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@Variable:

While we are making semi-formal introductions… I’m Coach’s “internet guy” so to speak. To make sure that Coach has time to design, produce, QC, and ship all of his awesomeness, I handle stuff like product questions, updates, Facebook, polls, etc.

To put it another way, Variable is to Coach as Krieghund is to Larry.  :-)

@DrLarsen:

Ah, I see…

OK, so back to business: I decided to try downloading the task force markers you guys have on the site as free downloads and am quite impressed!  So, how do I implement them?  Is there a specific type of paper or label that I should use to print them out?  Are those flags wrapped around needles or something?

Putting the flags on needles or very small nails works when modifying infantry, tanks, or ships to become task force markers with flags. There are some pics of this on our FB page. The larger images are used as the task force / marshaling cards. Either print these on heavy card stock or, what I have done in the past, print them on heavy paper or photo paper and use spray adhesive to stick them to foam core (the stuff used for mounting / framing photographs).

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.352997574736470.72920.177778968924999&type=3

Hmm, I’m trying to figure out how to do this without painting, or doing too much fancy stuff (which I’m not terribly good at anyways)…

What do you use as flag-bearers?  They look like maybe custom-painted US Infantry?

I was contemplating pasting the marshalling cards onto the back of HBG coasters, which seems like a pretty simple solution…

For land units, you may want to use tanks if it’s easier to modify for you. For naval units, battleships work well if you have enough extras.

The coaster would work okay if it’s big enough.

The units are Japanese with there guns shaved off.

@Johnson73:

The units are Japanese with there guns shaved off.

Oh, OK, I was trying to place them…

I’m thinking now that this might be the perfect way to get some use out of those oversize TT units

For Naval Task Forces, I’m thinking maybe this is the place for me to make use of my painted Panzersciffe 1/2500 ships?  (I’m a little worried about sticking a needle into that Panzersciffe resin, though, for fear that it might shatter…)

Hey DrLarsen,
You need to get yourself a Dremel Cordless Rotary Tool. These things are fantastic for tiny, detailed work. There are all sorts of attachments for them like grinding wheels, engraving cutters, polishing accessories, sanding accessories and most important, tiny drill bits.
For the little drill bits, you would probably have to get a set of “collets” which are these little metal shafts which hold the drill bit and the collets themselves are held in place on the tool by a collet nut. Or, you can do like I did and go to their site and get this tiny chuck. If you have ever used a regular sized drill, you know how to operate the chuck. Well, this is the same thing, just much smaller. It cost a little more, but it was worth it to me not to have to worry about getting the right size collet.
I use this tool when I work on my models that require tiny holes to fit together. You could easily drill a small hole in your resin ships without the worry of them breaking apart. I’ve got a drill bit set for my Dremel that covers sizes from 1/8 inch (largest) to 1/32 inch (smallest). The 1/32" bit is nearly the same thickness as the wire of a standard paper clip.
You should be able to find a Dremel at most hobby stores and tool stores.
Good luck with your ships.

hmmm., yeah the Dremel sounds like just the ticket.

On a different note: I did a test print of the Italian sheet on regular copy paper and wasn’t too happy with the printout quality.  Any advice as to what sort of paper I should print on to make it print out a little cleaner and brighter?

I think the HBG coasters will do nicely, actually.  They’re actually a little big, but that’s OK.  This gives me two choices.  I can cut it out to fit… or I can leave the white space around the marshalling cards and have a marshalling card on the “front” and a drink coaster on the back for a nifty dual-purpose item!  I haven’t decided yet which way to go; I’ll think about it some more once I’ve solved the poor-printout problem…

Probably photo paper would give the best look, but you CANNOT get that stuff wet. It will run with the slightest bit of moisture. Not dual purpose with coasters…

@Variable:

Probably photo paper would give the best look, but you CANNOT get that stuff wet. It will run with the slightest bit of moisture. Not dual purpose with coasters…

Even long after it’s dried?  Maybe I should try it but get them laminated?  But I’m not sure how well that would work with the flags…

Try using labels for the flags. Semi-glossy and self adhesive to stick back on itself after wrapping it around the pin.

@Variable:

Try using labels for the flags. Semi-glossy and self adhesive to stick back on itself after wrapping it around the pin.

Is there a particular brand of labels that matches up with the PDF layout?  I’ve made extensive use of Avery labels, but the Task force pdf file doesn’t seem to match up with any I’m familiar with…

OK, I just have to say that those HBG coasters are absolutely perfect for the marshalling cards; no trimming necessary.  All I have to do is cut out the cards from the printout (of the one-label sheet like you mentioned) and stick it on and it looks great just like it is, even without trimming!  To get an objective view I showed them to my dad and he said they looked like something that would have come with the game, not something “homemade.”  Unfortunately, I only had 10 of those coasters, which considering that Coach sends a free one with each order, must mean that I’ve made at least ten orders!  I might order a bunch more of those coasters just to make some more marshalling cards, but I’m afraid I wouldn’t get them in time for this next week’s tournament anyway…

We’re gonna need some pics Doc!

@Variable:

We’re gonna need some pics Doc!

If I knew how, I’d have already done it!  They look pretty good… Maybe when I get to VA I can get some help with the whole posting-a-picture-thing from some of my students who are doubtless more tech savy than I…

Is there any plans to do Task force markers like the Blue ones from old school pacific?

@Yavid:

Is there any plans to do Task force markers like the Blue ones from old school pacific?

That’s not a bad idea.  The task force markers that I made look great, but since I only had 5 players, I ended up using a small board, which ended up being too small for my ship markers, so I ended up pulling out a set of task force markers from “old school pacific” to use for naval task forces.  The land-based ones that I made using TT oversize pieces work great, though, even better than the old ones (which would look ridiculous on land anyhow, since they’re images of ships!)  So, the “catch-as-can” approach to creating my own went well and I’m happy with the result, overall, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t any room for improvement…

Incidentally, Coach, the coasters arrived right on time today (Thanks again for your speedy and efficient service!) and so I finished my task force markers.  They look great!  I’m going to get some pictures tomorrow to post…

Hey Coach,

Once the (current small-board) game is over, I think I’m going to set up a game of GW1939 (Complete with all the neutral/ minors and special units as well as the task force markers I’ve just made from the downloads from your web site) just to see what it looks like and to take pictures…  Where can I find a set of set-up charts for GW1939?  I looked all over the HBG web site for them and couldn’t find them… What am I missing?

@DrLarsen:

Hey Coach,

Once the (current small-board) game is over, I think I’m going to set up a game of GW1939 (Complete with all the neutral/ minors and special units as well as the task force markers I’ve just made from the downloads from your web site) just to see what it looks like and to take pictures…  Where can I find a set of set-up charts for GW1939?  I looked all over the HBG web site for them and couldn’t find them… What am I missing?

Version 5.0 is on boardgamegeek at http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/113337/global-war-1939

or check out the Global War subforum on these forums!

http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?board=73.0