The Gonk Machine

The League's '"Random" Events

2012-01-29T22:14:00.002Z

In our Bloodbowl League there is a "random" event each round. I say "random" as it has been said that these events favour the bash teams. I personally think they are done quite fairly and are great fun. (Also I play Orcs so I don't care!)

This round we have to take on a child for work experience as part of our team. My Orcs will be having this little Goblin kid from MANTIC Games:

(Hopefully I won't be using the KO'd gonk as there "will be repercussions".)

I can't wait to put him on the frontline to help replace my two dead and two MNG skilled Black Orcs - ouch!

The Commish's Vampires - XI

2012-01-27T11:25:00.001Z

There. I knew The Gonk Machine would use those New Year lightning bolts. With no further input from me the two vampires for the Commish have been finished. (They look like they've been based and given a protective coat of varnish or two).

The Commish's Vampires - X

2012-01-26T14:19:00.001Z

Getting closer now.
I have chosen a stone colour for the base skin tone of the "human vamp" then given it a wash of Seapia.

It's time these gonks were finished. I'm just going to leave "The Gonk Machine" on overnight to see what happens.

The Commish's Vampires - IX

2012-01-25T13:12:00.000Z

Here we go.
I've carefully rinsed the nail varnish remover off with plain old water.
After another drying session under the painting lamp, I've reglued the hand and painted thinned black on the bare metal.
On the feral vamp I have washed the bronzed armour in Badab Black and given some darker colour to the recessed muscle and highlighted a lot lighter on the raised areas.

The Commish's Vampires - VIII

2012-01-24T13:04:00.012Z

Time to remove all that hard work.

For metal gonks I use the cheapest nail varnish remover I can find and steal the wife's ear bud things. (I don't know what she uses them for anyway).

TGM TOP TIP Don't use nail varnish remover on plastic figures - it is likely to melt them. Oh - also don't spill it or your wife/mother/partner etc. is not going to be happy.
(Please note: nail varnish remover also kills the super glue so the hand fell off!)

Should be called "Arnie"

The Commish's Vampires - VII

2012-01-23T12:53:00.001Z

Disaster time.

It happens.

Mistakes can happen, and generally can all be corrected. The trouble with this mistake is that I could see it happen in "slo-mo". I should've quit earlier but kept adding layers.

I've tried, (too hard) to lighten the skin tone on the "human" vampire. It is now time for the old cotton bud and nail varnish to come out.
(The trouble is I'm really happy with the "feral" vampire and these gonks would almost be finished. Oh well, deep breaths).

Arrgh. Facebook!

2012-01-22T23:56:00.004Z

Still can't see why this blog doesn't post to the Facebook page any more.

(It's all magical wizardry).

The Commish's Vampires - VI

2012-01-22T14:39:00.001Z

I am thinking "NO!" too "alive" for a vampire.

Still, I'm soldiering on. Added the bronze metal armour, (this fits in with the rest of the team's colour theme). I had some brown left on the palette so I used this to dry brush the sand. (Why waste paint? It costs enough!)

The Commish's Vampires - V

2012-01-21T14:30:00.002Z

Stage Five already!

Time for a flesh wash on one gonk and a highlight on the other.

I've washed the feral vampire's ears and eyes to define the detail there.

Mmm. I'm thinking "Surf's Up" not "children of the night. What music they make" I'll have to see how the "human" vampire looks. I am doubting my colour choice for the flesh.

The Commish's Vampires - IV

2012-01-20T14:24:00.001Z

The first, base coat. I've done the "feral" vampire with a mixture of greys and a medium glaze, (this thins the paint and makes it easier to blend by stalling the drying process). I'm generally happy with the overall result so I've left it to dry overnight.
The other figure has been given a flesh skin with a view to giving this a "wash" to define the muscles. I'll then want to really tone this down or, (as before - this'll look too "Surfer Dude" rather than "Lord of the Undead"). We'll see how this works out...

The Commish's Vampires - III

2012-01-19T13:27:00.002Z

The PVA glue has finally dried on the base so the next step, (and wait), is a nice black undercoat.

(I nearly always use black unless it's for something REALLY bright).

The spray paint is applied in three directions but even then it still won't reach the awkward areas. To make sure everything is black and to "smooth" out the spray paint I've also applied a thinned layer of black all over. (Spray paint has to dry thoroughly first before this is done and then the thinned paint has to dry properly as well...)

TGM TOP TIP: Patience is required for gonk
painting.

A Little Taster

2012-01-18T23:30:00.000Z

The "New Look" Immortals Bloodbowl team will make their first run out this season next week at The Daventry Vaulters

Together with their new team strip I've given their coach a fan/turn counter.

This is an old figure from which game? Answers on a postcard/comment/email.

The Commish's Vampires - II

2012-01-18T17:35:00.000Z

After they're thoroughly dried from their wash and scrape; I glued them together and put a sand and card "stepping stone" base on. This fits in line with the rest of the team, (something a bit different to the standard BloodBowl grass).

(I had to pin the hand on as there was no way it would stay on with just super glue).

Lacking a Camera Card.

2012-01-17T23:18:00.000Z

With the house being deconstructed and constructed up again I've managed to misplace my card reader for the, (albeit rubbish), camera.

