Reboxing and storing Vantage (with upgrades)

 It fits! Nearly...

After purchasing Vantage and he associated upgrades, I wanted to see if I could fit everything back into the box again. I found instructions on how to do this, but for the life of me couldn't find the post again, so here are my own photos.

The following results in a 5mm lid-lift, but includes:

• All punched original components and tokens. (Story books, cards, dice etc.)
• Upgraded wooden skill tokens.
• Upgraded Metal coins.
• x6 upgrade dual-layer player boards ('grids')

How to pack Vantage:

1. Base game tokens, money, and player tokens. By pushing the three stacks of large location cards to the left of their spaces, there is enough space to carefully insert the original component to the right of each large location card space (see coins, skills tokens, and player tokens below in their baggies.)

2. Upgraded tokens and coins, and dice. With the original tokens bagged and stored, put the upgraded skill tokens, metal coins, and dice into the green boxes. Put a small baggie on top of each box to keep things in place as you slide them into their spaces. When you get them out, place a couple of fingerson the plastic baggies to help keep things in place and avoid spilling everything as you withdraw the boxes.

Note the baggies on top of the green boxes.

Boxes safely inserted!

3. Boost tokens and character card place holders can sit flat on the top large card space, which has spare depth.

Silver 'boost' cubes in their bag (at top of image), lying flat, before the 
secrets deck (in its pack) is laid on top of them.

4. Plastic card holders and secrets pack. The holders stack vertically in the storage space next to the card decks (shown at top left below.) The secrets deck (in it's plastic pack) can 

5. Dual-layer player boards. All 6 player board 'grids' lie down flat in a stack to one side of the game card decks.

6. Book of Vantages and Book of Secrets. On top of the player boards, place down the 'Book of Vantages' with the spiral binding against the wall of the box. On top of that, add the book of secrets, but leaving a gap so it isn't on top of the spiral binding.

7. Rulebook. Add the rulebook on top of the book of secrets. 

8. Game board. With step 5 ~ 7 done above, the main game board (really just a thin card) will lie flat on top of the card decks, book of vantages, and rules.

9. Storybooks. Insert the eight story books one at a time, putting the bound edge of the story book against the wall of the box. Do the same for each, but putting them down so there is just one against the box edge, then do the next one. This spiral of storybooks will slowly rise in height, but do this for all of them.

Storybook is laid down, with its binding touching the box.

2nd storybook is laid against the next edge of the box in a clockwise direction. 
Continue doing this for all storybooks.

9. Box lid. Close the box! There should be no more than 4~5mm of lid lift.

Hope this is useful!

Cheers,

Dirt-cheap Descent 2e Box Organizer

Descent 2e box organizer

Hi everyone! 

In my last post I talked about getting into Descent second edition - only 9 years after it released - and how I was making a box organizer. Now that I have finished it I thought I'd share, just in case anyone picks up Descent 2e and wants to give it a little love at low cost.

I became interested in DIY box options after searching around and finding that professionally made options range from around 30 to 50 USD and would take a few weeks to arrive. While I could guarantee that they would fit everything, they are either foam (and sit high in the box) or made of MDF, which I don't like the look of. I wanted something that would be quite a bit cheaper and fit the colour scheme. Knowing that within 10 minutes walk I have two big dollar stores (or 'hundred yen' shops as they known in Japan) I had access to materials. The issue was how to design the organizer?

Esoteric Order of Gamers to the rescue! 

This fantastic site has hundreds of downloadable resources for games, and lo and behold, there was a PDF with design instructions for a Descent 2e box organizer made of foam board. I can get foamboard, I can get white glue! Perfect! Huge kudos to the designer.

But...

...this design doesn't work for sleeved cards. 

'Never mind' I thought, 'I'll give it a try!'

So how did I do?

Take a look below, and then we'll look at some modifications I made.

The box

Rules on top.

Box insert cut to make inside lid

Top layer: tokens and cards

Top layer - with pull tabs

Large card trays - pull tabs. Underneath is the...

...small figure tray

...which can be removed to reveal the map tray

Map tray and large model compartment

Modifications:

The original plan is fantastic, but I noticed a few areas where I could relatively easily add improvements and add to the practicality and aesthetics.

1. Blue felt inserts to give the compartments a more up-market look and be a bit softer for my models. These were cut to size and glued in with watered-down wood glue. Hint: pickup some felt that matches the external box art colours if you want to co-ordinate. A deep blue or light blue works well.
2. Red pull tabs to help me get at the cards without damaging the card edges by trying to lift them out with my fingernails. These were made from 10mm strips of wine-red ribbon, then attached in two different ways. For the long ones that went under a tray, I used 10mm double-sided sticky tape. For the ribbon inside a card tray, I glued the ribbon tab onto the foamcard, then pulled it through a slit in the felt. I then glued the felt down.
3. Larger card compartments to accomodate sleeved cards. I admit that these aren't perfect... I eyeballed them! But for all cards apart from the character decks they fit perfectly.

