HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!

Come one, come all to the NINTH birthday celebrations for The Art of Caesura!

 It's an exciting day, here on the blog! For those of you joining us new this year - welcome! For those of you who have been 'round these parts a while - welcome back! Regardless of whether you're old or new, (and to quote an Irish pub song) "whoever you are, we'll make a fuss, whoever you are, you're one of us"!

So grab the beverage and snacks of your choice (water and celery sticks, I'm sure!) and settle into the biggest blog post of the year as we celebrate the past year on The Art of Caesura!

And, we shall begin the festivities in the time-honoured fashion of all great parties; with an infographic!

I was kind of smitten with that template when I saw it, what it lacks in colour, it more than makes up for in that late 90's / early 2000's Mouldy Peaches / Napoleon Dynamite doodle-vibe. 

But let's take a few moments to slow it down and take a closer look at what's been going on this past year. 

Yes indeed! Nine years! Every single Friday. Crazy. This coming year will also see the 500th post on the blog as well as the blog turning a decade old next year. Good lord!

So, January is traditionally the time for remorse at having eaten 3 mince pies per day for the past 3 weeks reflection. And here on The Art of Caesura, we always save our reflective meanderings from New Years for today. 

It's always funny for me writing this birthday post each year because my hobby goals for the previous year are always a bit of a time capsule for where I was in my hobby journey a year ago. For example, at that time I was playing fairly regular games of 40k, I was probably winning at least as much as I was losing and I was up to date with the latest rules and "meta". At that time it seemed like a perfectly reasonable goal to play a 2000 point game of 40k. Fast forward a year and I have only played one game in 2024. Several rounds of points changes have passed me by which will completely change my army list when I do get playing again. But that's okay. Priorities change, hobby interests ebb and flow, and I'm grateful to have spent the time with my new baby Isla.

That being said, I might be playing my first ever game of Boarding Actions in a month or so, so who knows what 2025 may hold in terms of gaming. 

Speaking of Boarding Actions (which is a way of playing Warhammer 40k with slightly different rules that let you fight inside the claustrophobic confines of a space ship / space station), that was my other hobby goal for 2024 - painting up the Gallowdark terrain which is used for Boarding Actions (that was actually my hobby goal for 2023 too...eek!). As you can see, I have a big ol' 'tick' on that one! But if I've painted it, why didn't it appear on the blog...? Patience dear reader...all will be revealed...

Looking ahead then to 2025, and in the spirit of picking goals which are relevant to me at this present time, I have cryptically mentioned that I want to "Gift 'The Gift'". Whatever do I mean by that? Am I losing my marbles? Probably, but regardless, I actually need this one to remain cryptic at present, but I'll just say that it involves my new 3D printer...

My other hobby goal is to paint 700 ducats of Trench Crusade - this would be considered a full army for Trench Crusade, which - unlike 40k - is only about 15 models.

I don't usually write exercisey-type resolutions, but I have recently started to get back into running (one of my old favourite forms of exercise), and while I used to be able to run 10km off the couch without even thinking about it, nowadays it would take a good bit of training and effort for me. Luckily, I believe I have roped my siblings-in-law into this one with me, so it might actually happen! 

For our family, this year has been...a lot:

Isla, my third daughter, was born in January (check out last week's post).

Crushingly, my wife's mum passed away in April. We all miss Marie's quiet, constant love; and Christmas was especially hard. 

In the summer, we visited my family on the west coast of Canada for the first time as a family of FIVE! 

Saoirse, my eldest daughter, started "big school".

Aaand I earned my elbow patches by being made 'Prof'! Phew. 

Thank you, as always, for reading my weekly musings and meanderings. I'm really chuffed that a bunch of you seem interested enough to come back week after week to check out what's going on here on The Art of Caesura - gluttons for punishment!

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Another bit of biz that didn't make it onto the infographic is that, after 7 years, the blog got a new logo! You can click that link if you wish to read all about what went into this new logo, but suffice to say, I do think it looks much more professional than my last one, and it is with pride that I affix it to the lower right corner of each photo. I will have to make all new merch!

Fave 5!

One of my favourite parts of these blog birthday parties is to look back at my five(ish) favourite models from the past year on the blog. As always, you can click on the title of each model to be whisked back in time to my painting of it, starting with:

5) Satyr

I revealed this model this time last year as the blog's 8th birthday present. I always have so much fun painting the larger scale of the Oathsworn "minis", I should do it more often. 

For the Satyr, I really pushed my airbrushing further than I had before - using a golden skin tone over a deep purple base was a bit risky, but I think it worked!

5) Lobster

It's funny, many of the models on my Fave 5 list took ages to paint. Helbrecht and the Sword Brethren each took weeks. Whereas, Isla and I painted Lobster Johnson in about an hour and it's still one of my faves from the past year! The model is so simple, but I think the splashes of bright, saturated yellows and blues against the greys and blacks really makes him stand out. 

