Party Pucks: Old Time Table Hockey

14/06/2024

Just finished my latest commission. This is the 2010 Vancouver Olympic silver medalist complete with Vancouver Olympics Table-top Curling game. Made a few improvements from the last one including a larger diecast metal base that gives the figure more weight. Since I'm working with existing figures, I am looking into replacing the old style broom with a more modern looking curling broom. (I actually like the vintage aspect of the broom but it doesn't make it very accurate.) Let me know if you like what you see and if there are any suggestions you can make to make these curling figures better.😊🥌 Check out the video down below to see how the figure plays on the actual game!

19/05/2024

Giving a shoutout to Brad Williams , Friend of Party Pucks: Old Time Table Hockey . Currently on tour, he had 2 sold out shows here in Toronto last month. If you haven't seen his Netflix special, The Degenerates or his countless hilarious raunchy comedy videos floating around on Youtube, Facebook and Instagram then he deserves a definite look-see.🎤

28/04/2024

Team Homan actually commented on my curling video. Called my figure "Mini Rachel". That is awesome!👍🏻

26/04/2024

I finally finished 2 custom curling figures w/ custom games. I did the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion skip, Rachel Homan and 2023 Tim Hortons Brier champion skip, Brad Gushue They are currently up for sale on Facebook Marketplace at this link. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1137587347394108/

14/04/2024

Painting Table Hockey Players Tutorial Part 3.

Part 3: Painting Your Table Hockey Players

I see that the topic of painting players keeps coming up in several table hockey groups so now finally here's the part everyone was waiting for.

Now that your players are primed and ready to go it comes down the main question. What is the best way to paint them. Since the table hockey figures are closest to being like plastic models, the simplest solution would be to use hobby model paints which are made specifically for plastic.

(*I personally stay away from craft quality acrylic paint or artist quality acrylic paint for several reasons. First, adhesion of these paints on primed plastic are questionable. Second, uniform coverage without streaking is a real challenge. Third, quality of the paints are average depending on the brand.)

That brings up another question, which paint do you use since there are racks and racks of different brands on display when you walk into the hobby store. When it comes to model hobby paint depending on which store you go into, there appears to be 3 kinds, enamel, acrylic and lacquer. We'll go through them one by one.

(As a point of note, for table hockey players, I personally try to stick to using gloss colours except when certain colours are not available in gloss. The reason for this is that gloss paints will dry to a hard shell increasing the durability of the surface. This will help prevent chipping especially once a hard flexible acrylic clear coat is applied in the final stages.)

1. Enamel hobby model paint
Enamel model paint is an oil/solvent based enamel paint that can be applied to practically any surface. They boast very strong adhesion properties. Some enamels will dry to the touch quickly and some do not. Regardless, enamels do require at least 48 hours for a full cure. Unfortunately, you cannot layer one colour on top of another colour that has dried without the colours bleeding together and this is due to their solvent base. Right now, there are essentially 3 main brands, Testors, Humbrol and Tamiya. One thing that has to be made clear is that enamel paint is toxic in nature and should be used in well-ventilated areas or with a respirator.
A. Testors Enamels (USA)
Unfortunately the company, Rustoleum which in the past few years have acquired the Testors brand have decided to discontinue production of these paints. Whatever inventory is left at hobby stores is all your going to get if any at this point. This is a shame since Testors was the most versatile enamel hobby paint on the market for years. They were durable. They had very fast drying time to the touch and a really great selection of colours. It's a real shame. Some colours are still available on Amazon. Here's a sample colour: https://amzn.to/3Ui0Mej
B. Humbrol Enamels (UK)
Humbrol enamels are a very rich, high quality hobby paint with above average adhesion. A really good assortment of colours are available. One of the stark realities of using this really high quality paint is that it requires minimum 24 hours to dry. THERE IS NO EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE. If you try to handle a painted surface with Humbrol prior to a full 24 hour drying time you will find a very tacky surface that can be easily smudged and ruined. Once dry, allow another 24 hours for a full cure. Here's a sample colour available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3W0DfzA
C. Tamiya Enamels (Japan)
Tamiya enamel paint has a high quality similar to Testors and are equally as fast drying to the touch. This issue with Tamiya is that they don't have as wide a selection of colours as some of the other brands. Here's a sample colour available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4cX8zFt

To thin enamel paint, be sure to use enamel thinner and I've found that the thinner of each brand is compatible with other brands.