I've got lots to add regarding Vampires, Immortals and more but I have yet to replace the card reader. A blog about painting figures ain't much without pics.

Standby, standby...

The Commish's Vampires - I

2012-01-02T21:48:00.000Z

Oh, the anticipation.

I've been asked to paint two more vampires for the Commish's BloodBowl team of vampires.

I spent a long time looking around and finally settled on these two superb gonks from Gaspez Arts. (I had to chose them and will be deciding the colours etc.) Hopefully, they'll be OK. (I like them anyway!)

New BloodBowl Season starting soon.

2012-01-01T12:30:00.002Z

At the Daventry Vaulters there's a new league of Bloodbowl starting shortly. I believe there's a few spaces remaining if you can get to the Daventry area. It was great fun last season and I'm sure it'll even more so this season.

My team of Orcs: Da Firm have a superb Troll who insists on throwing his team Goblins around. (So much so that he's taken "Nerves of Steel" and "Pass" to help him in his game plan). It worked on the last game, making a one turn touchdown - BRILLIANT! - however Da Firm did end up losing 7-1 but it was fun.

Talking of the new season - I'd better start painting those two new vampires for the Commish...

BloodBowl Board

2011-11-22T22:35:00.000Z

OK, over to the young man:

"Erm, well. It's taken me a long time but I'm proud to say it's almost finished. I've just got to paint some stuff and add grass and finishing touches. I've stuck all the sticking stuff on and left it dry overnight and now spray painted it black. It was sprayed unevenly to add texture later on."

OK there you have it.

Start 'em young.

2011-11-20T18:02:00.000Z

We've had a big discussion about too much screen based activities, (kids, not me).

As part of the new regime the kids are now looking at books and games again which is excellent!

My youngest has started making a BloodBowl pitch and has asked me to put it up on this blog. (The older lad has shown some interest...)

Anyway - here's the planning, marking out and sticking of "tile spacers".

(I'll keep you posted).

Rocket Bowl Orcs - Finished and Shelved.

2011-10-23T22:36:00.000+01:00

Rocket Bowl was great fun this weekend - a HUGE thank you to Pug for making all the effort to make it a brilliant success.

The Orcs were finished enough to play by Saturday morning - but it was a no sleeper again!

Savage Orc Linemen

Black Orc Blockers

Ork Blitzers


The Troll

I even managed to make a display thing for the "Gorky Park Rangers"

Pity I only won one though but my favorite part was the Black Orc dodging on a six to take out the ball carrier to force a draw!

Rocket Bowl Orcs - Wednesday

2011-10-20T00:34:00.000+01:00

There's two nights to go before I've gotta finish this team.

I've decided to paint them like ranks instead of Linos, Blitzers etc. That's gotta save time!

The green is pretty important I think so I want to get that done before doing armour and red(ish) colouring.

Oh, I'm doing a troll as well BTW.

Rocket Bowl Orcs

2011-10-19T00:15:00.000+01:00

I don't know why I put myself through this. I'm playing Orcs at the weekend at Rocket Bowl III.
I've already got a perfectly playable Orc Bloodbowl team but I decided ages ago that I wanted a new Orc team. (Perhaps I should've started ages ago).

I know why, I love painting that's why!

Here's the start of the Orc Linemen. The team colours are going to be red(ish) which will clash nicely with the green skin. I'll be making the Orc skin quite bright, (subject to time constraints).

Today is Tuesday. This means I've got to finish the Linos off tomorrow and start/finish the Black Orc Blockers if I'm staying on schedule to finish for an early night on Friday.

Orc Team for Rocketbowl 3

2011-10-16T09:26:00.001+01:00

Well although I'm at the NEC all day, I've at least primed the team and the glue is drying on the dugouts.

Posted on the move. TGM

The Lady Vamp.

2011-10-06T23:39:00.001+01:00

A quick update here. The latest vampire in the Bloodbowl team that uses nuns as thralls...

Location : 14-36 Danetre Dr, Daventry, Northamptonshire NN11 4,
Posted on the move. TGM

2011-08-22T22:58:00.001+01:00

It's been awhile - sorry!

I've been offline for sometime. The computer broke, I've moved into a house that's been totally rewired and had lots to decorate. I've had to do DIY. These hands are not meant for DIY...

The only painting that has gone on is the walls and ceiling not gonks. In fact the box clearly marked "The Gonk Machine - Open first, do not lose" mysteriously went missing for quite some time...

I have a vampire and an undead team on the bench as well as these Black Scorpion gonks which will make up my very own human team in the up and coming Vault Ball II Bloodbowl competition here in Daventry.


It must be summer - check the deckchair style background.

I know: a white undercoat! What's the world coming to?

The Immortals - Additional

2011-07-14T15:46:00.002+01:00

Here's a quick snap of the two very basic conversions I've done to two of the Heresey figures in The Immortals team.

They were simple but I think, once painted, will be very effective. The "Skaven" tail will be painted in bone colours to represent the Prehensile Tail that this gonk has earned.

The Immortals - Revisited

2011-07-14T15:30:00.001+01:00

The local games club has a great following of Bloodbowl. The league at the moment has four divisions of six teams each.
(Check it out HERE)
Next up, on the bench is The Immortals. This team has been playing for some time and has managed to stay in Division One by the skin of its teeth. Each season is a rollercoaster of a journey for their coach GamesVaultSteve.
This incarnation of the undead team is mostly made up of Rolljordan gonks with a couple of pieces of Heresey gonks thrown in.
I'd just about stuck and pinned the team just in time for its debut match this season which was a big defeat. (Curse of the unpainted team? - We'll see!)

