2021 has been a very busy year, hobby-wise, personally, as well as on my job. The last post on this blog was written 8 months ago in April due to a lot of life events happening this year, most importantly my daughter growing and discovering the world. Becoming a dad was certainly the most life-changing moment I have experienced and it fills me with so much joy and endless happiness.
At the same time, a baby is very time-consuming and hobby time has been scarce. Still, I’ve managed to paint and build some minis and get some games in with my friends. Tabletop as a hobby still brings me the balance to charge up my batteries from real life and lets me express my creativity in modeling, painting, and writing. Last but not least, I always have a great time with my buddies rolling dice and talking nerd stuff.
Now, let’s take a look at the hobby results!
Getting into Warhammer 40.000 and starting a Tyranid army
End of 2020 my gaming group where I usually play Warhammer Age of Sigmar Beer & Brezel style got me excited to start a new gaming system: Warhammer 40.000. Actually, Warhammer 40k is way more than just a game. It’s a huge and rich universe of art, lore, games, and more. I usually become really excited about a tabletop system when the game mechanics are fun, the miniatures are nice and the most important thing, the setting and the background story are compelling. Warhammer 40k offers all of that and I dived into it. Actually, I first dived into Warhammer 30k lore because I started discovering the grimdark future in reading the biggest Warhammer books series out there, the Horus Heresy. A crazy idea! The series has in total over 60 books and I have not read a single Warhammer 40k novel before. But I was up to the challenge and managed to read or better listen to 31 audiobooks of the Horus Heresy in 2021 and fully enjoyed each of them. Maybe I will finish the Horus Heresy end of 2022…
At the same time, I started a Tyranid army with most of the models designed by 3D artists because a lot of the old models of the Games Workshop Tyranid range look outdated. Therefore I decided to create the Tyranid army I like. 3D printing makes it possible!
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| Hormagaunts |
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| Hormagaunts |
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Custom Dimachaeron (Model "Xenodragon" by Archon Studio)
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| Custom Dimachaeron (Model "Xenodragon" by Archon Studio) |
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| Genstealer led by a Broodlord |
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| Hive Tyrant with wings |
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| Tyrannofex |
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| The Swarmlord |
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| Tyranid Warriors |
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| Mawloc |
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| Mawloc |
Expanding my Warhammer Age of Sigmar armies: Sylvaneth and Soulblight Gravelords
Besides getting into Warhammer 40k I expanded my two main Fantasy armies: the Klingenberg Legion (Vampires) and the Cherry Blossom Grove (Sylvaneth). These armies are very close to my heart as I am building them for years and constantly expanding them. Each of these armies has its own lore (Old World and Age of Sigmar lore).
Soulblight Gravelords: The Klingenberg Legion
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| Deadwalker Zombies |
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| Lauka Vai, Mother of Nightmares |
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| Lauka Vai, Mother of Nightmares |
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| Blood Knights |
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| Deadwalker Zombies |
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| Vampire raising Zombies |
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| The Crimson Court, Vampires of the Klingenberg Legion |
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| Vargheists |
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| Mannfred von Carstein, Vampire Lord |
Sylvaneth: The Cherry Blossom Grove
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| Spirit of Durthu |
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| Treemen: Spirit of Kurnoth, Treelord Ancient and Treeman |
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| Kurnoth Hunters with Scythes |
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| Drycha |
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| The Warsong Revenant |
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| Arch-Revenant leading Kurnoth Hunters into battle |
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| Alarielle the Everqueen |
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| Alarielle the Everqueen with Forest Dragon |
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| Loyal Forest Dragon |
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| Arch-Revenant |
Year in numbers
Finally, let’s take a look at the numbers for 2021. How many models did I paint? With 102 total painted models, I am really happy with the result. I did most of the painting for my Tyranid army (numbers-wise) but also painted in total 10 Monsters which is always a blast.
Hobby plans for 2022
The two main projects will be (1) starting a Warhammer 40.000 Slaanesh army (Emporers Children and Slaanesh Demons) and (2) creating awesome Age of Sigmar Terrain. Both will include a lot of conversions and modifications as I'd like to dive into modeling a bit more. Can't wait for 2022 and I wish you all a Happy New Year and of course Happy Painting!
