The two-year dream: looking back at some of my older posts

Today's post will be a bit of a self-glorifying mess, I'm sorry.  We go back and pick out some of the more notable posts on the blog to have another look at.

Two years, 100 posts and 20,000 views and a kitbashing business... It's strange really, thinking back to when I started out I didn't even know what to expect of the blogging world.  I never intended to make it a regular thing, you know-- I didn't even think I'd carry on for so long!

My first ever post is dated Tuesday, 18 November 2014; that's exactly a month and two years ago.  No followers, no wargaming contacts outside the few I knew locally, nothing.  I posted sporadically (like I don't now!) with no expectation of audience, stuff like a rather odd deathwatch conversion I was so proud of back then, and the day I learned to embed videos and spammed it for one day; a random idea I had about the Blood Angels gave me an idea for the Rambling Thoughts series that I will be returning with another article presently...

I posted a bit about the Legend of Zelda too, a favorite video game franchise of mine; two pencil drawings of a favorite character and an outlandish figma repaint that scared me at the time, being two notable ones.

So nothing really happened until another blogger by the name of Steve Ver chanced upon a a vanguard veteran squad and the first major kitbashed squad I had ever done for the Sagodjur Fjorlag.  Steve asked if I wanted to share this on the 40K G+ community and, after getting confused about sharing etc it was there and-- Throne, what a reception I got!  100+ views might not seem like much now, but for someone who thought twelve was a big number--!

Here's a funny thing:  I made a weapon out of an old sawblade-- more importantly you get to see what I looked like back in January last year, hairy little bugger that I was.  All of nineteen years but I looked awfully aged, and I had a MOUSTACHE for Throne's sake, I almost forgot that!

After I'd been painting for two years, I thought I was authority enough to write about painting and the mindset involved.  This was during the time of my life when all I wanted to be-- as far as 40Kwas concerned-- was the next John Blanche, and I had devoted my hobby time to replicating his blessed style, suppressing my own creativity at my own degradation.  I've matured a little (at least I hope I have!) and have since revisited that concept over at Broken Paintbrush.

OMG OMG OMG just LOOK at my CA-RAYZY conversion skills!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 
 I continue to lament how I thought my conversions were so off-the-wall, so I said to my past self, though by Febuary 2015 I suppose I was getting somewhere as far as kitbashing is concerned when I made my 2nd attempt at 7th captain Thunraz.  I'd just learned to make greenstuff capes, so yeah, world's my oyster, so to speak.

What an odd pose... so glad I didn't go with this model in the end for him!

It was from that point that the Lonely Kitbasher finally emerged from the safety of his little hobbit-hole and began to build figures that made even him flinch at their absurdness; 1st lord Klatos and  my first attempt at 3rd lord Baldr being the most notable at the time.

I even made an Anime girl from the grim dark future out of a Sailor Moon bootleg; that's how much my confidence had grown; you know if it wasn't for the kind support of the 40K community I wouldn't have the confidence I do now, so big shout-out to all you lot!

...Only I got a bit big for my boots and proclaimed I was going to make a thunderhawk. Yeah.  That didn't turn out as I planned, and brought me down to Terra with a bump.  It's embarrassing to look back on now, but it happened so I can't deny it...

She looks so odd without paint...

When the Imperial Knight was released I knew I had to have at least one in my collection, so as soon as I could afford it I bought one and began on something quite special.  And you all know where that led to!  Rumour has it that John Blanche himself saw The White Rose and liked it-- I am blessed, truly!

Time passed and nothing really worthy of note happened, until The Emperor's Peace, a monster of the Imperium that I'm still not sure what it is exactly; and the God Murderer, when I really began to put a definite narrative to my projects.  Things got quite dark from there on out, as if they weren't dark enough already...

The beginning of this year I completed my 2nd attempt at lord Baldr and was Very Happy with him.  That led to a few more kitbashes and at this point I could not go back to making Space Marines straight out of the box.

I began rebuilding a dreadnought which turned into something I was pleased with too.

 So that was interesting, I suppose.  Have a look back and see what I used to get up to (please, don't-- it's actually really boring) all those many ages ago when dinosaurs walked the earth and fat bloke was editor of WD.

I shouldn't make that joke, I'm too young for that to be funny.

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So what will the future hold?  What are my hopes?  Going into 2017 is a scary prospect.
More painting, that's a thing.  Five years of 40K has yielded me barely 2500 points worth of playable army, which is shocking.
I sort of hope that word of my kitbashing business will get around, and that people won't be afraid to ask for the most outlandish of commissions!  Some day I'd also like to make contact somehow with saint Blanche, will 2017 be that year...?

As for now, I'm working on a ten-man squad of 3rd party Thousand Sons commissioned my a local player.  Inferior resin and Very Old superglue means EVERYTHING needs re-gluing and pinning, and every piece has been primed with a LOT of chaos black, so I'm going to have to count my layers like Scrooge Mcduck.  Once I've got a bit of progress done on them I'll post my trials for you to laugh at, along with another Rambling Thoughts-- this time about a certain story set on a certain Daemon forge-world with a certain steam train...

Until then, here's to the new year!  Happy Christmas you 'orrible lot, bye bye for now.