Now they're on the bench. I've added a tail on one of them to show it's "Prehensile Tail" skill and chopped off a human head and added a skeleton head.
At the moment they are all drying after I've added the sand on their bases.

Historical Gonks Are History

2011-07-13T23:30:00.000+01:00

At last! Finished these fine figures for a fine person. Hopefully they will look more historical than "fantasy" as that was the brief.
I really had to think about the colours for these and was very tempted to add a more adventurous colour scheme but went with a lot of natural browns and greens. The shading on the cloaks was done with a mix of the base tones that were blended whilst "wet" using my favorite: Vallejo "Glaze Medium".

No outlandish or unnatural colours here. However, the next project is another Bloodbowl Team...

Historical Gonks

2011-06-29T21:09:00.000+01:00

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

2011-06-10T21:38:00.004+01:00

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

2011-06-10T07:28:00.001+01:00

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

2011-06-09T17:16:00.001+01:00

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

2011-06-09T07:13:00.001+01:00

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

2011-06-08T22:14:00.001+01:00

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

Pirate Bay IV

2011-06-08T20:54:00.001+01:00

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

2011-06-08T10:42:00.002+01:00

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

2011-06-07T23:16:00.002+01:00

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

2011-06-07T22:30:00.000+01:00

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

2011-06-07T22:00:00.000+01:00

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

2011-06-07T21:47:00.000+01:00

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

2011-06-06T01:29:00.000+01:00

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

2011-06-06T01:20:00.000+01:00

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!

Historical on holiday.

2011-05-30T23:42:00.001+01:00

Currently enjoying some time with the family but that's not stopped me doing a bit of painting.

I've added some metal and eyes to some of the historical gonks. If I can I will try and post some pictures. (if I can still get a signal)

Location : 165 Ridgeway Dr, Bromley, Greater London BR1 5,
Posted on the move. TGM

Slow progress.

2011-05-24T23:33:00.000+01:00

I must be getting old!

It seems to be taking longer and longer to recover from shows. Lack of sleep has been making my eyes itch.

The historical figures have been added to. I've done the flesh parts now. (This may not seem a lot but there's, maybe three coats of flesh paint over the black).
Flesh colours should be built up otherwise the texture can get a bit lumpy.

Next up, I'm doing the metallic bits.

Missing the paint.

2011-05-21T18:52:00.001+01:00

I'm away until Monday and am getting withdrawal symptoms from the lack of paint licking.

Location : Chieveley, Newbury, West Berkshire,
Posted on the move. TGM

Historical Figures and Life

2011-05-19T00:15:00.000+01:00

Have had a week of happenings so have not been able to do what I wanted to do with the latest gonks.

They have have some progress. I've done the base skin colours and although you cannot see this I have been studying historical clothing. (Mmm, pretty interesting research really but it does sound like watching wood warp).

Have "mentally" decided the clothing colours for most of the figures but cannot decide on the Greek/Roman gonk. (Obvious choice would be to have a red crest and kilt but I'm thinking maybe black....)
Suggestions on a postcard, (failing that a post/comment could be good).

Historical Gonks.

2011-05-12T11:21:00.002+01:00

I think that these are to be used in an RPG game but am not totally sure. (If I find out more, I'll let you know).

Anyway, although these figures had already been assembled and primed I still had to remove some of the green stuff/blue tac/mozzerella like plastic stuff from the bases to reveal the bottom of cloaks and feet. (It wasn't too bad but I had to do it). Afterwards I "PVAd" some sand onto the base, (leaving the rocks showing on the couple that had rocks on).
Then, in true Gonk Machine style I gave them all a thin coat of black. This makes a great base colour but also flattens out the sometimes grainy texture of spray paint.

What's Next?

2011-05-11T10:09:00.001+01:00

With the landing of the new tabletop game Cutlass! at The Games Vault I've had to do a bit of a double shuffle in the Black Book.

So, instead of doing two Warmachine figures I'll be doing these seven historic role playing type gonks:

I'll be back on track then. (I think...)

The Frog Team 17

2011-05-10T18:11:00.003+01:00

Well it's been a long time coming - this team of Slann players has been on the holding shelf for longer than I care to remember - sorry Stewart!

But after a big push on the Line Frogs and bases; I am very pleased and proud to present The Daventry Croakers:

If the weather becomes brighter I'll take some better shots.

The Frog Team 16

2011-05-10T09:02:00.000+01:00

The Gonk Machine has been doing its thing. It's almost out of control!
While the sun was setting I took this quick snap of "The Judge" who's the team coach and ex player. He's just waiting now for his base to be done properly.

After I've done all eight Line Frogs, I will be doing a mass basing action. For that I'll be needing these:

I prepared the bunches of "reeds" earlier by gluing them in the middle. Now that they're well and truly dry I've cut them in half with my mate Stan and then trimmed them off into reed sized bunches.

