Big Ned

Yeah, that'd be good for some added variety :thumbs:

Making cheap and easy corpse counters

by Nate Zettle

Hi guys,

I’m back again with another cheap and easy guide, this time it’s Corpse Counters.

Thinking about how to do these after being it was requested by Pierzasty I realised very quickly that I couldn’t think of a way of doing corpses or body parts without using bits of model (probably zombies) and that gets expensive quickly. So instead, I took some inspiration from a classic game- Worms, therefore my corpse counters come in the form of wild west grave markers!

What you’ll need

30mm bases

Popsicle sticks

Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

PVA glue

Masking tape.

Step 1

Cover the slots of the bases with a bit of masking tape and then trim it down to maximise the amount of base recess still visible. This will give a better surface for the paste we’re going to make to adhere to.

Step 2

Now we’re going to make some grave markers. First thing to do is mark off the pieces you want to cut on the Popsicle stick. On mine here you can see that I’ve planned for three counters (two standard and one cross) just for this guide, you can get more out of a Popsicle stick than this. Each marker I planned to be about 20mm tall.

I then cut these to size. Note though that the only clean cut I made was where I split the stick to make the two parts of the cross. The other ‘cuts’ were made by simply scoring the stick and snapping them and trimming of any long splinters. This gave a rough and ready appearance to the grave markers.

Step 3

If you made any cross grave markers glue the two pieces together and let them dry before the next step.

Step 4

Are your markers dry? Good. Now it’s time to mix up a paste to stick these markers into to make them look like freshly dug graves.

Take an old container (I used a blister pack I had lying around) and add a good glob of PVA glue.

Then add about the same amount of bicarbonate of soda

Mix it, and add more glue or baking soda until you get a mixture with about the consistency of bread dough.

Scoop some out and spread it in the recesses of the bases you prepared earlier.

Step 5

Now, while the paste is still wet stick your grave markers into the paste on the bases and leave them to dry. Please note: You will need to prop up the bases somehow as they are drying because the markers will slowly fall over in the paste.

Step 6

Once the paste is dry (leaving them overnight wouldn’t hurt) texture the bases however you like.

Then, when that’s dry, prime and paint them however fits your taste. Including and messages for the departed/silly names you can think of.

And there you have it, cheap and easy corpse counters.

Okay, so maybe I’ve copped out by not having any actual corpses on the corpse counters but I think these make a nice alternative, and help theme the table for you Resser players.

Excellent shack. The sagging roof really helps with the delapidated feel you're aiming for.

And I'd like to request a corpse token tutorial. Scrap is easy if you have a few plastic gears/tubes, but I can't seem to get the hang of corpses.

I'll see what I can do...

... Due to your request, I've had an idea.

Hi guys,

I'm planning to run an achievement league starting at the end of the month and running for 6 weeks. The league will start on the 28th of April and finish on the 9th of June.

The league will be hosted at:-

Sunderland Games Club

St Peter's Campus

Sunderland

Tyne & Wear

SR6 0DD

Though the league will be hosted at the games club, I'm not going to restrict where or when you play your games, as long as your achievement sheet is signed by another participant in the league.

If anyone has any questions PM me.

Well, that solves one problem for me.

*edit* Payment sent

Not bad for any job, let alone a rush job.

as mentioned good job blending red to black, never an easy gradient to do.

Also it's nice to see someone else using MDP bases, I'm a huge fan of theirs.

That was the initial point of my question. I wanted to see boxes full of dynamite.

---------- Post added at 10:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:48 PM ----------

I've made the model, I've taken the pictures. I just need to write down what I did.

Oooh that's a good idea. Never thought of that. Consider that idea stolen. *grin*

No offense intended. Scratch building is definitely a worth while and valuable part of the hobby unto itself.

A lot of people dont realize how easy things like this are, especially if you happen to have a good model train store near by.

None taken. I feel like scratchbuilding is a dying art, especially with all the firms offering premade stuff. I've got premade stuff myself (most of my Malifaux terrain is from Sarissa Precision), bit I still like to keep my oar in with little projects like this.

---------- Post added at 04:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:16 PM ----------

Good little tutorial. I may try this one.

Stuff like this is good for a little project while you are waiting for paint to dry on a batch of minis or other bases, etc that you sanded to dry.

I tried the dynamite tutorial as well, but have not had a chance to grab fuse wire. They are in project limbo right now.

If it's fuse wire whoch is sticking the project, there should be nothing wrong with using a thick thread. supergluing it to the top of the dynamite. Then, when it's dry, painting PVA glue over the thread and twisting it into shape.

I agree. Your Kaeris = :drool:

I've just started painting her myself, I hope I can get mine to look as vibrant as yours.

I really like your resser colour scheme too. The bright skin has a very 80's feel to it (in a good way)

Beat you to it, I added that to my wifes Papa Loco model still need to upload the photos. It was really easy.

Back on topic though, I like that one but I believe the easiest way to make a treasure counter is to just use the ones from Reaper seen here mounted on an appropriate size base.

Same as the easiest way to have a fully painted crew is to buy one from ebay.

