Artana Launches The Best Damn Gaming Coins Ever II Kickstarter

I found an cool kickstarter that might be interesting for some of our member. It's a kickstarter that aim at creating metal coins to use and replace the money included in a bunch of games. For $5 only, you can already have a set !

Gorgeous, swoon-worthy metal coins to add lovely, tactile art and accessories to your tabletop games. The reasons they are The Best Damn?

All themes (except our Pieces of Eight) include five coins in interchangeable sizes and finishes: tiny/copper, small/metal, medium/bronze, large/silver, jumbo/gold.

1. The right coin for the right theme. We have 20 unique themes created to date and another 20 already planned on the drawing board. We are the finest one-stop-shop of gaming coins for all your gaming delights.

2. Compatible sizes and finishes across sets. All of our sets (except our Pieces of Eight) follow a common format sharing the same five sizes and finishes. This enables you to mix-and-match among themes and, for example, combine coins from our Greek and Roman themes to double the flavor in your ancients games.

3. Balance of usability and beauty. Our sizes and finishes are distinctive enough from each other to never leave any question about which denomination you are using. And, the art on each of the varying sizes was chosen to be lovely and appropriate for that size.

4. Historical themes have historical coin replicas. Many real, old coins were absolutely breathtaking in their design. We leverage this fact: all of our historical sets comprise faithful reproductions of many of the most attractive and important coins in history.

5. Non-denominational. Most of our sets are non-denominational, empowering you to treat the coins as whichever denomination that particular game requires. This offers maximum flexibility in your gaming adventures.

6. Made by gamers, for gamers. We were a game publisher first and a coin publisher second. That means we approach our gaming coins like gamers, with all of our decisions about the coins deeply rooted in making the best possible things for people like us.  They can't just look beautiful - they need to play beautifully too.

PiecePacks are our smallest unit and provide maximum possible customization. Each one includes either: 18 tiny coins, or 15 small coins, or 12 medium coins, or 9 large coins, or 6 jumbo coins.

ThemeSets are our most affordable grab-and-get offering to have all the coins a variety of games will require for a full coin replacement.

DeluxeCollections bring together our finest coins from three different themes, giving you an amazing set of deluxe coins that replace the money in a variety of tabletop games.

Our coins are made of zinc and electroplated with a variety of other common metals in order to get their unique finishes.

Our ThemeSets and DeluxeCollections allow you to fully replace all of the money included in a large variety of games. 

Wanna support this project ? Then head up here.

Machinist's Tool Chest - HeroQuest Box by Whitebeard

I have been admiring the HQ chests that some of the members have built. But I don't have the time to attempt the perfect box (or the skill). Instead I started looking at machinist's tool chest. My objective was to have something that keeps the dust off of my painted miniatures and can be used for quick access during game play. For $65 I think I just about nailed it.

The box looks nice enough. I'll be putting a nice big logo on it later.

The whole thing is felt lined. The top has lots of space for oversized minis (two Reaper dragons, three GW river trolls, three GW spirit host, and two GW chaos warrios are in there. I also have the quest books, manuals, and a few unopened minis. I'll add some foam if I plan to take it anywhere.

The front folds out to reveal 8 drawers. The front piece also slides in and out of the way (not shown).

Two drawers are very large easily fitting all of the furniture into just one of them… so plenty of space to the Twisting Catacombs Kickstarter?

The other six drawers are small and low profile (4 shown here). All of the drawers have no stops on them, so they just slide right out like trays.

I also added furniture felt pads to the four corners on the bottom to prevent scratching my table and floor.

The only things that do not fit in the box (unaltered) are the Armory and Game board. I use a re-printed 30mm game board anyway, so I keep that separate. And eventually I will re-print a slightly modified armory.

You can find this chest on e-bay for about $100. But I found the best price at Harbor Freight at $65 after using one of their 20% off one item coupons. I had never heard of the store before, but I guess they are quite common in the US midwest.

See more and at YeOldeInn's forum !

Twisting Catacombs Kickstarter

Well, it's finally here, Zealot Miniatures's new Kickstarter project: Twisting Catacombs!

There's so much dungeon scenery goodness here, enough to complete a full game of HeroQuest, and much, much more!! Here's some cool teaser pics, but just go see for yourself and start decorating your 3D dungeons!










And here's the kicker!! Our very own SIGNPOST!!

Twisting Catacombs Kickstarter by Zealot Miniatures

Zealot Miniatures has been making lots of cool miniatures and dungeon accessories the past few years, and in particular some great doors, bases and even heroes for HeroQuest. Now they're planning on expanding there store rapidly, and will use the popular crowdfunding platform "kickstarter" for it.

Zealot has already teased some cool accessories on his facebook page! So go check that out, and LIKE.

Zealot Miniatures will soon be running 'Twisting Catacombs: A Dungeon Scenery Kickstarter'. This came about since there are many fun and fantastic Dungeon RPG Board Games available, both new and old, and they come with some lovely character miniatures, that is for sure!
But what really makes these games into an involving and cinematic experience for all players involved - is the setting; the vast, magical, fantasy themed Dungeon! And to best spark the imaginations, your Dungeon needs atmospheric and detailed scenery and terrain, not just fiddly card counters! Step forward Twisting Catacombs!
This Kickstarter will vastly expand on the range of dungeon game scenery, decor and bitz which we already offer in the store, with a new, broad range of exciting miniatures and scenery for your games.
WIP pictures will be added here, but to keep up to date with all the goings on, be sure to follow us on our Facebook page or subscribe to our newsletter.
If you would like to get involved with feedback and suggestions, you can follow our topic on Ye Olde Inn here. All pledgers who are members of Ye Olde Inn forum will be given a special exclusive miniature once funding is complete.
May all your quests be glorious ones, Hero!

