Ogres of the Moonlit Hunt – A Hobby Blog (19)

Note – this article is part of an ongoing series – previous articles can be found here.

One aspect of Kings of War that gamers rarely give a second thought to is tracking damage on their units.  From d20’s to tokens, I have seen many different interpretations, most of which prioritize function over form. My favorite method is the Double Dial Counters from Charlie Foxtrot Models. They require a little more effort but add a personalized touch that ties in nicely with the appearance of your army. I’ve used them previously for my Nightstalkers army and decided to purchase a new set for my Ogres.

The Double Dial Counters require assembly, which is very straightforward and allows you to decorate and paint the top layer before gluing it to the rest of the counter. I sorted and laid the components out on my work table.

The bases have guidelines etched onto them so you know precisely where to glue the middle layer components.

The dials need to be able to spin freely within the channels that have been created. It is worth giving them a try before the superglue fully cures so that you can make adjustments if necessary.

With the extra thickness gained by the two circles on each base, I then drilled two small holes into the back and glued rare earth magnets flush with the bottom. This will allow me to transport the Double Dial Counters in my Battlefoam Magna-Rack case along with the rest of the army.

Next, I added the Vallejo Dark Earth, slate, small rocks, mushrooms, and various creatures to the top layers. The mushrooms and creatures come on the sprues of the different Gloomspite Gitz kits that I used throughout the army and are the perfect size for this project.

Once everything was dry, I primed and painted them. The color progression on the earth texture is a simple drybrush of Rhinox Hide, Steel Legion Drab, Mechanicus Standard Grey (in random spots covering about half of the area), and a light touch of Ushabti Bone. Then I gave them a sprinkling of static grass and some tufts in order to match them with my unit bases.

You can see how the actual dials are just sitting in the middle of the counters. It is important that you DON’T glue them in place as that would prevent them from spinning. I dabbed a small amount of superglue onto the circles and trapezoids and fixed the top layers in place.

Here are some photos of the Double Dial Counters being put to work in a recent game. One drawback is that they are difficult to read from a distance, but, unlike dice, they can’t get bumped or knocked around, losing their number.

I know this was a very different sort of blog, so I hope you enjoyed it! If you have any other creative solutions to tracking damage, please share them in the comments below.