Showing posts with label markers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label markers. Show all posts

Thursday, 18 May 2017

A freebie - Wound Markers MK-IV - 8th Edition compliant



It would appear that keeping track of wounds is going to be a meaty task in 8th Edition with the likes of Imperial Knights having more than 20 and the large Tyranids a dozen or more. As much as everyone seems to think that's still feasible with dice, who really wants a D20 sat next to their model? I mean at least with D6s in 7th you could purchase some unobtrusive little ones [not that anyone did], D20s are big beggars and it'll just look downright odd.

Of course I immediately saw that my own markers were slightly lacking, insomuch as although they went up to 10 [thank you Doom of Malan'tai, we still miss you], they needed a few more to meet the bounty of wounds set to be given up to our big vehicles and monsters. I'd also seen plenty of folk clamouring for a solution so I thought I better step up and fix that uncertainty so we can think about the rest of the sky that's falling - like GW making massive new marines, 'cos it's not like the community hasn't been crying out for true-scale, how dare they give us what we wanted?!

Anyway, I added in new markers up to 30, or actually it'll be counting down now, which I'll have to get used to, excuse me while I write some long-winded scathing rant to GW about how the fact I'm now forced to count wounds down and how it's ruined my life! I digress. 

I've also done them in a variety of colours, either to match your faction, or to have a range to choose from to attach to different models so they don't get mixed up. So I've got:
  • Red - original and best - ideal for Khorne and Blood Angels
  • Pale Blue - Tzeentch
  • Yellow - Imperial Fists?
  • Green - Nurgle, Necrons or Salamanders
  • Pink - Slaanesh or Emperor's Children
  • Brown - Nurgle, Astra Militarum
  • Yellow and red - More Imperial Fists?
  • Black and Red - Khorne, Black Templars, Ravenwing, Raven Guard
 
Usual step-by-step to make:
  1. Print
  2. Apply double sided tape to back
  3. Stick to mounting card
  4. Carefully apply sellotape to top if you want them pseudo-laminated
  5. Cut out with craft knife/scalpel
  6. Amaze your friends and enemies with these counters
  7. Tell them to visit www.40kaddict.uk for their own free markers.

    So if you want them you can download the .pdf here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B97Rk-BalgZbNEJwNnpIV3FyaGc

Choose what suits you best. Obviously when 8th hits these may end up being impractical, goodness knows how to store them all so it'll be easy to find the specific number you need. It may well be that laminated datasheets with dry wipe pens used on wound trackers will be the most practical way to keep account of how damaged someone is. But that's still not as easy for your opponent to see how wounded a model is as a marker, yes even a dice, right next to that model. 

I know some have suggested rotating wheels, similar to the old Titan void shields or the discs for X-Wing but they seem too big. Alternatively there are these handy knitting/crochet counters that folk are raving about. Potentially they could be a good idea, again for me it reall depends on size.

Then there's the other option I once saw of putting small elastic bands on the model but again that suffers from 'counting down' issue I'd always railed against and therfore counted up. If we're to count down remaining wounds, as you will HAVE to do in 8th, your Imperial Knight is going to have to begin the game with twenty odd elastic 'looms' festooning it's Adamantium hide like its at Spring Break before the game even starts!

Thursday, 19 May 2016

Markers

You probably already know this - I'm a big fan of markers to help keep track of what's going on, in fact I need to start making some for my Dark Angels and various Psychic powers for my Librarian. I believe so strongly enough in the benefit to the game I give my markers away FREE and together with my Patented method of constructing the markers:
  1. Print
  2. Apply double sided tape to back
  3. Stick to mounting card [I use black card which is black all the way through, alternatively a black Sharpie or other marker will make the edges really cool looking]
  4. Carefully apply sellotape to top if you want them pseudo-laminated
  5. Cut out with craft knife/scalpel
  6. Amaze your friends and enemies with these awesome markers
  7. Tell them to visit www.40kaddict.uk for their own free markers.
everyone can look cool, unlike those 'wound dice' users who are definitely uncool [Ben]! That said I know some folk like a more premium product, want something more durable and are happy to pay for it and I stumbled across these two in my regular 40k surfing. This has been a 'draft' post for a long time so I thought I'd just share them in case folk didn't want my own Freebies or even the awesome free ones at From the Warp, Realm of War or even Graven Games

