Oriental Scatter Terrain

All the items in this post are from a company called Wargames Terrain Workshop. All except the bridge were bought with Pulp City games in kind, as I want to be able to 'dress' the table to represent the city's Little Asia district. The statues and torii gate are a useful start I think. I think the pieces could easily be used in a variety of genres and eras of skirmish gaming.

The figures used for scale reference are Kagemaru from Anima Tactics and a Ninja Sensei from Pulp City. Both are on 30 mm bases. The bridge can accommodate bases a little over 50 mm wide.

The reason I am posting about these scenic pieces is to weigh up my thoughts about them, because they can be bought pre-painted, which means they are fodder for the time-strapped gamer.

The prices unpainted/painted are:

• Oriental gate (torii gate): £4.00/£7.20 GBP
• Oriental Statue: £3.00/£5.40
• Pair of Temple Dog Statues: £3.00/£5.40
• Oriental bridge: £6.00/£10.80

So for just under £30 plus postage I ended up with 5 pre-painted resin scenic items, which I honestly think is pretty good value. That said, I have to offer a caveat to prospective buyers. The items were very securely packed, but not securely enough. One upright for the gate needed re-gluing as did the central supports and one central cross-piece for the bridge. I opted to leave the bridge central supports off for ease of use, and the bits I re-glued were the work of a couple of minutes, but I just wanted to flag that issue up.

Despite the problem above, I do like these, and would recommend them, and I am thinking of investing in a second gate sometime soon.

It Is Coming...Zomtober 2014!

Once more the dead lead walks....

(okay, dead lead, resin and plastic, but that sounds less catchy I am sure you will agree!)

Zomtober 2014 is nearly here. The dead will once again walk off painting tables and hopefully onto gaming tables and into figure collections.

Zomtober 2012 was a modest start. Zomtober 2013 really blew up, with lots of hobbyists taking part. The time is upon us to see the dead lead walk.

Stalwart Zomtoberists Rob (click link for his blog) and Simon (click link for his blog) and myself are already on board. Personally this year I plan a hodge-podge of Zeds that I have had in the lead pile for ages.

The rules
The rules are simple. To take part just paint one Zombie or Survivor (or more!) each week, in any scale you like, posting it to your blog by the Sunday (we use Sunday's as the end of each Zomtober week). So that means one or more minis each week on or before the 5th, 12, 19th and 26th of October. Simples.

Anyone commenting on this post will get added to the blog list below (and feel free to do something similar on your own blogs -the more we spread the word, the more can get involved!).

Zomtober 2014 - it is almost time...

Zomtober blog roll:

1. Brummie's Wargaming Blog - Simon
2. Four Colour Super Minis - Rob
3. Eclectic Gentleman Tabletop Gamer - me
4. Dead Lead Project - myincubliss
5. Brains and Guts - Lord Siwoc
6. Fiends in Waistcoats -Robert Audin
7. BZA Bob's Zombie Apocalypse in 28mm - Bob Kinnear
8. Dispatches From The Rim - Christopher Sheets
9. Mike's Random Wargaming Meanderings - Mike C
10. Sean's Wargame Corner - Sean
11. Miniature Mayhem - Terry Silverthorn
12. gingerbhoy's painting projects - R. A. E. Gingerbhoy
13. Metal Skirmish - PMMDJ
14. The Lead Will Walk The Earth - Zombie Ad
15. Chris' Miniature Woes - Chris Hird
16. The Lost and the Damned and the Stunted - Dai
17. The League of Extraordinary Gamers - LXG crew

Interdimensional Bestiary Kickstarter (Meridian Miniatures)

Interdimensional Bestiary is Meridian's third Kickstarter, and the second in their (well Andrew May's) world of Steam & Aether. I backed Andrew's last campaign (Tooth and Sword's chibi anthropomorphic adventurers - here), and he delivered efficiently and with lovely casts.

This is quite different to that style wise - think VSF/Steampunk meets Lovecraft to get a sense of what it is about.

The project is already funded, and is only short at 2 weeks, so well worth a look. :)

Yztá Pyramid

This terrain piece is by Ziterdes, and like most of their products is a pre-painted (and pre-flocked) hard-foam. Unlike Tablescape, the finish for Ziterdes stuff is never as high as I would like. That said, and knowing their products tend to be very basically painted, not as well finished as in the promotional photographs, and often have noticeable air bubbles, I still wanted this piece.

Fantascene had done something similar, although I am not sure what material they used. However that piece went out of production a while ago and I wanted something suggesting Mesoamerican pyramid design for Pulp City and Freebooters Fate games, so the Yztá Pyramid fit the bill.

The footprint is approximately 14 inches by 15 inches and it is between 4 and 5 inches high, so it takes up a decent amount of gaming space. The figures used for scale reference are on 30 mm bases and are from ranges nominally 28-35 mm in scale.

In the UK I think prices are in the £33-£38 range roughly speaking. In terms of recommending this, I do like the design, but I have to caution that the pre-paint won't live up to the images Ziterdes use, and there will likely be an number of air bubbles. If those are things you can overlook and this is the kind of terrain item you are looking for, then I think it is a nice addition, just bear those things in mind if you are thinking of buying.

Technobridge

This is a very simple little model kit by Pegasus Hobbies.

It is easy to put together, made out of a hard plastic, and has simple snap-fit lugs which means you don't even need glue.

The build time for this was minimal, although because the plastic is very hard, seams are more awkward to clean than you may expect if you are only used to GW style plastic. Once built, I simply sprayed this with Bolt Gun Metal and left it at that (it was built and sprayed up years ago, so it is a bit dusty!).

UK prices seem to tend to be around £12-13 GBP currently.

Given it is a piece with quite a decent table footprint (the minis used for scale are on 30 mm bases and from 32-35 mm ranges) and is quick and easy to build and paint, I recommend it if it looks like it could fit your needs. I think a lot of tank kits should be able to fit within its width.

River Set

You get 2 of each piece in the River Set

This River Set is by Pegasus Hobbies, and comprises 6 pieces; 2 each of 3 different items.

The set is made from hard plastic and comes pre-painted. The pieces snap-it together with lugs, meaning it can be assembled and disassembled easily, and that individual sections won't slide around. When disassembled the set sits neatly in its box, so is very easy to store.

The 6 pieces when connected yield a river of approximately 43 inches in length. The bend pieces are 45 degree angle. The model used for scale reference is on a 30mm base.

Prices in the UK vary between £16 and £18 (I got my two sets a few years ago and paid £13 for each at the time).

The Technobridge just about sits across the river as shown. Looking at the Pegasus Hobbies site there is the suggestion that there may be additional pieces in the future which add modern and older style bridge options with integral river sections, I think I would pick them up if they appear in the UK.

For the price I think it is a reasonable set, although it is just shy of 48 inches, which may be intentional by PH given many gaming tables will have width or length of 4 feet in inimitable GW style. With a four foot table you are really looking at getting two sets. Despite that, I do think it is good value and I would recommend it.