writes:I recently read an article about using products from the not-quite-a-dollar-any-more store to build craft projects, and I thought that a quick run-down of what's available might be useful to miniature wargamers.
Tumbling Tower Game
This is a generic version of the game you might know as Jenga. For $1.25 USD at Dollar Tree in the toy section, you get 72 blocks in a box.
The blocks are an odd size of 1⅞" x ⅝" x 5/32". (Not the 2" length the website claims.) Because they are intended for children, the blocks have been sanded smooth. A few are short of the full length.
In 6mm, one block could be a warehouse (roof optional). In 28mm, arrange them brick-style to make a wall. Great for basic structure for any scratchbuild.
If you buy these from the company website, they come 30 to a case, but they also sell them individually (minimum purchase of three). Caution: This seems to be a seasonal item, so grab it when it appears (theoretically in spring, which means it is in the stores in February!).
Crafters Square Wood Craft Cubes
Not quite as good a value, this is a bag of wooden cubes for $1.25 USD.
You get 36 cubes in a bag. 15mm sides, which makes them a close match to the width of the tower blocks. These are sanded down, but not to the quality of the tower blocks, and sometimes you get a one cube that's short.
Use them for houses in 6mm, battlements in 28mm, and lots of things in-between!
If you buy them online, a case is 24 bags, or you can purchase individualls (minimum of four sets).
Craft Sticks
Or what we used to call tongue depressors. Or Popsicle sticks.
The sticks in the 100-count bag are 0.375" x 4.5" x 0.125". If you buy them online, the minimum purchase is 7, and the case is 49.
There is also a 60-count bag, with sticks that are 4.966" x 8.333" x 0.716" (that's what the website says. but that can't be right!). If you buy them online, the case is 51 bags, or you can order individually (minimum purchase of four).
They also sell a set of craft sticks in assorted colors of blue, green, orange, red and yellow. These come 100 to the bag, being 0.375" x 0.125" x 4.5". If you buy online, they only sell them by the case of 44 bags.
In 6mm, use them for walls and bridges. In 28mm, use them as structure for paper-walled buildings, or as wooden 'planks'. Many uses for scratch-builders!