Custom Gobber Tinker Cart WIP

[Jordan Peacock]

In our current Iron Kingdoms / Unleashed RPG campaign, after my Nyss priest got one-shotted (and rolled 1-1-2 on the injury table -- a very bad thing, in case you aren't familiar with the rules) in our first combat, the GM came up with the idea that we each should have backup characters, just in case someone gets obliterated, or suffers another "Slow Recovery" result (as I did) and ends up effectively bedridden for long periods of game time while the plot demands that the others keep adventuring.

 

I was inspired by a Hordes model, the Gobber Tinker.

 

(Reference image.)

 

...

 

And so I thought I'd try building my own.

 

 

From a grab bag deal I got a while back, I ended up getting 3 or 4 copies of this same gobber model who's hauling warjack parts on his back (as part of the Cygnar Field Mechaniks unit).  I imagined that one of them might work well to be the lucky guy hauling the cart ... and then I'd have the other copy to be the same figure, only minus the cart.  (Sort of like having a mounted/unmounted figure pair, only "pulling a cart" vs. "riding a horse.")

 

I started building a basic cart together with craft sticks, toothpicks, and craft "matchsticks."  The wheels are some early attempts I made years ago at trying to make copies of a wagon wheel model with water putty.  They really aren't sturdy enough to be used for a lot of things, but I did some patch-up work and textured the insides with some putty (which also served to reinforce them a bit), and held the wagon together with Tacky Glue (which seems to work pretty well for wooden pieces).

 

 

 

My plan is to fill the wagon up with various "bits" left over from some of the plastic warjack conversion kits.  (A friend of mine has a Khador army, and I've painted up several of his figures.  He lets me keep leftover "bits," and the newer plastic kits in many cases have a base chassis and then you just swap out custom armaments for several of the different warjack types ... inevitably leaving a few extra weapon arms in the process.)

 

 

 

( ... picture forthcoming because "You are not allowed to use that image extension on this community" is giving me grief again via Google+ ...)

 

In my bits box, I happened to have a mis-cast resin barrel.  I had been keeping that around with the intent of "burying" it in a scenery piece or a base to represent some barrel half-buried in sand, but such an opportunity just hasn't come up yet.  I figured I could use it just as well by stuffing it in the cart, where all the clutter might help obscure the fact that it's really only half a barrel.

 

An idea occurred to me that hauling a cart full of mechanikal (deliberate misspelling) gear through the wilds is to put them at the mercy of the elements.  Or, rather, I just happened to have a couple of little plastic/resin bits left over from some resin casts of a Hirst Arts Castlemolds shingled rooftop (a section had to be cut out to make room for a chimney), and I thought it might be interesting to make a little "roof" over the wagon.  Sure, it's unwieldy, but the wagon is going to be more than a little unwieldy once I finish cramming it full of junk, and hanging all sorts of tools, lanterns, a sign or two, and various knickknacks on the sides.  The matchsticks on the top are basically filler for the gap formed by the two (thick) pieces of rooftop resin coming together; I plan to use some putty to make a top ridge of shingles for the roof, but a bit of filler reduces the amount of putty that'll get used up as gap-filler.

 

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to handle the removable gobber.  Rather than permanently fixing one of the gobbers to the cart model, I'm pondering whether it might be feasible to remove a gobber from his base and put him on some sort of pegs, then alternate between plugging it into the cart base, or its own 30mm single-figure base.  So far, it's just an idea; it remains to be seen what's practical.

 

 

[malefactus]

You have a WONDERFULLY imaginative & thoroughly thought out project going; AND one I intend to follow with keen interest. Have FUN with it all!

[Jordan Peacock]

Okay, I'm not sure why Google+ sometimes gives me the PNG, and sometimes plays around with all that weird formatting garbage.  Anyway, here's the WIP picture with the barrel and the little roof.

 

[knarthex]

A half barrel could be a wash tub....

Oh, sorry, Goblin. ..

[Jordan Peacock]

A half barrel could be a wash tub....

Oh, sorry, Goblin. ..

 

That's a good point, actually.  Of course, it's not a tub for HIM.  It's a tub for pouring wood alcohol, or some other "solvent" for dunking greasy salvaged parts in, to clean the old grease off (before re-greasing them).  There we go!  (And a reminder to myself to paint a bunch of grease stains on the tinker, maybe put some hand prints and random stains on the wagon itself.)

[Dilvish the Deliverer]

Or a full barrel with copper pipe can be a makeshift "still".  Not that I would drink whatever concoction a goblin whipped up.....

[haldir]

Or a full barrel with copper pipe can be a makeshift "still".  Not that I would drink whatever concoction a goblin whipped up.....

 

can't be any worse then anything Anhieser-Busch makes

 

Nice work, love the little cart. It's a inspiration for my future wagon builds.

[Jordan Peacock]

Progress on the cart:

 

 

Inspired by posts here, I decided to pursue the idea that this tinker is not merely a fixer of all things "mechanikal" {sic}, but also a brewer of alcohol as an alternative fuel source (both for steamjacks and for their operators).  And in the Thornwood, while the former might command better rates for his rare expertise, the latter is more likely to find a broad customer base.  :)

 

* I used some putty to add a top row of shingles to the roof.

* I put another (smaller) barrel in the cart, plus a spare bit from (I think) a Warhammer Fantasy Dwarf Regiment box, and added on some lamps, signs, and stovepipes from my "bits box" of Warhammer Fantasy Battle building pieces.  

 

* I painted "PPP" on the barrel, since the Cygnar letter-substitution "runic" font has that symbol whenever I type in "XXX."  In letter-substitution code, the writing on the eaves should "translate" as "Tinker Brews."

Remaining:

* General touch-up work (as the paint is looking pretty splashed-on in some places), plus a little more highlighting and shading for more "visual interest."

* Figure out some way to include a removable gobber tinker/brewer model to pull the cart.  (This will probably involve a hole or two drilled in the base, and matching peg(s) on the bottom of a gobber mini.)

* Cram a few identifiable steamjack parts into what little space remains in the cart, quite possibly hanging precariously out and in danger of falling off, because that would just add to the slapdash "charm," I'm sure.

* Maybe use some Polyfill for a few tiny puffs of smoke, but I'm not sure on that.  Anytime I've done that for 'jacks, it's just made it a real challenge to store the mini.

* IKRPG Base markings.

* Cram more onto the bare areas of the cart exterior -- either hanging tools (like the shovel), hanging bags, spare parts (random pieces of armor, gears, etc.), or else signage or posters.

* Gap-fill some of the resin bubbles in the roof shingles.  I got a few of them, but after taking the photo the rest of them just seem SO OBVIOUS that they need some tending-to.

[knarthex]

Looks awesome!

 

Love the sign design!