March Already??

Wow, March already! Those two months flew by. I am afraid life has overtaken most of my hobby time. Not totally but it’s been pretty full on. 

Firstly in January we decided to redecorate our living room. A full weekend of painting only to discover we hated the colour. So it was back to the store to collect a different colour. Another day of throwing paint at the walls and we have a room we are happy with. 

We have been chasing roofers to do some repair and improvement work, it went well but three back to back storms later and we need them to come back and fix another problem. I don’t blame them for not wanting to be on a roof after the recent winds.

The worst thing is my Dad took ill and was rushed to hospital with sepsis. He has been in hospital for over three weeks now. It was touch and go for him for a while. Thankfully his condition has improved and will be coming home soon. He gave us quite a scare and the medical staff had given up hope. 

One good thing came out of it, it helped me reconnect with some of my cousins and Dad’s old friends. 

During this time my Mum got Covid in the care home meaning she couldn’t visit Dad. I am glad to say that she only had light symptoms and made a full recovery. 

During all this, like the roofers I have been keeping an eye on the weather. Not just for the deployment of leak defences but to plan time to get my motorbike in for its MOT. Spring is approaching and I am itching to get some miles under its wheels. 

One good bit of news is my new work role which allows me to work from home has massively helped my energy levels and health. In line with everything else of late that has been insanely busy the last couple of weeks. I am glad of my new role as I think if I was commuting to site (over an hour each way), doing a full days work, rushing home to care for my wife and trying to spend time with my Dad , I think I would have hit that exhaustion wall. Another advantage is that working from home is saving me a fortune in fuel especially with the recent fuel price inflation. 

Then there is the horrible situation in Ukraine. It is sickening to see. My heart goes out to the Ukrainian people. I wish that our county could do more but Russia has that Nuke threat over anyone trying to help Ukraine against Russian invasion and war crimes. We were both glad when we spotted a local Polish group collecting aid supplies for the Ukrainian refugees in Poland. At least we can do something. To the people of Ukraine and it’s hero’s you are in our thoughts and prayers. 

Yet again it’s the ordinary people of both sides and their soldiers that pay the price for the insane ego trip of a single man. Does history teach us nothing? 

“So what hobby have you managed?” I hear you cry. This is after all a hobby blog. 

I got this loon shrine as a Christmas gift from my wife (I told you she was a keeper!). It was a fun kit to assemble. I have since filled the cracks. I just need to get it painted now. 

I felt the urge to assemble some Maelstroms Edge Broken figures. Initially I was going to use them as a Stargrave crew. But then I realised that they would make a good Post Apocalyptic Militia. It took me a while to assemble them as I had lots of help from my furry friends. 

One good thing about ME figures is that they come with two pairs of legs per torso, multiple arms, weapons and heads. Great for conversion work. After a bits box delve I managed to piece together more figures for the Militia. Some other torsos have been added with ME Broken heads, arms and weapons. 

The extra figures need a little filler and puttying. I see these guys patrolling the mean streets and walls of the Last City. 

That’s all for now. I hope we all have better, easier days soon.

Thanks for reading. Take care out there.

Happy New Year 2022

Happy New Year. 2022 is upon us. Let’s hope it is better than 2021.

My hobby plans for this year are varied and I expect something else will grab my attention and my plans will change. This year I won’t be keeping track of my painted figures or terrain by counting or hobby bingo. During 2021 I knocked up a tracker spreadsheet of ongoing projects which has worked well in giving me a overview of what I have done and what various status various hobby projects are at. It helped drive me to get stuff done.

Mattblackgod’s world: The post Apoc world will continue rolling on. I have quite a few figures from Punkapocalyptic, MEP miniatures, Ramshackle games and Fallout Wasteland Warfare to go at. Lots of new gangs to introduce and additions to existing gangs. 

Last City: The Last City on Mattblackgod’s World has had some changes which will result in a remap of the city. I have also been fleshing out the fluff for beyond the city which I hope will create a gaming background for the gangs. I am still working on that fluff and I hope to get a map created. This little project has given me ideas for some new characters and gangs.

