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So I was searching for sprue images of the Space Marine Battleforce to see what special weapons came with it. After not finding anything on google, I began to wonder if some sort of centralized catalog would be a valuable resource to have. I have the webspace right now, so it would just be a matter of setting it up (I'm thinking a wiki), but I wonder if anyone would actually use something like that. I'd appreciate feedback on the idea.

I think that would be awesome. Sometimes I cannot find what each weapon is supposed to be from the wonderful directions that GW places in the boxes. I end up having to go to www.bitzbox.co.uk to find out what some of them are though. I am hoping that if you do a Wiki on it, you allow others to place pictures for other armies or venture in that way as well.

Absolutely, the goal would be to have an open means of contributing additional pictures. I'm committed to that due to a understandable fear of having to buy one of every boxed set available.

Sounds like an excellent resource to display and outline what comes in any army box/sprue/set...

If you're looking to make a business out of it, you could do an additional storefront selling bits, though there are already many of those online.


The wiki resource on its own is a very smart idea.

That would actually be pretty awesome. I could see myself using it a lot.

Visit the thread in the link below from B&C, it's sort of what I think your sugesting.

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.php?showtopic=149384

Well, I have a framework built out for the site at http://www.theboatoftomorrow.org/sprues/index.php . I have no pictures there yet, as I'm still at work, but I plan on buying a Space Marine Battleforce tonight after work, which should give me about 3 units to start out with.


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wizard12 wrote:Visit the thread in the link below from B&C, it's sort of what I think your sugesting.

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.php?showtopic=149384

That's a great start, but I was hoping to be able to go further than that and make it much more organized. Ideally, my vision of this site will eventually allow for tagging pictures with lists of significant bitz in each sprue. Imagine being able to just type in "right hand power fist" and getting feedback on every kit that contains a power fist for your guy. Having all that been said, I'll go contact the posters at B&C to see if they'll let me use their pictures. Thanks for pointing it out!

daedalus, you are a mad genius. I was thinking about doing something similar myself.

Personally, I would suggest a MediaWiki (the Software behind Wikipedia) solution hosted somewhere, with a Page for each Box GW makes with Pictures of it's sprues, and link pages for each individual Component (for example you search for Right Hand Power Fist and a page comes up licnking you to all the boxes with a RH PF). Sadly, I cannot afford to get any more hosting, but if you are willing to get me a host, I would be more than willing to Admin it for you

@Gwar!

I've got the hosting right now. Bandwidth shouldn't be an issue, but right now I'm just piggybacking it off my other site. If this takes off I'll spring the couple bucks for a dedicated domain name for it. Right now my big hangup is trying to find some streamlined way to upload pictures. Worst case, picture submissions could be email-based and then manually uploaded to the site, which would be a good filter against inappropriate stuff and spam. Let me mull it over for a while and I'll get back with you.


EDIT: My words are now complete thoughts.

Awesome. The reason I suggest a Wiki is that the community can help out. All one needs to do is to have edits and page creations be moderated and subject to manual approval, and you are golden

Or even the Email Based Approach, where people can email in a select few maintainers pictures of their Boxes, and then have the Moderators create the pages themselves.

Hey Gwar!,

Lets go with your approach. The wiki is set up at http://www.theboatoftomorrow.org/sprues . If it gets popular enough I'll spring for a real hostname and move it over. I got file uploading working, so we should be able to get a community effort going. I'll leave it open as long as it doesn't get abused. Go ahead and make yourself an account and I'll set it as admin, and we'll see how this works for now.

daedalus wrote:Hey Gwar!,

Lets go with your approach. The wiki is set up at http://www.theboatoftomorrow.org/sprues . If it gets popular enough I'll spring for a real hostname and move it over. I got file uploading working, so we should be able to get a community effort going. I'll leave it open as long as it doesn't get abused. Go ahead and make yourself an account and I'll set it as admin, and we'll see how this works for now.

Love it All I can Suggest is to install the Notitle Extention:
http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:NoTitle

So the main page can have a custom Title put on it

Excellent idea! I will definitely be using your services many, many times in the future.

Nightwatch wrote:Excellent idea! I will definitely be using your services many, many times in the future.

Yeah, well if you want to use it, Help damnit! Crack open a box of something and catalog it's contents, or a Grue will eat you!

Gwar! wrote:

Nightwatch wrote:Excellent idea! I will definitely be using your services many, many times in the future.

Yeah, well if you want to use it, Help damnit! Crack open a box of something and catalog it's contents, or a Grue will eat you!