www.bcmarkers.com produce these nifty markers, obviously made from unfurled bottle caps 'bc' get it? They're printed and attached to the cap with a domed clear plastic cover to protect them and add the 'premium' finish you may be after. I have to say the graphics look particularly detailed, there definitely looks like a lot of effort and skill has gone into these.



Alternatively http://battlemarkers.com use a different process - badges [or buttons I think they called in the US] these are made without the pin in the back. They look really durable and a very high finish, the graphics are also top notch and they're quite well priced too.


Both options look pretty good to me, if you're in the market for these sorts of things, their only problem is they're both roughly 1" in diameter. Wound counters are going to be a bit bulky at this size on the battlefield, psychic powers about right. It does mean your less likely to lose them as they're much bigger than my tiny ones but if you have that concern you shouldn't be paying for something that could be considered disposable anyway.

Right, that's got me down to 20 draft posts remaining...

Sunday, 24 April 2016

MOAR Vortex Templates






Despite the arm pain I actually managed to do some bits. In fact because I took the day off to see the doctor I had some free time and in a moment of madness I just decided to knock out a couple more Vortex templates. Having enjoyed the fun of them in my last game I'm hoping for a number of doubles in future games and I though three would be sufficent. I originally completed the first one in July last year and had put aside a couple of the Christmas baubles the other day.

Sadly I didn't take any pictures this time but I did adapt how I made them, without considering the original tutorial:

  • I used masking tape to attach a tissue round the outside to avoid overspray
  • I bunched the tissue up and this formed a support to hold the bauble in a plastic cup
  • when I did the colour spray I rolled up some card into a U shape so it would fit inside the bauble - when I sprayed I could get more defined lines and edges inside the bauble while masking off other areas
Having not referred to the original bauble first  I also noted:
  • my spots were more uniform, bigger and more of them
  • I also switched in a green spray for a bit of variety
  • didn't really do any streaks
  • could have done to do:
    •  less spots, 
    • a spray of colour,
    • then some more white spots for added depth,
    • a light spray of black, 
    • more spots,
    • final coat of black
 I'm really pleased with the two extra templates, the uniformity is a minor irritation but for a 20 minute job I was really chuffed. Should I need any more I know I can get them done in a jiffy :)

Tuesday, 24 November 2015

Dark Angel Objective markers

I made another decision. Despite being perfectly happy with my force field pylon objective markers I decided to do the force field glow effect on the generators. I planned to add glow effects on the Knight so it made sense to recreate the effect I did for my Plasma weaponry to see how it would look. I know that sounds odd as my Plasma guys clearly illustrate how, but I needed more reassurance.


I wasn't 100% convinced this time around. I'm not sure it looks like a glow and more like yellow discs.


With that doubt in mind I added a little more orange inside the creases of the discs.


I think this is more what I was after, it's less defined as an object but I think more realistc as a source of lighting.


I also applied the same effect to the plasma coils in the Teleport homers. Obviously I did them completely differntly to how I did Plasma coils on my weponry but nevermind.


I'm less convinced of the beacon lights but I'm hoping Tamiya Clear Red X-27 may lift them up. The OSL works, it's just the lights themselves that look a bit flat.


Nearly there though and then I can tick them off. Still no idea how to number them, there realy isn't space to put a numeral and even then it'd look slapped on after adding the SFX now :(

The question is do I go with the yellow/orange glow as above [when there's already yellow on the chevrons so it may look confusing] or, do I go with the green glow I did on my Epic Reaver titan?



