How to fix Art of War Studios tokens

So you may or may not have ordered product from Art of War Studios, a UK-based store that makes and sells gaming aids, like token's and measuring sticks.

Before I ordered anything from them, I've seen lots of complaints about the quality of the products they received from this company. People who are happy with the quality insisted that the customer service at this place was great, and the company could be contacted, to receive better crafted product.

The main complaint I've consistently read about was that the words were un-readable, and it's not what people were expecting compared to the sample pictures on their website. I decided to order some myself, and even if it was a bad batch, I knew I could probably salvage it. Besides, the company has very cheap products compared to the competition on the market.

We ordered a few products: Union Influence tokens, Alchemist tokens, Mortician's tokens, and measuring stick sets for a variety of factions. We received the product, and we definitely had product that was not as good-looking as those pictured on the website (See first picture). Not only were the token's symbol's really dull, but more than half the tokens looked like they were scuffed. However, I will show you how to easily fix these tokens.

Now, before you ask me, "why don't you contact Art of War? Their customer service is really good, and they'll send you a new batch!" like I suggested before... it seems that they have given up on making and sending out clear, legible tokens, as our order came with a slip of paper that basically said "here are a few ways you can bring out the detail in your tokens."

Well, here's a simple guide on what to do to make your tokens look sweet and vibrant!

1- Paint the surface with paint. I chose white because I think it 'pops' the best.

2- Use your thumb to wipe the paint off the surface of the token. The idea here is, your thumb will easily remove the paint from the smooth surface, but leave the paint in the recesses of the token.

3- Use your fingernail to scrap off the scrapes from the token. They aren't really scrapes. It's just excess material that hardened on the token when the company was trying to color the detail on their tokens. Your finger nails are tough enough to remove this material, but soft enough that they wont scratch your tokens.

As you can see from the photo, here are the before and after tokens, side-by-side.

This whole process takes very little time, and as a miniature gamer, you probably already have paint lying around at home.

You don't even have to use your good paint. I just used dollar store paint.

Hope this guide helps!

-the aY