Not everything went perfectly, so here are some things to watch out for:

• Measure twice, cut once. I made a few wonky measurements, so not everything matched up perfectly.
• Alignment. It can be surprisingly difficult to get everything straight, so find a way to line things up/ get right angles straight (a math set triangle should help)
• If you sleeve cards, make sure you plan out your measurements with that in mind. (Sounds obvious, but you can easily forget!)
• If using glue, keep a few dressmaker's pins or long push pins to hand. Use these to pin your foamcard together until the glue dries.

Materials:

Follow the instructions in the Order of Gamers to get all the measurements you need. However you don't need much:

-Foamcard (I used black).

-Double-sided sticky tape (5mm width - make sure any you buy matches the thickness of your card.)

-Wood glue (White glue/ Elmers). You'll water this down when painting onto the foamcard.

-Box cutter/ hobby knife

-Blue felt squares (your choice of colour!)

-10mm wine-red ribbon.

In total, I paid about about 9 US dollars in terms of the materials I actually used, so not a bad outlay.

In my next post, I'll look at some of the models in the game and what they look like painted.

Cheers.

Warpfire Thrower and Skaven Jezzail Update

*Squeek*

Just a quick photo update today...
...an "old style" Skaven Warpfire Thrower that I finished today...
...a completed unit of Jezzails. (You may know that one of the earliest posts I did was for a Jezzail. As it turns out, I never got around to finishing the other two in the unit, so thought that this might be a "quick win"!)

First, here are some pics of the Warpfire Thrower. Compared to the new style Warpfire Throwers in the Island of Blood Box set, what do you think of the sculpt?
(Please note that all photos were taken at night under...kitchen lights...so apologies for the poor quality!)

Skaven Warpfire Thrower...

Here's one of the new sculpts for comparison...

...and here is the completed Jezzail unit. (As my army colour is Ice Blue I added a dusting on the pavise to make a visual connection with the rest of the army, even if the unit itself is wearing Clan Skryre red uniforms.)

I hope you like them! As usual, all comments and constructive criticism welcome!

Cheers,

*Squeek*
p.s. What do you think of the Snakebite Leather bases? Better than Knarloc Green?
;-)

Skaven Warpfire Thrower Step-by-Step Painting Guide

*Squeek*

I'm probably not the only Skaven Warlord that decided to start a Skaven army based on the access the minions of the Great Horned Rat have to weird and wacky war machines! See below for a guide and more pics...

One of the (many) excellent things about our hordes are the supporting vehicles and almost "Steampunk" home-brew weapons that can be found in almost any force...

...massive engines of destruction?
Check!
Deafen and madden your enemies with the Screaming Bell or stink them out or putrify them with the Plague Furnace or Plague Claw catapult.

...fast moving vehicles that slice, dice and "electri-fry?"
Check!
Courtesy of randomized greenish bolts of warplightning from your fast-moving, rodent-powered Doomwheel.

Now, as cool as those things are, let's not forget one more really cool thing the Skaven have...

...core-unit support?  

Check!

One Doomflayer sized serving of whirling chopping death comin' up (OR burn and gas'em with your Warpfire Throwers or Poison Wind Mortars.)

Now of course, all these items also have one glaring caveat...

...frequent failure due to poor build quality? (or sabotage?) 

Check...

:-(

But that is something that many people think adds to the dark humor of playing Skaven in the first place!

Onto the guide, which has taken some time to get done due to other things. Below you will find a simple Skaven Warpfire Thrower stage-by-stage guide with some big photos at the bottom (I'll post a guide to the Poison Wind Mortar in the next few days or so.) It is a while so I painted this, so this may not be exact, but you'll get the idea!

1. Assembly.

• File down or carefully cut away any flash from the model.
• Glue to base.

2. 1st Basing.

• Paint watered-down PVA glue to the base.
• Dip base into modelling sand
• Shake away excess and leave to dry

3. Undercoat.

• Undercoat whole model Chaos Black (I use GW Spray paint.)

4. Drybrush base.

• Calthan Brown.
• Snakebite Leather

5. Basecoat.

Apply base colours to all parts of the model:

EDIT: Following the launch of the latest Citadel Paint range in 2012, please note that the colours listed below are from the previous range. I hope to have time to rewrite in the future, but for the time being, you can use the conversion chart/ list I made here or use the official Citadel Conversion chart here.

• Boltgun Metal: Condenser pipes on Warpfire backpack. Nozzle and handle on warpfire thrower.
• Red Gore: Robes, flames on small rat that is on fire on the base.
• Tallarn Flesh: Skin, tail etc.
• Dwarf Bronze: Warpfire backpack top, chimney, skaven symbol. Bands on warpfire thrower.
• Dark Angels Green: Warpstone smoke.
• Codex Grey: Weapon team hoods.
• Bestial Brown or Calthan Brown: Wooden parts of Warpfire backpack.
• Vermin Brown or Bestial Brown: Fur.
• Snakebite Leather: Leather shoulder straps on backpack, weapon team gloves, belts.
• Bleached Bone: Nails on feet.

