T-shirt No. 2 - Gunnie T-shirt

The second T-shirt followed much the same process as the first. Once again, I had a clear concept in my head, but this time I already knew the finished design had to be in a manga style.

The Idea

If I was going to embrace manga, I wanted a character with unmistakable Japanese roots to represent the Gunnie trade. What better place to start than Astro Boy?

As before, I sourced an Astro Boy image from the interwebz as the starting point for the concept. To make it obvious that the character was an armourer, I wanted him holding some recognisable trade items. I found an image of a Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) for one hand and suggested a spanner for the other.

Of course, Astro Boy is a trademarked character, so I couldn't simply use him. Instead, I asked ChatGPT to transform him into a new manga-style character that captured the same spirit without infringing on copyright. There were a few hiccups along the way—the spanner wasn't being held correctly—so I worked with ChatGPT to refine the pose until it looked natural. During this process, the military clothing also found its way into the design.

Astro Gunnie was born!

This time I fully embraced the manga aesthetic by keeping the furigana alongside the kanji, as it helped explain the slogan. If you're curious about what it says, feel free to point Google Lens at it.

My wife also made a great suggestion. The star on the character's sleeve had to go. The Explorerist logo was a little too intricate to reproduce well at T-shirt size, so I replaced it in GIMP with my bomb logo. It was a small change, but one that made the design both cleaner and more personal.

The front of the T-shirt also needed a matching manga-style logo. I already had one that I'd designed in GIMP for an earlier Gunnie shirt, so I updated the font to better suit the manga theme before asking ChatGPT to convert it into the same illustration style as the artwork on the back.

With that, my second T-shirt design was complete.

Astro Gunnie isn't finished yet, though. Another piece of Astro Gunnie artwork is currently making its way from the United States as I write this. Watch this space; I'll reveal it as soon as it arrives.

This is from Find a Grave:

ARTHUR BLOMFIELD, a son of Thomas Valentine Blomfield, the first holder of what is now Coolamatong Station, was born at Dagworth, Maitland, in 1831. He came to Monaro in 1853 and took over the management of his father's property. In 1856 he married Annie, a daughter of Col. J. K Mackenzie, of the 4th Queen's Own Regiment, who is said to have at one time owned Dangelong Run, which was managed by his son, Alexander. In 1873 he sold his property to two young Englishmen, Messrs. Edward and Arthur Higgens, who in turn sold it to Mr. W. R. Hepburn. Following upon his disposal of Coolamatong, Mr. Blomfield acquired Murranumbla from Mr. William Rutherford. This he held until his death, which took place at Goulburn in 1887 at the age of 56, following upon a fall from his horse.
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​Three sons and three unmarried daughters survive. His eldest. son, E. H., is Manager of the Commercial Bank at Werris Creek, the second, T.V., is Chief of the Dairy Branch of the Department of Public Health, and the remaining one, Hugh Mackenzie, is Cooma's well-known Inspector of Stock. In 1891, some four years after Mr. Arthur Blomfield's death, his property was disposed of by Messrs. Garratt and Blomfield (the latter one of his sons), Auctioneers of Cooma, for 14,500 pounds, and almost immediately resold at an advance to Messrs. Morrice Bros., of Marulan. The present owner of the station is Mr. W. Morrice.

This from Trove:

FATAL FALL FROM A HORSE.

On Thursday afternoon a magisterial inquiry was held at the courthouse by Mr. C. S. Alexander P.M., touching the death of Mr. Arthur Blomfield, who died from injuries received by being thrown from his horse on the previous day near the Cooma Hotel. The following evidence was adduced:--

Dr. Morton deposed that on Wednesday evening about half-past six he was sent for to see Mr. Blomfield, and went without delay to the Cooma Hotel, where he was lying; upon examination witness found that deceased was suffering from concussion and compression of the brain; witness also diagnosed a fracture at the back of the skull; considering the case almost a hopeless one, he sent for Dr. Ray to hold a consultation, the result of which was that he and Dr. Ray cut down where they believed the fractured bone to be, and discovered a fracture of the occipital bone with depression; Dr. Ray and witness both considered it a most critical case; the operation of trephining was deceased's only chance of life, and with the consent of Mr. Blomfield's relatives that operation was performed, but without avail; the cause of death was the injuries to the brain described; deceased never regained consciousness after witness saw him.