The Frog Team 15

2011-05-09T09:32:00.001+01:00

On with the Line Frogs then. After the green, I've added a cream colour and then washed this with Sepia Wash to try and give some depth and definition to the underbelly. At the moment the loin cloth looks the same colour as the belly. (Strange that. It is). The belly will be made much lighter later on. (Once the rest of the gonk is dry).

The Frog Team 14

2011-05-08T08:11:00.001+01:00

The Gonk Machine has started to smoke. Here's the Kroxigor that it's produced overnight. All ready for his base.

What's next? A whole load of Line Frogs that's what.

The Frog Team 13

2011-05-08T00:29:00.000+01:00

I think the curse of the yellow frogs is now over! They're all ready for the basing to be complete which I'll do altogether as a team to get the same colours throughout.

Next up I've turned the crank up on the Gonk Machine to tackle the Big Guy.

The NAF Cup Challenge Recipe

2011-05-07T10:44:00.001+01:00

OK. For this recipe you'll need the following ingredients:

2 Cups of My Coffee
7 Vallejo Paints
2 Vallejo Varnishes, (Gloss and Satin)
1 Pot of Clean H20
1 Bright Lamp, (A really rubbish one that burns my head will suffice)
2 Sticky Pad Things
1 Gonk Machine

Prepartion Time: Three Hours.

Add the above ingredients into the mix and stir continually.

Get up early, take photograph and present before mattwhile goes to his competition!

The NAF Cup Challenge

2011-05-07T08:44:00.000+01:00

A quick change from frogs but still bloodbowl related.

Today is the NAF World Championships at Warhammer World where several of the "Daventry Vaulters" from The Games Vault will be playing.

Several weeks ago I had been asked to completely strip and repaint a couple of NAF trophies for top player: mattwhile.

Well, with the strict order of The Black Book the trophies would have been done by next season, (August/Septemberish) without a doubt. I thought that I would break the rules, (again) to try and finish the trophies in time for today's big event.

Of course I had forgotton that it was #1 son's rugby presentation dinner which I had to attend. Several pints and two roast beef dinners later and suddenly it's one in the morning!

I had made a start and this was the state of play:

The Frog Team 12

2011-05-06T00:00:00.000+01:00

Back again for another session. Thia time I've spent an evening gluing bundles of dried grass together - all will be revealed later...

Also, the yellow frogs have been given another go. I've decided to have a pair with black splodges and a pair without. They're both going to be nice and bright I hope.

These are the ones that were stripped back to bare metal last week.

The Trials Of The Yellow Frogs.

2011-04-25T17:54:00.000+01:00

After spending several hours trying to copy actual poisonous frog's patterns I have decided that these do not work so well on Bloodbowl Slann players.

I've tried adding more black and using some highlights in the end they have gone into the nail varnish remover and are currntly back to bare metal.

Deep breaths...

The Frog Team 11

2011-04-25T09:39:00.000+01:00

The Blitzers are now ready for their basing:

Yellow Poisonous Frogs

2011-04-24T23:26:00.000+01:00

My efforts at trying to recreate the colour scheme of a Yellow-Banded Poison Dart Frogs (Dendrobates leucomelas), have been disastrous.

I think the Phyllobates terribilis, Golden Dart Frog will be a much better option!

The Frog Team 10

2011-04-24T10:21:00.001+01:00

Eventually the red ink dries...
I've now given the very flat looking bone, loincloth and various leather things a wash of Devlan Mud. If this dries too dirty looking as it can sometimes, I'll go back over the original colours as a highlight.

I think they're starting to take shape.

Scenery with my boys.

2011-04-24T09:28:00.002+01:00

It's Easter and I've got some time off with the family. What better way to spend the time than by making some scenery.

This is to be used in Warmaster a 10mm game but I've not added anything that will give it scale. This means I can also use it for other games.

We used scrunched up newspaper stuck to some cardboard with masking tape then got real messy with ModRoc.
The rock's strata was carved in when the plaster was almost dry.
Once completely dry the whole model was painted in...yup...you guessed it: Black. It was then simple to drybrush several greys and white followed by a meagre splodging of flock.

Anyway the boys enjoyed this and it got them away from the X-Box/DS for several hours. Well worth doing!

The Frog Team 9

2011-04-23T11:16:00.000+01:00

The Catchers are going to be based on yellow poisonous tropical frogs. They're small yet mean.
After a base coat of Moon Yellow I did another base of Moon Yellow. Yellow is a really thin pigment so more layers the better. Once these had dried then I used Yellow Ink to smooth the previous colours out.

YELLOW IS TRICKY!

The Frog Team 8

2011-04-23T10:37:00.001+01:00

On the linefrogs they'll be a slighty shaded cream/beige belly area like this:

The Frog Team 7

2011-04-22T15:39:00.000+01:00

Whilst the Blitzers dry, I work on the linefrogs. These are to be green, tree frog style.
A base of a darker green is used. I've used a P3 colour Iosan Green as a base.

It's a bit dark but I'm not too woried...

The Frog Team 6

2011-04-22T12:47:00.000+01:00

Well, been away with boring work for a bit and have had to catch some Zzzs in between. Now fully vitalised and up for it.

The Blitzers:
They've been tickled with Bloody Red and Hot Orange on a wet pallete to blend these two colours onto the frog's skin. They were then too orange and looked like they had been "Tango'd" so once dry a lovely generous covering of Red Ink. This really brightened them up without losing the previous hilights.

