Ken’s Look Ahead to 2013

So it’s been a while since I last wrote a blog article for the site. I was busy in 2012, but that’s no excuse. However, that got me thinking about bringing some focus, organization and accountability to my 2013 hobby time. This post is my public commitment to the hobby that I enjoy.

So here they are, in no particular order:

Pledge Number 1: I want to complete two playable 40K forces in 2013. That’s right, I said two. I’m thinking 1850 points. The first army will be the Grey Knights that I’ve had on my desk for a while now. I’ve finally settled on a core force that I like and have a direction I want to go. I settled on a unique color scheme during 2012 and I think 2013 will be the year the army finally sees the tabletop. The second army will be Nurgle Chaos Space Marines with Nurgle Daemon allies. I’ve always liked Typhus as a model, I like the color scheme and his “fluff” has always seemed cool. I’ve also found an affinity for the Death Guard in my journey through the Horus Heresy series. I don’t have a complete “evil” army yet and I think this is a good start. Plus, who doesn’t love ravening hoards of zombies on tabletop?

Pledge Number 2: I will start zero new armies in 2013. Zero new 40K armies and zero new Fantasy armies. I know the new Dark Angels stuff is coming out. I’ve read the rumors about possible upcoming books. Even with all the upcoming releases, I need to find a way to curb my hobby spending and keep my projects under control. This is not to say that I won’t buy new army books or models I need for current projects, but I will not buy new models with the intent of starting a new army. I have 75% of the models I need for the Grey Knights and probably 90% of the models I need for the Nurgle army. I also have plenty of other projects beyond those two armies. My High Elves need work, my Apocalypse army is still in the collecting stage, I have a good portion of an Eldar army, I have visions of a Vampire Counts army  and I have enough Space Marines for three new armies. Cuts to new armies should help trim the budget and number of projects.

Pledge Number 3: I will limit my Kickstarter backing to one project during 2013. I backed three projects in 2012. That is not nearly as many some people I know, but in the spirit of cutting back on budget and projects I need to limit it to one. I backed the Free Mars Kickstarter, which will be netting me three beautiful Chris Borer minis and helped out an acquaintance of mine in the process. I also backed the Project Eternity Kickstarter. I enjoyed Obsidian’s previous games, it looks like a game I’ll be able to play and I missed the chance to get in on the Hare Brained Schemes Shadow Run Kickstarter, so I figured why the heck not. My largest investment last year was the Dreamforge Kickstarter. I almost bought one of their Leviathan Crusader models when they retailed over $350, so the chance to get one for less than $90 was irresistible. As it turns out it was so irresistible I got two of the 9.5 inch tall Crusaders (for counts-as Titans or Knight Titans), 3 of the 4.5 inch tall Crusaders (to use as  Dreadknights), a handful of weapons swaps for the Crusaders and the free Kickstarter only models. So during 2013 I will still be looking at Kickstarter, but it’s got to be a special project for me to back it.

(Achieved 10 FEB 2013) Pledge Number 4: I want to run a tournament with more than 30 people during 2013. I’ve seen tournaments I run grow from 6 people at the start to over 20 people currently. I think I can do better. I’ve got at least two AdeptiCon Primers coming up, the Last Cheese Standing Part Deux and a handful of regular tourneys. I like seeing people have fun and seeing my events grow. This is fairly broad for a pledge and I know that I have limited control over achieving it, but I am going to do what I can to make it happen. Eventually, I’d like to be able to run more complex events and possibly invitation only events. Those things are further down the line though.

Pledge Number 5: I want to play in and win an event in 2013. I will be playing in a few events at AdeptiCon, so there’s a few chances. I have some people stepping up to try running some of the local events, so there’s a few more chances. I’d also like to travel to some events this year, so hopefully that’s even more chances.

I think that’s about it for 2013 personal commitments. There are, of course, a whole host of commitments and announcements for the podcast. We’ve got some big things on the horizon, but hopefully this will help bring some focus to my personal hobby time.

So what are your hobby goals and commitments for 2013? Leave them in the comments below if you’d like.