Infinity Kurage Station and Warsenal Support Structures Part 3

Here are some photos of my completed Kurage Station battleground for MERCS, with some CCC and GCC spinkled on to taste.

The total cost of this terrain project was AUD$42:

• AUD$16 Infinity Kurage Station Scenery Pack
• AUD$15 Warsenal Infinity Scenery Support Structure Pack
• AUD$11 Gamemat Lamination

Now, you could just grab the Scenery Pack, assemble it and call it day - though you would have to deal with the limitations of the cardboard scenery.
This pimp'd version of the terrain set is significantly more durable, and won't get bumped around the table - well, as much as any other MDF terrain would anyway.

Photos of the rest of my USCR coming up this week - stay tuned!

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Infinity Kurage Station and Warsenal Support Structures Part 2

Kurage Station Scenery Pack

After an hour of construction, my Infinity Scenery Pack for Kurage Station was complete, as were the Warsenal Support Structures!

I won't post all of my photos, but for anyone interested you can check out this BeastsOfWar Unboxing video, and for anyone looking for instructions on assembly can check out this BeastsOfWar Terrain Building video for the Neon Lotus Scenery Pack (which uses the same format for the cardboard pieces).

Assembled Building

Assembled Service Cube

Warsenal Support Structures

Building Supports

Three different MDF pieces to make 4 Building Supports

Assembled Building Support

Assembled Building Support (turned upside down)

Service Box Supports

Three different MDF pieces to make 6 Box Supports

Assembled Box Supports

Walkway Supports

Two acrylic pieces to support the walkways

Sliding an acrylic piece into the underside of the Walkway

Thoughts

I love the Kurage Station Scenery Pack! There is a great level of detail, the grey colour palette really appeals to me for use with MERCS, and for the price it's a bargain.

This set realises my preference for brightly coloured miniatures set against sombre tabletop terrain - moreso than the Mototronica and Navajo Outpost sets do, and the detailing on the pieces is just phenomenal.

And although it is very lightweight cardboard terrain (and easily knocked around the table), I believe that the aesthetic appeal and the low cost far outweigh the functional limitations of cardboard terrain.

The Warsenal Support Structures are great, and mitigate the drawbacks of the lightweight cardboard terrain very well.

They're easy to assemble, provide excellent structural support, and fit into their cardboard counterparts well.

The exception are the Box Supports which, once inserted to the cardboard boxes, do not allow the boxes to be assembled as intended - but I solved this problem by gluing the cardboard pieces together instead of using the cardboard insert slots.

PVA glue used to close the Service Boxes.
The Service boxes were then left overnight
under compression to seal the bond.

Full battleground pictures coming up soon - stay tuned!

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KR Multicase - Part 2

K-Lite Transport Bag
The cheapest option for getting a new set of KR trays!
Bag can hold 1 full card case, or 2 half-width cases, with
a simple shoulder strap

So I mentioned in a previous post that I needed a solution for transporting my MERCS models.
Initially I thought I would just buy a new set of trays that I could use with my old Kaiser 1 Transport Bag, but it actually worked out cheaper to buy K-Lite Transport Bag, which includes my choice of card cases and trays. Here's what I ended up ordering for KR:

• K-Lite Transport Bag
• 2x Half-width Card Cases
• 3x N3H trays (each tray has 20 model slots 50mm x 32mm x 25mm)
• 3x M3H trays (each tray has 25 model slots 40mm x 32mm x 25mm)

My package arrived very promptly (5 days after ordering, posted from the UK to Australia - amazing!) and I'm very happy with both service and product from KR Multicase.

I would highly recommend them, and will be going to them for all my miniature transport needs in the future. The case/tray system is a little confusing at first, but check out this video for a better idea on the system.

Two Half-width Card Cases - one of these easily fits into my backpack,
and can hold 60-75 models (depending on which trays I use), and all my
 tokens/templates/cards too.

One half-width card case opened

CCC and EU Inc from MERCS Recon: Counter Threat in an M3H tray.
M3H trays have 25 model slots, and each slot is 40mm x 32mm x 25mm.

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Citadel Texture Paints - Review

With 12 factions for MERCS arriving shortly, I have the daunting task of coming up with 12 different basing styles for each faction - and basing, which I consider as part of the 'assembly' process, is the part of the hobby I dislike the most.

To that end, I thought I'd splurge and pick up (what I consider to be) some premium hobby products for the task: Games Workshop Citadel Texture Paints.

I tested Stirland Mud on my EU Inc and am really happy with the end result, especially considering how easy it was to use the product - which is as simple as the video says it is.

I picked up the rest of the Citadel Texture Paint range, six in total, and I'm already excited about trying Lustrian Undergrowth on my KemVar - which will hopefully be finished by the end of the week.

So I guess this isn't so much a review, as a confirmation that my experience with the product is what is shown in the tutorial video.

Sync out.

CNC Miniatures Scenery Sci-Fi Shipping Containers - Review

A staple of most tabletops - shipping containers! Versatile in a number of scenarios and great for blocking LOS, I thought it was time to add some to my terrain collection.
The CNC Miniatures Shipping Containers look absolutely fantastic - so fantastic in fact, that I didn't know whether to get them or not, just because I knew I wouldn't be able to match the awesome weathered paint job. Well, I picked up the Value Pack with four containers anyways...

Each container comes on a single sprue

Each piece punched out of the sprue and base coated using Fiddly Bits
spray paints

And after adding a little colour to the pieces, assembly was simple enough

CCC Assault Leader corners the KemVar Assassin - or will it be the Leader
falling under the Assassin's blade?