I then painted the basic colours of the cloth and bone areas as well as the silver on the shoulders. Just waiting to apply a nice wash.

The Frog Team 5

2011-04-12T13:58:00.000+01:00

The Blitzers will be much brighter red but to help with this I'm low-lighting already so when I come to add details I don't have to worry. I wanted to make the textured back stand out more as well.

I tried a flesh wash but it didn't quite work so back to good old Devlan Mud. This is a really odd wash. It works well on the reddy skin tone but quite often it's too dark and then just looks dirty, (well mudlike I guess).

At the moment this looks proper dark...

This now has to dry overnight - just to make sure.

The Frog Team 4

2011-04-11T12:13:00.002+01:00

The team will have different coloured skin for each position. To start with the Blitzers will have red skin.

I still want to have some contrasting red tones so I'll start with the darkest shade and work up.

I've made up a mixed pot of Mechrite Red and Bloody Red which is perfect for Roman Legionaries as well as a base for the Blitzer's skin.

Again, at this stage I just daub it on, making sure I cover up all the lighter colours from before.

(This picture taken just as the sun was going down on a superb sunny day. The smell of burnt burgers filled the air and the cries of children avoiding bedtimes - happy days).

The Frog Team 3

2011-04-10T11:46:00.001+01:00

I really want these to end up nice and bright. So, I now have to go over the black undercoat with a lighter colour. (Bright colours won't show at all well over black).

TGM TOP TIP:
Why start off with black then?
I could use a white spray but then I need to add some sort of dark wash for the shadows. Otherwise the gonk looks too "flat". As the whole model may be 28mm in height it is essential to exaggerate the contrasts or they'll be missed from a distance.
I use black to save time later on. By "wet drybrushing" a lighter colour before the base colour I am already creating a shadowed area where the black shows through.

(I read this stuff after I type it out and I honestly don't know if it makes any sense! I mean what the hell is "wet drybrushing"? I might trademark the term in case it catches on).

Anyway, this is what they look like after a quick splodge of grey paint:

The Dog Soldiers

2011-04-09T11:25:00.000+01:00

Just before they get handed over I thought I'd try for some better photos. The sun is out!

Plus BONUS Scenery!

The Frog Team 2

2011-04-09T10:40:00.000+01:00

Next Stage. After the PVA has dried overnight the frog gonks are ready for an undercoat.

Although these models will, hopefully, end up quite bright; I've used a black spray undercoat. I tend to spray and turn three times to really get a nice complete coverage so I don't have to go over any missed bits in black later.

The Frog Team

2011-04-08T21:31:00.000+01:00

Have turned a new page in the little black book and next up is a Slann Team for Bloodbowl.

These gonks are made of fairly soft metal and I've pinned several of the more delicate ones through the base and up through one leg. This has taken a bit of time but is well worth it in the long run.

There was a bit of "flashing" to remove and more pinning of arms. (This is always the most tedious part of the process - never was any good at metalwork).

Then once they've all been super glued to the base I've splodged on some PVA - but not all over - onto the base then dunked them into some quite coarse sand stuff. (There's going to be a swampy/pond finish to these).

Mystic Warrior Luke

2011-04-05T13:47:00.004+01:00

Another gang member. He's pretty small so thought it best to add some height with a bigger base.

Converted Kat and Confession

2011-04-04T23:46:00.000+01:00

I thought that I'd better 'fess up now the painting is all done.

Well, whilst the gang members were all unpainted and in the queue to be done; my dog, a German Short Haired Pointer, thought it would be hilarious fun to grab the box with the gonks in and start to chew the lovely tasting metal.
I had to buy most of the gang again before I could paint them!

For this reason, I made the dog buy, (from her bone fund), an additional figure as well. I bought "Kat" from the great people at HassleFree Miniatures. The figure normally comes with a sword but on their gallery is a conversion with Kat holding a staff/light sabre? I nicked the idea and gave her a Bo Staff.

The model is in a really dark grey and black, I've used a satin varnish on the PVC catsuit with gloss on the sticky out bits.

The Gang Show.

2011-04-04T23:13:00.000+01:00

It's certainly been awhile. Sorry.

All done now though, with an extra gonk as a bonus.

Here's the team shot:

I'll try and get some nice close ups for the rest of the gang.

The Gang's a coming!

2011-03-30T21:37:00.000+01:00

Yep, Bob. I reckon by tonight we'll be done with the gang plus one!

I'll post pics after I get back from working away this weekend.

Getting there with the gang.

2011-03-24T22:22:00.000Z

It has taken so long to do this gang I've decided to do a bit of a bonus figure...

Countdown to VaultCon 2011 Part 17

2011-03-08T10:39:00.001Z

I think we're all done now!

I did "green stuff" a bandage to the Ogre's arm as I just was not happy with the join from way back when. I think it looks much better as a bleeding bandage than a bleeding mess.

The pictures aren't the best, hopefully they'll look better in real life at the weekend. (I'd love to hear your comments good or bad, (I'm pretty thick skinned).