4) Klendathu

I REALLY enjoyed diving back into Starship Troopers to paint this guy. I had been ho-humming for about a year over how I would paint the Tyranids that came in Leviathan, so when I finally settled on a scheme and executed it to my satisfaction I was thrilled with how it came out!

To date, it is still the only Tyranid that I have painted this way, but who knows what 2025 will bring!?

3) Sword Bros

Now, with the third position on this list we're really getting into the heavy hitters, and - truth be told - on any given day these top three swap positions a few times. But, that is not to detract from these Sword Brethren. 

I have waxed lyrical for 5 weeks here on the blog about how much I love these models and I'm proud to say that they pretty much turned out how I would have wanted them to: from the sculpting of the hair to the power sword effect, I really pushed myself with these guys and I think it paid off!

2) Helbrecht

It might be hard to appreciate from a photograph, but Helbrecht remains the longest that I have ever spent painting a single miniature (well technically four minis if you include his two servitors and the dead ork). I do feel it shows though in the subtleties of the model: the smooth transition on the sword, the textured rendering of the fabric, and the red bounce reflections produced by the ground that I painted around the model (on the downward facing surfaces of the ork skin, servitor and Helbrecht's cloak). 

One of the main things keeping The High Marshall of the Black Templars from topping this list is that, unfortunately, I didn't delight in painting him. As you can read from my work-in-progress posts, I struggled to achieve the same look as Marco Frisoni's (who's work I was trying to emulate). I ended up having to totally re-paint all the gold armour, and while I am happy with the final look, my memories of that process are not the sunniest!

1) Termie chappy

So, that brings us to our final model on this list...drum roll please...The Terminator Chaplain!! I think this choice will take some people by surprise, and as I said, I kept flip-flopping between putting this guy or the Sword Brethren as first on this list. Like Helbrecht, and the Sword Brethren, a ton of work went into this guy - it is the most extensive conversion that I have done in years and I really threw myself into it, I enjoyed finding creative ways to Frankenstein him together (including using a shoulder-pad for his armoured collar. I think the end result does look like a model you could actually buy (maybe minus the zany candle-head)! 

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I really love this time of year on the blog. In our busy lives, as we try to juggle kids, work, and hobbies, one of the first things to go, is consciously devoting time to sit back and reflect. Actually taking a bit of time to appreciate our accomplishments and learn from our challenges. That's why I like that the blog's birthday has evolved into a fun vehicle for this kind of reflection. 

Before I go on to reveal the most popular post - that which drove the most traffic to the blog from the past year - I just want to highlight some posts and themes that were important to me in the past year. 

I felt I accomplished a nice balance for myself in terms of "high-effort" and quick, fun miniatures. I spent weeks and weeks painting Helbrecht and the Sword Brethren, and also spent a couple hours painting each of Hellboy's main crew. And I loved both processes!

I have enjoyed continuing creative outlets in the written medium with the narratives that I have written inspired by games that I've played. One of the stories I wrote (Fortress of Faith), was even in the top 3 most popular posts of the year! 

But one of the things that really surprised and delighted me from this past year has been the joy of re-living the excitement that I felt when I first got into the hobby via my friend's son. We've met a couple of times since that initial painting post (including a 3-way skirmish game), and I hope I'll get to document more in 2025. 

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People's Choice Award:

So, those are my favourite models of 2024, but how about you? Which was the post from the past year that most made you laugh, cry, wet yourself, and gaze in exaltation...all at the same time? It was... 

My coverage of Trench Crusade!!! Usually I would have a little pout right about now about how my most popular post from the past year didn't even involve any of my painted minis (as has been the case for many of the past 9 years), but honestly, I'm really excited that Trench Crusade has proven so popular (in general, and here on The Art of Caesura). I currently have a whole army from Trench Crusade printed and ready to paint and I'm really riding that wave of enthusiasm. I have a few projects to finish up before I dive in in earnest, but I think we will be seeing a lot of Trench Crusade in 2025, and I'm glad that the majority of you also seem excited about that!

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Blog's Birthday Present:

My, my, my! It's almost time to go! I hope you've enjoyed a look at what's been going on around the blog in the past year and that, with me, you have delighted in looking at my (and your) favourite posts of 2024. That leaves but one thing remaining - the blog's 9th birthday present. Typically, I paint my biggest model of the year in anticipation of this annual post, and this year is no different...kind of. 

While the miniature shown is large (but not gargantuan) itself, what it represents is over a year of work! But you'll have to tune in next week to learn more!

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Thank you again for joining me this, and every, Friday right here on The Art of Caesura! Here's to nine more years!