Project Tonks: Part 1

Following the completion of my Orktober Stompa, I was in need of a new project. It helps with my mental health to have something to do, it's why this blog exists, but at time of writing I'm currently 7 weeks ahead with material. When I'm in a good mood, it's often easier to write. So, having gone very big, I decided to go small, namely the miniatures game "Tonks". Like Gaslands, this is a model-agnostic game where you are encouraged to kitbash stuff, namely your Tonk, a roughly 1/72 scale tank model. It's not a full wargame, its free and it's very rules-lite, but offers 4 way tank battle-royals. The game is not hugely well-known at present; the only reason I know about it is that Bill Making Stuff has done a series of videos on it, but it does offer the potential for a long term project. One which I could take down to play at my local gaming venue.

What I am planning to do then is a series of diary style articles as I explore the world of Tonks, with the overall aim to build and a refine a Tonks set. This will run along side my usual posts, until either this comes to a natural conclusion, or I just get distracted by something else, whichever happens first. It might not be a weekly thing, but I think it will be something good to do in the run up to chrimbo. The basic plan is as follows.

Stage 1, Prepare Gaming Materials: the basic collecting of all the bits you need to play Tonks. This means printing rules, making basic tokens, and acquiring playing pieces.

Stage 2, Prepare scenery and proto-Tonks: having acquired some suitable toys to use as Tonks, the next step is to paint them up and do scenery. As a Tonk requires turret rotation, I'm mindful of the potential for paint/glue mishaps, so I want to refine a technique before moving on to...

Stage 3, Scratchbuilding & heavy kitbashing Tonks: having got a feel for things, the next step is to make 4 very individualistic Tonks from the ground up. Additional or improved scenery would also fit here.

Stage 4, Tonk-Destroyer: As a victory lap, make a tonk with a hull mounted cannon.

So where do things stand as if part 1, then? Well, I currently have some cheapo tanks, for use as playing pieces. These are the same make as my recent Grot Tanks, and are on the small side for this, but otherwise fit the Tonks vibe very well. One of them needs some modification to do a full turret spin, but hopefully that’s an easy job. Printing the rules has also been achieved, although that was a trail, as my printer is acting up. It can either start working properly, or it can be stripped for parts.

Up next: Scenery and trying out the game maybe.