2024 in review part 3 - Sci Fi & Moonstone

For me the big news of 2024 was the release of the latest version of Infinity called N5. I have been buying and painting Infinity since 2018 and only played my first games of CodeOne in 2024! Then just as I was finding my feet in CodeOne N5 was announced and with it the demise of CodeOne! I actually consider myself lucky that I got my feet under the table and worked out the mechanics in real life before N5 came along as without that taster it would be a steep ask for me to join. At my age learning new rules systems is not the fun event it was 20 years ago! However it has given me a boost to complete some of my unpainted stuff such as the Unidron Tag above which has lain unbuilt for years.

I had already repainted my O12 in this swanky scheme as the usual blue was confusing when a friend was using my PanO army. So I have 3 forces ready to play plus JSA, Tohaa and Aleph all unpainted. None of these painted or unpainted are big armies as I will never have tournament competitive forces but frankly I dont care!

Another bonus of n5 is that i will be able to use units like the lawmaker above who were not included in CodeOne.

This year has seen quite a lot of infinity but I will just choose some of my favourites here.

First up a trad colours O12 Roadbot(?) The blue and gold are a great combo and I think this is a resin as resin should be.

Another favourite of mine are the MFF which I believe exist only as part of Ariadne now and not as a separate faction but now do have models in production so probably a win overall. These are from the Merovingian reinforcement pack i think.

Whilst this cateran sniper is also from a lost sectorial..

As always there is a ton of Infinity pictures from every faction (I think) in the Sci fi gallery of my webby here if you are interested or have nothing else to do! https://www.firstcommissionpainting.co.uk/galleries

I have only had one 40k job this year, although to be honest 40k is a small fraction of what I paint. I suspect this is because there are many dedicated 40k pro painters out there and many are excellent. However i did get a cool Tyrannid job which was painted in installments which was the first but not to be the last time I did this during the year. The models went together beautifully which is the great strength of GW.

I am not an expert in 40k names so I cannot remember what any of these were called except in the last picture which has a tyrannid Prime and a Termagent!

I really quite like 40k minis and would happily paint more if only because they are so well made!

MCP has remained big this year and with the Christmas break here I have 3 commissions built but not painted as my "studio" reverts back to being a bedroom for returning children and work halts. I am not sure where Atomic Mass are digging up their latest minis. What on earth is the holy crowbar and the wrecking crew? Anyway my favourites this year have been the following.

Once again as with GW Atomic Mass have great minis to assemble although occasionally a bit tricky! For pictures of almost everything I have painted for MCP which is frankly almost everything here is a link to the gallery bit of my website and click on where it says 'Miniatures games' https://www.firstcommissionpainting.co.uk/galleries

Entering its 'difficult second season' year Shatterpoint has also been quite popular, very much moreso than Star Wars Legions, Probably due to the lower entry price and what I hear is a solid game experience.

Once again I am not a Shatterpoint player so I cant name the packs exactly.

Witches of Dathomir

Ewoks obvs! This was a tricky pack to assemble!!

Clone troopers (?)

Luke and Leia

Big bad!

There is a gallery for Shatterpoint here but such has been the pace of releases it is not as comprehensive as others https://www.firstcommissionpainting.co.uk/galleries

Moonstone

New entrant for me is Moonstone, a game which I literally know nothing about but which has the most original aesthetic I have seen in years. A sort of Victorian Faerie vibe but with menaces. There are a number of factions and loads of models so once again just a few of my faves but all sre on the website in the newest pictures section.

This guy is a creepy butler for the Leshavult faction

A Dominion Moneyman Burgher

A Goblin Shaman

Your guess is as good as mine...

Cannon on a giant

Shades faction, Count Negroli

Nanny and babies, Shades.

Leshavult, no real idea but called Kavanagh

Gnomish airship obviously!

A very refreshing new set of miniatures and solid gameplay I am told! As with Shatterpoint above there is a gallery with lots more stuff in on my website here which is quite full but it is not comprehensive yet as the Faeries are not yet added but will be this January 2025 https://www.firstcommissionpainting.co.uk/galleries

That is all my faves from the commercial side of my work this year. As usual the other parts are here.https://www.firstcommissionpainting.co.uk/blog-old