2025: A Year in Review

So 2025 was another year. From a personal perspective, I moved house again, this time for building work on our house. One more move next year and I plan never to move again! 

I also had a couple of weeks of my girlfriend being in hospital which didn't help anything, thankfully that's all sorted now. I also got more games of Flames of War played than previously, and got a decent amount of painting done.

Firstly, the final last last gasp painting of the year, I completed my final Hero Motor Strelkovy infantry company on New Years Eve. These are again Battlefront plastics, and painted up well.

 

This was good as it brought me to 135 models for the year, not my best year, however far from my worst, and my best since the pandemic ended. It's still a model roughly every 3 days, which isn't too bad.

This year for the first time I also kept a shame total, Models purchase vs models painted. Sadly for this year I'm at -16, with 151 purchased and 135 painted. Need to work on that next year!

 So what did I get painted?

• 2 Hero Motorstrelkovy Companies and Battalion command.
• Few Soviet infantry teams and 2 more 37mm AA guns.
• 10 Goff Gretchin and 1 Blood Axe Gretchin
• Panzer Grenadier Platoon
• A small Panzer Pioneer Platoon
• 3 Finnish BA-10 Armoured Cars
• 3 Finnish BT-42
• Fanstasy Shade and Armoured Goblin
• 4Soviet  IS-2 heavy tanks
• 4 Soviet IS-122 heavy assault guns
• 10 Soviet OT-34 Flame tanks
• 10 Soviet T-26
• 3 Soviet BA-10
• 3 Tokens
• 9 Soviet 82mm and 9 Soviet 120mm Mortars
• An Astute Class Submarine 
• Railway Stuff:
• 1 1:76 Daimler Dingo (Load for the War Train)
• Several 00 wagons renumbered and repairs added.
• A OO Cricket Team 
• 4 O gauge figure painted (Still trying to donate to Heaton Lodge)
• My Z gauge layout Kita-Chibi (previously Cherry Blossom) is nearly done. It was renamed as firstly "Cherry Blossom" is a bit generic. Secondly the layout is heavily based on Kita-Chippubetsu station in Japan. Chibi is a Japanese art style that adjust proportions to make things more 'cute' (normally bigger head, smaller body) and I think this greatly suits the Z-shorty layout with it's shrunken train length and tight curves.

  As such, I think "Kita-Chibi" suits the layout well. I've just added a shelter to this, think I just need to add some station detail (Mirrors and signage), and telegraph poles and that should be it for the layout.

  
  
  

  All in all a productive year, I think. On with the next!

Last last gasp update

We are close to the wire now. Today I completely 6 more stands of infantry, the Battalion HQ and 4 Maxim HMGs.

I've nearly completed the second platoon of 9 stands of Soviet Motor Infantry. Hopefully can get them also done before the end of the year.

Last gasp update

Well it's getting towards the end of the year and I've managed to finish some more models.

First this 1:76 Daimler Dingo to add to my war train for my OO layout.

Secondly I finished a unit of Soviet Motor Infantry for Flames of War. These are the plastic Battlefront models.

 

Big Railway People

So another house move has caused some upheaval, but I'm now back with a temporary painting bench. As such, I've managed to finish 4 O gauge railway figures. These were picked up off eBay, and are quite nice. These are meant to be factory or power station workers and I'm hoping to donate them to Heaton Lodge Model Railway for use on there.

The pictureless update

So stupidly, I've finished models and not taken pictures. In this case a few soviet models, a couple of teams of infantry (to bulk out my armoured reconnaissance platoon), a heavy mortar and 2 37mm anti-aircraft guns.

As I'm about to move house these then got packed. I may try and update this post later this month to cover them.

Salvage Squad

Today I've finished my latest painted Unit, a Panzergrenadier platoon.

These models are Peter Pig and were picked up second hand at a wargaming show for about £4 I think. They've been living in my bits box every since, so I decided to put the unit together, as part of my plans to run a Bagaration campaign.

Like all Peter Pig figures, they paint up well. These have a good mix of the Zeltbahn figures, which I've never painted before.

I think they've come out great.

Da Black Parade

 Today I've finished 10 Goff Gretchin, Da Black Parade as the unit will be known.

These are 2nd Edition monopose model, but have come out fairly well with some drilling on the autogun.