2. Acrylic Model Hobby Paint
There are essentially 2 kinds of acrylic model hobby paint on the market. Alcohol based acrylics (Tamiya and Revell) and water based acrylics (Vallejo, AK and others.) Both kinds of acrylics are extremely fast drying to the touch and can achieve a full cure in 24 hours. As of this tutorial, I have only used alcohol based acrylics since they have a similar consistency to enamels. I have not used any of the water based acrylics so I can't speak to the durability or the effectiveness of this kind of paint. I do know colleagues that do swear by these paints so it may be worthwhile to perform your own experiments with them.
A. Tamiya Alcohol Based Acrylic Hobby Paint (Japan)
Tamiya acrylic hobby paint is an alcohol based acrylic paint. It is a very high quality paint of this kind on the market. It is extremely fast drying due to the alcohol base. The gloss paint dries to a very hard glossy shell. Adhesion is not as strong as enamel paint but it does come close. Unfortunately for Tamiya alcohol based acrylic like enamels, you cannot layer one colour on top of another without the colours bleeding together and this is due to the alcohol base which is similar to solvent in enamel. To thin Tamiya acrylic paint, be sure to use Tamiya X-20A thinner. I have heard you can use 99% isopropyl alcohol but I have never tried it. Here's a sample colour available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3JiArWY
B. Water Based Acrylic Hobby Paint (Various Brands, Vallejo, AK, Citadel Army Painter and so on.) As I have said above I have not used these kinds of paint but have heard from colleagues that these brands are very high quality. Because they are water based they dry fast to the touch but not as quickly as the alcohol based acrylics. The one positive to these kind of paints is that due to being water based, you can lay one colour on top of another without any colour bleeding. This makes them easier to achieve detail than other kinds of paint mentioned. Here's a sample colour available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/49Rdqpb

3. Lacquer Based Hobby Paint (Tamiya, Mr. Hobby)
Lacquer based hobby paint have the best adhesion and the best durability than any other paint. This is why most table hockey manufacturers use lacquer paints as their factory paint for their players like Super Chexx and STIGA. The drawback to using lacquer is that you can't layer it due to colour bleeding and chemical reactions to successive layers. The lacquer solvent also dissolves acrylic and enamel so they cannot be coated on top of either. You can use lacquer as a base colour/coat and work enamel and acrylic on top but there is a possibility that there may be a reaction. Like enamel paint, lacquer paint is toxic in nature and should be used in well-ventilated areas or with a respirator. Here's a sample colour available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4cZ4gte

4. The Painting Process
So after all this, you're probably still wondering WHAT PAINT DO I USE? Well, I can tell you from my years of experimentation what works best for me. I always brush the paint on my players and do not use an airbrush. For painting the table hockey players I use both enamel paints and alcohol based acrylic paints. The good thing about both enamel and AB acrylics it that they don't react when you paint one on top of the other so there is no colour bleeding. So what I normally do is all of my base colours to the uniforms are first done in enamel paint. I usually apply 3 coats with 24 hours to dry after each coat. Once cured. All the details in the uniforms are painted on top in alcohol based acrylics. Most details will also require 3 coats.

As a rule of thumb, I never paint the sticks. This is due to the flexible quality of the sticks. Even with a clear coat applied, the flexing of the sticks may cause the paint to flake, crack, chip or peel off. This is why it's best to have the sticks paint-free.

Once all the painting is completed, decals are applied. This was all explained in a previous post so please go back and refer to that post. Here's the link. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/idHLQ2k9rNnoxGFq/?mibextid=Nif5oz

Lastly, to protect, seal and increase the flexibility and durability of the paint, clear coats need to be applied. I use a brush on varnish since they are non-toxic, have no fumes therefore no mask is required. I use 2 kinds. First, I would apply at least 2 coats of this brand:
DecoArt American DuraClear Gloss Varnish
https://amzn.to/3tDJDAZ

Then I finish off with a top coat of this brand.
Varathane Water-Based Ultimate Polyurethane Gloss Finish
https://amzn.to/4cTynSZ

And now you're all set. I think this is all of it. Let me know if you have any questions. Please like, share and subscribe. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Please Note: Party Pucks participates in the Amazon affiliate marketing program, which means we may get paid commissions on chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.

