December 2025 and year end wrap up

In my first full year of retirement, I spend a lot of time on the hobby. Club and convention games, solo play, lots of painting. 

I hit some of my 2025 plans, missed on some others. I knew the Quar sci fi project would be the main effort especially with the new 3D resin printer. I did not expect my foray into Victorian Science Fiction. VSF dominated the second half of the year. I am using ChatGPT to flesh out the background and campaign fluff for the project. It really adds an interesting element for solo play. 

Snow brawl at the club

O Group

Afghan tribesmen for VSF

PAINTING 

165  points of Colonial/VSF

Total: 165

YTD: 1438

GAMING 

1 x VSF game

1 x 5 Parsecs From Home w/BGHD

1 x game at the club

YTD: 50

BUDGET

$11 on Quar MMF

YTD:  $3656 (Sold: $1367)  

How did I do: Plans for 2025

1) Next wave of Quar 

--- My forces are "mature"...but never done! Several games during the year with these fantastic figures. I have about a months worth of figures printed/built to be painted. More come out every week so I will build up a batch and then attack them all at once.

2) Focus on some terrain upgrades: trees, rivers, roads

---Not done...bought more MDF buildings. I need to make 2026 a terrain year.

3) Host a club game in Feb

---Done...hosted two games this year. 

4) Work on 6mm sci fi home brew rules with 3D printed figures

---Continue rules tinkering. May make this the lead 2026 project.

5) Spending <$2000, sell $500

---Spending failure...but sold much more. Retirement is expensive.

6) Attend all 3 HMGS conventions

    Cold Wars 

    Historicon

    Fall In

---Done...this dramatically increased my number of games player for the year. 

7) Complete on hand 28mm fantasy figures

    a. Plastics

    b. Metals

---Done. A few random leftovers for kitbashing. Still not 100% sure where I go with this project. 

8) Add to 28mm sci fi by getting select sprues instead of full boxes

---Not this year...maybe in 2026 as a slow addition project. 

Plans for 2026

1) VSF:  Plan phase 2 which will focus on more 3D printed additions and some terrain.

2) Attend the 3 HMGS conventions again. 

3) Keep spending <$3000. Consider selling the 15mm fantasy collection and massive 15mm fantasy unpainted stash.

4) Restart the 6mm sci fi operational level project. Focus on 3D prints. Keep working on the rules.

5) Host a club AVBCW game and a home AVBCW game.

6) Backup small project: add single sprues of 28mm sci fi figures and use my Wargames Atlantic MMF subscription to print 3D figures for kitbashing.

7) Terrain. It's time to make some improvements now that I have transitioned to almost 90% 28mm vs 15mm collections. 2026 should be the year of terrain. Reduce the painted figure count for the year, but make terrain. Consider selling the hexon terrain and moving to terrain cloths.

8) Next batch of Burrows and Badgers figures to keep up to date with the whole collection.

9) Continue Quar.

Project Update: 11 projects

6mm Sci Fi Big Battles:

---Last Painted:

---Last Gamed:

Victorian Science Fiction:

---Last Painted: Dec, 2025

---Last Gamed: Dec, 2025

Quar:

---Last Painted: Sep, 2025

---Last Gamed: Nov, 2025

28mm Sci Fi:

---Last Painted: Jan, 2025

---Last Gamed: Dec, 2025

A Very British Civil War:

---Last Painted: Oct, 2024

---Last Gamed: Jun, 2025

28mm Fantasy:

---Last Painted: Apr, 2025

---Last Gamed: May, 2025

Pulp:

---Last Painted: Jan, 2023

---Last Gamed: Feb, 2025

Burrows and Badgers:

---Last Painted: Sep, 2024

---Last Gamed: Jan, 2023

Slaughterloo:

---Last Painted: Dec, 2023

---Last Gamed: Jan, 2024

Kingdom of Katzenstein 15mm Imagi-nation:

---Last Painted: Dec, 2018

---Last Gamed: Nov, 2024

Fantasy 15mm:

---Last Painted: Jul, 2019

---Last Gamed: Jul, 2021

October 2024

A new chapter in life should be a boon for the hobby. I retired from the Army at the end of September and we are settling into a new pace.

Fun sci fi game at the club and I have started  a VBCW game with Combat Patrol using the figures I painted this month and the new set of buildings. 

The figures are from a box each of BEF and WWI British, painted with a slight mix of uniforms for a VBCW look. 

Th buildings are the entire 28mm pre-painted/printed MDF range from Micro Arts Studios. 

