Taking advantage of Litko's traditional Labor Day sale, I placed an order large enough to qualify for free shipping. Order was placed on Saturday amidst the long US Labor Day holiday weekend. An email later that day gave notification that my package was ready for shipping. On Saturday, the same day as order placement? Even considering the long holiday, my package arrived in Washington State on Wednesday. Five day turn-around from order placement to receipt with three of those days during the long three-day weekend. Outstanding!
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| Recent additions to the woodpile |
Unrelated to the woodpile resupply, I picked up a device from Amazon.com that I expect to see service as a wargame aid. That device is a dual laser level that shoots out two orthogonal beams of light. With help from this device, perhaps I can easily lay out a grid on a game mat?
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| Laser Level |
That is indeed excellent service, Jonathan! The best I ever had was 5 days from the UK to NZ from Empress Miniatures which, considering the distance and the fact that it would have had to pass through two or three international postal centres, is incredible.
ReplyDeleteInteresting laser tool, but my preference would be a builder's chalk line as the perfect tool for marking up a game mat.
Mark, I considered a builder's chalk line which would work great if I was laying down a complete grid. My plan is to simply mark the corners of each rectangle. Given that I can determine a good initial point with the orthogonal laser lines, completing the grid with this tool should work. I hope!
DeleteGreat service Jonathan! Love the Laser!
ReplyDeleteIt is a nifty little tool, Ray. Could be useful for household tasks too like hanging pictures.
DeleteI have never seen a duel laser device before, what a superb tool. I have a singe laser pen (Army Painter) that throws down a line so that I can check lines of sight.
ReplyDeleteA laser pen is in my gaming arsenal too. As you say, perfect for adjudicating LOS. Also useful for pointing to things on the gaming table.
DeleteYes, a bit like Mark's comment, above, I've received a parcel from Australia that arrived faster than many internal UK mail services.
ReplyDeleteI've never had cause to use a laser level, except to shoot a flooring line around a room we'd had to dig down to the foundations to repair the supporting honeycomb walls. But that was a tripod affair, with red lines shooting out all over the place. TtS! hadn't been invented back then, in fact I can't even remember what games I was playing at that point in time.
This little gadget may find multiple uses around the house; some of them useful! First up is laying out a grid for TtS.
DeleteAs a long time Litko customer, I've noted the lag in service as they've grown and adjusted my expectations accordingly. Good to hear of a counter trend--my last order came a bit sooner than what I had come to expect as well.
ReplyDeleteLong time Litko customer here too. Once I discovered Litko, no more hand cutting bases for me. What a relief to both body and soul!
DeleteMy last two orders have arrived quite promptly. Perhaps Litko has refined their production model?
Laser looks very interesting!
ReplyDeleteIt does!
Deletethe nerve of Litko, they can't even be depended on to be unreliable!
ReplyDeleteCool little laser toy!
Peter
Peter, we both know the importance of forecastability. Without it, the whole supply chain breaks down.
DeleteThe dual laser is an odd looking gadget, isn't it?
That's a cool laser Jonathan!
ReplyDeleteChristopher
Indeed!
DeleteVery nice Jonathan. I've always been pleased with my orders from Litko. At first I thought that lazer was a fancy device for showing deployment zones...
ReplyDeleteRod, if deployment zones are 90 degrees then this gadget fits the bill!
DeleteI have used Litko for years, but most orders take a couple of months to Australia. I know to always keep a check on what I need and order well in advance, and the orders normally arrive within a couple of days of my reaching the point where I convince myself that the order has got lost. Thankfully they never have, and the products are great.
ReplyDeleteLawrence, that surprises me that Litko serves overseas customers. Terrific for Litko and their products are first rate but is there no, similar Australian supplier of something equivalent?
DeleteWith a lead time of at least two months, you must be a very good planner!
There probably are, but it is more force of habit left over from the time when postage from the US was much cheaper than it is now. I also purchased a lot back then, so my purchases are fewer nowadays. More a case of being an excellent hoarder than a good planner.
DeleteThere must be a fine line between hoarder and planner. I wonder on which side of the fence I fall?
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