2025 Wrap Up
It's already the 12th of January. And it's three months since I last posted? Where does the time go?!
Well, I'd better do a wrap up for year, have a look at what I manged to squeeze out over the festive period, and the best of the best that I managed to accomplish during 2025.
Overall, I managed to knock out 147 miniatures over the course of 2025. That's not bad! We'll not talk about how much more was added to the slopes of Lead Mountain though. The end of the year sees me unemployed after my current contract ended on 31 December, so I don't see many more miniatures being purchased, at least until my employment situation changes.
The year got off to a good start by finishing off the infantry from the Rohan Battleforce I'd picked up at the end of 2024. I was pretty happy with how those turned out, and I had big plans for painting up some Lord of the Rings forces that lead to the purchase of a sizable quantity of Victrix historical models to stand in for more Rohirrim and Gondorians, as well as a bunch of orcs and goblins from various manufacturers to represent the forces of Mordor. Those all still sit unpainted, though as 2026 starts, I am feeling the itch to get the out and onto the painting table.
After dabbling in Middle Earth, I turned my attention to Bolt Action after a friend expressed some interest in it. I picked up the Battle of the Bulge starter set and knocked out the infantry very quickly. We didn't get around to playing that first game though until November! At the same time, I picked up some 10-12mm fantasy forces to try and give the Midgard ruleset a go. Painting up a few test models went really well, but alas, the rest of the forces sit unpainted in my office and storage. I think they'll be next on my list of things to paint, as many of the rank and file troops still need basing before they can be put away (and it'll allow me to clear some space in the office again!).
After the initial flurry of painting, the middle of the year was a bit of a dead zone for hobby. I painted a few figures, such as the Wargames Atlantic sneak feet kit bash I did as an alternative to GW's Provisionally Prepared model, and the fantastic Warduke sculpt by Alex at Forge of Ice, which I picked up from Fenris Games. It wasn't until about August that I picked up the brush again with earnest and painted up the JSA force from the Infinity: Operation Sandtrap boxed set that I'd picked up earlier in the year with the intention of playing at my local club. I happily blasted my way through the minis I picked up to expand my collection, and started finding the time to paint some other bits and pieces, including the excellent Ser Hogswash figure for Moonstone, which I think has to be the best paint job that I knocked out last year.
Some examples of the best painting I've done throughout 2025
I also picked up the Escher gang that I'd started repainting back in May and actually finished the lot off over the course of a week. I'm really happy with how they turned out and I think I did a reasonable job with leopard print and zebra stripes for a first attempt. They really remind me of the old school Necromunda from my youthful days, with loads of bright colours and neon. Nice!
The end of the year saw me smashing out a load more Bolt Action, having managed to finally get a game in with my friend, and with plans for an upcoming Battle of the Bulge campaign for 2026 in mind, I picked up a US and Germany winter themed starter army. The Germans got painted up over November and December, and I managed to paint up all the vehicles over the course of the festive period while on my final break from work.
Examples of the Bolt Action miniatures I managed to churn out towards the end of the year for my winter themed armies
In between painting up figures, I also turned my attention to some scenery, of which I have far too much that is unpainted. I'd picked up some bits and pieces from Fenris Games over the course of the year - Ian is simply the best when it comes to terrain and scenics. In amongst painting Panzergrenadiers, I found the time to paint up a series of Rubble City ruins, which will be excellent for games like Forbidden Psalm, Frostgrave and Mordheim. I also squeezed in a fantastic hill, some crates and barrels for barricades, and some spooky trees from Mantic Games, which I spruced up with some Woodland Scenics leaves.
Some of the excellent terrain produced by Fenris Games that I've had the pleasure of painting and covering in flock and tufts...
Overall, I'm pretty happy with what I managed to achieve. Lead Mountain still stand tall before me though, so I've plenty of work to keep me busy well into 2026.
The climb continues...