Started work on updating my storage...my individually mounted figures need some magnetic bases and I still have to source some ferro sheets for the plastic storage bins. 

Next up: Two boxes of Saxons/Vikings for my generic fantasy project. I have a batch of Quar that I received as a present but I am waiting to buy one more group to tackle them together.

Researching some more on 3D resin printers.  I could then print my own Quar and maybe try my 3rd version of the 6mm sci fi project. 

Loyalist VBCW troops

MDF buildings

Ordered some custom wooden dice

PAINTING 

60 x 28mm BEF/WW1 Brits for AVBCW

Total: 60

YTD: 379

GAMING 

1 x Gates of Antares at the club

YTD: 18

BUDGET

$206---, $11 Quar tribe subscription, $46 dice for CCN, $114 magnetic bases, $35 Commands and Colors Napoleonics

YTD: $1730 (Sold: $440)

Hedgerow Hell

This is an AAR for a IABSM battle fought over my new hedgerows. A British company with some support must attack through the bocage to threaten the flank of a defending German battalion.

The British have:
HQ w/ scout section
3 x infantry platoons
2 x Churchills (they can be called forward once a path through the hedgerows is identified)
2 x MGs (called forward once the enemy main line is identified)
FO w/ battery of 25lb guns (4 salvos)

The Germans:
2 x infantry platoons
1 x sniper
2 x MG-42s
2 x AT teams
1 x 75mm AT Gun w/ halftrack
1 x armored car
The Germans have outpost teams forward in each platoon area. The entire force is hesitant (must pull back the closest unit to the enemy on that card).

The British objectives were to clear a path for the tanks through the hedgerows, take the orchard, the central hill, and the church. This would place them on the flank of the enemy battalion and force the Germans to retreat.

The British accomplished all objectives but suffered heavy casualties to one platoon. The German's withdrew about 30 men, 1 MG-42,  and the AT gun. They lost the armored car, and 38 men.

British Casualties: 8 KIA, 5 H-WIA, 4 L-WIA
HQ: 2 H-WIA (scouts)
1st: 1 KIA, 1 H-WIA
2nd: 6 KIA, 1 H-WIA, 2 L-WIA
3rd: 1 KIA, 2 H-WIA, 2 L-WIA

4 new replacements showed up and have gone to 1st and 3rd platoons to keep them full strength. 2nd platoon is down 9 men (2 were sent to the HQ scout section) and reorganized as 2 sections. Next battle reinforcement roll will be d8.

Lots of ground to cover.

Suspected sniper and MG in the church tower.

Looks like at AT gun position.

The orchard on the left flank.

1st contact with a German outpost.

Cut them down with a two-squad attack.

A squad in the center is not so lucky...5 men down in an ambush.

Sniper fire from the church hits two men coming through the gate. The medic will get to them later and get them back in action.

Revenge...1st platoon gets the ambushers in a crossfire.

While 3rd platoon runs into more trouble, losing 4 men when they try to storm the next hedgerow.

Starting to lay down smoke with the 2in mortars when 1st platoon encounters a MG-42.

And the FO identifies fire coming from the steeple.

Tanks start to move up...traveling quickly through the scouted territory.

Bounding overwatch gains the British some ground in the center once the MG-42 starts to get flanked.

1st platoon aggressively attacks on the left, unhinging the German line.

The Germans start to pull back as casualties mount.

1st platoon prepares for the last push.

3rd platoon rushes the church under cover of artillery, smoke, and machinegun fire.

A section ambushes the armored car as it tries to retreat, and the tanks reach the last hedgerow.

A section flushes the armored car from the orchard and takes up a defensive position.

Kallistra Hexon terrain

Just got my very large order of Kallistra Hexon II terrain tiles...enought to cover my 8'x6' board, plus extra water tiles, desert tiles, and loads of hills and features.

My son and I will try them out with a game of IABSM using my British Company.

Fort Wilderness

This is the fort from Blue Moon...not sure what I will use it for but it is very nice. Maybe with the Song of the Splintered Lands animals.

Buildings- part 2

Second batch of new buildings. These are larger than the 1st batch and a much better fit for 15/18mm skirmish figures.

They are layed out on the new sand terrain board...simply brown paint covered with fine sand.

Buildings

The first batch of new buildings. These are JR Miniatures Middle East buildings. Painted them with a textured spray paint and then some details. Pretty basic but look good as a village.

These are mostly small buildings...and look VERY small with the newer 15/18mm figures.

The next batch of buildings will be the newer JR buildings that all look bigger and a bunch of buildings (18mm) from Blue Moon.