I might have a few Kroot sprues lying around. I'll try to add them. I might also have the Tyranid Gargoyles, but a few pieces may be missing.

I've got a test page created using the format I came up with. Could an interested party check it out and let me know if they have any advice before I set up more? http://www.theboatoftomorrow.org/sprues/index.php?title=Assault_Squad

daedalus wrote:I've got a test page created using the format I came up with. Could an interested party check it out and let me know if they have any advice before I set up more? http://www.theboatoftomorrow.org/sprues/index.php?title=Assault_Squad

Having not really used the wiki stuff before, I can't really say anything relevant, but:
1) Maybe (if at all possible) the caption below the picture should contain links, which would circle the parts of the picture when you hover the mouse over it? Kind of similar to tagged pictures on Facebook.
2)Would there be a purpose to getting pictures of each individual piece or not?

daedalus wrote:I've got a test page created using the format I came up with. Could an interested party check it out and let me know if they have any advice before I set up more? http://www.theboatoftomorrow.org/sprues/index.php?title=Assault_Squad

There needs to be a Title for each Picture,and the Quantity of each sprue in the box, like "Assault Squad Sprue A x #"

@Nightwatch: #2 would be way to much work.

Why not find out with the lexicanum guys if you could set it up there? It makes sense because all the other warhammer stuff is there all ready...

Gwar! wrote:

daedalus wrote:I've got a test page created using the format I came up with. Could an interested party check it out and let me know if they have any advice before I set up more? http://www.theboatoftomorrow.org/sprues/index.php?title=Assault_Squad

There needs to be a Title for each Picture, and the Quantity.

@Nightwatch: #2 would be way to much work.

I thought so. As for number one, would there be a feasible way to do that?

@Gwar!:

I agree with the titles. I'll throw some and the quantity above each picture. Also, isn't it almost four in the morning over there? Do you sleep?

@Lord of battles:

This isn't a bad idea. I'd wanted to maintain a certain amount of creative control over it, though I'll definitely approach them with the idea. If nothing else, I'd let them mirror it if they're interested.

@Nightwatch:

I like your ideas, but #2 would take me a really really long time. I also thing there is a certain value to seeing the sprues exactly as they're designed. If someone were to mislabel something, you can make sure that it didn't get a picture incorrectly attributed to it.
There is no funcionality to do #1 right now, but what I might be able to do is find something similar to the tagging mechanism that facebook uses (Or used to use. I've not been there in years.) I'll spend some time this weekend and try to find some existing plugin that can handle this. At the very least, I can photoshop in some unobtrusive labels, though this would get cumbersome for every single sprue.

What kind of pics are you looking for? Like white background?
Im not a profesional photographer, but I've got quite a few things NoS I could snap pics of for you.


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Just checked out the website (shoulda done that first), and I could take pics like that np. PM me an email address and I'll start sending em over!
Also, are you going to do HQs as well? Wouldn't really add much and would be nifty to do.

I've got several HQs and a Land Raider Crusader up there now, check it out guys
Still WIP and more to come!

Excellent work Whalemusic!

I'd add myself but I have no new things :(

You just got me in the stage of basecoating the sprues before glueing them to make the SM figures. I cant get on your website at the moment. but i can grab some photos of the BA new stuff for you!

Do you have an email and i can send you the spru images, i havent any idea how to edit the wiki pages..

PM on the way


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Anything currently up there we have pics for, just takes me awhile to do the editing. We really need some xenos stuff, its all SM right now


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Ok, Scouts, Rhino, and Assault Squad are numbered and labeled
LR, LRC, Sang Guard, and a bunch of other stuff are labeled, no numbers on pics yet tho. Only took all day...

Is anyone still interested in this? I got some new stuff today, but I'm not going to bother if I'm the only person using it.

http://spruepics.proboards.com/
This forum has a variety of sprue pics - might save some effort.

I found this the other day, It looks great! I'll contribute some Eldar stuff next time I buy a box.

For now though, seeing as you don't seem to have a logo, why not write ' The Sprue Catalogue' on a sprue frame - as in use the bars that go in the sprues to spell out the name of your website. I'm doing a (bad) example on paint, but I won't post it just now as I haven't finished it yet and I don't have time right now.

@RTC - He does have a good chunk more then us, but nothings labeled. Maybe Dead can contact him to try a colaberation effort.
@DD - sounds good. If you want to put it up on the logo I'd say have at it! If you need any help let me know, I kinda know what Im doing.