ZPS - December 2017

2017: The Year of the Monster

Another month, and another year is at an end.  Welcome to the period that I call the Holidaze.  I'll add a bonus section up front for the year-end review.

0. 2017

• Some years are better than others.  This was a year of changes, but a good year overall.  
• A year ago at this time, the KDM campaign still had several days to go.  I went a little crazy, but being involved in that campaign has been a bright spot in my hobby career.  I still go back and reread the KS updates and watch the videos.
• Meeting Poots and a gaggle of other game designers at GenCon (part II, part III, part IV, and part V) this year really changed the complexion of that event for me.  Next year's GenCon has some high expectations to live up to.
• PAX Unplugged served as a bonus event, allowed us to get to know the folks at Dog Might Games in a quieter (compared to GenCon) setting, and the time we spent raiding the Reaper booth for paints has paid off in my KDM work.
• Understanding.  If I could summarize my 2017 in terms of hobby know-how, it would be the "year of skills."  I've been painting minis off and on for about 2 1/2 years, but 2017 was the year that things clicked.
• Learning to airbrush has actually made me understand lighting a lot better
• We've leaned heavily on ArmyPainter products, with only a few pots of Citadel and P3 on the shelf, but in late 2017 we added Reaper, Vallejo, and some higher end brushes into our kit, which as led to a better understanding of how the paints behave and interact.
• Miniature Monthly has been a great investment for basic skills - especially model prep and filling.
• I have very few predictions for 2018, and I don't believe in new years' resolutions.  But I'll say this:  I need to lose some weight and do more outside.  I need to get KDM, Brimstone, and DropFleet done or I'll drown in boxes of sprues.  I'd like to actually play more tabletop.  Work is not going to slow down.  Family will continue to demand attention.  All of those vectors will continue to pull me away from my own center.  In the end, it's all going to be fine, but before this time next year I'll need to remind myself of that.

1. On the Table:

• Kingdom Death: Monster.  This is mostly a repeat of the November post in terms of projects, because Monster lived up to its name and swamped everything else.  Although I paint more slowly than many people, I'm happy with where I'm at.  
• I'm in a good position to wrap up the parts of KDM that I intend to assemble now before the Wave 2 fulfillment (legacy expansions) hits in Feb/Mar.
• I added a summary page for the KDM Builds up at the top. *points*  
• At the time I'm writing this, the demon chicken (Phoenix) is assembled, filled, and ready for priming (probably tomorrow) and as soon as I post this I'm going to go find the Watcher sprues and grab the clippers.

2. Gaining Momentum:

• Arcadia Quest.  Santa brought Mrs. Zoxe a copy of the core game and AQ: Pets.  Impressed so far, but will play better with a group of 4.  Pevil, if you're reading this - this is as close to how I pictured CLEGO as I've found so far.
• Taking decent cell phone pictures.  I'm no expert, but I'm learning.  Mrs. Zoxe got me the light box that you see in use in the latest round of pictures, including the one at the top.  

3. Losing Traction:

• Gloomhaven and DropFleet Commander.  Sigh.  I always say I'm "almost ready" to crack the seal on the DFC box, gotta call this one like it is.

4. Going, going, gone.

• Downgrading the main 2 PC games this month; I've been far less active than is typical.
• PC Game: Guild Wars 2
• PC Game: Heroes of the Storm