Overall, very happy with the kit. As you can see, the pieces come so that you can spray paint the metal frame pieces separately to the container pieces. Assembly was very simple and straight forward, and although I didn't get mine looking as good as the house job from CNC miniatures, I'm still very happy with my purchase and the new additions to my terrain collection.

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Micro Art Studios Holo Ads Set Complete

Managed to paint these after work the other day, and after slotting the acrylic pieces into their frames (which wasn't easy), my Holo Ad Set is complete! These were definitely a challenge to assemble, but given the end result I can't complain too much. Look forward to seeing these beauties in battle reports soon!
In the end, I would still recommend this product - it was difficult on all facets of assembly, but I just can't go past the great looking artwork on the pieces.

Sync out.

Plastcraft Games Sci-Fi Crates - Review

These struck me a relatively cheap way for some LOS blocking terrain, and being only $6 for a set of four, I grabbed two sets for some more terrain options.

Comes in a single sheet, with clear instructions on a piece of paper

Really straight forward construction, only requiring some superglue and a
hobby knife. Making the eight crates from the two sets took less than 30 minutes.

Now, the size is awkward - here's a MERCS model for scale.
It doesn't quite block LOS - his head is still visible over the top,
though at the same time I would say that he wouldn't be able to see over it.

And next to an Infinity model for scale

So it cost me $12 for the eight crates, which I think is... OK. If they were a little bigger, completely obscuring LOS of a 28mm model I'd be quite happy with the set, but as it stands the dimensions of the crates are awkward. So for now, I wouldn't recommend this product for 28mm sci-fi wargaming.
I'm going to find some way to extend the height, so that the crates can completely obscure LOS - stay tuned!

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CNC Miniatures Scenery Portable Dice Tower Complete

I managed to get some paint on my CNC Miniatures Portable DiceTower over the weekend, and I finished it off with an assortment of CNC Miniatures Sci-Fi Widgets - to make it look a little more like a piece of terrain.
I'm not sure that I succeeded in making a piece of terrain, but I am really happy with the dice tower and way that the dice shoot down into the tray! I think I'll make another one, so each player can have their own!

Sync out.

Micro Arts Studio Holo Ads Set Review

I've always thought this product was fantastic - providing good cover and LOS blocking terrain, while looking just phenomenal on the table. Well, what better excuse than a birthday to treat myself to this premium product!

Comes in a single 'sprue', with a page of instructions on assembly. The
 instructions weren't very thorough, but the set itself wasn't too hard to
 figure out.
The Holo Ad pieces themselves come with a protective adhesive on the
 surface to ensure they aren't scratched.

Assembly of the two smaller Holo Ad frames was a PAIN. While no glue
 was required to assemble the frames, slotting the pieces together was quite
difficult, with the slots for pieces being very tight fits. It's not clear from
 the photos, but I did some minor damage to the pieces while forcing them
 together during assembly.

Before putting the Holo Ads in, I'll need to paint the pieces first. While I'm disappointed that the assembly process was surprisingly difficult, I'm still really excited about the end result, so I'm looking forward to the next sunny weekend to paint and complete them.

Sync out.

CNC Miniatures Scenery Portable Dice Tower - Review

After being disappointed in the assembly process for CNC Miniatures Dice Tower, I was really reluctant about purchasing this product. But because I really love the idea of Dice Towers, I took a gamble, and prepared myself for the worst.
Apologies for the dark photos - since the baby came along, the only spare time I have for hobbying is late after she's gone to bed!

Comes in a single 'sprue' and, to my delight, uses the 'newer' CNC processes,
which meant no difficult cutting or trimming the pieces off the sprue!

After taking 2 minutes to punch the pieces from the sprue, it took another
2 minutes to assemble the portable tower - fantastic!

Really happy with this product and would definitely recommend it - I'm actually considering grabbing another one! Assembling and disassembling the product is fast and easy, making for a truly transportable product - though I'll probably be gluing mine together and adding a few more sci-elements to it.

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CNC Miniatures Scenery Sci-Fi Widgets - Review

I've had these lying around for a while now, and I had originally purchased this product with the intention of using them on my Bandua Wargames Q Buildings - but quickly realised that sticking these pieces to my Bandua Buildings would prevent the buildings from stacking onto and into each other! No matter, these still seem quite useful, so hopefully I'll find a use for them soon. 

Comes in a single sprue

No instructions, but it wasn't hard to figure out which pieces where part of
each widget.

And the completed set of widgets. The pile of bits on the top right are for
the security cameras, which I'll assemble when I figure out when I'll use them.

So not much to say really, what you see if what you get! Assembly was quick and straight forward, and I'm actively looking for places that I can use these things... already have one piece in mind, so stay tuned.

Sync out.

Sci-Fi Terrain

During my absence from MERCS, I was immersed in Infinity and managed to collect quite a bit of terrain that I'll also be using for MERCS.
Infinity is played on a 4'x4' table and  requires very dense terrain layouts. In my effort to create my own Infinity table, I collected enough terrain to heavily cover a 4'x4' table. If I translate this to MERCS, which is played on a 2'x3' table and only requires moderate terrain, I could probably comfortably stretch my terrain collection over three MERCS tables!

Anyways, I thought I'd post links to the terrain reviews from my other blog, in case any other MERCS enthusiasts were interested!

CNC Miniatures Sci-Fi Bridges

CNC Miniatures Sci-Fi Walls

Bandua Wargames Q Buildings Set - Review Part 1
Bandua Wargames Q Buildings Set - Review Part 2

Warsenal Barricades

CNC Miniatures Dice Tower

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