The year is quickly winding down. I’d like to think 2025 has been a good year, though the month of December has been pretty lost to me. At 70 I’m still active, hearty and hale, but I’ve been on the verge of needing cataract surgery the past couple of years. November and December was the time I chose to make it happen. I’ve finished the surgeries and they are relatively nothing. But there are required follow up visits and taken together they all take some time. The good news is my vision is much better. I think I can probably function without glasses and I can definitely see better to read.

Usually by now I have all my Enfilade projects carefully mapped out with most of the figures painted and playtests planned. At this point, I’m still up in the air about what I’ll be running in May. I will likely run my Mambi Justice game for the Cuban Revolution. After that it isn’t clear. I’m on the hook for an air/naval game on the destruction of British Force Z in 1941. You might remember it as the air attacks that sank the Prince of Wales and Repulse off the coast of Malaya. But I still think there is a lot of uncertainty about its readiness. Game three is still a blank slate.

One thing that is clear is that my role in the wargaming community will change. On January 1st I will step down from my post as NHMGS President. I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve had a good run, but I’m ready to give up those responsibilities. It’s a leadership position I’ve held off and on since the early 90’s and honestly I don’t have the energy or the interest to continue. I’m active in that role without being controlling, but I think it’s time that others offer a different vision for the organization. There’s an entire world out there that does miniatures that is younger and doesn’t always do historicals that needs tapping. I think that is a job for a different, younger person than I.

This will also be my last year as Enfilade director. It’s our final year under contract at the LaQuinta in Tacoma. My view is our experience there has been just adequate. The LaQuinta has treated us well, but it is a notch or two below what we need. Accessing food, the layout with the convention space down a long flight of stairs and no direct elevator access are issues. The space is smallish and can get loud. I know my successors are looking at other spaces. It just depends on whether it makes economic sense. After six years in charge, including the move in 2024, it’s time to let someone else tackle these issues.

Increasingly my mind is more occupied with figures and games and what I hope to get finished and play with. Friends regularly bring to my attention new figure ranges, new rules and I desperately try to fend them off. I have all these other zillions (okay, thousands) of minis to complete for periods I’m really committed to and I don’t really want to start something new–until I do. Just to be clear, it has been a productive year. I keep track of my figure painting by months, and my goal is always about 60 figures per month. Some times I paint a bit less, others a bit more. At the time of my writing I am at 741 figures which would slight exceed my 720 figure yearly goal. Can’t complain.

Bob Murch’s Crucible Crush figures we used for Song of Drums and Tomahawks. Great minis. David’s figures on the rectangular bases, mine on the round bases. And look, there’s a bear.

One project I was able to complete in 2025 is all the Bob Murch Crucible Crush figures David Sullivan had to run any size game for Ganesha Games’ Song of Drums and Tomahawks. This is a true skirmish level game chiefly written for the French and Indian War. However Murch’s figures are really intended for earlier European contact during the Beaver Wars. I’ve written a scenario that I’m hoping to try out at the end of the month that could be entertaining. More games for this period and rules set would be fun. This is a completed project.

I’m currently working on my Vietnam 1/300 air war stuff. I’m doing this with George Kettler and support from others. I’ve focused on painting all the planes I have, and have added a few more from the 3D printed versions offered by FlightDeck Decals. I’m down to my last handful of planes to paint, and then I want to shift over to scenics–terrain pieces, stuff to bomb/defend. George and I have played one game, and we’re trying to get one on the schedule before year’s end. We use David Manley’s AirWar C.21 game which is easy to learn and play. This will soon be a completed project.

Prince of Wales Edward, the Black Prince is a legendary hero for my SAGA English HYW army. He is a 3D printed figure so hopefully his swords survive their first action. Yes, I did paint the heraldry. Very fun figure to paint.

I have masses of other things to work on. A couple of SAGA armies to complete. I still play SAGA every month so it gets a workout. My Skraelings and my Irish, two very similar armies, are on everyone’s shit list. I still haven’t figured out my HYW English, though I did recently paint the Black Prince of Wales, Edward as a legendary hero. At least he looks good. There are bunches of ships and planes that need paint and I’ve committed to paint a little of each every month.

There’s also my Spanish Civil War project. That’s currently on hiatus while my friend and colleague Michael recovers from ankle surgery. There’s still more playtesting to do of our rules. I’d really like to get more figures but oddly Empress Miniatures have taken their SCW range on hiatus too. They’re busy producing their new Arnhem range and their Spaniards are just not available at the present time. Sigh. I still have a couple of items to paint, so maybe I should just shut up and do ’em.

All of my unpainted figures live in this Ikea Antonio rack system. I have two of them. Some are bulging with stuff, others a little less bulgey. The second photo shows my unpainted AWI stuff that is literally overflowing. Mostly Perry, some Old Glory. More in the garage. Yikes. The third photo is my HYW stuff. Not quite as desperate. Some Perry, some Old Glory

My biggest piles of miniatures are my AWI and HYW projects. These projects both currently have more than 1,000 painted figures each. I have big plans for both, so I better keep working on them. This month I actually did complete some American riflemen for Rebels and Patriots. I also remounted some HYW figures. But there is so much to left to do. They are my big targets for 2026.

In the maybe something new department, I will do some DBA in 2026. I gave away all of my 30ish armies a year ago. I don’t regret it. I hadn’t played with them in more than five years. I had a friend just getting started and he’s used the figures very strategically. DBA 3.0 was published and a 4.0 is in the works. Despite my DBA motto being “you can’t have just one (army)” I think I can be more rational about acquiring and painting. Another possibility is a Napoleonic skirmish project a friend recommended to me. Don’t know much (including the rules set,) but I am eyeballing those Perry 40mm figures for the Peninsula that seem so beautiful. If I could keep the commitment to under 50 figures, I’d be good with it.