50th Post Special

 

So this is officially my 50th post on this blog. There's been some bumps along the way but we made it to 50. To celebrate this I decided to continue my interview series but instead of being the interviewer I asked members of the IHL community what questions they wanted to ask me. So here goes.

How did you become a Wargamer?

My journey into wargaming started way back in secondary school when some of my friends were playing 40K and a bit of Lord of the Rings. They let me read their copy of White Dwarf and watch a game or two, even bought me my first models as a birthday present. At the time I had the mistaken believe that I was too cool for this (bear in mind I became the school chess captain shortly after this) and it passed out of all knowledge.

That is until I hit my early 20s. I was suffering from depression at the time and my girlfriend suggested that I find myself a hobby to help motivate me. It was then that I remembered about these little figures that my old school mates used to paint. So I went and bought myself a few models and a starter paint set and that's where it started. Since then, luckily I've left depression behind me but wargaming has helped me get through some difficult times, by helping me to relax for an hour or two. Just being able to sit down with a handful of models and some paint with your only concern being getting that highlight in just the right place and forgetting about all the other stuff going on around you is it's own form of therapy.

Why did you create your blog?

To be honest I initially created this blog with the intention that it would be more of a painting log than anything. However, as anyone who knows me will tell you, I am an incredibly slow painter so I had nowhere near enough content for a regular blog so I branched out from there to other areas such as tournament reporting and beginners guides.

What tips can you give to those starting out?

My main tip is to just get stuck in. Pick an army you like the look of, buy a box or two of models and a couple of heroes and give it a go. Play a few games, find out what you enjoy and build from there.

How did your involvement with the IHL at the beginning start?

I 1st found out about the IHL when someone being interviewed on the GBHL Podcast mentioned that some lads had set up a Facebook page for players in Ireland shortly after moving here. So I joined the group and a few months later they ran a small tournament in Dublin which I decided to head along to for the craic. I took a 500 point force of Thorin's Company who acquitted themselves well, with Ori starting on the path of infamy by taking out Balin and 6 Erebor Dwarves in one game with his slingshot. It wasn't long before I was TOing my own tournament at the Desolation of Derry later that year and the rest is history as they say.

How did a Brit end up staying in Donegal?

There's basically only 2 reasons why people live in Donegal. Either they grew up in the county, or they married someone who grew up in the county. I fall into that 2nd category.

For those who don't know Irish geography, Donegal is a county in the extreme North West of the island of Ireland that while part of the Republic of Ireland shares most of it's border with Northern Ireland, which leaves it's somewhat cut off, remote and forgotten about (it's nicknamed the Forgotten County). Having said that it is a great place, filled with stunning coastlines, majestic mountains and sensational countryside and at times it feels like you've stepped over the edge of the wild and into Middle Earth itself (hence the name of the blog). It is clearly the best county in Ireland and well worth a visit.*

Donegal, Ireland's best county

Why are Thorin's Company the best faction in the game?

Why would they not be?

Why are you so interested in theme in your army selections?

I love the Middle Earth lore and the reason I play this game is because of the lore created by Tolkein. If that theme wasn't important to me and I just wanted to play a tabletop wargame then I could go and pick up any amount of other games. It's the love of that theme that has ensured that MESBG has remained my main game even though only 1 other person occasionally plays it locally and I generally have to travel 2+ hours for any other games.

Ultimately we're playing Middle Earth SBG, not Generic Fantasy SBG and therefore I feel that the choices we make should reflect that Tolkeinian lore.

And there we go, 50 posts published on the blog, now onto the next 50...

*Honestly this post is not sponsored by the Donegal Tourist Board, but if anyone from there is reading this I am open to donations.

New Year, New Stuff

 "Still around the corner there may wait

A new road or a secret gate,

And though we pass them by today,

Tomorrow we may come this way

And take the hidden paths that run

Towards the Moon or to the Sun."

Well, I got through 2020 and now proves an ideal time to look back at what I've achieved hobby-wise over the last 12 months.

Firstly, let's address the elephant in the room, Covid-19. This stopped a lot of gaming and tournaments, all told I only got to attend 1 in the whole year and that was way back in January. Even during the couple of months over the Summer when IHL events were able to resume in a limited capacity I had to pull out of the 2 I was due to attend (the 1st due to being in a significant car crash and the 2nd when I caught the virus a week before and had to isolate). Hopefully tournaments can resume at some point in the coming months and I can end this drought.

Although my overall painted model count is vastly outnumbered by some members of the community I'm pretty pleased with what I did get done in 2020. Finishing off my Thorin's Company, painting up a Fellowship and making good progress on both Lake Town and Khand (among other things) as well as terrain making represent a decent return for me. My favourite piece is probably my Lake Town tavern  that I scratch built with a lot of patience and a ton of coffee stirrers. 

In the Warhammer Community Hobby Bingo I didn't quite do as well as I had initially hoped, but I did do fairly well with most of the painting squares although there's a few I had hoped to get but missed out on and the gaming squares were stopped due to Covid. Hopefully I can beat my score in the 2021 Bingo.

Looking ahead at this years painting, I'm planning on participating in Hobby Bingo again. The 2 big squares I want to cross off are the 600 point Good and Evil squares, so to that end I'm starting work on 600 points of Khazad Dum which will keep me occupied for the foreseeable (along with a few other bits and pieces along the way).

As well as attempting Hobby Bingo again I'm also planning to take part in the Drawn Combat blog's painting challenge (found here) which involves painting a model based on a particular theme each month, first up Rohanuary.

The other big highlight of the year was this blog. I feel that there have been some great articles over the past 12 months and I hope to continue with that going forward. At times it's proved challenging to come up with ideas for content, particularly due to the cronic lack of gaming, but I have a few ideas brewing that I hope to unveil in the coming weeks and months (we might even get to go on a Quest).

Well there's a lot of stuff to be getting on with so I'd better get cracking.