A detailed account of my various commission/hobby projects.
Random – I've been working with my freezer paper t-shirt technique to perfect making one-off t-shirts and realized that if I use my airbrush instead of sponging on acrylic paint I get a much nicer finish. I just need to figure out why the shirt fades so quickly. I think I might need to invest in a airbrush fabric paint.
Read More
Game Aids – I just received the first part of my rewards from the CritSuccess Kickstarter. A little off from the initial project estimate of February 2013, however the project creator was very upfront about production issues and posted regular updates on the projects process. I'm still waiting on the Life Counter double band ring which they are figuring to have in hand in July. Overall I'm happy I backed the project as it helped these guys get their business off the ground.
I received two rings one D6 spinner and a Rock, Paper Scissors Spinner for my daughter. The rings turned out very nice and have a nice fit. Initially they were a little rough to spin however after washing them per the instructions provided by CritSuccess to remove any factory grit they spin very smooth. With the D6 it seems to be sufficiently randomized as I hardly ever roll the same number twice and so long as you give it a good spin it yields similar results to a die roll.
I backed these more as a novelty item rather than a true gaming aid however now that I have them in hand I can see using them in place of dice on occasion. Truly it's no different then the die rolling apps you can download for your smart phone (except way cooler looking).
One of the added benefits of these rings is it gives you something to fidget with. My pen clicking has been reduced by about 90% thanks to this nifty spinner ring.
Once they've delivered to all the backers you'll be able to purchase the rings here.
I'm not sure how those kids in the Nike factory do it. Over the weekend I learned how to use an embroidery machine. My mom is as obsessed with craft stuff as I am with games, so after my sister and I moved out our rooms were converted into something of a sweat shop. Being an old farmhouse there's no AC so the rooms upstairs tend to get a bit warm. (Ok maybe sweltering is more appropriate).
A friend of mine is getting married at the end of the month so I wanted to make a unique gift rather than just give a card with a check. We've been in the same fantasy football league since 2003, so I though I'd make a his and hers matching jersey with their wedding date as the numbers. Seems easy enough, right?
Well my mom decided that instead of her doing the embroidery it would be "beneficial" for me to learn to use the machine. Overall it's a fairly easy process, there's a computer program that you use to convert the art files to embroidery files and then the machine stitches them. Of course it's not really that simple as you need to hoop and measure and watch the machine so it doesn't snag something etc. That said I became intimately familiar with a seam ripper.
The applique process is also pretty time consuming. You first stitch a guide than put the material on and it stitches it down. Next you have to take tiny scissors and trim the material down to the stitches. You then put it back on the machine and it does the satin stich to finish it off. Once that all done there are a ton of lose threads that need to be trimmed.
The jerseys turned out great and I'm hoping they'll really like them. I mean who wouldn't like matching team jerseys?
In addition to that project I also worked on a custom hockey jersey for Weird Sketch from Wyrd Miniatures. We met at Adepticon and he really liked my "Seamus" jersey and asked me to create a "Teddy" version for him. The jersey looks great as I found a company that sells blank NHL jerseys that are the same as what they wear on the ice. The jersey is almost complete I just need to finish the logo on the front.
I'm pretty sure just about every gamer has a "uniform" that they wear when they're playing games. Mostly this consists of the token black t-shirt with some type of heavy silkscreen. Some gamer's have specific shirts that they wear when playing a certain army/faction or game. Some gamer's go out of their way to "cos-play" their character or just create a special costume.
Well I'm not really that different. For our gaming group we wanted to do something different than t-shirts, so after some discussion we decided on motorcycle style patches. My vest has the club name and my store on the back. On the front, is my forum name and club title.
I also have made a pin for my faction of choice and a pin denoting my status as a Wyrd Henchman. These were made the same was as I made my spell effect tokens. Shrinky-Dink paper is an amazing thing. I purchased the pin backs at the craft store and attached them to the back with a bit of gorilla glue.
Added to my typical outfit are a hooded Resurectionist sweatshirt that I had custom embroidered (as well as a matching knit hat) for the winter months. During the summer I have multiple Twilight Emporium shirts that I screened myself.
After attending the Steampunk Expo I decided that I needed a tophat and some goggles. Rather than pay a significant amount for a pair at the con, I did some research and found that the majority of them are nothing more than welder's goggles with some leather modifications. I've picked up the materials to make them myself and will post more photos once I begin the construction process.
Of course no discussion of gaming gear would be complete without a discussion of bags. Transporting your models, cards etc. is one thing that every gamer has to deal with. I own several of the Sabol Army Transports and have been very happy with them. I use the Motor Pool to transport my 40K armies, it seems to be just the right size to fit most everything I need at a given time. Battlefoam makes a nice troop tray that fits 40 standard size models. Getting two of them I was able to increase the capacity of the bag significantly, it's nice that they'll cut custom text into the tray as well. Currently my "original" Army Transport houses my Malifaux models. I've stuck with 2.5" pluck foam that allow all the models to stand up. On the top I had a custom patch embroidered with my faction symbol. I've also made multiple pins that adorn the outside of the case. For Magic the Gathering I used an Ultra-pro case adorned with pins I've found featuring some of my favorite cards. I also was fortunate enough to get a great deal on the 5th Editon 40K Rules that included a "Bolter Round" ammo case. This is just the right size to house my Necromunda gang.
I'm a huge fan of custom swag and think it adds to the hobby.