Andrew G. Finlay deposed to having viewed the body lying at the Cooma Hotel; it was that of Arthur Blomfield, grazier of Marranumbla, near Cooma; he was connected with witness' family, and was at his house on Wednesday afternoon, about five o'clock; when leaving witness' house he said he was going to Tirranna; had was then in good health; about half-past eight witness heard that he had met with an accident; he then went to the Cooma Hotel and remained there till half-past ten; Drs. Morton and Ray were at the hotel; left the hotel at half-past ten, and did not see the deceased alive again; deceased was about fifty-six years of age and leaves a widow and six children.

Benjamin Williams, labourer, living with the late Mr. Blomfield deposed that he came to Goulburn with some sheep for Mr. Blomfield; came to Goulburn on Tuesday night; witness was at the saleyards on Wednesday with Mr. Blomfield; about half-past five on Wednesday evening witness was at the Cooma Hotel, and Mr. Blomfield came to the hotel; he dismounted from his horse, and had some conversation with witness and another man; he gave witness instructions as to what work he was to do when he went back; witness saw that the horse he was riding was rather fresh, and advised him not to ride him; Mr. Blomfield however insisted on riding the horse; witness took hold of the horse's head to try to steady him until deceased had mounted; the horse became restive, and before Mr. Blomfield had his leg across, some one called out to witness to let the horse go, and he did so; the horse then swerved round, and Mr. Blomfield fell from the off side of the horse; he appeared to fall on the back of his head; witness and others immediately picked him up, and carried him into the hotel, and sent for the doctor; Dr. Morton came in about half-an-hour afterwards; deceased was unconscious when picked up; deceased fell on the hard metal road in front of the hotel.

To the police: Two or three others besides witness were present when the accident took place.

Philip Primmer, labourer in the employ of the late Mr. Blomfield, corroborated the evidence of the previous witness.

The Police Magistrate found that the deceased, Arthur Blomfield, met his death by accidentally falling from his horse.

1887 'FATAL FALL FROM A HORSE.', Goulburn Herald (NSW : 1881 - 1907), 5 February, p. 4.

BUCKLEY'S CROSSING.
THE BLOMFIELD MEMORIAL
(From our own Correspondent.)
A meeting of gentlemen interested in the proposed memorial to the late Mr. Arthur Blomfield was held at Mr. J. H. Quill's Dalgety Store on Saturday last, the 28th May. It had been previously decided that a tablet, suitably inscribed, should be erected in Boloco Church, as a fitting tribute of the esteem in which the deceased gentleman was held by persons of all stations and denominations in the district. The meeting of the 28th May was called to make final arrangements as to cost and choice of the proposed memento, and after Mr. H. C. Merritt had been elected chairman, the hon. secretary (Mr. W. Crisp) stated that upwards of £35 had been subscribed, and that promises of some few pounds more had been made. Mr. Paul Garratt, of Matinumbla, who has shown the greatest interest in the movement, then produced designs, &c, And after considerable inspection and discussion the gentlemen present decided to procure from Sydney a very handsome tablet, at a cost of between £35 and £40. A suitable inscription having been chosen, Messrs. Garratt, J. Crisp, and G. F. Litchfield were elected a sub-committee to carry into effect the wishes of the subscribers, and arrange all the details of the matter. The meeting then terminated in the usual manner.

1887 'BUCKLEY'S CROSSING.', The Manaro Mercury, and Cooma and Bombala Advertiser (NSW : 1862 - 1931), 1 June, p. 3.

After weeks off the bike, I finally had my plaster removed and completed my first physiotherapy session. Needless to say, I was itching to get back out for a ride. I didn't want to tackle anything too technical while my thumb was still recovering, but I was keen to get some kilometres under the tyres.

It also gave me the perfect excuse to explore one of New South Wales' hidden gems—Swallow Tail Pass, near Bannaby.

This adventure bike-friendly route winds its way through some of the Southern Tablelands' most picturesque countryside, linking the charming towns of Gundaroo, Collector, Towrang, Big Hill, Taralga, Crookwell and Gunning before looping back to the ACT.

With a mix of scenic backroads, easy gravel, and spectacular rural landscapes, it promised to be the ideal ride to ease myself back into the saddle while discovering another fantastic route close to home.

Watch my Swallow Tail Pass video on YouTube.

This is where it stutters on YouTube.