Howdy

I've thought on and off for many years about starting a hobby blog, the fear of having nothing valuable to add holding me back. I have been overcoming a lifetime of perfectionism that has held me back from trying many things. I am still learning to embrace the value of just getting started and seeing what comes of things.

Getting this hobby blog started is one step in this direction.

I started my hobby journey by picking up the X-Wing core set when it came across my feed on Amazon day in July of 2017. I had spent years being a regular board game player but I couldn't resist the ship miniatures. After receiving my bundle of joy from Amazon I found a local community of players. I learned to play and attended a couple of small tournaments. I was not impressed with the community. Even in the local game store the players I ran into were hyper-competitive and not new player friendly.

A few months later I picked up the Star Wars: Armada core set and that is when I really fell in love with wargaming. After a childhood filled with imagining and drawing space battles, I could actually play them out with beautiful miniatures. I found the Armada community to be far more welcoming and the game itself much more interesting. I played Armada for years and traveled a good amount for tournaments. I never spent enough time studying the game to become a top level player, but I had a good time at the middle tables.

While spending time at game stores I noticed people playing Warhammer 40K and was instantly drawn to their miniatures. When they explained which game they were playing I remembered that I owned a copy of Eisenhorn that I had never gotten around to reading. I went home and dove in to what would become a years long obsession with 40K lore.

I soon dove into 40K miniatures and discovered the wonderful world of building and painting miniatures. I quickly had multiple 40K armies in progress, a theme that would continue for years. My hobby journey has unfortunately been synonymous with unfinished projects. Although I was in love with 40K lore and miniatures the game itself never really got its teeth into me. I wandered into Star Wars: Legion for a little while before ending up in the skirmish world with the release of Kill Team.

Going down the skirmish road, I also jumped into Warhammer: Underworlds as well as Blitz Bowl and Warcry. I played Kill Team extensively and it helped motivate me to start attending gaming conventions. I started going to the Nova Open every year and made it out to Adepticon a couple of times. I remained an avid board game player as well.

I discovered Adeptus Titanicus around this period which I loved playing but was intimidating to paint. The models were glorious so I dove deep into the game.

This was a glorious period of playing and hobbying. I was still in love with Armada and was discovering so many different parts of the painting hobby. Unfortunately this desire to try new painting techniques, and exploration of different model ranges, kept me from seeing most projects to completion.

The GW universe had its hooks in me with Kill Team, 40K, Warcry, and Blitz Bowl. I also was playing some non-GW games like Marvel Crisis Protocol. In 2022, I discovered what I now consider to be my favorite wargame, Necromunda. I loved the models and the narrative game play created so many memorable moments. I started off with my GSC models but then quickly moved on to Delaque. The aesthetic of the gang, as well as their sneaky strategies, encouraged me to one of my biggest hobby successes.

I have enjoyed nearly every Necromunda game I have ever played, only running into WAAC opponents a few times. The game has so much depth and variety that I can never see myself getting tired of it.

At wargaming conventions, I generally focus on painting classes with a small side of gaming. I always enjoy learning from world class painters and being pushed to try things I would not do on my own.

I continue my scatter shot approach to hobbying, bouncing between an endless stream of projects.

Work and family considerations have limited my hobby time pretty sharply in the last 2 years, so I am now trying to focus my attention more narrowly. I am exploring solo wargaming through games such as 5 Parsecs from Home, Exploit Zero, and County Road Z. I thoroughly enjoy exploring indie wargames such as the offerings from Osprey, Blacksite Studio, and Modiphius. I have also been dragged into a fair bit of Battletech Alpha Strike.

I have also fallen down the rabit hole of resin & FDM 3D printing. The endless supply of amazing STLs found on Patreon and MyMiniFactory have led me to create an endless pile of opportunity.

Retirement cannot come soon enough.