[Archive] Cardstock armies

cornixt:

Attached to the website where I found the design for my cardstock Iron Daemon there is a forum of people who make pretty much everything out of cardstock. It seems that there is a small crowd of people who create whole armies out of card, the gaming being more important than modelling and painting. The cost is incredibly low, storage space is minimal, and they weigh next to nothing. Most of the models are just a simple folded piece of card with a picture on the front and back of the model represented. Even the base is built-in. Customising models is as simple as manipulating a picture on a computer.

What do people think about this idea? I sometimes come across people who turn their nose up at even a small unit filler, and then there are those who are happy to play someone with an army of empty bases. I grew up unable to afford much more than a tiny army and I certainly would have jumped at this idea if colour printers were as available back then as they are now. Seems tempting for those armies that I know I can’t afford and don’t have time to paint, plus my kids are very interested in playing despite being very young (I’m having to start thinking about my moves when I play chess against my five-year-old daughter). Since the ranges available are pretty small, I’d have to do most of the artwork myself (or my far more talented wife) for nearly all of the armies. And if we are doing them anyway, we could even sell them. Would anyone pay for a pdf of these things? I’m thinking of $10 for the basic set of a whole army and $5 for additional options. Maybe some 3D models in the same vein as the Iron Daemon. I’d prefer to give them away but I doubt I could convince my wife to do a load of work for people I don’t know on the internet! It’s a bit of a crazy idea, I’m almost thinking outloud here. More of a train of thought than a serious business idea, which anyone could steal and go off and do before I’ve even got my head around it. Well, it’s not really my idea since some people seem to be selling units in that way already, mine is just on a larger scale and more Warhammer-based (note to self: rename the units to avoid copyright issues!)

Anyway, feel free to reply about any of the above but the real question is: what do you think about these cardboard cutout armies?

hobomcg:

Honestly, i think its a brilliant idea.

Great for practice and learning the game. However i would never even think of using this in a competitive environment mainly because i think tournaments should be a display of incredible armies that inspire people to great hobby feats.

Just my two cents.

JMR:

I can only speak for myself, but I don’t see myself using it. 90% of the enjoyment I get out of the hobby is the building and painting of miniatures. Gaming is fun too, but mostly because I get to use my own models.

If I want to play a game just for the sake of gaming (ie. skipping the modeling/painting part) I’d rather go play a video game or something.

Maybe I’d partly change my mind if I see a nice looking army using cardstock, but I doubt it :slight_smile:

- my 2 cents

cornixt:

I can see where you are coming from, the modelling aspect is a huge part of the game for me so any armies that I was serious about would have to be proper models. I’ve thought about another use for card models - travel Warhammer!

Nicodemus:

For those of you who are old enough to remember the fantastic game HeroQuest, with all the great models… the poor saps in Brazil really got screwed over big time. Instead of getting the plastic models, they got cardstock versions with little stands. Of course as a HeroQuest collector and fan, I immediately jumped on this when I heard about it a few years ago, because this meant that there was a whole series of artwork for HeroQuest that I had never seen!! Every single model in the game, from the Heroes to the Monsters, all had a drawing printed on cardstock, with both the front and back, with the same representation that the original plastic models had.

I made an appeal ages ago to the guy I’d heard about it from and got him to mail me the cardboard pieces so I could scan them and send them back… I still have the 1600DPI scans of them, they’re hard to use-as-is because the resolution really shows everything, including the coarse print dots used in the printing. I had even gone as far as to re-render the Heroes and had them posted for a time… not sure where they are on-line now.

Wouldn’t surprise me if Board Game Geek had them in the HQ entry. For sure I still have the scans around here somewhere :wink:

~N

devlanmud:

I like the idea of using cardstock to fine tune a new army so you can see what works before spending a fortune on new models. I also enjoy paper modelling.

vulcanologist:

Could be fun alongside the real hobby of painting miniatures I suppose. Are you going to give it a go? Do you gave any links or pics of the armies?

tjub:

No.    

This message was automatically appended because it was too short.

Thommy H:

It’s not something I’d do because I’m in it for the toys, but I have no problem with it as a concept and I’d sooner face a cardstock army that looks like what it’s supposed to be than a bunch of unpainted, partially-assembled models or proxies. Go for it, I say - if the artwork’s going to be custom as well then even better! No one can say no effort went into it…

cornixt:

Here’s an example of a unit:



If I ever go ahead on this it will be at least August/September before work even starts. My wife gave me a “are you crazy?” look until I explained that it is easier than her trying to find a job that fits into the erratic schedule that our kids have, plus she gets to do something she really likes.

Until then, I am going to have a go at designing basic cardstock versions of the Forgeworld models. Despite already having an Iron Daemon model I am going to do one for it first. I should probably also finish off the cardstock siege tower I designed a few years ago. I am not great about finishing projects I start!

furrie:

If I’m going to use cardboard models, they will be for testing purpose, so seeing if a unit works or not.

vulcanologist:

That unit actually looks quite good! Not my cup of tea personally, like thommy and tjub it’s the creative aspect of the hobby that I’m into but still each to their own!

Zanko:

I don’t like the idea of playing Warhammer with cardstock armies! :expressionless:

If I want to play with cards I will play a boardgame like “Cry Havoc” or others!

                     :hashut

Nicodemus:




cornixt
They look quite good, although the ranks are looking a litle thin. A-ha ha ha ;P Sorry, couldn't resist!

Da Crusha:

they’re not bad looking but definitely not something I am interested in doing. I certainly wouldnt like playing against it at a tourney. if it was a different game I might accept it but not for warhammer.

JMR:

This is like playing Dark Omen in real life! 2D sprites and all that.

I now want a cardstock Morgan Bernhardt and Grudgebringer units…