01/04/2024

A new STIGA player hockey card puck display I did for my nephew .23.yyyy for winning the 2024 Junior Varsity Championship with his team the Inland Empire United Wolverines!

22/03/2024

Show your dedication to this great game with this vintage style table hockey T-shirt! https://partypucks.etsy.com/listing/1695813111

17/03/2024

Party Pucks: Old Time Table Hockey branded T-Shirts are a must for every vintage fan.

This Gender-Neutral Adult T-shirts item is sold by PartyPucks. Ships from San Jose, CA. Listed on Mar 13, 2024

15/03/2024

Just dropped. One of our brand new original t-shirt designs. Check it out. More coming soon!

This Gender-Neutral Adult T-shirts item is sold by PartyPucks. Ships from San Jose, CA. Listed on Mar 13, 2024

14/03/2024

As reported in a previous post, Party Pucks: Old Time Table Hockey operations had to be put on hold due to personal reasons. Well, to tell you the truth last year, my Mom had to have a procedure done to address a growing tumor that had attached itself to her brain. The procedure was a success but due to complications it affected her so much that she came back in a state that demanded full time care. Due to these circumstances, I had to halt all creative services that I offered as Party Pucks so that I can address all of her full time needs. Financially, it's been challenging not being able to operate Party Pucks. To creatively produce high quality customs was always a joy to me and to my many supporters since I started this business back in 2012 as a creative table hockey party company. I still believe in Party Pucks and in the work that I do as an artist within the table hockey community to make this game that we love that much more special. It's been more than a decade of Party Pucks and there is still so much more to do creatively with this platform. As a way to continue to show my dedication to this community, I have decided to relaunch the online Party Pucks Etsy Store with exclusive vintage style Party Pucks table hockey merchandise, including apparel and mugs. I think there should be more original table hockey merchandise out there. I will slowly add new designs and merchandise moving forward. Right now, if you really like what Party Pucks is all about and what it offers to the table hockey community or in general here on Facebook and Instagram, please consider showing your support by visiting the Etsy store. Thank you all so much and table hockey forever.

Please like, share and subscribe!

Shop Custom Table Hockey Products and Collectibles by PartyPucks located in Markham, Canada.

01/03/2024

Painting Table Hockey Players Tutorial Part 2.

Part 2: Priming Your Table Hockey Players

Now that you've stripped the paint from your players it is now time to prime them. Plastic is one of the hardest things to paint because of it's smooth surface which unfortunately affect paint adhesion. When it comes to table hockey players, because of the wear and tear of being hit by hard pucks constantly, adhesion becomes so important in preventing the paint from chipping or peeling off. This is why priming is very important. A good primer will increase the adhesion of your paint making it that much more durable during game play. Here are some options:

A. Tamiya Liquid Surface Primer
In the past, I've used Tamiya Liquid Surface Primer which is a lacquer/solvent based primer made specifically for plastic model kits. There is a spray version but I prefer to apply it with a paint brush. It has pretty good bonding properties to both enamel and acrylic paint so it is a good primer option. https://amzn.to/48vwYi0

B. Bonding Primers
Recently I have discovered commercial quality bonding primers made specifically for hard to paint surfaces including plastic. I'm experimenting with a brand called STIX which is a water based acrylic bonding primer that claims excellent adhesion to enamel and acrylic paint. The only drawback to using a commercial bonding primer is that because they are made specifically for wall applications, they can prove to be pretty pricey. https://amzn.to/3TlPR2M

C. Spray Primers
There are a number of acrylic and enamel spray primers that you can get at Home Depot from reputable companies like Krylon and Rustoleum. I have never used these products, so I cannot account for their effectiveness, their bonding properties to plastic or their adhesion to different kinds of paint. (Some paint will bleed into the primer if they share the same base.) If you opt to use these products, experiment with them and decide for yourself if they work for you or not. https://amzn.to/3OYqfX6

There are other brands of primers that you can try that are not listed here. You can decide to try them out and judge for yourself whether they are effective or not for what you want to achieve.