VAULTCON HERE WE COME! www.vaultcon.co.uk

Orc Referee

Troll

Ogre

Human Coach

Countdown to VaultCon 2011 Part 16

2011-03-07T12:26:00.000Z

I've spent a few hours thinking about the rest of the Human's coat. (It sounds daft but it works for me). After running through the different colours I decided that the rest of the coat should be reddish with further detailing on the collar. (Which a painted white first and then painted the thin black lines as before).
Here he is all done:

I painted on a thinned "Mechrite Red" onto the man coat then painted a thin black line to separate the checks from the red.
I added some green to the base colour to darken it up in the folds, (look at your colour wheel!), before blending/hilighting with "Bloody Red"
After the collar was checked up I used a Sepia Wash to add further shadows at various points.

The flash on the camera has made some nasty reflections. (Hopefully I'll get a chance tomorrow for the unveiling...)

Countdown to VaultCon 2011 Part 15

2011-03-06T11:11:00.000Z

Onto the checks.
The Human Coach is a nice figure but I felt that there had to be some pattern added to that coat!
Previously I had painted a very light grey and then painted some faint checks with a very thinned black. Well, now it's time to colour them in. I've no idea what coach will end up with this figure so trying to decide colours is pretty tricky. (I was going to just do two rows of black and white but thought this may be too "Orcy" so I added a third row and opted for a red/blue/green which hopefully will fit in with most team's colours).

I planned the colours and then painted them in threes. I've done checks before and got cocky with them by steaming ahead only to find I should've put a blue in a red square. I now take my time. In fact this is the only figure I'm working on so I don't get confused.

Countdown to VaultCon 2011 Part 14

2011-03-06T00:53:00.006Z

The gonks are starting to shape up. It's easier to paint them than write about them for sure!

Eyes.
Eyes are important and it's worth spending a bit of time on them. I often start at the eyes before painting anything else. (I've also stripped gonks back to bare metal if I've not been happy with them - this is obviously a whole lot easier if the rest of the model is just primed rather than complete).

I start off with a black background and then carefully paint a "Dead White" eye shape making sure to leave a small amount of black showing around the edge. Then once dry, I'll add a bit of colour to finish with a black pupil. (As you can imagine, a small brush is used for this!) If the eye is big like on the troll's then I might add a tiny white dot as well to look like light reflecting.

The Troll has got yellow eyes, (for a change as red is normally my troll eye colour). Once the white was painted on I painted two or three thin coats of yellow to get a good shade.

I think the yellow eyes look quite cool.

The Orc had red eyes. Again I started with a black background and then painted two white dots. These were painted "Bloody Red" and each given a pin prick of white. With Orcs I like to keep it simple and tend to have a lot of black in the socket to make the red really stand out.

There's a smell of burning.

2011-03-04T11:37:00.001Z

It seems that the machine has been left on again...

Countdown to VaultCon 2011 Part 13

2011-03-03T11:16:00.055Z

The next part of the basing process is to add a further two highlights which are dry brushed onto the raised sanded areas.
Firstly it's Leather Brown all over and then Bleached Bone to a lesser degree. This paint dries almost instantly.

TGM TOP TIP:
I'll always use three, (or more), highlights for basing as this is one of the most important areas of the whole gonk. The eye is always drawn to the "bases and faces" - a cliche but it's true so it's worth making an effort.

Next, just take a moment to make sure there are no over zealous brush marks from the dry brushing processes. (Mind you, sometimes these can look great especially on a muddy BloodBowl player).
Then comes the grass. I like to use different textures of flock and static grass but a rule to remember is:

Less is more!

Grass does not grow so thickly that the earth is not seen below. If you were to simply use PVA glue and grass all over it'll look like a 28mm figure. If you think about the base colours and textures then you are completing a work of art. (Remember you've spent a long time painting this - Part 13 already - so don't take a shortcut now!).

I've dabbed on some patches of PVA and used one colour of flock then shaken the model and blown away the excess. (Make sure the wife doesn't catch you!). I'll repeat this process with another colour flock or static grass for a contrast.

Lastly, I'll add a white chalk line by dragging the liberally covered brush in one direcetion making sure that the brush is not pushed into the recesses. (I want some of the grass/earth not to be covered).

Countdown to VaultCon 2011 Part 12

2011-03-02T13:37:00.006Z

The basing.

With most of the actual painting done, it's now time to add the basing.

I've simply, (with care), splodged on PVA glue, (my favourite glue), to the base of the model.

This would normally dry overnight but as my house is so hot, the bases are ready to paint within half an hour!

The first stage is to liberally paint on a thinned dark colour, like black or "Beasty Brown" in this case making sure the paint sinks to all the low points below and in between the sand granules. This does take a longer time to dry...

Countdown to VaultCon 2011 Part 11

2011-03-01T12:30:00.001Z

Well into it now.

Less than two weeks' to go...

OK. The Troll. He's had a splash of colour to half his shorts. This is "Bloody Red" highlighted with orange.

The Ogre has had all the leather highlighted with "Leather Brown" and a small touch of the same colour to the shoulder spike. (This could be made of metal but I decided it would be better as a horn).

That's all I had time to do tonight as the In-Laws are about...

Countdown to VaultCon 2011 Part 10

2011-02-28T13:22:00.007Z

Back to it then - fully charged and ready to go!

The Troll has had the clothing painted in Denheb Stone which will be a great base layer for the final cloth colour.

The Ogre has had a highlighting session with Elf Flesh mixed with the Medium Glaze this thins the paint down and gives it more transparency. I have left the "washed" recessed areas. The skin colour is starting to look good now. The "fresh" head on the rear has been washed with Thraka Green and left to dry.

