Looking Back At 2013

So here we are, a new year and for many of us a new set of modelling goals. I'm sure you've already read many to-do lists for the next year but for me I'm currently reflecting on the past year. The whole purpose of this blog was to chart my journey as I returned back to scale aircraft models after a long absence from any form of modelling.

However as the year passed I found myself trying my hand at many other projects as well. Looking back at my very earliest posts I had set out to complete certain models but at the end of year I find I haven't achieved that. I did however try many things that I hadn't original intended and I'm very pleased to have widened my modelling focus.

So 2013, lets look and the good and the bad.

The Good

With out a doubt the highlight of my year was rediscovering (the newest) Airfix models, a brand that had featured strongly in my childhood. It didn't start too well with my first Airfix kit of the year which was strong mix of nostalgia and disappointment. However by the time I reached my final build of the year I was thoughly enjoying Airfix again and felt that I'd experienced the rejuvenation of a much loved British icon over the course of the year.

My 2013 Build of the Year

If I was to give out awards, then Airfix's 1;72 scale A6M2b Zero (kit A01005) would be my 2013 build of the year without any hesitation.

Looking forward to 2014 I'm really hoping to get a few more Airfix builds under my belt.

The Bad

The bad point for me really was the way I approached my return to the hobby. First of all I set myself targets that were way above my current skill level. As a result it sometimes took the fun out of the hobby for me. Secondly, at times was impatient and rushed builds. Partly because I felt I had to get something done for this blog and partly because of my aforementioned misjudged level of skill. I know I can build to a good standard but I also now know I'm still learning.

So for 2014 I'm going to take a more relaxed approach to my hobby. I'm also not planing on buying many more kits as I intend to build the ones I have in my stash. When the stash is smaller I hope I feel more of a sense of achievement.

The Ugly...

One of the surprise highlights of 2013 was my discovery of a selection of old miniatures. I came into possession of a large collection of metal miniatures in varying conditions and I'm slowly in the process of identifying /stripping / repairing them.

As I've said before I originally intended to work only on scale aircraft models but this discovery made me really appreciate some of the older miniatures of my teenage years in a way that I've not found possible for scale models. These models may not be able to compete with the latest resin casts, but I have found that sometime a simpler model can be just as much fun to work with.

If time allows then I'd certainly like spend some time rediscovering older miniatures again alongside my continuing scale model projects.

A Games Workshop Necromunda ganger with claw conversion

On that note I'll leave you with a teaser of the first, hopefully of many, that I'll be working on and wish you all best for 2014, whatever you choose to work on this year.