Turlough and Kamelion, who were originally threats, even as he pretended to be unaware of it at first in order to grant his companion the opportunity to do the right thing. He was also willing to make enormous personal sacrifices simply to keep his word and liberate others from suffering. It was perhaps the awful realisation that his very existence begat violence and the weight of companion Adric's death on his conscience, and perhaps Tegan's near emotional breakdown as well, that led him to sacrifice his own existence to save his last companion, Peri.

Nyssa, Adric, the Doctor & Tegan.

The Fifth Doctor travelled with several companions, these were -

Adric
Nyssa
Tegan Jovanka
Vislor Turlough
Kamelion
Peri Brown

Adric was a mathematical genius, but could be somewhat pompous and arrogant. He was very proud of his Elite status. He wished to be accepted by his brother Varsh's gang, the Outlers, and tried to steal fruit to prove himself, but failed. When his brother died, he kept his belt, a symbol of Outler membership. Otherwise, the belonging to that rebel party, as well as later attempts to provoke revolutionary riots denoted him as a young turk.

He pretended to go along with the plans of the vampires in a ploy to rescue Romana, with whom he got on well. Aukon sensed Adric had the strength of spirit to survive becoming a vampire.

Adric & Nyssa.

Adric was fiercely loyal to the Doctor and had a generally amicable relationship with the Time Lord, who acted as his mentor. His relationship with the other companions in the crowded TARDIS was often strained. Adric wanted desperately to be brave and accepted; he defied the Master and died trying to solve a math/computer problem, in order to prevent a freighter from crashing into the Earth. As he crashed to his death, unable to access the computer system to input his last mathematical calculation, he held his brother's belt and said almost wistfully, "Now I'll never know if I was right."

Nyssa seemed at once more mature and more naive than her fellow travellers. She did not boast of her scientific knowledge nor believe it made her superior. She faced her challenges with the determination and serenity of her Trakenite heritage. She turned her sorrow as the last of her people into a desire to help others. Rarely did she mention any grief she suffered because of her great misfortunes. Perhaps most extraordinarily, she never sought to avenge herself on the Master despite her many good reasons to do so.

Tegan noted that Nyssa preferred to "care and share". Her trusting nature sometimes made her less alert to deception than Tegan, but it also made her more adept at negotiating an effective balance between strong personalities. She had probably the closest relationship with the Fifth Doctor of any of his companions. Nyssa's near-royal upbringing and natural curiosity sometimes made it hard for her to relax and enjoy herself. Though her outlook usually tended to be serious, she displayed a dry wit on occasion, particularly when dealing with the Fifth Doctor's boyish idiosyncrasies.

She tended towards pacifism, though on one occasion she destroyed a Terileptil android and used the threat of violence to save the Doctor's life, shooting a pair of guards.

She considered Tegan to be her best friend, however she also "never quite understood" why so many of the Doctor's friends were human.

The Doctor & Tegan.

Tegan was stubborn, loud and direct, once describing herself as "just a mouth on legs." While she often bickered with her fellow travellers, her intrinsic honesty and morality proved useful. The Doctor once noted that these qualities made her a good coordinator. She was also more likely to detect a threat to the Doctor's safety than her fellow companions.

Of her fellow travellers, she was likely closest to Nyssa, whose controlled nature was in many ways the precise opposite of her own. She was indignant at the Doctor's apparent unwillingness to save Adric's life and genuinely saddened when Nyssa left.

On Deva Loka, Tegan argued with Adric after he suggested she was too weak-minded to defy the Mara and that the ensuing chaos was her fault. However, she also showed concern for Adric's well being when he was captured and tortured by the Master.

Although she despised violence, she would resort to it under extreme circumstances. When the Master threatened the Doctor, Tegan immediately threw a knife at him.

The Doctor often encouraged her to find her inner strength with the words, "Brave heart, Tegan", which he saw her saying as he regenerated.

The Doctor & Turlough

Turlough was selfish, always shielding himself from blame. He could lie convincingly to most; some, such as Tegan Jovanka and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, were not taken in by him.

Although usually quick to retreat, Turlough was not so much a coward as a survivalist, preferring to avoid danger and situations he felt he couldn't change.

Tegan did not like Turlough at first, finding him untrustworthy. She did not approve of the Doctor letting Turlough consider the Black Guardian's offer, believing Turlough would choose the crystal. However, the Doctor was confident in Turlough's morals. Nevertheless, Tegan often tried to persuade him to banish Turlough from the TARDIS.

He saved a Phiadoran female from a large drop, whom he was attracted to. Lytalia was a female with whom he seemed to fall in love.

Despite the Black Guardian's attempts to vilify the Doctor, he recognised the Doctor's good intentions. On numerous occasions, he tried to make the Black Guardian reconsider his order to kill the Time Lord. Turlough used the tranquility felt at the Eye of Orion to draw. He understood the TARDIS systems well enough to run a diagnostic and programmed the TARDIS to rescue the Doctor and Peri.

The Doctor once compared Turlough and Tegan to bickering siblings.

The Doctor & Kamelion. Lazy.

Kamelion was a shape-changing android. Used by the Master to impersonate King John, he later travelled as a companion to Fifth Doctor. This continued until his destruction after he had again fallen under the influence of the Master.

However, this was not the end for him. He gained and lost a new host body, had a child with the Doctor's TARDIS and used his mental link with the Doctor to allow the Master to trap the Doctor within a dreamscape. Apparently...

Figures are all Black Tree Design. TARDIS by Ainsty.

7TV - Hot Cops.

PC Amy is backed up by Sgt. Nick and PC's Danny and Andrew.

Figures are Crooked Dice and Hasslefree.