Only had time to do a small amount to the two smaller figures. I painted the coach's legging with Mecherite Red and washed the Orc's belt and eye area with Devlan Mud.

Not long to go now! (Less than two weeks.)

A rest and recharge.

2011-02-27T12:03:00.000Z

No proper post today.

The Gonk Machine is having a refuel of lightning bolts ready for the BIG PUSH...

Countdown to VaultCon 2011 Part 9

2011-02-26T11:58:00.047Z

Today, the Gonk Machine has added some lighter touches to the Orc and Troll; some silver to the Ogre and a few lines to the Human.

The Orc has had two shades of green added to the washed green which dried overnight. This was blended to produce a nicer transient from the dark to light greens. Some painters use very bold hilights but I think this makes for a very unnatural look.
I also use a thinned "Dead White" to highlight and "edge" the white stripes and trousers. This is just enough to make the light grey look like shaded white. (Does this make sense?).

The Human just had some lines painted on his coat. The lines had to be thin and I wanted the paint to last for a stroke without re-dipping into the paint. Vallejo Thinner is great for this mixed with black.
This is the start of the chequered pattern I want to do so I tried very hard to paint thin straight lines.

Mr Troll had a blend of "Sombre Grey","Wolf Grey", "Electric Blue" and white to these colours I added a small amount of "Medium Glaze" this thinned the paint and also makes the paint easier to combine. (Blend). It can leave a shiny finish but at this stage I'm not worried as this will be cured later with a "Matt Varnish".

(All the paint and effects I use come from The Games Vault who will hopefully take them to VaultCon - I may need a stock up!)

The Troll now looks much better for his wash and lighten, (sounds like a shampoo). The darker recessed areas now contrast nicely with the blended highlights.

The Ogre had a few highlights, (as the paint was there). I lightened up the skull at the back and painted the hair from the skull, (white as I want to give some bright colour later). The dead head at the back was painted with thin green and then highlighted with bone for a decomposed look.
Lastly I painted the metal bits with silver leaving a small amount of black showing between the flesh and the metal. This accentuates the silver. I'll wash the silver with "Badab Black" later which is why I've used a fairly bright silver. (I think it's called "Silver" but I've rubbed the name off...)

Countdown to VaultCon 2011 Part 8

2011-02-25T14:07:00.004Z

The Gonk Machine has taken over and decided that there should be more shading.

Although the result will really darken things up temporarily, the end result will be a much better contrast between the muscle areas etc on the three gonks with a lot of flesh showing.

On the ogre Citadel Flesh Wash was used on the skin and some of the fur. Sepia was used on most of the skull hat then Devlan Mud used to really darken up some small areas of the bone and fur trim.

The troll was given an overall wash of "Asurmen Blue" however in some areas this was watered down where the skin will be lighter, (across the belly and arms). As the face is often the focus of attention then this given a heavy wash to create defined contrast.

"Thraka Green" was neatly applied to all the orc's skin area. This not only gives a great background to shade and lighten later on it also revealed the "scars" that have been made by the sculptor. (They look great and it would be a shame to ignore these. I'll darken up later to make them even more prominent).

TGM TOP TIP:
Citadel washes are pretty good. (Sometimes they'll need watering down - especially Devlan Mud). As with all washes though they need to dry thoroughly before the gonk is handled or further paint added. A bit of patience now will mean a whole heap of time saved later on. I generally will leave the washes to dry overnight if I can.

Countdown to VaultCon 2011 Part 7

2011-02-24T13:01:00.003Z

Today I've tidied up and hilighted the flesh on the ogre. He's looking quite nice now that I've defined the "skull hat". I must've been low on fuel as the brown leather bits had gone onto the flesh a fair amount. The pale flesh colour that I'm tidying up with looks a good match for the flesh undercoat and has also helped to "smooth" the rough texture of the spray.

On the troll I have added further lighter tones of grey/blue but I'm not quite happy with the muscle definition - I think it is merging too much. (With a gonk like this with a lot of skin showing it's good to make the ripples a contrast to the peaks).

The two smaller gonks need some more base colours. The ref will have "white" trousers and stripes on the waistcoat and the coach will have a chequered coat to give him a bit more flourish.

TGM TOP TIP:White is a hard colour to get right. White paint is very "grainy" and we want a nice smooth finish. My "white" will be an extremely light grey that has been built up over lots of thin layers. I use the Vallejo thinner with "Ghost Grey" for this, (rather than water which would seperate the paint up). Later on I'll add some white paint to the mix.

Countdown to VaultCon 2011 Part 6

2011-02-23T11:19:00.000Z

A bit short on time today so have blasted on some base colours.

The flesh on the coach was just splashed on, later I'll decide the colour of the clothing and go over the overspill.
The troll, (a firm favourite of The Gonk Machine), was "wet dry brushed" with a dark blue/grey leaving the lazy black creases underneath, (like the belly button).
On the ogre there's going to be some metal. Metallic paint always always looks better on a black base and as I've sprayed him pink I've had to go over those bits in black. The brown is also the dark "Beasty" brown from Vallejo which I'll lighten up later. It's a good base colour to leathery stuff like belts though.
The Orc ref. Well he's just be splodged with green at the moment. It will take several layers to get the skin right over the black undercoat but it will look much better than if I'd used a white undercoat for example.

