Aug 21, 2012

First birthday! - A summary and a Parade!



The blog has its first birthday today - let's celebrate! In the first part of this post, I'll summarize up what happened here in the last year as well as some glimpses of my everyday life, and in the second - well, you'll see for yourselves!

I can't offer much to my readers besides my gratefulness; I don't feel myself skilled enough to paint something for you. Next year, maybe ~ or I'll hold a one and a half year anniversary in winter.

Before continuing, welcome to Uncle Brian from A fist full of plastic, thanks for following!

This blog started on 21 August 2011, exactly one year ago (what a surprise) with relatively zero experience in neither modeling (not counting those abominations from the early years and the few tin soldiers I could allow myself) nor painting figures. The infamous first post contained an introduction and a picture of Spiderman. Ever since, 227 posts have been made, 224 of which have been published - this means an average 4.28 posts per week, 0.61 per day. The blog has 7308 views as of the writing of this post, most of which (3433) in the last three months.
A special thank you goes to my regular readers for their patience to scroll through my stuff(!); in the last 365 days, the blog has gained 32 of you, most of them, again, in the last three months when I became more active.

The very first box of 1/72 plastics ever bought was the Airfix AWI Brits, 33 figs of which I proudly own to this day in all their glory. This was followed by what was available and cheap - more Airfix boxes, the French Guards and Cuirassiers. These haven't been painted for years and served in many roles throughout my games. The first of the first was an M4A1 Sherman and a StuG III by an unknown manufacturer and I remember putting them together in one day - with obviously terrible results.
The first ever painted set was the Airfix Old Guards, then the Zvezda Vikings and the Austrian musketeers&pikemen, with various, but occasionally low outcomes. I did not know any techniques, absolutely anything, and when I started again in September 2010 after receiving my payment for working more than a month in a paper and gift shop, I've bought some more Zvezda and a box of oil paints. The oil paint doesn't like the plastic, I figured out later. And it dries slower than an ice bear after a cold bath in the Arctic sea.

So where I am now? About a thousand figures later (counting the stripped and repainted; all the horses and vehicles, also buildings) I can say I've developed a lot and it helped me to get an eye for more sides of the visual arts; perspective as well to understand colors, combinations and mixing them too; also photoshooting (at which I'm still terrible). And don't forget the company who gave me very positive comments about my work: this is a great achievment in my small life.

Although I wish after the remaining three years of my university education pass I could keep on with this hobby, I also wish I had less time to paint figures and a real part-time job, which I still didn't manage to acquire during the whole flippin summer.

On to the parade! Here's everything I've painted so far, lacking those I've stripped or hadn't yet finished. There was a competition earlier on the Figoblogotheque but back then I didn't have the time to do a setup like this.


The whole army


Historical figs on the right edge including WWI, Romans, Dark Ages (Vikings, Normans etc.), HYW knights, 30YW pike&shot and cavalry.


JCW/JWI ImagiNations Dorroseani army with Crontaineviller expeditionary forces.


The guys in green are the foreigners.


Jackewline side of the table with the cavalry in front. More factions, more armies I guess.


Bird's eye view on the parading Jackewlinese. 


Bird's eye on the Dorroseani.


30YW Imagi-Nations Swedes and Volhynians - post is on its way featuring the footmen.


Jackewlinese artillery (including the brutal siege cannons) with the Fricklander intervention in front of them.


The whole table again. Hope you like it.

10 comments:

  1. Happy birthday to this great blog!
    You must store all these figures now! Very nice parade,
    Phil.

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    1. Thank you Sir: the 'after-parade' helped me reorganize the storages indeed.

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  2. Congratulations on your blogs birthday! You show us a very impressive armies.

    Regards
    Bruno
    http://lonewolfswelten.blogspot.de/

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  3. Congratulations! Enjoying the ride.

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  4. Happy Blog Birthday Andrew. Love the photos.

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  5. Very many happy returns, you have a great blog that I thoroughly enjoy visiting; loved the parade too!

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  6. Many happy returns and keep up the blog, matey! Wouldn't mind seeing more of these armies, but perhaps each army featuring in its own article, perhaps? I like your imagi-Nations idea, probably because I have a similar one in mind for 30YW, featuring the forces of Severia (a very Swedish sort of army) and Austeria (quite an Austrian Imperial thing). Possibly an Asian Starkia army will feature as well, modelled upon the Ottoman Turks of the 17th Century. I have all the figures,,, Just need to paint up the Swedish/Severan Horse, and all the Ottomans.

    So many project; so many articles to write; so many pictures to take... :D
    Cheers,
    Ion

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    1. Thanks for your kind comment: the idea behind the parade was to show everything en masse mainly to sort through what I've painted in this one year. I may organize a series later featuring each of the armies. And yes, there are many projects I'm thinking in ~ the good thing is if you get stuck in one, you still can do five others! :)

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