Hobby Pledges 2023

[lawnor 25928xp 3]

It’s almost December, so it’s time to put this out there once again.  It’s that time of the year when I start thinking about my hobby progress for the current year and my hobby goals for the next year.

As some of you may know, for the past few years I’ve been running a thread like this, this, this, this, or this.  This is a communal place to post your hobby new years resolutions. Please set yourself some goals below, add them to the spreadsheet and post your progress across the year here.  If we can all see each others progress towards these goals then it provides encouragement and motivation for us all.  I’m looking at the progress sheet for 2022 (2022 tab at the bottom) and I can see a lot of progress ongoing, and I’ve seen lots of results in the thread.  There’s been a lot of great work.

Here are some guidelines:

• Set yourself some realistic hobby goals for 2023, allowing yourself plenty of wiggle room to buy and focus on new stuff because its going to happen.  For example, I usually paint just north of 300 models a year, but I realise I’ve slowed down now I’m out of bulk paintables so in the past I’ve try to pledge under 150, but I’m aiming for well below 100 this year, but with contingencies to grow, depending on what I’m playing and what arrives when.  It’s late November right now and I’ve finished all the goals I could (AT:O got delayed so I had to scrap that target)
• Don’t let this force you to do things you don’t want to do, or to paint faster or harder than you are comfortable.  It’s meant to add encouragement and fun to the hobby only, not to ruin it for you.
• Feel free to change your pledge as time goes by to keep it attainable and fun.
• Consider adding conditions, such as “I’ll only aim for this if my KS arrives before July” to give yourself options and breathing space.
• You know those models you’ve been putting off painting for a while?  Perhaps they intimidate you?  Perhaps they’re a lot of work?  Pledge to get them done.  Setting yourself a deadline and allowing yourself to feel publicly accountable for missing it can be the push you need to get them done.
• If you pledge something open ended like “hit 100% complete in my Tyranid army by the end of 2023”, do not count models gained in December 2022.  That’s not realistic, or fair on yourself.
• Don’t be afraid to change your pledge as the situation changes.  Once again, it’s meant to be fun, not a burden.  I know mine will not be static until the start of the new year at least.  I’m still working out what my goals want to be and right now it covers 2 new games I don’t even know if I want to play enough to invest all that hobby time in.  Plus who knows what Santa will bring me that I might want to prioritise.

Anyway, here’s the link to the editable shared Pledge Spreadsheet for 2023(2023 tab at bottom).  Get thinking about what you want to achieve, and add yourself, and post a summary below.  Tweak as you see fit until the start of the new year.  Check out last years post and sheet for examples, and my pledge below.

Let me know if the links don’t work or aren’t editable.  They work for me but it’s my sheet.

[lawnor 25928xp 3]

I have run out of batch paintable models now and only really have pieces I want to take my time on.  I’m aiming for quality over quantity this year, along with more of a focus on solo playing campaign-based board games.

1: Paint at least as many models as I gain (60+ models already ordered and expected to arrive, with many more with unknown delivery dates)

2: If a faction/game starts the year 100% painted it should end the year 100% painted

3: Complete Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion solo play (12/25 missions done)

4: Try Aeon Trespass: Odyssey

5: Paint ATO: Prelude Minis before play (7 models?)

6: If I continue playing ATO before Wave 2 arrives, paint each model before it hits the table (A further 25 models?)

7: Paint all non-modular KDM minis from Expansions of Death before GCE arrives (34 models?)

8: Paint a bust or equivalent model (Possible Spring Cleaning Challenge?)

9: Play a KDM Campaign

10: Beat the KDM Gigalion Vignette

11: Paint Umber Hulk

12: If KDM’s Gamblers Chest arrives early enough, embrace painting that (outdated sources say 60 models)

[sundancer 42925xp 4]

Last year I’ve set a low bar (paint all my remaining SW:L minis before buying new stuff) and boy did I not make it XD

So this time I’m not pledging to be done with these things but I set them as a goal.

1. Build and paint all my SW:L minis
2. Paint all remaining Battletech minis
3. Play at least one solo game of Frostgrave
4. Visit Tactica in Hamburg

That’s enough for now I think.

[hairybrains 12990xp 4]

First time setting these so I am going to borrow the first 2 from @sundancer

1.       Build and Paint all my SW:Legion minis

2.       Paint all my battletech miniatures

3.       Build a modular Frostgrave board

4.       Finish printing Starship Sleipnir and paint it

5.       Get a game in of Grimdark Future from one page rules

That will do to be getting on with. I am in the middle of setting my objectives for work I wonder if I could shoehorn some of these in there.