Punkapocalyptic is a post apocalyptic ruleset I would like to play. I haven’t managed any games yet but hopefully I can get a game in during 2022.

Wild Galaxy: I will continue growing this in 28mm with the 5 Parsecs from home and Stargrave rulesets in mind. Again I hope to get a few games of each game played in the coming year. I have a pile of Sci Fi figures to get painted too. 

Mytharth is my home brew fantasy setting which is a diversion to paint fantasy figures as the whim takes me. There are plenty of Wizards, Witches, Barbarians and more to paint up. My friend Xander gave me a pile of nicely painted fantasy figures last year which I still need to sort. Who knows I might even be able to get a game of frostgrave in.

There is also some fantasy terrain to knock together. This is a must to get done as I am sick pictures of fantasy figures against my PA/Sci Fi terrain collections. It looks odd. 

Flintloque: I painted up Rudolf’s Raiders last year from the Flintloque lines. I like the whimsical fantasy aspect of the figures. So much so I treated myself to the Black Czar starter set. Not sure the rules are for me but I am sure I will enjoy painting the figures up.

The Silver Bayonet: This Napoleonic gothic horror has grabbed my imagination however I am not sure if I will get into it just yet. The setting shares terrain styles with Flintloque and I am tempted at knocking up some buildings for a change from my usual Sci Fi and Post Apocalyptic vibes. 

Attacking the half finished project piles is another aim. I have a pile of half built models, built figures and terrain that needs getting finishing. Hopefully I can get the pile down.

I hope that you are having a wonderful new year and 2022 is a happy prosperous year for you. Thanks for reading. 

2021 look back

Hello and welcome back.

2021 is drawing to a close and what a year. 2021 was another challenging year for many of us. For me I have been torn between work dragging me onto site and taking care of my wife. Thanks to a total lack of managerial planning and foresight they allowed the rest of the team to retire and then expected me to do the work of three people. The long commute hasn’t helped either. I was running myself into the ground. Eventually I have found a work from home role which I hope will give me more quality time at home and energy. 

The year also saw some personal milestones. My wife and I celebrated our silver wedding anniversary and we both celebrated half a century alive. They all took a bit of planning and we had a fun time even if the pandemic had limited our celebration options.

Hobby time has helped keep me sane this year. Kind of. While my blogging has been slow looking back I have been quite productive. A lot more than I first thought. 

Looking back at my hobby output for 2021:

Aliens - these might get a update with a dry brush and wash. 

Stargrave Pirates/Space Bustards

Pyro & Warboys 

MEP Hill people & Followers of the special child.

Stargrave Starships

Lost Fortress Wall

Ruin reworks

Starport scum

Cargo piles

Wasteland bounty hunters

Horizon Zero Dawn machines

Undercity steam vents

Fuel storage tank

Sci Fi building

The Judges

Fort Hardknox

Havester Immuncites for Zone Raiders 

Orc Boss

Sci Fi drop ship

The Witches

Nobby Pumpkinhead

Mean Angel 

Rudolf’s Raiders 

In addition to all this I have been reading Flintloque (black powder/Napoleonic inspired fantasy) and The Silver Bayonet (Napoleonic Gothic Horror) rule sets. I like the feel of the Flintloque figures  and I already have a few gothic horror monsters in my collection for silver bayonet.

I have been fleshing out the world around the Last City of Mattblackgod’s world too. It’s cool having all those factions living close together in the ruins of an ancient city but they need places to go and scavenge for resources. I still need to draw a map up. The planning has given me some new character ideas. Now all I need to do is get some games in. 

Thanks for looking and Happy New Year. I hope 2022 brings you every happiness.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!

I wish all my readers a very merry Christmas, Yuletide, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice time, Saturnalia or what you do (or don’t) celebrate (the peoples of Mattblackgod’s world celebrate Apocomas!). 

I hope you all have a fabulous holiday and that you get some nice gifts. For those lucky enough to get a game in may the dice gods smile upon you.

All the best! Merry Christmas!

Danny/Mattblackgod