2021 Roundup

Hi folks,

Taking the time today to think back over the last year - and undertake the usual measure of my hobby productivity. 2021 started with the arrival of Alexander, which did have an impact on life in general. So lets see!

In January, I had started on my 'Polish Cromwell' project, finishing off the HQ, 95mm troop and an ARV. I also finished a Ram OP tank for my Canadians and some Stuarts for my Poles.

In February, I'd made a start on the Cromwell troops. I believe that while only one was finished this month, I had made progress on others - not bad for a sleep deprived new father. 

Followed in March by two more Cromwell troops and some 28mm ghouls:

When the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge finishing in March, I had my usual decline in painting, and instead turned towards other hobby work. This included rebasing all my vehicles throughout April, fixing some paint jobs and historical inaccuracies and generally housekeeping. I also added crew figures to the various Cromwell tanks needing one. 

As an example of the rebasing/reworking, my Polish Sherman squadron went from this:

To this:

This work continued into May, and included swapping 17-pdr barrels on Fireflies for thinner plastic versions and getting all the decals on my 144RAC squadron sorted. I also based some of the 10mm For Joshua figures I had been sent and painted a 10mm Trebuchet. 

In addition, I painted a couple of 3mm scale Warhound Scout Titans for my sci-fi army. And published an article on my blog about the correct markings for 33 Armoured Brigade 1944-1945. 

The pile of replaced bases...

June consisted of a single post, and the completion of a Cruel Seas 1/300 scale armed trawler for by British fleet. I had a holiday, built some models and started prep for the D-Day game planned for August 2021 - which included building some 5cm KwK guns from scratch. 

In July I was busy prepping for our D-Day game, and finished off some Battlefront DD-Shermans. I also painted three Churchill AVREs (one of which has a fascine, and never appeared on the blog), a Sherman ARV, some surrendering Germans and German beach defences with crews. I somehow also found the time to paint two mdf landing craft and a bunker...

In August I was knackered after the D-Day game, and went on holiday for a week to Devon, which included a visit to the Cobbaton Collection. I spent a load of hobby time sorting out and building German half-tracks, and building other models for future projects (Churchills and Sherman Vs - some of these models were built in June):

In September, it was back to painting - more Stuarts for my Poles (for the Sherman unit, who's Stuarts were painting as Canadians due to a mix up over who had what mark of tank), and getting started on the German half-tracks. I also did some housekeeping in the form of applying the correct unit markings to my battery of 5.5" guns. 

In October, I completed the first unit of half-tracks. This was a soul destroying process as I had lost my previous 'recipe' for painting Germans and could not get the unit to look the way I wanted. I finally settled on something I felt I was happy with, but it took several re-works and repaints. I also wrote an article for the Flames of War website which was published in December, and set up a table along with Dave for some photos to use in it. 

In November I got the second platoon of half-tracks completed, along with the HQ transport and the HMG transport. I also re-decalled some Universal Carriers so that my various infantry company commanders would have transport. 

While December saw me prep the various support option half-tracks, complete the last half-track infantry transport platoon and take the 10mm For Joshua figures to the Stockton Wargames Show. I also played a 28mm Vietnam game at the club, and started prepping some British bits to be painted for the AHPC, which started on the 21st and I've yet to paint anything for!

And that's it for another year! I can say that looking back, I achieved a decent amount. Getting the Cromwell unit completed and re-basing more or less my whole large vehicle collection were both major projects which had been looming over me for some time. Similarly, the German half-track project seemed like an insurmountable task. However, progress has been made! 

In addition, I've almost painted a whole squadron of DD Sherman tanks, with only 4 more to go (and the Covid factory shutdown and subsequent stock catchup on Battlefront's side preventing me from getting the required models). 

What dips in painting I have had, I've tried to use constructively by either prepping for future projects or doing hobby housekeeping. There always seems to be something to do, whether it be decals to fix or repairs. Sometimes this is not a benefit however, as the threat of yet more painting to be done can be a bit of a de-motivator. 

In the coming months, I'm planning on keeping chipping away at the German half-tracks, painting up some odds and ends for my Brits and then having a think about what the next project might be for the collection. No games planned for next year yet, what with the current ongoing public health emergency. 

I hope everyone had a happy holiday period, and happy new year!