What can we expect in 2015

Well January flew by in a flash. I thought I would have a brief review of 2014 already posted up by now. Needless to say, 2014 turned out different to plans. Lots of things didn't get off the ground, blogging slowed to a halt, and painting virtually evaporated. Though there were a few positives, such as Chain of Command, which proved to be a great discovery, along with getting a British and (soon to be) Soviet platoons painted up late in the day.

The Analogue Painting challenge was entered, with a less ambitious target, though even that may prove elusive, given the hours I'm putting in at work. A few entries have gone in already with more on the way.

The good news though is that I now have another large batch of figures for Orinoco miniatures ready for release (peasant militia, and more Gran Colombians). With these and a few ancillary packs soon to be completed, I hope to have all the figures to put on a key battle from the Wars of Liberation (below you can see the very first preview of some of the new figures).

Putting on the Battle of Ayacucho is the ultimate aim, but for this year it will probably be one of the smaller battles in the north for the liberation of either Venezuela, or New Granada/Colombia.

In regard to battlefields visits, I did manage one very interesting walk during a short working holiday to Crete in September (that is, the family were on the beach, while I sat in the apartment and worked). I'll get round to writing it up, along with several overdue posts on other battlefields I've visited (including Vimeiro, Bussaco, Rolica, as well as the Italian front battlefields from WW1).

I also paid a visit to the Hussite's main town of Tabor, and actually got to bump into a bunch of them celebrating their 600th anniversary in Prague! (Indeed the Hussites are alive and well in Bohemia. Thankfully time has mellowed them a tad, so all we saw was some small Hussite jazz ensemble, which was a very absurd moment.)

On the up side, the stalwarts that are the Prague Wargames Club, proved to be as reliable as ever, and a constant source of new ideas and hobby inspiration. From a humble start back in 2003 when myself and a friend (Nick Dorell) tried to kick off a few games at a small table in a local hobby shop, we now have nearly 30 members, and a permanent clubhouse.
Plenty of games were held during the year, my personal favourites being some Mud and Blood battles from 1914 (the "Race to the Sea" scenario). 

Also, it was great fun getting to grips with Chain of Command; really and excellent set of rules.

The large summer Napoleonic game was also a winner. The good news is that we will attempt most of the Waterloo battle in 15mm using the "General de Brigade" rules in the summer.

So plans for what's left of 2015, well a house move is still on the cards, as are more figures for my Orinoco range. The Auterlitz/Slavkov battle may yet see the light of day in a smaller format, as with the South American Liberation Wars battle. Certainly more games would be welcome, especially Chain of Command. I'm also intrigued by the recent WW1 adaptation of these rules, and scenarios for the Kaiserschlacht campaign of 1918. As for more blogging, let's hope.

As usual, we'll be going on our annual pilgrimage to Salute again this year with other from the Prague Club. Salute 2014 was excellent, and the bloggers meet up as enjoyable as ever. So obviously I'm looking forward meeting some of you again this year at Salute.