Rock Outcrops

Rock Outcrops (BB 545) from GF9

Another recent terrain acquisition, these Rock Outcrops are by Gale Force Nine, and like other Battlefield in a Box stuff are ready to play straight out of the box as they come fully painted.

The set includes 6 sets of rocks and two types of static grass to add as desired. This set is BB 545; there was an earlier set of Rocky Outcrops (BB 521) which had 8 pieces included.

It is easy enough to create rocks etc with foam, but for me, as I have said before, that would take away from the little time I manage to focus on painting my minis. The price is around £16-£18 and for me that is reasonable value as a trade-off for time and materials to do something similar.

One useful advantage of these over a foam alternative that is not immediately obvious however, is that they have a certain heft and weight and so are less likely to get displaced on the tabletop.

As is evident, I like the GF9 Battlefield in a Box range. The quality is consistent, so I know what to expect when picking up a set. Consequently the pieces I have picked up have been good value for me. I like that certain sets go nicely together to allow an expandable range. All in all, highly recommended.

The volunteers used for scale are:
- Crimson Oni (Pulp City)
- Azriel (Anima Tactics)
- Red Skull (What The? Miniatures)

Blasted Terrace & Ruined Fountain

Blasted Terrace

The Blasted Terrace and Ruined Fountain by Gale Force Nine are ready to play straight out of the box. Both can act as centre-piece type scenery in of themselves, but equally both should substitute well for hills, having the right kind of profile to achieve that.

The Blasted Terrace (BB556) was a birthday gift from my best mate and frequent gaming buddy Rob, and a cool addition to the array of scenery I have. I see it as functioning like any typical medium size hill in most games, having a nice profile to block line of sight for human size models.

Ruined Fountain

I bought the Ruined Fountain (BB553) for myself as an extra option and variation. The footprint would make it a small to medium size hill equivalent.

Like the rest of the Battlefield in a Box range they are solidly designed and cast, and neatly painted. The Ruined Fountain has the bonus of the water feature of course. I think that GF9's attention to quality is very good.

In my opinion, based on quality and usefulness, I think they are fine value at around £18-20 GBP.

As with the recent Terrain series of posts, the figures used for scale are:
- Crimson Oni (Pulp City)
- Azriel (Anima Tactics)
- Red Skull (What The? Miniatures)

Tree Of Woe (Gale Force Nine)

This one I have had for a while; I bought it because it looks cool (at least to me!), even if it is pretty limited to fantasy style battlefields.

It has a nice big foot-print (a crucial thing I find) and should make a nice centre-piece for some games, hopefully sooner than later.

The miniature there for scale reference is a Wissenschaft Agent from Anima Tactics, mounted on a 30mm base.

It is well-cast and like the other Battlefield In A Box items comes pre-painted - a real boon to me, with time being at a premium for hobby stuff. I am such a slow painter that anything that can save me time is a real plus.

With a RRP of £25, I do think this is good value for what you get; it is solidly cast and neatly painted.

Of course there are some that would baulk at paying for terrain, but at the price, for the size, I think it is value for money, but your mileage may vary as they say. Whoever they are (okay, I have been known to say it, but I am waffling now...).

The static grass comes in a pouch, so is optional; but if you want it, you have to do the work yourself. This is no great effort, but just be aware.

Hall Of Heroes: Battlefield In A Box (Gale Force Nine)

The Great Vestibule (BB523)

Okay, these are post-Christmas treats, I have to admit!

I received an Amazon gift card for Christmas among other stuff (there are other internet retailers of course...), but could not think of any books, DVD's or CD's that I wanted to get.

Then I had a thought - I have been looking at getting these for ages, but was put off by the price (hey, how many minis could I get for the equivalent money instead!). Amazon had the items I wanted and with the gift card, I was able to afford both by topping up with a few extra pounds and I particularly am glad I did.

I can see these featuring as the ruins of a Gothic keep, for some Victoriana style gaming and/or maybe pulp, or even AE-WWII; as a fantasy ruin (and specifically Anima Tactics and Reaver Lords); futuristic gaming over some grim-dark war-ravaged world (yes, I may play WH40K again one day...). i am sure they could do duty in other genres too.

Gallery of Valour (BB524)

For scale reference you have: Gentleman (Pulp City); Wissenschaft Agent (Anima Tactics); Tyranid Warrior (WH40K). Bases are 30mm for Gentleman and Wissenschaft Agent, 40mm for the Tyranid Warrior.

The footprint of the bigger piece is pretty hefty and it measures 10 inches high. The balconies are 50mm wide so useful for deploying a number of minis.

The two can be used together or separately of course, but they will form a decent LOS blocking area of the battlefield.

The two items are (bigger piece) Hall Of Heroes: The Great Vestibule (BB523); and (smaller piece) Hall Of Heroes: Gallery of Valour (BB524). Both are by Gale Force Nine of course.

For the price I do think they are reasonable, especially for the time-strapped gamer. Yes, they could probably be made more cheaply, but for the balance of time and effort versus money saved, well I was happy to get these at the prices I paid.

Both together

If I get enough games in using these this year, I may pick up some more items from the Hall Of Heroes range. I will be posting up some more Gale Force Nine terrain in the near future.