by bandit_boy7
In case anyone is interested in making more characters for King of Tokyo, here are the measurements (and some tips) you will need to keep your new character consistent with the look of the official would-be-kings…CHARACTER CARDS
> The character cards are: 3.75" L x 4.75" W, and are made of 2 mm thick cardboard.
> The round hole for the topmost dial is less than 1/4" in diameter, and the center is inset 1.34375" to the right of the left edge of the character card and down 1.5" from the top.
> The round hole for the bottom dial is also less than 1/4" in diameter, and the center is inset 3.8125" to the right of the left edge of the character card and down 2.5625" from the top.
> I used a 3/16 drill bit to make the holes. I took off the rough edges from the puncture by running the drill in reverse, then got the last few burrs off with my X-Acto knife. Then I cut two 3-4mm lengths off the end of a common drinking straw. I sliced the side diagonally on both pieces, and curled them inward so that they would fit in the newly drilled holes. I coated the cardboard pieces with Polyurethane (as I usually do with all of my PnP stuff) after drilling & smoothing the holes. I left the straw segments in place while I painted the poly on. After everything dries (it may need 2 coats, which could take a couple of days to finish hard) I reassemble the dials & card, make sure the straws don't stick out, and insert the fasteners. The dials should spin easily, and the sharp-edged shanks of the fasteners can be trimmed to the desired length. Moreover, they won't destroy/enlarge the cardboard holes with much spinning use, because of the protective barrier of the straws.
> The topmost cutout box (for points/stars) is inset 1.1875" to the right of the left edge of the character card and down 0.15625" from the top.
> The bottom cutout box (for health/hearts) is inset 3.625" to the right of the left edge of the character card and down 3.25" from the top.
> The cutout boxes are the same size as the boxes for the Star & Heart symbols. They are all 5/16" square.
> The top dial is 2.875" in diameter, and the bottom is 2.125" in diameter. You will need some sort of fasteners--I used "Round Head Fasteners with Shanks" and they work fine if you don't spend all your time looking/obsessing at the back of the character cards. (You can even paint or Sharpie the heads black to match the color of the others if you like.) Obviously, you need 2 per character.
> If you are like me, and your computer (Microsoft Word) won't allow you to layout a circle with the text facing tops-toward-center, you will have to move the cutout box location to above the round hole for the bottom dial, instead of at the bottom of the card. I found that due to the placement of my text on the dials, I had to shift the cutout box location for the lower dial anyway. The most important thing is to get the placement of the round holes right. Then make the dials, and measure from the center of the dials to the text; that will tell you where to place the cutout boxes. I printed all the pieces and used thumb tacks through the center of the round hole marks & dial centers to spin it and test whether I had it all lined up correctly, before I mounted and sprayed everything.
> The text for the title/name of your monster should be 3/4" high x 1.5" wide (on average), total. If your monster has 2 lines for his name, the dominant color should be of 2 shades, with the lighter tone on top and the true, more saturated tone on the bottom. The text is also outlined in black (if you have the capability to do that--I don't)
STAND UPS
> The character stand ups that come with the game range from MekaDragon, the tallest @ 3.875", to The Kraken who is the shortest @ 3.3125". They range in width from MekaDragon again, the widest @ 4", to Alienoid, the most narrow @ only 3.54". The well in which they are stored in the box insert is an oblong oval measuring 4.5" L x 3.75" W, so that's your maximum.
> The character stand ups are made of the same 2mm thick cardboard.
> Since the black character stands that come with the game reach 7/16" up from the bottom, I recommend that you leave at least that much white space below the "feet" of your monster (assuming it has feet) as a tab to be inserted into the stand. (If you are using some other kind of stand, you may disregard this recommendation or make adjustments as necessary.) I used black plastic "Game Stands" from thegamecrafter.com--they are 1.25" square and reach less than 1/2" up the cardboard. (I got them for $0.15 each.)
> There is a white cutout border of approximately 2mm all the way around each monster stand up. There is no cutout between the "legs" (if your monster even has legs.)
> After printing on an adhesive sheet, when you are ready to mount the 2-sided stand up figure on board, I recommend sticking the side with the cutlines/outlines on the board, then cutting out the shape with your X-Acto knife. Then cut out the back side of the figure, leaving a generous margin all the way around. Peel the backing and hold it up to a bright light. Carefully adhere it to the cardboard cutout. When you are sure it's right: press it, flip it on it's face, and cut it out from behind, with your X-Acto knife.
> After you've sprayed the cutout with acrylic photo fixative I recommend letting it stand upright, by slitting a piece of corrugated cardboard and inserting the tab end of the cutout. Later, when the fumes dissipate (it make take up to 3 days in a well-ventilated area) when you apply the polyurethane with a foam brush, I recommend doing 1 side at a time and allowing it to lay flat while it dries, instead of reusing the stand up slit.