SirWilli's Workshop

Custom Boardgame Accessories

FAQ

Problems
My downloaded file won't open correctly!
PDF file
Make sure to download from a PC or Mac rather than some mobile device. Do not open it directly within your browser, save the file and try opening it with a “real” PDF reader (like Adobe Reader, for example). Don’t download anything else at the same time.

ZIP file
If the file ends with .7z it has been packed with 7-zip, which is open source and produces far smaller archives than the standard zip- or rar-format. If you have trouble with those files, try installing 7-zip (really, it’s great!) and opening/unpacking it with it. You should also try to download the file a second time with no other downloads running, sometimes this helps (don’t know why).

Still doesn’t work?
I’ve added all ZIP files to my dropbox account (unpacked), if you don’t succeed, go here. I’ll try to come up with a different solution for the ZIP files. You may also contact me if you still have any problems!

My box is (just a tad) too small!
Make sure you don’t use any resize options when printing the pdf file. Some PDF programs default print at 96%, but to ensure the correct size of your boxes every page has to be printed at 100%, even if that means that some parts aren’t printed at all (this only applies for a few boxes). This is on purpose.

You should also print out the cover page of your file with the proof squares and measure their size. This way you can tell if everything printed at the correct scale. Some of the older files don’t have those proof squares (yet) simply download another recent file and you’ll find one there.

Furthermore you should avoid printing directly from your browser or a tablet, I had some reports that this screws up the scale. Download the file on your PC or Mac and open it with Adobe Reader, for example.

The lid of my box won't close!
If the lid is just a tad to broad on the left or right, carefully trim the edge with your scissors. Don’t cut away too much or your lid won’t stay in place at all.
I've found a mistake, what now?
I apologize and would be glad if you could inform me, regardless of which kind of mistake you found (print sheet, website, …).
Assembly
The newer files don't mention the paper format anymore?
This is on purpose, to speed up my workflow I decided to change my paper format by default to 21×27.9 cm. This means the pages fit both on an A4 (21×29.7) and an US letter size (21.6 x 27.9) sheet. You don’t have to select the correct paper size anymore, simply make sure to print at 100%, as usual. Please report if this new format causes problems!
What does 'Size 1, Size 2, Size 3, …' mean?
This corresponds to the thickness of the box in cm. This applies to all boxes where the actual size needed depends on the owner’s collection. Too much air in any box can be easily compensated for by cutting some chipboard or foamboard pieces and placing it inside the box. Each 1cm thickness gives room for about(!) 16 sleeved cards (FFG sleeves).
Which paper is the best to use?
I’ve made positive experience with plain white cardboard of 200gsm (110lb index, more information on paper weights here). This way you get sturdy enough boxes and most home printers can still handle the paper weight (check your printer instructions if in doubt). In principle you could even use thicker cardboard, as long as your printer is capable of printing on it.
How do I cut the print sheets?
With a light saber. If you don’t happen to have one, use a good paper scissors of your personal preference (I use a big one, works great). You could also use a sharp(!) cutter knife. For really straight lines cut along a ruler, preferably a metal ruler or at least a plastic ruler with metal edge, otherwise you might cut into your ruler (I know what I’m talking about …).

If you’re looking for an easy way to cut out the circle portions (which are not mandatory), I use a punch for this task. I suppose it doesn’t have to be exactly this one, any circle punch with an appropriate diameter should do the job.

Where do I have to cut and where to fold?
Generally speaking: a solid line means cutting, a dashed/dotted line means folding. Cutting the half circle on the front side isn’t mandatory, but it really helps when opening the boxes.

A good tip to make assembly a lot easier is to trim the glue tabs into trapezoids. The newer boxes already have build-in trapezoids.

How do I get neat fold lines?
First you should score all fold lines. This can be done in various ways:

  1. Use your cutter knife and a metal ruler (you can’t cut into it): place the ruler along the fold line and slit the paper very(!) slightly along this line.
  2. Press a thin ruler firmly onto the paper along the fold line and fold directly, using the ruler as edge. Not the easiest way, but practice makes perfect.
  3. If you really want to do it both easy and neat and get a very professional result, get a paper trimmer that is able to score. I use this one, because my wife owns it. If you’re willing to invest into it, it’s easily the best and most accurate paper trimmer I’ve ever tried (and I’ve tried a few).

After scoring you need to fold everything, it’s a breeze if you have decent score lines. Best to use a bone folder or something similar (round, smooth, solid and a not too thin point), but even using your fingernails works quite fine.

What is a valley (mountain) fold?

A picture says a thousands words (source):

fold-types

Which glue is the best?

I work with three different type of glues:

Glue stick

Double-faced
adhesive tape

 White glue
Pros Good and rather fast adhesion, the glued parts can be moved a bit for a few seconds. Very clean, high adhesion. High adhesion, glued parts can be moved a bit for a few seconds.
Cons Can get a bit messy if you don’t take care. Has to be applied thoroughly. Parts are glued together instantly, mistakes can’t be corrected. Can only be applied punctual with cannula. Two much glue at one point produces little knobs.
Other
Can I use card sleeves with the tuckboxes?
Yes, most of the tuckboxes are measured for sleeved cards, more precisley FantasyFlightGames card sleeves.
Can I design such boxes on my own?
No problem, as a matter of fact I did not design all box templates by myself, all of the standard tuckbox templates were done using Craig P Forbes’ fantastic tuckbox generator (many thanks to him for this awesome little site). The graphic design was done in Photoshop.
Do you sell ready-made boxes?
No, considering the fact that I’m using copyrighted material from the game publishers, this would rightly get me into some serious trouble.
How can I thank you?

That’s nice, thank you! But in fact this is unnecessary because I’m actually having fun doing this, but if you insist you have a few options:

  1. Leave me a nice comment. Either here, by mail or on BoardGameGeek or whereever you stumble upon my work.
  2. Should you have a BoardGameGeek account you’re welcome to give the project entry a like. This won’t buy me anything but makes me merry as a lark!
  3. Should you have the unappeasable demand to throw me a few bucks, you can honor the time I’ve spent by donating me any amount of your choice. This will not only allow me to buy new stuff for my various projects, but will also help me convincing my wife that I’m actually doing something important. Checkout this page for further infos and a preview of the exclusive backer’s present!

Roadmap

I’ve decided to drop the detailed work-in-progress page from my old website since it turned out to be quite time consuming to update. Furthermore there are so much things to do, things I’m already working on and other things that simply occupy a tab in my mind that I’ve decided it would be best to work methodically instead of today here, tomorrow there. For this purpose you’ll find my own personal roadmap below, listing everything I intend to finish in roughly this order:

Roadmap

  1. Launch english version of new website
  2. Catch up on X-Wing stuff (Imperial Veterans, missing wave 8/9 stuff)
  3. Armada stuff (wave 4)
  4. Revisit Imperial Assault (missing tuckboxes)
  5. Finish new foamboard CollectorBoxes for various games
  6. Armada stuff (Wave 5, Correlian Conflict)
  7. New X-Wing stuff (wave 10, more EpicHangars)
  8. Launch Descent section
  9. Update Generic Material section (ModularMiniaturesBox)
  10. Battlelore (sorry, this one is flying a bit under my radar at the moment)


Please don’t pin me down to that, I’ll do my best, but since this is “just” a hobby every now and then other things require my attention. And sometimes I just feel the urgent need to upset my former plans because reasons.