Another year older...

...but none the wiser. Not that these ramblings are of the slightest importance to any passing reader, or even to friends and family really, but in common with other residents of the blogosphere I try to publish some sort of review of the year in GHQ and to cogitate out loud on the possibilities of the coming year. So, without more waffling on, here we go!

Games played, here and at Phil's mostly, though latterly also at Jon's, will be the first item. After all, our hobby is called wargaming for a reason! Over the year I have played in 51 games, ranging from C3rd Romans v Goths, through Late Roman internecine wars, via the Italian Wars and the ECW into the black powder period and beyond to the Great War, the fictional VBCW to WWII in Western Europe, the Russian Steppes, to the jungles of the Far East. Looking back though it seems that the black powder period has dominated GHQ games from the F&IW, the SYW, the AWI, the Wars of the French Revolution, the War of 1812-15 and the ACW. All these played using Black Powder 2 as the rules driver in its many iterations and nuances. Of these I won 25 and lost 15, with 10 drawn and one abandoned as unplayable, so I'm still firmly average (but performing better than Jeremy Corbyn!) During the year though three games moved on from GHQ to find new homes: the 20mm Vietnam War and the 28mm Victorian Pulp were sold on and the 28mm Samurai were gifted to Jon and Phil as I'd lost interest to be honest. I expect there will be further departures from GHQ in 2020 as I look to rationalize my collections in the light of what games we enjoy playing the most.

Turning to painting activities, I've completed 636 figures at this moment in time and doubt I'll manage to complete the few in progress by the year's end. All were in 28mm of course, the hand and eye being as they are I've postponed my 15mm Cold War Gone Hot temporarily. I still hope to get this project done, but I need to finish other ongoing projects first I think. The completion of the Italian Wars joint venture with Phil was a major addition this year, and featured twice in Wargames Illustrated, but I also added substantially to my AWI, SYW and War of 1812-15 collections. Mentioning the Italian Wars reminds me that I added a considerable amount of terrain for the period, some from The Last Valley, Grand Manor and Irongate Scenics, but also a number of buildings and a grand Pallazo in MDF, the latter also featured in Wargames Illustrated. I'm pleased with what I accomplished this year in the light of eye and hand issues and I hope to continue into the coming year!

As ever I made a number of hobby related visits over the course of the year, starting with Penkridge Table Top Sale in January and concluding with Wargamer in December. As well as the usual visits to the shops , at Foundry, Caliver and Warlord Games, and regular shows such as WMMS, Partizan and Barrage, I also made my first visit to Hammerhead and Phoenix. With the exception of the now defunct ROBIN I enjoyed them all and hope to get to the 2020 iterations (DV).

Over the course of 2020 I bought too much, as I suspect most of us do, so the Lead Pimple remains about the same at three RUBs worth; though all are cleaned up, spray undercoated and stuck to MDF bases with whitetack. Of course there's also a box of 15mm plastics for the CWGH project, but that's out of sight so doesn't count! I shall reach my 70th Birthday (DV) in 2020 and this impending landmark has from time to time induced thoughts of mortality and the fate of a lifetime’s hobby activity stored in GHQ. With that in mind, a modicum of downsizing is planned to continue next year if I can find the right market and price for what I plan to move on. As to further projects, well I like to browse new products and periods as much as the next hobbyist, but I doubt I shall be undertaking any radical additions in the future. But, you never know as they say...

It only remains for me to wish you all a very Happy New Year and much joy of our wonderful hobby!