"Dollar store find - supercheap 3D landmark puzzles" Topic

Was in a dollar store yesterday (Dollarama in Canada) and made a score with some supercheap 3D puzzles for giant monster gaming. They aren't the best 3D puzzles around, but there are a couple of uses I'll find for them, as discussed on my blog: link

Here's the stash:

I hope to put together the ones for myself tonight to see if they work for my kaiju gaming scale (1/600), otherwise they'll join my nephew's pile – the pyramids, stone angel, Big Ben, Notre Dame, and Empire State Building (the latter two I have in better quality and scale).

Interesting idea.

What scale would you use them for? I am an old time gamer and when my son picked up King of Tokyo all I could think of was how (back in the day) we would build or map out the "real" Tokyo, assign different areas damage, victory, and returned damage values. Then play it like Berlin '85 or something.

Where are you out of? I am north of Toronto and am trying to find miniature players in the area especially for 6 mm and 15 mm science fiction but am willing to play other stuff.

Stephen

Hi Stephen,

I have 3" gashapon classic Japanese monsters, and going by the original Godzilla's 150' height, my "official" scale is 1/600 (aka 3mm). But the nature of the game means I have to be a bit flexible on that, e.g. I need about 3" wide streets just to fit the creatures down them. Some of my bigger buildings (e.g. the Empire State Building) are more like 1/1000, otherwise it'd be about 2 feet tall on the table! My Skydome and CN Tower models are about the same, though my Tokyo Tower model is underscaled but still 25" high…

More on my project is in these posts from my blog (with more pics): link

My Pacific Rim clix figures are a smaller scale, probably 1/2000 or even 1/3000 (given they could pick up a freighter), so I'll use some of my less scale-specific buildings for them. My buildings are primarily cardstock buildings, both in-scale and reduced 6mm Battletech buildings, plus 3D puzzles, Gamecraft mattboard and resin buildings, and tourist trinkets.

My rules of choice are Ganesha Games' Mighty Monsters, and they do have rules for building damage (with different levels for different types of buildings), being able to drink radiation/fire, victory conditions, etc. Other kaiju rules like Giant Monster Rampage and Monster Island are similar in their detail for things like that.

I'll eventually have stylized mini-Tokyo, Toronto, and New York City, along with a generic city, and these new models will let me do a few other cities. I will also have Monster Island and some rural areas available eventually.

Oddly, I just played King of Tokyo last weekend for the first time, I'd bought it for my nephew for his birthday in the fall but we were only able to get together to play it over the holidays. It was fun for what it was, and it was good to see him (he's 6) figuring out strategies and making decisions.

I'm in Peterborough, but I mostly play in Toronto, in a 6mm horse and musket club and a 15mm Napoleonics group. If you go to Hotlead, there's sometimes some 6mm sci-fi there hosted by Brian Hall. I have both 6mm and 15mm sci-fi on the go, 6mm Hammer's Slammers and Traveller, 15mm Traveller, but they're both years away from readiness. I know there's some gaming around Newmarket too, and Hamilton has a growing scene. On Facebook there are groups for Hotlead, Hamilton Tabletop Gaming, and the Ontario Wargaming Convention Network. Let me know if you're interested in either of the Toronto groups and I'll pass on contact info.

Ha! I thought Godzilla just widened the streets as he walked down them. Big hips and all. I think that would be a lot of fun, being a Godzilla and Toho fan since a kid.

I am north of Newmarket. The only gaming groups I have found there are board gamers with a smattering of Frostgrave and X wing.

I am in contact with a Toronto wargames club but they play board games not miniatures. I have tried and no apparent interest.

I have tons of WWII and modern micro armour. It can be used for low tech forces in sci fi. I also have a smattering of sci fi 6 mm including the original OGRE minis, and a limited collection of 15 mm traveller figures with the RAFM grav tank. I have been re-discovering the massive availability of figures and vehicles.

Frankly I have been reviewing my collection and determining just what I want to concentrate on. I am trying to get into ASL but have discovered Conflict of Heroes, a game system I like a lot. 6 mm sci fi is top of the list. I am getting back into gaming after a 25 year hiatus so my interests are somewhat old school. I have downloaded Strike Legion but have dusted off the original Striker rules for Traveller. I was involved in a total re-write to update it to all the published materials, and equipment, plus converting it to Mega-Traveller format. I am re-visiting it with an eye to resurrecting it.

Stephen

ps how do you private message on these forums?

Cool, I have chosen Strike Legion for my 6mm projects too, and Gruntz for 15mm. RAFM comes to Hotlead, so there's a chance to check out stuff directly, and sometimes new stuff shows up too (or re-emerges, as the case may be).

It looks like you're not a paying member, so we can't use the PM function here, but you can e-mail me at chrisrobinson AT nexicom DOT net and I can pass on some contacts if Toronto and Newmarket are within your driving range. I'm looking to move in the next few months so things are a bit of a mess here (one reason for the move is to get a proper gaming space). Once that happens I plan to start hosting games. I'll be doing a couple at Hotlead if all goes according to plan.

In the meanwhile, I put together the models last night and got up a quick post: link

Pic:

Oh and if you're closer to Barrie, I know there are at least a few people there who play a variety of games, 6mm H&M and larger scale fantasy at least.

And 6mm WWII/modern is yet another of my projects, and the 15mm group sometimes plays 6mm WWII, using a guy's homebrew set of rules (pretty abstracted, more game than simulation). My WWII will be with I Ain't Been Shot Mum.

Yet another edit – there's a fellow who sometimes shows up at the Ontario cons with 8" giant monsters and his 10mm city. One of his posts is here: TMP link

I like the look of those. Maybe they'll make their way to the USA…

@ordinarybass – I don't think there was anything particularly special about them being here in Canada, they're typical made in China dollar store stuff, I'd expect they're down south too.

The only catch has been two other stores in town from the same chain didn't have them, so maybe I just hit a vein. Only a couple more dollar stores around to check, but fortunately work takes me on the road for the next month so I'll be able to raid other towns' Dollaramas.

Edit – oh and I fixed up the PETRONAS towers last night, they took Aileens craft glue well (better than I remember other 3D towers taking it).

<singing>:
Oyyyy vey!
There goes West LA!
Go, go Godzilla!
(with apologies to Blue Oyster Cult, the cities of Los Angeles, Tokio (Godzilla,Mothra, Ghidorah, Rodan, the Smog Monster, etc., etc.) New York (King Kong, the Cloverfield monster), London (Gorgo and Gorgo's Mommy), Copenhagen(Reptilicus), Rome (20 Million Miles to Earth), Washington DC (Earth vs. the Flying Saucers), San Francisco (It Came From Beneath the Sea), and any other locale devastated by an unearthly assault.

Washington and SF would both be on my list if I can find decent in-scale models, I guess the WH and monument, and Golden Gate Bridge are the real keys. Though I also worry about DHS coming after me if I do my research a little too well!

boy wundyr x: you should be ok with your research. Once when I was bored I use NukeMap to write my name across North America with Tsar Bomba (100MT) bombs. If they haven't come for me yet, you'll be pretty far down on the list.