For those that don't already know how this works:
1. A company shows you their product on a kickstarter page, and gives you several pledge tiers to choose from. Each tier has a certain reward level (stuff you get!) for a certain price (money you pledge!)
2. You pick what you want, and pledge the level amount or more. The money will not be taken from your account until the kickstarter funding period has passed, ánd the project was successfully funded. If the project isn't funded before the time period ends, you will not be charged, and the project will have failed.
3. If a project is successfull, and all the backer's money is transferred, the company will send out a survey (usually within a month time), to have the backers fill in what they pledged for. You fill in the survey, send it in, and the company will know what you wanted for your pledge.
4. You wait until the company finishes production of the items and ships it to all backers.
5. Package arrives! Rejoice!

Bear in mind that some projects require extra shipping costs, and you may or may not need to pay VAT or import taxes, depending on where you live and where the company is shipping from.
The time between a kickstarter period and actual delivery may be long. Sometimes over year. Be sure to check estimated delivery dates if this is an issue for you.
Most companies on Kickstarter deliver sooner or later. But it's always a good idea to do some websurfing, and read about the company you're backing.

Having said all that, in my experience Zealot Miniatures is a reliable company, where many people from Ye Olde Inn have ordered items in the past, and the owner is very helpful and friendly, and always delivers.
So if you need some extra dungeon scenery, this is definately a kickstarter you don't want to miss!!!

Dungeon Doors painted

I've finally managed to finish my 20 dungeon doors I purchased from Zealot Miniatures. They will see much use! I'm quite happy with them:

They fit very nicely on my enlarged HeroQuest board, which has squares of about 2,5x2,5mm.
I spray-primed the doors black with citadel chaos black. Then I heavily drybrushed dark grey on them, followed by a lighter grey a little less heavily. Finally, I drybrushed some white on them very very lightly, just to accentuate the edges more.
I painted the doors a dark brown, and highlighted them in a lighter brown.
The iron rings, door handles and hinges were painted a mix of dark red and leather brown to get a rusty colour. I did this very carefully, and it was a pain, because there are many many iron parts on the doors. Then I drybrushed them gunmetal (leadbelcher) lightly.
The bases were painted from brown to bleached bone in layers.
Finally I applied some Quickshade strong tone with a brush. I used a lot on the wood, a little on the stone, and none on the bases.
After that dried, I sprayed them again with army painter dull varnish spray to minimize the shiny gloss.

Campaign Coins

Based in Melbourne, Australia, King Of The Castle Games Company is a small, yet passionate band of adventurers dedicated to crafting high quality role playing game accessories.

http://www.campaigncoins.com/about-campaign-coins

ABOUT THE COINS

What do the coins look like?Our coins feature true 3D detail, with both raised areas as well as surface detail. They feature an antique finish which brings the detail out in sharp relief. We reckon they look awesome.

Coins from other companies often lack one or both of these features. They may only offer surface detail, which means that the coin is 2D and flat; or they may not have any finishing applied, which means that they are base metal colour and details are hard to discern. We have been making our coins since 2007 and we honestly believe that they are the best available. It is our goal to make our coins as authentic as possible, so that the money in your hand is exactly the same as the money in the game world.

How big are the coins?Most coins are around the size of an Australian 10c or 20c piece (about the size of an American quarter)

How heavy are the coins?Our Gold 100 coins weigh about 50 grams each. They are slightly lighter than legal currency in the equivalent size, but they still have a satisfying heft, and give a metal clink. If we made the coins to the same weight as actual currency, shipping charges would increase.

What are the coins made of?
Our super secret metal alloy.

Do they contain lead?
Being a metal alloy they do contain trace elements of lead. Well within the governmental standards and no more than other household implements made from alloys.

What is on the reverse side of the coins?The coins have a patterned back.

How long do they last?
Our coins do not wear out. They can be used with any game in any edition. Our coins will benefit your gaming collection for years.

Are there any new coins coming?Yes! We plan to have a new line out for GenCon Indy 2013. The designs are finished. There are 12 coins in the set. We'll release details soon!

Back to Base-ics

It's always good to get started with a good base. If your foundation isn't set you'll end up falling into that pit trap and losing 1 body point. A few posts have been about bases and these fit in right alongside. Without further waffling I present

Base Stampers:
Textured Base Stamps for Miniature Wargaming

You have a wide array of stamps from spooky graveyards

To those that can be used outside in a large field for both before and after battles:

They even have ones for us HeroQuest fans:

The best part about this is that it's still open! You have till Saturday Aug 24, 4:50pm EDT according to kickstarter to get in on the goodness.

For anyone interested you can follow the link at the footer to check it out yourself.

Kickstarter Base Stampers Link

Custom Dice Tower

So, I've recently finished a rather lengthy project that took a huge amount of time and effort, but I've finally finished my new Dice Tower!
It's made from wood, with some nice images from the internet carbon copied onto it, then traced with an old soldering iron. The shute is made from small moon-shaped steps, surrounded by a metal mesh that's used in construction. Well, see for yourselves:


The tower itself can be turned so two players at the opposite sides of the table can throw dice in it, and have the dice roll out on their side in the tray. Also, when you turn the tower, the snow globe with the skull will swirl, which is a nice little effect.