[scribbs 14508xp 4]

I skipped on joining 2022’s hobby pledge, but I’ll make an effort for 2023. I can think of three off the top of my head, and I’ll  come back and add some more at a later date.

1. Paint at least as many models as I buy
2. Paint all the Baron’s War Outremer models (when the KS arrives)
3. Add another 4 battalions to my Napoleonics project (at least 2x French light cavalry)

[warhammergrimace 13765xp 3]

Pledges for 2023 include

Paint 15mm Fantasy army

Paint 20mm Qin Army

28mm Warring States Army

paint 1:72 ECW warbands

Anymore a?d I’ll add them at a later date

[zoidpinhead 12487xp 3]

As ever I’m all in on this for next year.  I’ve found participating in these threads really motivating and it has certainly helped with focus and output.  This is a bit early for me to make any final commitments on what I’m doing next year.  As usual I’ll paint a minimum of 365 28mm miniatures (or equivalent).  My proposed theme for 2023 from the five year plan is “Passing Parity”, i.e. completing enough projects to pass the point where incomplete projects and painted projects total the same.  I’m about 9 or 10 behind I think and will likely add at least another one before the start of the year – I’m looking at you Xenos Rampant.  Therefore I’ll need to finish 6 or 7 minimum to pass the parity point.
No final decisions yet.  I hold a meeting with myself at New Year and plot out the final choices.  On the long list are:

Solomon Kane (and all the expansions) – I want a project to test the new Vallejo speed paints on.
Bauhaus Imperial Guard army (Spring Clean Challenge)
Saga: Age of Alexander and Age of Hannibal forces (and probably Age of Cesar too when it comes out)
Xenos Rampant forces x2
2mm Successors and Polybian Romans for Strength and Honour

Not decided yet.  You guys will be the first to know so look out for my post early in the New Year.

[lawnor 25928xp 3]

Good luck on Passing Parity.  Benchmarks like that can be a huge motivation and really rewarding.  Its how you eat an elephant: one bite at a time.  First you get 10% done, then you get your first army finished, then you’re 25% though your pile of shame.  Hitting 50% is huge.  You’ve already done half of it.  I count and catalogue everything in a spreadsheet and regularly tinker with the numbers to find arbitrary goals to aim for and feel good about.  I’ve been under 100 painted models for most of the year and having the end in sight has been a huge help in resisting buying stuff I don’t need, and pushing to get everything finished, even the stuff in my bits box I was pretending didn’t count.  It’s one of the points of these threads: Targets give us extra motivation and self control.

[lawnor 25928xp 4]

Work has begun.  I’ve two models finished and my Gloomhaven playthrough continues.:

White Gigalion

Lion God

[blinky465 17028xp 3]

@lawnor begun? But it’s not even 2023 yet! They do, however, look absolutely amazing – you can have them in your ’22 total ;-).

[sundancer 42925xp 2]

That’s cheating! 😉

[lawnor 25928xp 3]

Production never stops.  That’s how this works.  I’ll have a wet brush in my hand in my coffin.

[pagan8thParticipant 10747xp 3]

I have tried to set goals in the past… and failed…

So in 2023 I’m going paint miniatures I need for whatever RPG I’m doing…

Build more terrain using Gamemaster XPS kit (which I bought on sale from amazon for half price of £40… making it cheaper than just buying the paints included in the kit). So far only done a few dungeon tiles… but as the Osgiliath box is in my future and I want to a mass battle in a ruin for the RPG in the new year… I need more terrain.

[jodain 12433xp 4]

I’ve put my goals in, which are generally being driven by the show games that we are putting on as a club this year.  So a few new units to bulk out my Dweghom Army (4 units of 12 to go) and then onto my Phoenix Clan Army of which I only have 1 unit painted so lots of work to do on the Samurai.  I’m going to set up a new project for 2023 and close all my other projects off so that I can keep a better track of what I’ve painted when.

Hopefully once the Phoenix are finished I can decide what to paint after that, although as I’m playing 40k with my 2 boys I suspect that the Wolves of Caliban will get some love this year.

[hutch 5294xp 5]

Going to try to aim for at least one big build project, maybe two.   Possibly a Hippodrome in 28mm, a Large Necropolis of some sort or maybe a Victorian Town/Village.  I’m not sure yet and of course even those ideas are subject to change without notice.

On the figure front I am aiming at completing a 15mm Ancient India Army, which will probably be around 300-400 models and hopefully another 100-200 28mm models of one type or another.

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