TGM TOP TIP:

It may seem obvious but after undercoating start with the "deepest" base colours. By this I mean the areas that a furthest back into the sculpt. These will naturally be the darkest colours. You will start to build up layers which are lighter and lighter. For instance, on the troll I've done a fairly dark blue/grey which will be succesfully covered/ layered until maybe the belly will be nearly white. (Trust me - you'll see!)

Countdown to VaultCon 2011 Part 5

2011-02-22T14:12:00.000Z

The super glue has dried, the models have been washed, filed, pinned, green-stuffed and now undercoated. I tend to undercoat mostly in black but as there's a bit of time pressure on me I used a "flesh" spray for the ogre as this was the majority colour.

TGM TOP TIP:
Take time to get a good overall covering. I normally spray from four directions, starting off by spraying up, (between the legs) and letting each direction's coat dry between. This does take some patience but the nooks and crannies are all coated and it leaves a good foundation for the base colours. (If you are lazy/pressed for time then these dark nooks can be left as the "lowest" darkest shading).

The flesh spray is great for this type of figure but it's not as smooth to paint over as black

Countdown to VaultCon 2011 Part 4

2011-02-21T15:32:00.000Z

After gluing the limbs and heads onto the larger gonks there was some joins showing so I mixed up some "green stuff" and squished and shaped this into the gaps.

TGM TOP TIP:
Always have a pot of water nearby when using green stuff. It's wuite sticky and will certainly adhere to plastic or metal. However, your sculting tool and fingers can stick to the green stuff so wet them with water now and then. NOTE: don't drop the ogre, (or any other gonk), into the pot of water. This will cause green stuff not to stick and will cause significant frustration whilst waiting for the model to dry.

All ready for undercoating. I added a ball to the ref's base for fun.

Countdown to VaultCon 2011 Part 3

2011-02-20T14:22:00.001Z

After washing the gonks in warm water I allowed them to dry then drilled holes into the neck and shoulder sections of the two bigger models, (using a handheld pin drill). Then I "pinned" the head and arms onto the main body using superglue and cut up paperclips.

Countdown to VaultCon 2011 Part 2

2011-02-19T13:30:00.001Z

Let's see what I've been given to paint then:

Ogre

Troll

Coach


Referee

These are all from our friends at Neomics who have sponsored the BloodBowl Tournament at VaultCon

They all need a wash in warm soapy water - just to remove any traces of the mold release, (or the paint may not stick properly). Then trimming the mold lines and gluing into the bases.

I love these gonks and I'm sure will enjoy whacking some paint on!

Countdown to VaultCon 2011 Part 1

2011-02-18T19:53:00.000Z

This is where it starts...

I've been asked to slap some paint on the BloodBowl prizes for VaultCon 2011. (Twenty one days to go).

The figures are handed over and I get to deliver them to The Gonk Machine.

Here's Steve from The Games Vault with the merchandise:

The gonks have been handed over...

VaultCon 2011

2011-02-10T22:30:00.000Z

Not long until VaultCon 2011.

Just got back from an intesive weekend at PAW where I helped The Games Vault out on their huge stand. I ran a speed painting contest which was quite cool. It was good practice for the Frantic Painting contest that I'll be running at VaultCon on 12th March 2011.

I had better start thinking about whacking some paint onto the prize gonks. Plenty of time. (Well 29 days!!!)

Not So Secret Santa

2010-12-20T21:11:00.000Z

Well I reckon I'd get found out anyway so I thought I'd post this picture, (after the swap).

I love this gonk. It was OK to put together, (still needed pinning at the chimney, leg and both arms).

The cloak proved to be quite tricky. I was going to leave it with a blend of greens but decided that it needed more contrast. I did the "valleys" with a thinned red, then went over these several times with more green.

The additional roof tiles are made from plasticard and I green stuffed the lintels.

Anyway, HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

On The Bench: Gangland Gonks III

2010-12-18T08:50:00.001Z

No pics to show at the moment.

Have got the next couple based and undercoated, (in black of course). I've started work on the faces as this is the focal point and will take the longest to get right.

The gonks are Cobra and a gun weilding hoody from Hasslefree, (a really nice company).

I will post some photos soon. Off to the big smoke now, be back soon. (as long as the snow behaves).

Location : Glendower Close, Daventry, Northamptonshire NN11 9,
Posted on the move. TGM

Left the machine on last night.

2010-12-05T21:28:00.000Z

I thought that I'd turn the Gonk Machine off last night as I was out watching the wrestling with my boys. It turns out it'd been left on by mistake and look what's come out:

Another Vampire for the Nuns.

2010-12-04T20:11:00.001Z

I'm off to watch the Wrestling tonight with my boys.

It should be great fun but has interrupted the Gonk Machine's latest procedure:

On The Bench: Gangland Gonks II

2010-11-30T00:49:00.000Z

Gangland Gonks II. It sounds like a top film to me.
Well, I've squeezed the bolts into the machine before the snow arrives. These two gonks will need a small amount of tickling and a couple of coats of varnish before they are handed over for assessment.
I'm planning the next two in this series which will probably a "hoody" and another BIG gun toting dude.

I must get a better camera.