Friday 30 December 2016

2016, a review of a year in da Grotto

hi all

I hope you all had a great xmas and spent as much time as you could handle with your families.... (joke!) I was lucky this year to have a rare Christmas eve and Christmas day off, going back to work on Boxing Day (night).  This gave me plenty of time to eat, drink and be merry and spend time with my wife and kids - a very rare thing indeed!

I was also very lucky on the xmas and birthday loot  (my birthday being the 29th) with loads of Bushido models that I snagged for ridiculous prices over Black Friday and being gifted back to me by the very generous but long-suffering Missus Gobbo and the in-laws.  With two new factions and some additional troops for my existing factions for the game it looks like my passion for Bushido will continue into 2017 and so you guys will have to be patient with me as I keep on pouring out the minis, terrain and batreps - both narrative and video.  I promise there will be other projects coming up too.

Anyway to the title of the post "2016, a review of a year in da Grotto". Despite starting this blog in 2011, I never really developed it and it mostly fell by the wayside as I changed careers and joined the ambulance service and had to retrain.  That was until around the september time last year when I finally felt settled enough in the new career to spend more time with the wargaming and started getting a "craving for the graving" i.e wanting to play zombie apocalypse skirmish games.  This sudden desperate need to play skirmish wargames got me to start looking for game systems and led me to a certain blog that most of us on the blogging circuit have found themselves at some point - Vampifan World of the Undead. That was it, the interest in my own blog came back! Delving into the adventures of Vampifan in ATZ - BDTZ and FFO and enjoying them thoroughly, I was hooked on hobby blogs and blogging. This of course led me to other blogs such as Simon's "Fantorical", Clint's "Anything but a One", Jez's "Carrion Crow Buffet", Steve, Hil and Tarot's "The Game Cupboard" and so many others (i follow dozens of blogs so please don't feel slighted if i don't mention them all).

But 2016 has been my first full year of blogging so it's good to look back at what's happened in that year, the fact that i'm a fairly prolific blogger means that there are quite a few posts so I can't go into detail on each post but I will break it down into various topics, starting with....

New Nerd

This year da Grotto welcomed a new nerd to the Herd - Damon "Rulez" Carlton.  An old gaming mate of mine that had lost contact over the years drifted back into da Grotto and is now well and truly established.





Games played

2016 was a cracking year for me regarding the games i've managed to play, but first I'll start, rather unusually with the games I didn't play - anything by Games Workshop! this must be the first year since I started gaming back in the 80's (bar a short period where i didn't game at all!) that I haven't played a single game designed by GW, this makes me sad as I grew up with cracking games like WFB and Bloodbowl but what makes me sadder is that I haven't missed them.  Maybe that's because I've been playing corkers like....

All Things Zombie - this was the game that hooked me into the "zomb apoc".  I had tried others but didn't feel the love, either the premise was wrong or the rules didn't fit or feel right.  Then I found Bryan's page which led me to ATZ and here we are! 2016 saw the start of several ATZ forays using my custom boards, including a run out in my scratch built hospital for the post apoc Mystery Inc gang, but the most recent focus was on the development of my ATZ - an English Adventure.  This campaign has seen me delve into the origins of a deadly outbreak in the sleepy English county of Kent, it also meant that rules had to be adapted to take into account the differences between the US and the UK. So far I've only played the one game that has set the scene for the campaign but the boards are ready, some photos have been taken, Gobbo and Putters have dusted off their O2 cylinders and are ready to resuscitate this campaign in the New Year!






Saga - 2016 saw the Nerd Herd members each choosing a faction for the skirmish Dark Ages game and painting it up for your delight, we also had a day long tournament where we each competed against each other individually then concluded the day with a battle royale! this game was loads of fun and I'm sure we'll be revisiting it along the way.







Black Powder - An old favourite with the Herd, we managed only one game this year but it was a cracker.  Hosted by Chris "Naps" Thorne - our lord of all thing Napoleonic, this game had literally hundreds of miniatures that covered Chris's massive 12 x 6' table.





Bolt Action - Again not a great many games of BA but one or two with Rich "Nerd4Life" Gates and Damon.  Initially I made my urban boards for BA games and had great plans for them but they kinda got reused for ATZ.






7TV2e - This is a game that I really, really love but sadly it got overshadowed by Bushido, however its an awesome game and Rulez and I played a couple of games in 2016 using my TMNT collection. I did take loads of pictures and fully intended to write up a batrep but for some reason it never happened.




