If 2020 has been good for anything, it’s been the gift of time for hobby. Along with the release of Indomitus and 9th edition Warhammer 40000, this mostly led to some real progress on my Dark Angels. Here’s a look at what I’ve been painting over the last year.

Aeldari

The year started with my Ulthwe Craftworld Aeldari project. I wanted to push my black and white painting skills here, along with some blending on power/force weapons. Black and white can be unforgiving so this was mostly a test in having the patience to repeatedly fix issues where I’d overstepped with a shade of highlight or my lines were too wobbly.

Backlog Catch-up

Once the Aeldari were shipped off to their new home in Spain, I ploughed into a backlog of miniatures I had set aside for “other” games. Most of these perform double service in the likes of D&D, Frostgrave and Elder Scrolls. Since there was a lot to do, and (in my experience) RPG players don’t treat your miniatures with as much respect as wargamers, I went for a quick, tabletop quality* job.

*Tabletop quality just refers to base coat, wash and drybrush in my personal definition. No fancy blending, edge highlights, that sort of thing.

Dark Angels

The main event of this year’s hobby is the Dark Angels. I picked up a couple of the fancy dreadnoughts and a transfer sheet from Forge World (best hobby purchase in years). I wanted to practice recess shading without washes and to tidy up my edge highlighting with this project, going for a clean, vibrant look. I was fortunate enough to have the Bladeguard Veterans and Judiciar featured on Warhammer TV.

Middle Earth

The final project of 2020 was to make a start on the Battle of Pelennor Fields box set. The smaller scale offered an opportunity to try the GW Contrast paints, and the set contained some miniatures I’ve wanted in my collection for some time. Theoden also made an appearance on Warhammer TV which was something of a surprise.

Projects for 2021

There will likely be some more additions to my Dark Angels in 2021, depending on what the upcoming codex supplement has to offer. Beyond that, I ordered a small contingent of Adeptus Mechanicus, along with an Imperial Knight to keep me going in the meantime.

Here’s to another top year of hobby, but hopefully more chance to play some games in person.

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