What do you think? I'm not even sure if this was the final iteration of the orange plasma, maybe that's it, less yellow/white moar orange.

Tuesday, 7 July 2015

Make your own Vortex template

I've not really had a need for a Vortex template before, but then the Ravenwing Dark Talon's Rift Cannon was upgraded to give the potential to create one so I suddenly had the urge to get one. Of course they're quite difficult to get hold of and on ebay they're going for about £15! So I wondered about alternative options. I still recall Ron From the Warp's awesome 'Wiffle ball' tutorial but funnily enough it was Rob's tutorial from warhammer 39999 that I remember most. But Wiffle balls don't seem to be easily available in the UK so I got to thinking about other 3" diameter objects


And I already had them! A while back I helped my son make a Neon atom for his physics class and the centre-piece containing the electrons, protons, neutrons [delete as appropriate science folk, I think the electrons are aound the outside?] was a clear plastic Christmas bauble. now I only needed one but my local art/craft store had a pack of 10 and they're just 4mm wider than a standard small blast so I thought I'd have a crack at making my own, so first up I cut off the hanging tab.


Now the difference with these is you can spray them on the inside to retain a super high gloss finish. So I covered my hands in a plastic bag and sprayed above the bauble with white, trying to ensure spots of paints dropped onto the bauble y'know for that spacy look.


And it came out alright, but while I was taking the pictures I missed the opportunity to drag some of the bigger spots with a cocktail stick for some weird warp lightning.


And therefore I sprayed some on some cardboard and tried to paint it on, with limited success and actually picked up some of the Red Oxide undercoat when the solvents managed to melt the primer on the spray box I was using. Still it was a first draft so I didn't mind so much.


I then did the same with the Red Oxide primer to add some nice colour tints to it, like gaseous nebulas and then it was a coat of black spray primer.


And I ended up with this! OK, it's not perfect but Ron took 12 attempts to get happy with his and Rob did three. As I only had the one coloured spray can and paused to take pictures inbetween I was a bit limited but for practically zero cost I'm chuffed with the results especially the high gloss finish, which is the advantage of spraying inside the bauble. Of course you can paint the outside too if you want a matt finish but that'll require a varnish to protect your handiwork.


I did actually put an LED candle inside to see if it would add an unearthly glow in the warp but it was a bit pants, and even worse in the dark as it shone through all the black spray like it wasn't even there!


Anyway, for a 5-10 minute job I'm pretty pleased with the results, so thought I'd share an alternative way to make the Vortex templates

Monday, 15 June 2015

'nids part 171 - Tyranid Objective Markers TO DONE!

While I try and write up the remainign two Blog Wars battle reports I just thought I'd drop this in as the pics are doen and there's not a lot to say about my Maelstrom Mission Objective Markers.


I'm really pleased, although it would have been nice [but less practical] to add a bit more variety, like the way Otty added Venom Cannon barrells and Rippers to the nodes for extra interest.


Ultimately I have my 6+2 so I can deal with Maelstrom and the Scourin [? I forget if that's the right mission with 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4 VP objectives].


Although we have had a lot fo cun playing that mission not knowing the value until the end of the game and you still need to blind draw the objectives, so my card markers are still of use.


I obviously added some Tamiya Clear Red X-27 to the mouths, liek they've just been fed :)





Some 3D texture paint managed to join the different pieces and hide my kitbash butchery.


Once again, not on the list but I'm really pleased I threw it into the mix. These markers are essential for the way we play now and it didn;t require too much effort to get them done, so it all adds to the hobby bank. Hopefully I'll get the next Battle Report done for Wednesday.


Saturday, 28 February 2015

FREEBIE: Wound markers v 3.0

It's my birthday and you know I like to give presents away [although this may not be the most exciting of gifts ;) ]

 

You should all know by now I'm on record as disliking the common practice of using dice for recording wounds - they can be accidentally and 'accidentally' picked up. Of course I looked into it and ended up producing my own counters because they practically cost me nothing and if I leave them behind at a tournament I can make some more.

