Vampifan's Views 48 - Happy 5th Birthday

Oh. My. God! My blog is five years old. I almost missed my blog's birthday. I began this blog on 18th March 2009. I should have mentioned this in my last Monthly Musings post but for some reason I thought its birthday was in April. It is only when I checked the dates I realised my terrible blunder. So. a belated happy birthday to Vampifan's World of the Undead.
In the past five years I have received 9,033 comments, have gathered 373 followers and have received just short of half a million hits. This will be my 473rd post. The five most popular posts of all time are as follows -

My Zombie Horde part 1 30 Dec 2009, 11 comments, 5959 views
Finger and Toe Models Quonset Hut 23 Oct 2011, 20 comment, 2175 views
Foundry Yakuza Gangers 2 Jun 2013, 137 comments, 2060 views
ATZ Final Fade Out Rulebook 14 Oct 2012, 32 comments, 1541 views
Forces of Valor UH-60L Black Hawk Helicopter 11 Sep 2011, 23 comments, 1495 views That my zombie horde post still remains the most popular does not surprise me. I really must get round to showing it again as it slowly approaches the 1,000 mark. The reason why the Foundry Yakuza Gangers post was so popular is that it coincided with my long stay in hospital last year and most people were checking it out for progress reports and to leave messages of sympathy. It is not often (if ever) that I have posted twice in two days but I'm sure you'll agree, this is a special cause for celebration. I wanted to post this in March, the month when I began blogging. If you were to ask me why I think my blog has been so successful I could list a number of reasons for its popularity. First up, is my unfaltering enthusiasm for all things undead. My enthusiasm for my blog is as high now as when I first started out. I have so many ideas for future posts that I can't ever see me stopping my blog. Secondly, I post regularly. This ensures continuity and followers now expect to see my blog every Wednesday and every Sunday. Okay, so there was a horrible blip last year when I was away in hospital for four months, but even so, my brother still kept it going with updates on my progress. Thirdly, I seem to have hit upon a  winning combination of reviews and battle reports. My batreps are always hugely popular and it saddens me that I can't do more as I have so many ideas and plans running around in my head. Being a miniature figure collector since the 1970's I have a vast collection of figures I can review. You've seen a lot of them but there are still many that remain unseen. This is great fodder for the future. Plus, I am always buying new figures despite my halfhearted efforts to cut down on figure purchases. Fourthly, another source of great joy to me is my card modelling, which help to make my games come to life in a way I could never have imagined before my blogging days. Once I discovered the world of card-modelling there was no turning back. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, my blog succeeds because of its enthusiastic and faithful followers, many of whom have become very close friends of mine. Even if you have never left a comment, by viewing my blog, you have helped to make it the success it is today. I'd like to thank each and every one of my followers and casual viewers. Without your continued support, kindness and generosity this blog would have died at birth. I salute you all. God bless you!