Saturday, January 1, 2011

'Ere We Go 2011

Woooo-hoo!! 2011 is off and running and I am as excited as can be to start out another year once again at the helm of the good ship, diceRolla. I've got all sorts of projects lined up for the months ahead and am eager to get things underway promptly. I have high expectations and am optimistic that it is indeed going to be a great hobby year.

I will be making some resolutions for 2011 but only a couple hours ago this evening began considering what goals I would like to resolve myself to accomplishing. I intend on reviewing how I did with last year's resolutions soon but for now I will just say that without a generous degree of creative interpretation, I fulfilled little on the hobby side of things. The non-hobby resolutions, however, were thankfully much better. :) I therefore am going to take more time to think about my choices instead of hastily committing myself to something I might soon come to regret.

The general formula for my resolutions will no doubt be similar to that which many other gamers are setting out for themselves, that of: paint more, game more, terrain more, get better at things I enjoy. Once you've established that it's really only a matter of working out the details. I'm driving to Charlotte in the morning for my granddad's funeral so I should have plenty of time to review my priorities and decide what projects will take precedence in 2011. From there I will determine my resolutions and perhaps this year I might even stand a chance of making it past March with them.

I've already got a start on the first project of the new year, one that I anticipate will be a relatively quick set of minis to finish. In a couple of days I'll know what larger projects I want to focus on for 2011, so this small painting task I've set for myself should keep me busy until then and help sustain the hobby momentum that was building at the end of last year. I recently found an old set of models while clearing out some storage space and decided they would be a fun way to usher in this year of painting and gaming.

Yes. Critter Commandos. And it's all Bleaseworld's fault. I had forgotten about these miniatures until seeing some nicely painted penguin commandos on Steve's blog posted here. I then fortuitously found this box of minis just this past Thursday while packing for our upcoming move to Asheville, with one set already cleaned and primed no less! So first up for painting are a group of anthropomorphic frogs wearing what I believe are supposed to be scuba suits and gear, or in other words, scuba-suited frogmen! Here's an early WIP photo as a preview of what is to come:

The horror... the horror....

I've got a long day ahead of me tomorrow so it's time to wrap things up. Thanks again for making 2010 such a rip-roaring good year for diceRolla. Thanks to all the readers and commenters who have offered your own insight and assistance over the last year. And finally I am especially grateful to you members of The Esoteric Order of Jason for your continued support and encouragement. You are a constant source of motivation and inspiration for me and I appreciate very much the interest you have taken in my endeavors. Thank you!

So that's it. I hope this years proves to be a great one for each of you, filled with clattering dice and splashing paint to your heart's delight. Happy 2011, everyone!

8 comments:

  1. All the best with the move! You can make a road movie blog. Take photographs of the models you painted along the trip in gas stations, diners, park picnic tables on your camper van table....


    Those frogs are terrifically awesome! Will you paint them as bull/leopard/rainforest frogs?

    Take care once again!

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  2. haha these frogs are just hillarious!! :P I really like rediscovering old minis myself and giving them some love again! Have a good one my friend!

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  3. Here's a thought:why not do a road movie whilst your moving? Take photos of your painting sessions in diners, picnics spots, gas stations and camper van whilst travelling to Asheville.

    The frogs are excellent. Will you paint them as bull frogs or tree frogs?

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  4. Happy new year chief! Looking forward to all the things you've got in store...more paint, more terrain, more games!

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  5. Happy New Year Papa JJ, I hope it is a great year for you!

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  6. Condolences on the loss of your grandfather. Hope that the new year is everything you want it to be.

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  7. Happy New Year fella!

    I think it's going to be a good one you know. Here's to getting stuck in! Thanks for the encouragement you've been liberally serving out over at GDMNW.com. You're a star!

    For a moment I thought the frog man was Buck O'Hare! Phew, was I relieved to be wrong!

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  8. Thank you, everyone. I apologize for the delay in getting back to you. It was a rough day on me and I didn't get back until quite late in the night. I really enjoyed however checking in throughout the delay and really appreciate hearing from you. Thanks!

    @ Bartender - Hahaha! I think that's a great idea, I'll see what I can do and try to plan it out so that I can take some fun photos along the way. I also like the idea of showing my armies marching around as they organize themselves for the move, then forming a line as they hop into their army transport bags. Hmm, my wife however might just see that as more playing with toys rather than legitimate way of packing. :)

    I'm not yet sure what type of frogs these guys are going to be. I thought about painting each one as a different species but have now decided I'll just paint each of them the same way. I'm leaning toward the bullfrog side of the spectrum though with perhaps a slightly lighter shade of green.

    Thank you very much for fantastic suggestions and ideas, it's always great to hear from you. Best wishes, friend! I hope life treats you and Sven wonderfully this year!

    @ Mihalis - It was really exciting the other day when I opened an old storage bin and right away saw these minis. I took it as a sign that it was finally time for me to paint them. I held on to them for years and years and now I'm happy that I did as they are proving to be a fun group of miniatures to paint. :) Thanks, Mihalis!

    @ Gyro - Haha, perhaps I should just leave that as my resolution for the year and keep things simple. I like that... thanks, Gyro! I'm excited to see all the cool things you'll no doubt be working on this year. Happy 2011 to you!

    @ Meatball - Thank you, friend! I hope this new year is a great one for you as well. Take care and best wishes to you!

    @ sonsoftaurus - Thank you, I appreciate that very much. I hope the same for you as well in the months to come. I'm grateful for all the support you've shown me this past year and look forward to maybe us playing some games in 2011. Thanks, sonsoftaurus!

    @ GDMNW - Thanks so much, a very happy new year to the GDMNW crew as well! I'm excite to see what you have in store for us in 2011. Keep up the great work, I've really enjoyed reading about your perspective on the hobby. Thanks again and best wishes to you!

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