2025/26 Hobby Review

Hi folks,

It is hard to believe that another year has passed. It feels like life is getting harder; I think it is just the stage of life many of us are in. Having a hobby is such a precious thing in these times and I have been leaning on it pretty hard. Time has been at a premium, however, so quick wins have been the focus of many projects. Unfortunately, my idea of a "quick win" is not quite the same as everyone else.

To kick start the 2025 season I worked on a Tervigon for DreadTober. It has been a while since I tried the Hive Fleet Numereji scheme and this project quickly reminded me how frustrating it is. It didn't help that the weather conditions were inimical to painting the night I did the colour shift layer. Later in the year I also painted a Ravenor Kill Team in the same scheme. I used them in a game of 10th Edition and they absolutely carved; prompting a unit of Thunderwolf Cavalry to retreat (!), wiping them out then taking out a Repulsor Executioner. That's gnarly!

As January rolled around I started contributing to the 7th season of the 2nd Edition Army Painting Challenge. This year I was focusing once again on my Dark Angels and started the challenge off in a fairly reasonable manner, ticking off my goals steadily. I am particularly proud of the Ravenwing models, which I have been dreaming about for decades.

During the final month I went a little nuts. I managed to finish off some bonus models for my Dark Angels and then kept the momentum going with a reasonably large force of Fallen Angels/30K Dark Angels. I am particularly chuffed about the Plains World scouts; my dream of fielding an infiltrating lascannon scout is finally within reach! 

A bunch of the older models (Rogue Trader era) were kindly donated by Dave Weston of Confessions of a 40K Addict fame. He and his mates put a care package together for me a while back; just a couple of guys on opposite ends of the world sharing kindnesses. I happened to open the package during a really rough time and it was greatly appreciated. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! The vintage Terminators were an absolute joy.

I also made a huge push to tick off all of the Hobby Bingo boxes for the challenge, culminating in the creation of a massive display and hand-painted background. The display features a Fortress of Redemption I have been working on. It isn't quite finished, but getting very close. Considering how long I have had it, I consider that a win at this stage!

All things considered, I think it was a successful year on the hobby-front. I ticked off a bunch of projects from my To-Do list, but there are still plenty that remained on the shelf. Tomorrow I will be having a think about what the next hobby season may look like, no doubt starting with my 2026 DreadTober entry.

See you across the table,

Marc