6. Layers.

• Robes: Red Gore/ Blood Red (50/50 Mix), then Red Gore/ Blood Red (25/75 mix) and finally Blood Red.
• Warpstone Smoke: Snot Green/ Dark Angels Green 50/50 mix, then progressively lighter mixes, working through Snot Green/ Skull White (50/50 then 50/25) and finally almost pure Skull White.
• Flames on Rat: Red Gore/ Blazing Orange Mix (75/25 then 50/50) Then add some yellow to that mix to get the tip of the flames.

7. Washes.

• Skin, Tail/ Ears, feet: Ogryn Flesh.
• Robes: Devlan Mud.
• Warpfire backpack: Devlan Mud
• Warpstone smoke: Thrakka Green

8. Drybrushing.

• Warpfire backpack (Wood parts): Drybrush slighter lighter shade of the basecoat brown (above)
• Warpfire backpack (Bronzed parts): Light drybrushing of Dwarf Bronze
• Warpfire thrower hose: Light drybrushing of Chainmail (just to bring out raised areas on hose.)
• Fur: Light drybrushing of lighter shade of the brown you used as a basecoat. 

9. Highlights.

• Edges of any parts done in Boltgun Metal: Boltgun Metal OR Chainmail
• Edge of warpfire weapon barrel: Chainmail OR Dwarf Bronze as appropriate
• Warpfire backpack edges of Bronzed parts: Dwarf Bronze
• Nails: Bleached Bone
• Skin/ Tail/ Ears: Tallarn Flesh/ Dwarf Flesh (50/50 mix)

10. Verdigris (Optional)

This is the light blue patina that you see on old statues or layers of bronze in museums or exposed to the elements. Having this will add an additional sense of age to any bronze parts. Please note, if you haven't done this before, experiment first, as if you get it wrong this is the last stage of the model, so it may be difficult to correct...

• Heavily water down GW Ice Blue. You'll have to experiment to find the right consistency, but I would say 1 part paint to between 7 and 10 parts water. It should be watery enough that you can wipe away WITHOUT leaving a stain. (Very important so you can correct mistakes if necessary!)
• Carefully paint onto any bronze parts where Verdigris would naturally appear so that it gathers. See "bluish" areas on photos below on the warpfire backpack and thrower nozzle. (recessed areas, around nails, buttons and joins between bronze parts.)
• Quickly take a tissue, fold to a point, and dab away any excess, so it is left gathered around the parts mentioned above.
• Leave remainder to dry. (Be patient!)
• HINT: Only add Verdigris to one area at a time so you have time to wick or dab away excess before it dries. Don't add to ALL bronze parts on the whole model at the same time! E.g. Do the Bronze top of the backpack, then wipe away. Then do the pipes, then wipe away. Then do the - you get the picture!

11. Final Basing

• Dab on a couple of spots of PVA glue.
• Dip in flock.
• Shake away excess and leave to dry.

Done!

Here's the finished Warpfire Thrower...

The observant among you will notice that the guide above closely follows those of the other Clan Skryre units I have done to date as the basic clan colours remain the same. (Warlock Engineer, Warplightning Cannon, Jezzails and Doomwheel.)

Hope you like it. Let me know what you think!

*Squeek*

Island of Blood: New Warhammer Boxed game coming soon...

*Rubs paws with glee!*
"They come, brethren, they come! Brothers from other places to fight-fight!"

"The gutter runner cames with listenings and hearings..."

"Incoming! The Island of Blood The Warhammer world; it is a place riven by battle, where mighty armies clash for glory, honour or the entertainment of Dark Gods. Darkened skies, tortured by cataclysmic magics tear open and rain blood upon the ceaseless combatants and the landscape is wracked by the carnage around it. Trees writhe in mutated agony, lashing out with limb and branch and rivers flow thick with the corpses of the slain. All upon the land are consumed by the unending battle, an age of war in which victory and defeat hang in the balance. Cast against this macabre tableau fight mighty armies -warriors by their million raise banners of defiance or icons of dismay, taking up arms in the clash for survival. Beleaguered and surrounded, the forces of Order fight desperately to stem the tide of the armies of Destruction. Delighting in the carnage and ruination, the Dark Gods look on. The Island of Blood is but one battleground upon the face of the Warhammer world, a mystical and dangerous place that has been twisted and mutated by the warping power of Chaos. In ages past the Island of Blood was a battleground upon which armies have bled and died in the ageless battle for supremacy... and they will do so again. Soon. The Island of Blood is the new boxed game for Warhammer and is released this September. Packed full of stunning plastic Citadel miniatures and containing all the rules, dice and templates you'll need to play, it's the essential purchase for fans of the Warhammer hobby. Meanwhile, if you like the Battle for Skull Pass boxed game (and who wouldn't with all those Goblins and Dwarfs) then it only seems fair to point out that once the last few remaining copies are gone they're gone, and they're never coming back! Pick one up while stocks last. In August we'll feature more information about The Island of Blood on games-workshop.com and the full details will be released in September's White Dwarf. If you can't wait until September to get your hands on the new rules then don't forget that the new Warhammer Rulebook and complete range of accessories are available to advance order by clicking on the image below." *Squeek*