Bushido - How can a review of 2016 not mention Bushido?  This game exploded for me in 2016, I purchased a whole faction on Black Friday 2015 and finally got around to painting them in March 2016 just before buying a second faction at Salute in April.  Since then it has taken over the majority of my gaming time, with Damon and myself playing at least once a week when possible, especially in the lead up to our first tournie in November.  It's obvious to all that I'm obsessed with the game due to it's brilliant game mechanics, lush background and gorgeous miniatures.  Although they are still a small part time company GCT have got a corker here and a solid, if small following of players that is steadily growing.






Terrain

I think making terrain has fast become one of my favourite parts of the hobby.  In previous years it was a much neglected part of my skill set.  I just seemed to make do with some bits and pieces that I cobbled together, that had no real theme to it, certainly no art and definitely no effort or I just did without terrain altogether which left my tabletop barren and sterile looking.  However when I moved into the bigger Grotto I decided that I was going to really concentrate on my battlefields in an effort to get the aesthetic that I really desired to make my games come to life.  With that in mind at the beginning of 2016 I finished up my scratch built hospital.







this was a very fun build, with most of the interior furniture including the x-ray machine scratch built, in fact only the beds were bought!

I also finally after 25+ years of gaming put together a river and bridge that I was proud of....




Most of the rest of the terrain that I built was for Bushido whether it be buildings that can go straight onto my grass board.






to scatter terrain.....







to whole boards....










Miniatures

It's really difficult to fully cover the miniatures that I have managed to rescue from the lead mountain as there hads been A LOT!  Always a prolific painter, this year I've kicked into overdrive and painted a sh** load.  Mostly Bushido but a whole host of others from Hasslefree, Studio Miniatures, MyWay, Greebo, Grekwood, Copplestone and even GW!  I did try to keep track on the ins and outs of the minis but quite quickly got bored, anyway I'll just show a few.









































I could waffle on and on ad nauseum but I really need to wrap this up.  So the last thing to say is thank you to all of you that have continued to read this blog and have contributed with comments, suggestions and support, I really do appreciate all of them including the constructive criticism and I encourage more of you to make yourselves known and feel comfortable enough to add your opinion to those who already do.  Thanks to the Nerd Herd who are now sporting matching T-Shirts for our games and when we go on tour! You should have by now opened your xmas gifts and be sporting the dice bags from the marvellous Becky at "The Lucky Orc". A big thank you to the ever generous Roger, Jez and especially the big man Bryan who have lavished me with very kind gifts proving that this hobby is filled with the very best of people.

THANK YOU

I'm very much looking forward to 2017 and a very hobby filled year it will be (I hope!)

hope you enjoy
dGG (aka Andy)







32 comments:

  1. What a great year Andy, the scenery looks great, as do the mountain of figures you've painted. Happy New Year to you, your xmas present and birthday present went in the post today sorry their late had to finish the birthday gift over xmas. Here's to a great 2017

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Dave, that's incredibly kind of you. Look forward to seeing them arrive. 2017 is shaping up to be good already!

      Delete
  2. What a productive year...makes me feel positively lazy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It has been a productive year, a lot of games played and a lot of minis painted

      Delete
  3. That was a great post, Andy. All in all, you've had a great year and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone of your posts. It is thanks to you that my love of the TMNT was rekindled. You came very close to persuading me to try out Bushido, a game I know I would truly love. All that stops me from diving into it is that I have so many other projects on the go and my main focus is now Judge Dredd. I'm sure that if I lived a lot closer to you I'd be an active participant in all of your games. Anyway, I hope that 2017 is every bit as good as 2016 was and hopefully, even better. All the best, mate!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks dude, yes I've had a great year and looking forward to the next as I've got some exciting minis to show, tournaments and more terrain to build. I'm gonna still tempt with some of the best Bushido figures yet I think, you may just crack....

      I'm looking forward to your JDMG campaign and hopefully you'll see some familiar JD minis in some games in the first part of the year here too.

      Happy New Year mate

      Delete
  4. Blooming 'eck, you've been productive. I love the Bushido terrain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's been a bumper year for hobbying mate.

      Delete
  5. A comprehensive review of what has been a productive and diverse gaming and blogging year for da Gobbo’s Grotto. Well done! I've thoroughly enjoyed reading your posts, especially the narrative ones. Seems be both succumb to the creative writing impulse from time to time. Your miniature painting and scenery projects are accomplished and have been an inspiration. I’ll chuck in another well done! Our hobby interests more often than not coincide and where they don't it just presses my curiosity button. Bushido being an example. I'm sorely tempted, and it’s played at my local club. I hope to get a game at some point and I know where to turn to for tips and advice if I invest.

    But for now, my best wishes to you and family for the New Year. Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Tim, turnabout is fair play your projects have been hugely inspirational and tempting this year, your Dead Man's Hand terrain has been just amazing and has made me up my own terrain building skills. Of course I highly recommend Bushido, you'll enjoy it once you get going!

