Saturday 31 December 2011

Happy New Year everyone...

I'm signing off for the year now... yes... I know it's still early but I also know that once I get settled in to celebrate the New Year I'll not remember to come back online to wish you all a Happy and Prosperous 2012, so best do it now.

Hope to see plenty of you at Conventions and the like in 2012, and that all the creators out there continue in their efforts, improving and growing with everything you produce.

All the best,

Dave W

Belmat... as far as I got in 2011.

Well, this is as far as I managed to get with Belmat in 2011...
looks like my first project for 2012 will be to finish him off.

Belmat with head attached.


I decided to fix his head at a slight angle.
and used a couple of very small washers and plastic pins (no idea where I got them from) from the eyes.I think the multiple washes on the arms and legs have done the trick. Of course I still need to do the hands but I'll do them last of all. Need to fix the door now, and finish his back.

Belmat with rusting effect brown wash.


In order to age him a bit I've given Belmat a brown wash ... lots of water and not too much paint.
oops ... amd made a bit of a mess of the TVTimes whilst doing it. ..just need to darken the arms and legs now ... and then I can start to attach his head and the washing machine door and details.

Friday 30 December 2011

Must see film of next year.

It occurred to me that whilst I commented how the John Carter of Mars books had lost their appeal, I've seen a trailer for the John Carter of Mars movie and it looks absolutely stunning. I think it could be the next epic set of movies to rival The Lord Of The Rings.
Hell, I was getting really excited by the prospect of The Avengers movie but I think this will be even better.

Accent UK in 2012.

Just got back from a long meeting with Colin talking about what we will look to publish next year, dates and how these align to Events.... looks like it's going to be an interesting and busy year.

Yes, as is typical part of the meeting took place in a pub but I didn't sample any of the Delerium Tremens beer, as I was driving. Like the beer mat though so I 'borrowed' one.

I'll be posting the 2012 Events that we'll be attending over on the Accent UK blog as soon as Colin confirms bookings.

Thursday 29 December 2011

Robot table display ... with a little paint.


So, here's how it progressed today. A bit of dry brushing to leave some of the text visible.

Getting there.

Oh .. and here's one I started earlier....


This is a robot that isn't in the Robot Shorts book. I started it about 6 months ago and re-discovered him when I sorted out the materials for Belmat.

I wanted to move away from the bipedal robots that I usually draw.
He has a hairdryer end piece for a base (hope Jane doesn't notice) and I did buy a shower hose for the arms, which was a bit naughty as the idea is to make these purely from salvaged bits and bobs.

Table Robot... update.

The papier-mâché-ing is underway ... a messy process where you end up with bits of glue and paper everywhere.The idea is that I leave some of the words visible through the paintwork, and so I've selected a book on mathematics for the paper used. This is a technique perfected by a lady called Julie Arkell. I'm sure my resulting efforts will look nowhere near as good as hers but if I aim high then falling short will still, hopefully, look good.
With the flash on the camera you can see the tin (from a used tin of soup) that I cut in half for the washing machine drum. Ah ... details details :o)

Wednesday 28 December 2011

Table Robot.

OK, so The Mite-E figurine is really a little too small for a table display, so I've been collecting bits and bobs with a view to making a model of Belmat.

So far I'm at the stage of cutting and taping, tomorrow it's time to glue and paper mache.


Favourite mainstream comic of the year.

I've been following Sweet Tooth from the offset and am enjoying the tale and the telling of it, but this year's surprise for me has been Journey Into Mystery, written by Kieron Gillen. I must confess to not having read much of Mr Gillen's mainstream output but decided to give this a go following some favourable words on either the Tales From the Parent's Basement or the Burnt Weiners podcasts (I think it was the latter but it may have been both), and 'Wow'. Kieron has really injected something new and interesting into the Marvel universe with the re... well I'm not quite sure how you classify it, let's say ... reincarnation of Loki. There's just so much to enjoy here and I did, on the back of this, go out and buy the Thor - Ultimate Collection (all tales once again written by Kieron). Very enjoyable and it does set the background nicely to the more enjoyable (to me) Journey Into Mystery, which I now have the excuse to re-read.
Damn... I'll have to pick up some Trades of his X-Men comics now ... and I thought my days of reading X-Men was over.

Favourite movie of the year...

Well, for me the best movie of this year was Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes.
I had the same feeling at the end of this that I had with last year's Star Trek re-imagining. They had done the franchise proud and I hope that this will be the first of a number of sequels that would take the story further.

Jemma's favourites (she couldn't choose between them) were Thor and X-Men : First Class. Both very enjoyable films.

Tuesday 27 December 2011

Hey ... that's not the Blue Beetle !!!

Following on from my wife's comment that the Accent UK table looks a little boring these days, it has only comics on it and nothing to catch the eye of passing punters, I've been playing around with the Blue Beetle figure that comes with that monthly magazine. You know the one, a different DC character with each issue.
So I took the Blue Beetle figurine... add some Milliput, a few bits and bobs and some paint and converted him into The Mite-E.The Mite-E is a character who appears in a few stories in Robot Shortsit's great that he has his own figurine :o)
Sadly though he's pretty small and so won't make much of an impression stood on the stall next to some comic books... so it's back to plan A, which is to make a papermache robot or two ...

Monday 26 December 2011

Books I read in 2011.

