Historical Gonks

I'll be moving house soon so I've got some bits to finish including the historical figures; an Undead Bloodbowl team; three Warmachine characters, (one on a horse) and a vampire!  I think after this lot and moving I will have to concentrate on doing a few things for myself!
I've got my own Orc Bloodbowl team to paint; the remaining playing boards; a few hundred Romans as well as my Bloodbowl team, (TBA) for Rocket Bowl III in October.  After that there's about a zillion other bits that I would like to crack on with.
In the meantime, the Historicals are coming along nicely.

Pirate Bay VIII

The edges of this board will, (at some point), match up with three others to make a 4' x 4' area so I've used the two colours of "static grass" I'll be using later.
The grass shown in the pictures is real overkill as I want to leave it on overnight before shaking off the excess.  I've said it before: less is more, so there's going to be a load of the earth/sand showing through later.

I've also added "water" to the painted sea area.  I'm convince that this is just some kind of expensive PVA but it does work but takes an age to dry.  (There is probably 3-4mm of water effect there).

Once this lot finally dries and I've shaken off the surplus grass I'll add some finished pictures.

Pirate Bay VII

Water, IMO, (as the kids say), is really tricky to get right.  I resign myself to the fact that I will never get it right so do my best.  This is a fantasy gaming board not a study in real life.

For my representation of the sea I used about five or six greens and blues with a glaze and water to mix it all up. I have highlighted the wave, ("Oh, that's he's dropped a bit of plaster onto the board!"), with light grey and white.
I've added a touch of white onto the beach and around the base of the ladder in the sea for froth.

Pirate Bay VI

The dock's wooden decking were much too light and woody.  As I'll be playing "undead" pirates I wanted to make the wood darker. At the same time I've added some staining and "ageing" with the occasional wash and grey highlight.
I also didn't want a universal brown so I've painted some planks a different colour and used a variety of washes and highlights to individual planks.
The metal grilles/trapdoors were painted in chainmail given several different washes and then had some "weathering powder" added for a slightly rusty look.
On the land, I've painted the paving stones in black, grey and lighter grey.  I've also highlighted the earth with some Ochre, (cough), and the sandier areas have got Bleached Bone highlights.
Next up: The sea!

Pirate Bay V

At last, I can do some painting.  First on is a general covering of "Brown" this is going all over the area I want grass.
Next up is some Ochre, (sounds more like a cough than a colour), for the more sandy bits. Lastly good old black for the rockier edges.(I think I used the wrong black here but it'll all work out in the end I'm sure.

Testing The Blog

Does this post to Facebook and or Twitter? If not, why not?
I may need a grown up...

Pirate Bay IV

Next, my favorite cocktail: PVA glue and sand.  Love it.
I've used cheap "craft" PVA and fish tank sand. (I get through a lot of these and it all adds up).

I've made sure the sea is locked onto this board only by extending the beach.

 

After the sand has been poured liberally over and shaken off, (onto the dining table again - I'm sure those scratches will come out), I get to watch it dry whilst picking the sand/glue mix off my hands - very therapeutic.

Pirate Bay III

Now the fun part.  It's time to get messy!
After gluing thicker lolly sticks onto the harbour wall ModRoc or it's cheaper equivalent is squished and shaped into the edges of the polystyrene - I don't want cliffs but slopes. I've also inserted some home-cast paving stones for steps.
I did put a cloth down and still managed to get plastery water all over the dining room table.  (It'll never notice).
Again, boringly, this has to dry.  The plaster will take two days to thoroughly dry out.

Notice the plaster in the sea?

Pirate Bay II

I  knew them lolly sticks I bought on ebay would come in useful!

With the stolen polystyrene and the lolly sticks painfully cut up and stuck down in a kind of laminate flooring way, (this is as far as my DIY skills go), I can get the general shape of the board.

I used a couple of pre made trapdoors bought from my good friend Steve of The Games Vault to add a bit of a feature to the dock. (Note the cheap PVA - it was a pound!).  The whole lot needed to dry and in the process one or two of the "decking" lolly sticks raised up and had to be replaced. (Real cheap wood).

Pirate Bay I

In between painting bits for other people I occasionally get to do something for me.  Sometimes the light is bad and I need to work on something larger.

The local gaming club: Daventry Vaulters seems to have gone pirate crazy with the release of the 28mm skirmish game from Black Scorpion: Cutlass!

I only thought it right to jump on the band wagon and make a 1/4 over a 4' x 4'. 
Why a quarter? Well, my time is precious and if I do a complete table I can still play other games without being trapped on an island.  (This took some thinking).
So, whilst I was lying in bed not sleeping I came up with a plan of only having sea on one corner. After nicking a bit of polystyrene from the father-in-laws new fridge freezer, (had to sneak this in the car and back from London without the wife seeing!) and a quick trip to the DIY shop I started:

                     
                     

I had originally made the sea defences symmetrical but realised, (luckily before the glue set), that if I did this the sea would leak onto the next 2' x 2' board.  I only wanted to make a corner of an island not the whole thing.

Pug's Gonks

Pug is a superb artist. 
He has a passion for Bloodbowl.
I am in awe of his genius!

He is running a Bloodbowl Tournament: Rocket Bowl III in October. Look HERE for information.

But, (possibley), even more exciting is this:

Pug has sculpted a whole team of these little critters and Impact! has produced them in metal for the world to buy! I think this is astounding.  Well done Pug.
This is the first gonk out and can be bought from Impact!

Historical Figures Continued

Well, I've been on holiday; my local gaming shop is closing but here we are continuing with the historical figures. (Life's a roller coaster).

I've painted the metal and started a selective wash.  (This means I pick out certain areas to wash in different shades; eg. the skin gets Flesh Wash and the bronze armour gets a Sepia Wash).
This process helps me work out the detail and which bits to highlight.

The Daventry Vaulters

The Daventry Vaulters, the gaming club that has grown and flourished because of The Games Vault will continue and I'm sure grow in strength and numbers.

They'll be a new venue from June 23rd, it will be the Daventry Town Football Club.Check the website for further information.

The Gonk Machine will still be active and will continue to provide tips, advice, scenery and gonks for use within the club and beyond!

(I'm planning a Piratey thing at the moment...)

The Games Vault

Sad news whilst away...The Games Vault in Daventry will be closing it's doors on 11th June. 
It's been a great addition to Daventry and the gaming community and The Gonk Machine would not be here today if it wasn't for Steve and Kerry.

We, (The Gonk Machine and me), would like to wish Steve, Kerry and family all the very best in whatever new adventure is next!