However this level of crafting can seem a bit amateurish so you can go next level like Warhammer 39,999 did with his Status effect markers but there's still a cost involved in that and the smallest sized badge will be about 25mm in diameter so it's not great for wounds.

However, I saw a tutorial by NafNaf on Objective Secured recently to achieve the same status effect but using adhesive plastic bottle caps. Now, a couple of things, I didn't even know these plastic caps existed, but they do and they come in different sizes and shapes! In addition because they're manufactured in China [mostly] you can get them in bulk.


So with this in mind I kept thinking about my current markers. I started off with triangular ones, so they took up less space and you could point them at the specific model that was wounded. They're perfectly serviceable but over time those points fray just a little bit. By time I'm talking four years here so they're really not that shabby. But for ease of construction for the many I give out to my opponents at tournaments I created the square format as the 90° angles are slightly more robust and so easy to cut them into strips with a scalpel and then snip the individual markers with some super-sharp scissors.


One thing I never considered was circular markers as cutting many of those would just be insane, but then I saw the bottle caps and in NafNaf's tutorial they used a 25mm hole punch. So I started looking and found 10mm diameter caps and a 10mm leather/card punch. So now we have a device that can be accurately positioned on a marker and removed from it's surround with a quick tap of the hammer.


All we need is a new wound marker template...

Cereal box card
The great thing is you can use the bottle cap to help position the punch, additionally you can leave them on the paper, or stick them onto cereal card for added durability or even mounting card for super thick counters [possibly overkill I think].

Mounting card
On top of that I've also ordered some 9mm square ones from China, which conveniently is exactly the same size as my v2.0 markers! so I'll see what they're like sometime in March. Ultimately though I think this is an ideal solution for those who want something that look more 'professional' without breaking the bank although the punch cost me £3 and 50 10mm bottle caps cost me another £3.50 so £6.50 for 50 wound markers... make your own mind up about value. Personally I can stick to my MK I's for the time being. I only really entered into this as following a tutorial and expanding on it. Although as I ordered 230 of both 9mm square and 10mm round from China I may well have an idea to sell some should there be a demand, although I think I've proved that this is such an easy task there shouldn't be.

Anyway here's the circular wound template, just download and print at 300dpi:


Oh, and another use of these, back before Maelstrom missions you may well have created your own custom objective that did not have numbers on. These are discrete yet big enough to be tagged beside those strategic points to differentiate the numbered objectives.


UPDATE: So you can see at the top of the page I made some and I have to admit the whole process is a bit of a faff, the punch is not particularly durable and getting through the mounting card was a nightmare. So much so that I actually only took one out and instead stuck with the cereal card ones.

These would be OK for your own purposes but certainly not as a production line [and I'll have 230 of these domes coming soon!]. That being said the adhesive domes are fantastic so hopefully the square ones will be cool and a much easier process that may result in production.

Monday, 20 January 2014

A freebie - Ymgarl Factor markers

I've amended the Ymgarl Genestealer Markers to represent the new Ymgarl Factor mutations. There's not a great deal to say about it but should you feel inclined to spend 40pts on something that'll buff a model on alternate turns then they may come in handy, knock yourself out! Oh and did I mention these were FREE, that's right FREE!


Just a reminder of my Patented method of constructing your own markers:
  1. Print
  2. Apply double sided tape to back
  3. Stick to mounting card
  4. Carefully apply sellotape to top if you want them pseudo-laminated
  5. Cut out with craft knife/scalpel
  6. Amaze your friends and enemies with these awesome Tyranid Psychic Markers
  7. Tell them to visit 40kaddict.blogspot.com for their own free markers.

