[Lantz's Corner] Litko's Power Field Markers Review

Lantz here. It's been a while since I've done a product review, and honestly been a while since I've purchased a product out of the ordinary lately. With the AdMech fandex coming to a close for 5th Edition (don't worry, it'll be updated for 6th once that is officially out,) and awaiting certain models for the Necrons I've been at a slow point for hobby. It also might have to do with a certain game that came out recently, as well... In any case, I'm back with some product reviews, the first of which will be Litko's Power Field Markers. I've never purchased anything from Litko before, though I had seen their store previously. So let's get reviewin'! More after the jump.

As with all new store reviews, let's take a look at the website. Litko's webstore is a pretty snazzy setup. Very organized and admittedly I don't really have anything bad to say about it. Pictures are in focus and often use a measuring device and precise description so you know exactly what you're getting.

The category system (something a lot of webstore muck up quite consistently) is organized well. In each category there are ridiculous amounts of product to sift through, and while I'd normally shun a webstore for not having more categories to cut down the fat of each section, I really can't say that here. As an example, under the "Tokens and Markers" category there is 232 products to choose from. IE; a lot. But Litko has taken notice of their astronomical product range and included sub-categories within the link so as to not further strain the sidebar:

Click To Zoom

As I've said, the product range is pretty massive and Litko seems to have their bases covered on anything in the shape of something we cut out of construction paper at the age of 8. Whether you need magnetic bases, templates, dice towers or even custom tokens they seem to have you covered.

So enough about the webstore; let's talk shipping. Shipping rates are average, nothing out of the ordinary. The time table from payment to shipped was about two days and shipping time to my house took three days. Pretty average across the board. The package itself came in a small, durable box:

The items came in small plastic bags, three to a baggy:

With packing peanuts for protection. For this kind of item that's pretty durable on its own this was more than enough protection:

The item itself is flawless and comes in two pieces. The hex-markings and plastic itself had no defects:

While the picture on Litko suggests the "power field" and the stand be parallel to each other (and I'm sure that's preferred for games played on a grid,) I found them to be much more stable when set perpendicular:

So what the hell am I going to use these for, you might ask. Well, with the Necron codex out and Quantum Shielding being one of my favorite new things in this world aside from gin, lady parts and cheese, I wanted a way to represent what models had Quantum Shielding up and which ones did not:

"What's an Autocannon?"

"Jesus Tap-Dancing Christ! An Autocannon!!!"

My only issue with the item is the peg where the "power field" slots into the stand is very loose and requires glue...and I don't like to make that kind of commitment. Alas, I did anyway and they are pretty sturdy.

If I had to make any changes to these things it would be that the base was round or in a cross rather than just a long stand. I have to realize this kind of product isn't created for 40k, but for a grid type of game like DnD, so I'm less sour about the whole thing and may be able to sleep tonight.

Pros:

Webstore is top-notch

Massive product selection

Good shipping rates/time

Cons:

Pegs for this item are slightly too small for the stand (though this may be by design)

Conclusion:

As my first purchase from Litko, I'm very pleased with my experience. I hadn't combed through their list of products until after I had made my purchase, otherwise I would have order a few more things that have caught my eye. Rest assured I'll be ordering from them again in the future and I would recommend their services to everyone.

~Lantz

(www.twin-linked-awesome.blogspot.com)
As always, if you're curious as to what I do with the products I review, click the link above!