This guide is aimed at the hobbiest who likes to undertake little projects (< 2hrs start to finish), or for the newer gamer who never realised how easy this sort of thing actually is to do.

But, I do these projects because I enjoy doing them, I like the challenge of working out how to make something, then making it.

Most times I take something like this on I take photos of the steps along the way and I write a guide if it's a success and I think it could be iseful to others.

I guess it's comes from the fact I'm an old school gamer coming from a time where there was no pre-made terrain or tokens so everything had to be scratchbuilt. *shakes cane at youngsters*

Now to make an ultimite guide and make boxes full of TNT sticks.

Funny you should mention that...

I'm planning on, at some point, making exactly that as 'Set Charge' markers for Willie.

Thanks guys I'm glad you like it

What about a tutorial on making other types of crates?

For other crates it'd be mostly a case of altering the dimensions.

And I'd, instead of wrapping the reinforcment timbers around the midde, I'd glue them along the edges of the crate, and mitre the edges to look more authenitic.

Hey guys,

I’m back with another guide, this time is how to make a treasure counter for your games, mainly treasure hunt but you can use your imagination.

I know what you’re thinking:- “But Nate, I’ve not got time to make another counter, I’ve got to much painting/modelling/playing to do”.

Well I’ve got news for you, I timed how long it took me to make on of these and from drawing the pieces out to having an assembled and playable counter was 45 minutes. That’s what it took me, an experienced (Read: old) modeller but, I can’t see it taking anyone much longer.

Anyway, here’s what we’re aiming for at the end.

What you’ll need for this is:-

A strip of 1mm plasticard or balsa wood, 6mm wide and at least 100mm long

A 30mm base

Right, I’m going to assume that you’re using plasticard like I did, if you’re using balsa wood then there’s some steps you can skip.

Step 1

First thing you need to do is texture the plasticard on one side. This is easy enough, all you need to do is get a fine tooth saw and drag the strip across it a few times, try give it a little bit of a wiggle as you pull it across as this will give a more natural look to the wood grain. If you have a couple of different sized saws (like I do) use more than one, again this adds to the variation and created a more natural look.

Step 2

Now it’s time to start marking out the pieces. On the untextured side you need to draw out the following components for your treasure crate.

4x 20mm x 6mm

2x 4mm x 6mm

6x 8mm x 2mm

Here’s the most material efficient way of doing this.

Step 3

Cut ‘em out

Step 4

Next it’s time to start putting everything together.

Start by gluing down the base, if you line it up right, the bases of the crate should cover the slot in the base and eliminate the need for filling.

Then glue the sides on

Then the top

Then the reinforcements, I recommend putting the side ones on before gluing the top ones into place.

By now you should have a nice playable counter, leave it to dry for a little while and then come back and finish the base.

Step 5

Add sand/stones/whatever to the base to match your crew/board.

Step 6

Prime and paint your counter however you like.

And there you have it, a nice treasure counter for you games. As you can see it’s not going to break the bank and it’s not going to take away too much hobby time, probably 2 hrs tops. In fact, it took me nearly as long to write the guide!!!

Well there you have it. I hope this guide will be helpful to some of you.

If you liked this article and missed my previous one about making dynamite counters you can find it here.

http://www.wyrd-games.net/showthread.php?37873-Making-cheap-easy-and-effective-dynamite-counters-(A-step-by-step-guide)

Looking great.

Models that characterful and animated really benefit from extreme highlights.

Can't wait to see him finished.

I'm curious how you did the denim look for the ortega's? It came out really well.

The denim is a recipe I got from Megazord Man over on the Forum of Doom, a painter far better than I.

You start with 1:1 GW Shadow Grey:GW Space Wolf Grey.

Shade the recesses with pure Shadow Grey, then mix in some GW Ultramarine Blue for the deeper recesses.

The highlights and worn areas are done by mixing in GW Kommando Khaki to the base colour and adding many very thinned layers progressively adding more Kommando Khaki to the mix. Patience is a virtue here but it pays off in the long run.

Fire Gamin now finished and mounted on (now controversial) cobblestone bases, this time with a more industrial theme.

I'm really happy with how the flames have come out.

Though I usually spend more time on master models. They, despite the uniqueness of the entire game and all its models, stand out the most.

Me too

That's pretty much what I was aiming for.

These are gaming models to me, I want them to look good, but I'm not aiming for a masterpiece for each model.

My display stuff, (when I actually do any) I do spend that bit extra time on it (my avatar for instance), and go a bit nuts on all the details.

Also, it's very encouraging when the only critisisms I've received really are regarding my choice of base.

I must be doing something right.... Right?

Don't worry about that. If I didn't want to hear what people thought I wouldn't post any models up.

Lilitu looks superb. The pigments on the chain have come out a treat, they've got a nice rusty texture to them to match the colour.

I can only see the Lelu but he looks good. A little dark but I think that's the photo.

The cobblestone base looks very realistic.

I think it's little from column A and little from column B

GW will always have a younger crowd because that's their target demographic.

My local games club has players aged between 18-40ish. There's a lot of roleplayers which seems to draw an older crowd, and none of is are getting younger.