      Happy New Year to you and yours mate

      Delete
  6. such a lot of stuff, the terrain is just exceptional. Top year

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks mate, it's been a good hobbying year

      Delete
  7. Found your blog late in the year so I missed a lot of it, but I've enjoyed what I've seen. Looks like you've made some great progress this year. Looking forward to seeing what all you accomplish in 2017!
    Rod

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No worries Rod, I'm the same found your blog late on - bring on 2017!

      Delete
  8. What an amazingly productive year you have had Andy. It has been an absolute delight watching our projects come to life over the year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very productive Michael and looking forward to another!

      Delete
  9. Wow can't believe the amount of stuff you've go done over the year, your terrain pieces are really inspirational and truly beautiful to behold. All the best for the new year, really looking forward to what you come up with next!

    Cheers Roger.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've done a pretty good job of filling my games room, looking forward to a few more Bushido boards, one for each of my factions I think!

      Delete
  10. Happy New Year to you and your family good sir! Its been a very interesting year and an absolute pleasure to read and view all your posts. You've made some fabulous scenario and painted some fantastic looking miniatures and you should be very proud of your work this year.

    Look forward to what 2017 brings!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you Simon, very kind of you to say. I've really enjoyed this years hobbying and look forward to another in 2017.

    Happy New year to you and yours mate

    ReplyDelete
  12. To be honest, Andy, I'd actually forgotten some of the things you'd done over the year - mainly because you've produced so much! It has been a pleasure reading your blog and whilst I've yet to be bitten by the Bushido bug, I shall be shamelessly stealing several of your ideas for upcoming terrain for my own games.
    I'm glad you had a bit of a break over Christmas, got a ridiculously large haul of goodies and had some time with your family. Here's looking forward to 2017!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry Jez, I actually did mean to cut back on my posting last year but got so carried away I couldn't help it!
      I've struggled to comment on your blog the last few weeks as Wordpress hates my iPad but rest assured I've been dropping by.
      Hope you had a great Xmas and have a cracking new year!

      Delete
  13. *stands up and starts to clap.. slowly, loudly, building in speed and intensity, as more and more people join the open display of appreciation*

    What a great post and celebration of your year. I have to quote one comment

    {{You came very close to persuading me to try out Bushido..... All that stops me from diving into it is that I have so many other projects on the go}}

    This is exactly how it was for me as well. And I know this applies to at least one other I personally know as well. It took actual strength NOT to take up Bushido on more than a few occasions after reading your infectiously enthusiastic posts about the subject.

    The rest, wow. You are a true gamer, modeller, and enthusiast of the hobby: and cover so many diverse projects. With your heavy work load, just HOW you find time for it all is astonishing, But also very cool

    Happy New Year Andy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Tarot, I'm so very grateful for your support this year. You guys from across the Irish Sea have been have been so kind, generous and supportive it's been amazing. I can promise you more of the same, if not better! Looking around da Gobbo at what's to come I don't think that is going to be a bravado statement, just you wait and see :-)

      Delete
  14. What an amazing journey, and thank you for sharing it so generously with us. You enriched my hobby and my blogging time no end throughout 2016, Raising the bar of personal satisfaction to a new level, and complete immersion became very much my key drive - often very much inspired by your own work within the hobby. I don`t always write a lot on blogs or comment on other people`s blogging articles and threads, but rest assured I see/read most of it. I tend to `do` a lot more and write a lot less. So I`m usually modelling, playing games and being game host to my own gang of guys and girls, yet I tend to spend a lot less time on the computer, for better of for worse. If I could do both I would, but I really don't multi task the division of labour well enough to do both properly lol.

    Really enjoyable end of the year post Andy. Good luck and happy endeavours for 2017.

    Happy New Year to you, Mrs Gobbo and Gobbo kid`lettes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Hil, I've really appreciated the comments from you guys this year and I'm gutted that I couldn't entertain you here in da Grotto last year when you were visiting. I hope to see some or all of you guys this April at Salute.

      Happy New Year to you and the big guy and of course Tarot x

      Delete
  15. Thank goodness you returned to blogging, giving so much pleasure and inspiration outwith everything you've done over the lsst year and long may it continue.
    Happy New Year to you and your family.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Joe, very kind.

      Happy New Year mate, good health for 2017

      Delete
  16. Very excellent post Andy and a real tribute to a year of good solid blogging. You have bought a great deal of inspiration and insight to a lot of us, thank you for that bud. Happy New Year to you and your family.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks mate, it's been a good blogging year!

      Happy New Year to you and yours

      Delete
  17. A great year Andy, and undoubtedly one of my highlights of 2016 has been visiting your blog and seeing all the wonderful models you've been painting. I'm very much looking forward to 2017's output.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Simon, plenty more to come in 2017

      Delete