Trying to hit a moving target

This is not a post about the odds of hitting something with a projectile weapon, but a reflection on the wargaming  targets I set myself for this year.  You see they moved, I wasn't looking and suddenly my priorities changed.  Or possibly I became side tracked.  I don't have a laser focussed, hard edged focus on my targets so it was bound to happen.  This year my interest in creating 2mm armies for Strength and Honour was replaced by an interest in completing my 6mm pike and shot army.  If I do anything with those rules I will actually go with my existing 6mm armies.  My focus on DBA armies which are contemporary with my Late Imperial Romans has remained and my wish to build up some Goths and other assorted migration period Germanic types has also survived.  

As a result my painting time has been given over to painting Goth Warbands and 17th century Bavarian Cuirassiers of late.  I'm here to tell you that painting that blue and white checked Bavarian flag is damn tricky in 6mm too.  I'm reminded of the early versions of the FIFA football video game where the graphics were incapable of showing Blackburn Rover's blue and white halved shirts so they instead used an average tone of pale blue all over!  I tried I really did but I just can't get the lozenges the right shape, and that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  My Bavarians will have to live with some dodgy diagonal stripes on their flags.  Still progress has been made and so far this month I have finished two bases of ten Cuirassiers and three of 16 Goth foot warriors.

The Goths as they currently stand (or for the cavalry sit)

Adding those to earlier figures I painted earlier in the year gives me the army shown above.  These can be any flavour of Goth or even Vandals I suppose.  They can fight alongside a Hunnic force as allies and at a pinch stand in for Franks or early Saxons.

Hopefully this will be the Roman view of them, from behind as they retreat

This painting output has had the bonus effect of pushing me over my painting target for 2025, yes folks the lead pile is currently 30 figures smaller than it was on 1st  January.  I'm not 100% on target as I have slightly more foot figures than I started with but the amount of cavalry and miscellaneous stuff like artillery and dragoons I have completed has taken me over the total figure count target.  That includes adjusting for the number of figures bought during the year as well.

But what about the moving targets?  Well I have taken some items off the list and added a couple to it.  The plan to extend my DBA armies out to being basic ADLG army size is no longer a priority.  I doubt I will have time to finish my Hunnic or Moorish DBA forces either.  I do have all the figures for the Moors but would need to buy more Huns to get me over the line on that one.  So I have punted all those down the road for the moment.  I'm still torn over what do about the Early Byzantinian DBA army.  At the moment it is entirely made up of proxy figures, but I am very tempted to grab some of the new Baccus figures to replace the current infantry, who would then revert to their Sassanid allegiance.  I suppose I might just get the Moors over the line if I get some serious painting time in, but then again I might not as there are a lot of light cavalry to work through.

It's good to be flexible I suppose, and important to be realistic about what I can achieve over the next few weeks.  Watch this space, as they say, although it is unlikely I might just surprise all of us before 31 December comes around.