Stay tuned for Part 3....

Please Note: Party Pucks participates in the Amazon affiliate marketing program, which means we may get paid commissions on chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.

https://winnipegtablehockey.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/20121215-115419.jpg

📷:https://winnipegtablehockey.wordpress.com/

23/02/2024

I have finally updated our status on our http://www.partypucks.com/ website with our unfortunate situation. Here is the official announcement:

"Effective 2024 - Due to personal, family reasons operations of Party Pucks has been suspended indefinitely for the time being. I will continue to make informational table hockey posts, custom sales and updates on our Party Pucks Pages on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (X) so please follow to stay up to date on our activities. You can also join our 2 Facebook Groups, Table Hockey Customs and Table Hockey Marketplace for more useful information as well as to support our table hockey community. Thanks so much for your understanding!"

PARTY PUCKS is a Markham based event company that serves the Greater Toronto Area specializing in hockey themed parties and events for Hockey Crazed Fanatics! We are geared specifically for birthday parties, bar mitzvahs, stags, corporate events, fundrais

14/02/2024

Ok, this is the painting tutorial for all brand table hockey players. I'm going to do this in parts

Part 1: Stripping the paint

First thing's first, if you can get blank players from the manufacturer like for STIGA players then bonus. Most brands don't have blank players that you can purchase so you'll have to use whatever factory players you can get or have on hand. You don't necessarily have to strip the paint but if the factory paint is thick then it may be wise to do so. Keep in mind that most table hockey players are painted with a lacquer based paint. There are several methods of stripping paint:

A. Acetone https://amzn.to/49f5jmL
One of the best ways I've learned to strip all kind of paint from enamel, lacquer and acrylic paint is to soak the players in an acetone bath for 10 minutes. Make sure you use gloves and you can use a ziplock bag for this. Keep in mind that acetone can dissolve and eat some plastics so test your players first to make sure the plastic of your players takes well to the acetone. (Most toys are made with polyethylene and polypropylene which are A rated and are impervious to acetone. Acetone will dissolve PVC and acrylic so researching and testing is important.) I've found that this works perfectly well for Super Chexx players. (Super Chexx players are made of Dupont Delrin which has an A rating for compatibility so they are safe.) After 10 minutes, the paint will winkle up and loosen right off of the players. Take a toothbrush to brush off the excess paint. Wipe off with a paper towel and you're good to go. If you don't want to use acetone due to it's volatility, then there are other alternatives that may take a little more work.

B. EasyOff Oven Cleaner https://amzn.to/3SUGWou
This only works for enamel and acrylic paint. Take your players and put them in a large zippered freezer bag. Take your oven cleaner and spray your players in the bag so that they are completely covered in the spray. Take care when spraying since the fumes are quite strong. You can use a low fume version. Once sprayed, seal it up and put aside overnight. When ready, take the bag to a sink with a toothbrush and dish soap. Pull each player out and scrub with water using the toothbrush and dish soap. It should get most of the paint off but usually not all. You can use acetone with a paper towel to remove any leftover paint.

C. Dettol Antiseptic Liquid https://amzn.to/3OKtelD
Dettol unfortunately cannot be purchased in the USA but is available in Canada. Dettol is a very strong smelling antiseptic that can be used as a household disinfectant. Believe it or not, this can strip enamel and acrylic paint. Place your players into a plastic sealable container. Pour enough Dettol to cover the players and leave overnight. When ready, open the container and using a toothbrush, brush the paint off of the players in the Dettol. The smell of the Dettol is very strong so you may be inclined to wear a respirator. Once completely brushed clean, place into a clean plastic container and wash each player in soap and water. If some paint is leftover, you can use acetone and a paper towel again to remove it.