Well, 2011 was a year of change for me. I moved from a job just down the road to one that involves a 45 minute train journey, on a good day.
The best piece of advice I wass given (thanks Jon Ayre) was to make something of the journey. Make it something of value rather than something to be despised, and so I bought myself a Kindle and everyday get to spend around an hour and a half reading.
So, what have I read this year ?
Well I read all of the Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher, Storm Front, Fool Moon, Grave Peril, Summer Knight, Death Masks, Blood Rites, Dead Beat, Proven Guilty, White Night, Small Favour, Turn Coat, Changes and Ghost Story. I really enjoyed them. Great characters in a great setting, with each book building on the last and all written in a flowing style that make them more than just some good ideas stitched together. I loved the short lived TV series and the books are so much better. Nothing too deep, just good enjoyable stories about wizards, demons and stuff.
I then read the 7 Dark Tower books by Stephen King (http://www.stephenking.com/DarkTower/the_books.html). I loved the concept and the books are all good solid reads, but I must confess to being one of those who didn't particularly like the ending. Well worth the journey though.
I also downloaded all of the John Carter of Mars books by Edgar Rice Burroughs, but sadly only managed to grind my way through three of them, A Princess of Mars, The Gods Of Mars and The Warlord Of Mars, despite loving them as a boy. A wonderful idea in a very rich world but the writing was a little too... well... plodding to me.
Much better written was Red Sonya - the Shadow Of The Vulture from Robert E Howard and his Conan The Barbarian (so much material and they make three rubbish movies as the people involved think that they can do better).
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacipalgupi was downloaded on a recommendation from someone at work and it was a great little book. I'll be looking out for future books from Paolo.
I also re-read an old favoutite of mine, Caves Of Steel from Isaac Asimov. This one also seemed a little dated and whilst the story and ideas are second to very few writers, his writing style didn't flow very well for me.
At the moment I'm in the middle (I think) of the fabulous House Of Chains by Steven Erikson. This is Book 4, I think, of his fantasy epic, starting with Gardens Of The Moon, Deadhouse Gates and then Midnight Tides. It's got to be the most involved and compelling fantasy series that I've ever read and has me completely hooked. It's very well written and operates on a number of levels, mixing the normal sword and sorcery with war and politics on a global scale. If you want just one recommendation from me then these are the books that I suggest you spend your money on.

and lastly ... for now ... Lego Robot Shorts...

This one was an award figurine for one of the other figures ... can't remember which one but it looked like a short Robot to me...

Friday 23 December 2011

Fastest Man review from Brazil...

If you speak Brazilian Portugeese then check out this latest review ... looks good to me ... http://www.universohq.com/quadrinhos/2010/review_OqueAconteceuHomemMaisRapidoMundo.cfm, Thanks for letting me know Wendell.

Wolfmen 2 ... a la Lego

This Lego figurine exists in the same time frame as the first one and isn't just the first one being tweeked a bit for this photo ...


... if you look closely you can see he's wearing a different shirt :o)


Next up ... PREDATORS over on the Accent UK blog.

Tuesday 20 December 2011

World's Fastest Man mentioned...

... forgot to mention that Whatever Happened To The World's Fastest Man? gets a nice mention at the end of a very comprehensive Thought Bubble review over at http://www.starburstmagazine.com/columnscols4/adventures-on-alternative-earthsby-pm-buchan/1441-thought-bubble-2011... right near the end...

Bobby Doyle from Whatever Happened To The World's Fastest Man?

.. in Lego.

.. looking happy, so it must be before all the trouble started.

Next up will be The Man Of Glass over on the Accent UK blog.

Monday 19 December 2011

Lego does Samuel Close.

This is the figure that my daughter gave me that would start me off trying to get a Lego figure for all of our books.

Samuel Close's hair was part of a Mad Scientist figure and the conversion took the slightest of modifications.


Next up ... Bobby Doyle from Whatever Happened To The World's Fastest Man?

Friday 16 December 2011

The Wolfmen ... in Lego

I've been playing with these little Lego figures ... over on the Accent UK blog I put up the image of the first one ZOMBIES, and here's the first of the Wolfmen books in Lego ...
.. next up.. ROBOTS over on Accent UK blog.


Wednesday 14 December 2011

Sunday 11 December 2011

WesterNoir ... a great start.

A while ago Andy Bloor asked me to write something for him to draw that didn't involve Werewolves in suits, as he wanted a break from The Wolfmen. His idea was maybe to do a kind of Film Noir take on the Old West. A great concept and as with The Wolfmen the idea of blending genres started my mind racing off in all sorts of directions.


Over the following months I produced a script for him that introduces Josiah Black to a world that changes around him, or maybe he changes within it. But I'm getting ahead of myself as that dimension is something that was brought to the story by Gary Crutchley.

Andy, you see, whilst helping shape the story, just couldn't found the time to illustrate it and contacted Gary to see if he could. Gary is two thirds of his way through his own Western, Hard Country, and is a huge fan of the genre and someone who can really capture the mood of both the time in which it's set and the land itself.


The great news is that Gary read the script and jumped into designing the main characters.


We were off and ... riding.


Last Friday night Colin and I met with Gary at The Bleeding Wolf pub, and you can't get much more appropriate than that, to discuss the project and to see Gary's work to date. Andy sadly couldn't make it as he's suffering from a bug, the joy of having kids are pre-school.

Blimey. We were both blown away by the pages Gary talked us through, as well as his ideas about issue 1 and future issues. All great ideas which I have already added to the greater story of Josiah Black.
We are hoping for Issue 1 to be available early next year, with following issues less than a year apart.