Tuesday, 14 January 2014

A freebie - Tyranid Psychic markers

Yes, yes, yes I know it's time to stop bemoaning the fact we've lost the number 1 competitive edge we had as a force - Biomancy [question, what other races have access to that power?] and embrace the wonderful Tyranid Codex Powers of 2010, repackaged and reheated for 2014, lets hope we don't get Salmonella ;)
So I give you some 'fresh' 'new' totally FREE markers to keep up to date on what your bugs are doing. Sadly they only require 4 now, Warp Blast doesn't require one and if you can ever find someone who's not Fearless then you shouldn't need a reminder that you've pinned a unit, the shock will take care of that.


Just a reminder of my Patented method of constructing your own markers:
  1. Print
  2. Apply double sided tape to back
  3. Stick to mounting card
  4. Carefully apply sellotape to top if you want them pseudo-laminated
  5. Cut out with craft knife/scalpel
  6. Amaze your friends and enemies with these awesome Tyranid Psychic Markers
  7. Tell them to visit 40kaddict.blogspot.com for their own free markers.

Monday, 12 August 2013

An interesting Kickstarter - Worldsmith Industries Vehicle Wreck Markers.


Mooching around on Google+ I came across this interesting kickstarter from www.worldsmithindustries.com
Some really cool wrecked vehicle markers and they're not too expensive either. Stretch goals of the space elves...


And evil space elves are probably my favorite because there's a decent amount rubble/wreckage ratio.


Anyway, just thought I'd share in case anyone was interested, here's a video too:





Friday, 5 July 2013

A freebie - 45° fire arc template

Sometimes you just have to throwout the schedule and add in a post just because if you tried to fit it in the schedule it'd be months down the line before I could give out some more freebies

You may be aware I'm making a Tyranid Bastion, apparently only the cool kids are doing it but don't hold it against me. One of the key elements of the Bastion is the emplaced weapons and their 45° fire arc. GW doesn't povide a 45° fire arc template and aside from emplaced weapons hull-mounted weapons on tanks also have a 45° fire arc. So I wanted to make a template so I knew what a 45° fire arc was and could use my 45° fire arc template to gauge if my tartget was within the 45° fire arc.

And this is the 45° fire arc template I made



And you can download the 45° fire arc template for free,

 
  1. Print
  2. Apply double sided tape to back
  3. Stick to mounting card
  4. Carefully apply sellotape to top if you want them pseudo-laminated
  5. Cut out with craft knife/scalpel
  6. Amaze your friends and enemies with this 45° fire arc
  7. Tell them to visit 40kaddict.blogspot.com for their own free markers.
Just in case I hadn't made it clear this is a free 45° fire arc template ;)

Tuesday, 21 May 2013

A freebie - Dark Angel wound markers courtesy of Chris Gillboy

 

I was doing a search on my computer to find my 4th Edition Dark Angel Codex to see how they paint Dark Angel Librarians in it and the search pulled up an email regarding Dark Angel Wound Markers which I couldn't recall ever reading. I think  the wife, bless her, must have opened it and therefore it never caught my eye. Anyway it was from a guy called Chris and I've posted the email below so you can see what it was all about:
Hi its Chris from the Lost Boys Club, you played my mate Mark last week with his space marines (and kicked his backside). Anyway, I was so inspired by your wound/hull pts markers that I decided to make some Dark Angels counters. I found a picture of the munitorium dice on google and changed it to green then coloured in the numbers using paint. Not as flashy as yours but i'm happy with the result. I only did up to no.6 as nothing in my army has more wounds/HP than that. Anyway here's a copy of the image in case you wanted to put it on your blog.
Hope to see you at the club tomorrow
Chris
So here's Chris's markers for you all to use. I can't say how happy this makes me feel. Chris could have gone the easy route, and I'd have still been happy, and printed out my markers but he's actually followed the spirit of the blog and created something new for the community and is willing to share. That is the true 'hobby' ideal there and I'm pleased to present them below for all you Imperial players out there.

  

Thanks Chris, it's emails like this that make the effort of keeping a regular blog worthwhile.