D. Isopropyl Alcohol 99% https://amzn.to/3P5PMOb
Alcohol only works on acrylic paint that is alcohol based such as Tamiya hobby paints. If the players were custom painted before and you know they were painted with alcohol based acrylics then you can soak your players in an alcohol bath. Isopropyl alcohol may eat plastic like acetone so test your players first. Soak for about 10 minutes. Brush with a toothbrush and wipe clean with a paper towel.

Stay tuned for part 2....

*Please note: “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”

📸:corvusminiatures.blogspot.com

31/01/2024

In my last post, I've had several inquiries about where I got the teams for the flat Coleco players. Ok, here's the whole story. I took 2 of my existing teams from a recent PowerPlay 2 purchase and made the teams myself. First off, there's a blog that's no longer being maintained where ALL of the Coleco NHL table hockey teams in high-res jpg files were uploaded. I'm surprised that they are still up. So believe it or not, you can actually save them directly onto your phone or PC hard drive right off of his site. I just right clicked and saved the teams from each page. Using Print Shop ( https://www.broderbund.com/the-print-shop-deluxe-6-4 ) sized them to the right size, added names, numbers and redesigned certain players so that they reflected modern team rosters. As a sample, here's a link to the Boston Bruins that he posted. Follow the link to his blog and you can get all of the NHL teams that are available right now for free on the internet.

https://cdgaming.blogspot.com/2010/12/coleco-printable-table-top-rod-hockey_16.html

They were printed using my Canon Megatank printer ( https://amzn.to/3SExi9k ) on inkjet vinyl self adhesive glossy sticker sheets. Here's a link to those sticker sheets again.

https://amzn.to/3SdRFJf

I cut them out using sharp scissors and applied them to the flat plastic player shapes.

The White Leafs were a little harder since Coleco didn't do teams in white but Eagle did do a white Chicago Blackhawks so I found a high res picture of the Chicago Blackhawks Eagle player from a Google search and using Print Shop turned him into a modern looking Leafs player.

*Please note: “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”

28/01/2024

To make the dasher boards to your game more realistic, you can put ads to your boards just like in NHL arenas. First thing to do if your game has stickers on the boards already like STIGA games, you would have to remove them. Best way to remove them would be, believe it or not, a hairdryer. Blowdry each area for about 10 seconds and then slowly peel the stickers off. A residue will remain and you can remove that with Goo Gone.

Goo Gone Adhesive Remover
https://amzn.to/4bcgqy5

You can then remove the Goo Gone using Windex. As in my last post about decals, I would use my Print Shop software and design my dasher board ads. Go to your table hockey game and measure the height of the boards. Design your ads on your graphic design software according to those measurements. If you want to include the centre red line, blue lines, yellow lines on the bottom and others you can just measure those as well. Then add them to your design. You can fit several strips of board designs per sheet. As for the ads, watch game footage on Youtube of the team arena you'd like to do and actually write down a list of all the ads on a piece of paper. In today's broadcasts, the board ads are now all done digitally so that they can further control the advertising for the home viewer. So it's up to you what ads you would like to include. You can do a Google search for those logos and just right click and save them to your hard drive. Once you got all of your logos, add them to your design. You're probably wondering what do I print them out on? I use Inkjet Vinyl Self-Adhesive Sticker Sheets that you can get on Amazon like at this link:

Glossy White Inkjet Vinyl Self-Adhesive Sticker Sheets
https://amzn.to/3SdRFJf

These sheets are durable and waterproof. If you want to remove them, they won't rip or leave a residue. I print them out on my Canon Megatank Printer. Once printed, cut them out using a cutting board, metal ruler and utility knife. Once cut, you can position them onto your boards. Design them so that you can overlap them and keep in mind around the corners you may have to cut them into 2 to 3 pieces for them to effectively go around the boards. Then you're all set. Let me know how helpful this information is for you.

*Please note: “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”

04/01/2024

Let's talk about the STIGA game. If you are not familiar with this game, in a nutshell this is a game from a Swedish company that is a producer of many different products that include lawnmowers, garden tools, snowracers, table tennis and of course, table hockey. According to Wikipedia, their first table hockey game came out in 1957 and the current version of the game is now considered the official game of the ITHF which sanctions table hockey tournaments all over the world including being the main governing body of the ITHF Table Hockey World Championships played every 2 years. So because of the significance this game has on international table hockey competition, in the last several years they've made some significant changes, some good changes and some confusing changes. The good, they rebranded the STIGA Playoff table hockey game (which remained unchanged for about 20 years) to the STIGA Playoff 21 Peter Forsberg Edition table hockey game. With a slightly thicker ice surface, redesigned nets with puck deflectors and a new black frame, the game is a slight improvement on the previous version. What they didn't change which was always a cool novelty of the game was having the actual game resemble an international hockey tournament that crosses between the Spengler Cup and the IIHF World Hockey Championships with all the actual sponsors on the boards and the ice. The international teams the game comes with hasn't changed and that's probably because the community of competitive players swear by that original design. One really noticeable difference is how the price of this game has jumped considerably from about $100-120 USD to $150-155 USD. Blame the pandemic, everybody else does.

https://amzn.to/3vjqQLT

Now the bad, Upon the rebranding and rejigging of the STIGA Play Off game that meant also making similar changes to it's NHL licensed STIGA NHL Stanley Cup Table Hockey game.

https://amzn.to/3H8aAAa

Other than making the same changes like the black frame, nets and ice surface they made a decision that in my opinion undermines the enjoyment of playing this game as an NHL fan. The previous version of the NHL Stanley Cup game made it possible to customize the game to your favourite NHL teams since single team packs for all 32 NHL teams were available on top of the 2 base teams that came with the game. This is where problems lie. The original International teams that they use for competition that comes with the STIGA Play Off game were designed with the stick on the side of the player and all of the players shoot left. By doing this, it places the glove that holds the stick in place at the centre of the player eliminating any way to put team logos on the chest. Back in the late 90's when STIGA put out the 1st generation Stanley Cup game, they solved this problem by designing new players with sticks in front that allows them to put logos onto the chest of the players so that they can produce different NHL teams. Also to make it more realistic, they added right shooting players. Since competitive table hockey using the STIGA game was still in it's infancy in the late 90's in North America, it wasn't a big deal that the players were a little different. The design of those early NHL players were fairly rough and not accurately painted in the team colours so in the mid to late 2000's they were redesigned again in a much better more realistic sculpt with more attention given to the accuracy of the NHL team uniforms. This is where as NHL fans who played for recreation that the game became a fun family hockey activity and there was a collectability to the game with all the teams. The game stayed like this for years UNTIL (and this is what I believe happened) competitive table hockey players started to complain about the differently designed and right shooting NHL players since they played differently than the international tournament players. This affected bringing in new players into what they considered a sport. So what STIGA did was they re-designed the NHL players for a 3rd time around 2014 but this time the players had to look like the international tournament players but be able to incorporate the chest logos. This is so that they can still have all of the NHL teams and now the NHL players will have the same gameplay as the international tournament players that come with the STIGA Play Off. Problem was, they still came with 2 right shooting players and these newly designed players still did not play like the original ones. On top of that the sculpt and look of these players was undeniably inferior to the previous version. Now we've come to a point where the STIGA table hockey game is becoming synonymous with being a competitive tournament game for international competition. So rather than re-design the players for a 4th time, they gave up and now the NHL Stanley Cup table Hockey game comes with no NHL teams but 3 generic international tournament teams so as to keep the game consistent in it's gameplay to perpetuate growth in it's competitors as a sport and not a casual game for fans. This to me is where STIGA's strategy fails North American Hockey fans.

All is not all lost. Even though they are not being made anymore NHL teams are still available but they are slowly disappearing. A few teams are available on Amazon. Here are some samples:

Las Vegas Golden Knights
https://amzn.to/41MYo1h
Detroit Red Wings
https://amzn.to/3H6tNlD

Some teams are still available at some independent retailers listed in the US here:

https://tablehockey.net
https://rodwarriorstablehockey.com/ Len Mecca
https://mancavegame.com/collections/stiga-table-hockey

In Canada:
https://havingfunyet.ca

*Please note: “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”