Quick review: Sarissa 28mm MDF Dark Age Ox Cart

Sorry things have been a bit quite lately but I blame Jake Thornton and Neil Shuck. After listening to the Meeples & Miniatures podcast about God of Battles I bought the rules and have become hooked. In the last two weeks I've bought and painted up two armies and I'm already thinking about buying two more! Thank god there's only ten armies in the book.

So with all the painting and assembly of various figures I've had little spare time for blogging even though I do have lots of things I want to post about. Anyway what does this have to do with the Ox Cart? In GoB you need a camp and a baggage train so I thought the Ox Cart would do nicely as the centre piece of the baggage train. It will also see some use with my Dux Britanniarum troops once I find time to paint them up.

The cart comes pre-cut on a single sheet of MDF with a sheet of instructions. It was easy to assemble, with the parts only fitting one way, so it just took a few minutes to complete. The finished model looks great. My only concern is that the yoke is a bit thin and may break easily if you're not careful. There's a few photos of the finished model below with some Mantic undead models to give you some idea of the scale. I haven't decided whether I'm going to paint the cart yet as it doesn't look too bad as it is.

The more observant of you may have noticed the square axles!

The kit is only £3.50 which I think is a bargain. I got mine from Arcane Scenery & Models (great service btw I ordered Friday afternoon and it arrived Saturday morning) along with a few other bits & pieces I'll post about later.

A great kit at a great price I give it 9.5/10 (I would have given it 10/10 if the yolk had been a bit thicker).

New 20mm MDF buildings from PSC

Just seen this on Facebook. Plastic Soldier Company have released a range of 20mm pre-painted MDF buildings. No details on the price yet but it looks like they'll be on sale at Crisis so maybe more info tomorrow. Anyway here's the pics they posted.

Quick Review: 4Ground 28mm MDF fencing

I was looking for some fences for my terrain board when I came across these from 4Ground. I like 4Ground stuff and I have one of their 15mm Churches and a row of their houses and although the fences are for 28mm they should work just as well for 20mm. They cost me £10 + p&p for 42" of fencing (more on this later) which I thought was a decent deal.

 

On opening the pack you find 3 sheets of pre-cut MDF comprising base plates, fence posts and the fences plus an instruction sheet.

 

The instructions are pretty straightforward as long as you make sure you pick the right parts and only detach what you need for each stage. Definitely do not remove them all in one go as it will be difficult to pick the correct parts. They also give you some ideas for customising your fences as you can see in the bottom row of pictures shown below.

 

You start by gluing the fence posts into the base plate and then adding the cross rails. You then glue the fence to the cross rails and you're done. Some of the fences have pop out sections to represent damage to add a bit of flavour to the fencing. The sections with the gates are a bit more fiddly but follow the same principle. The finished fences are shown below. You get 12 pieces of fencing of varying lengths, two of which have gates. They also do a pack without gates for the same price.

 

In the photo below I've added a Valiant 1/72 German to give you an idea of the scale of the fencing.

 

They went together easily and took me about 70 minutes to complete. You could probably do them much quicker but I was in no hurry. I'm happy with how they turned out and I'm looking for some 1/72 scale posters to stick on the fencing to add a little colour.

 

However there is one problem with them. I mentioned at the start of this post that they're advertised as providing over 42" of fencing. This is also stated on the pack itself. However on measuring my finished set they add up to only 38 inches. I checked to make sure I hadn't lost anything, which I hadn't, so either there was something missing from my pack, which seems unlikely as there were no gaps on the MDF sheets, or they've wrongly labeled the product. I've emailed them about this and will do an update when I get a reply.

New 28mm MDF ruins from Commission Figurines

As regular readers will know I like the MDF buildings made by Commission Figurines. I've reviewed a few bits and pieces previously like the farmhouse and various ruins and counters etc which were all 15mm. However a few months ago they had a Kickstarter to fund a bigger Laser cutting/engraving machine so that they could move in to making 20mm and 28mm buildings in addition to their 15mm range.


Their new laser cutting machine

Well yesterday my pledge package arrived so I thought I'd take a look at what I got. I chose to get the 28mm ruins so I could use them for Bolt Action & Chain of Command. As usual the quality and detail of the etching is superb. As can be seen in the photos below.

 

I chose the 3 modules (2 corners, 1 centre) that make up part of the Berlin Strasse model.

 

Even the interiors have nice etched detail.

There are a couple of changes to the kits from the 15mm ones I have. Now the walls are located into the base by tabs as opposed to the long slots they used to use, I think this is a big improvement. Also the bases appear to be of thinner sheet than my current ones. As they are of different scales this doesn't matter to me. They are still quick to assemble and can packed flat for carrying to the club. That is if you don't want to glue them together permanently.

The 20mm buildings are starting to appear on their website and I'm sure the 28mm versions will be on there soon. I'll have to try and find time to slot these into my painting queue, but I doubt my painting skills will do them justice.

My 28mm ruined buildings assembled

As I mentioned in an earlier post I won an auction for some painted MDF ruins. As they're painted all I had to do was glue them together. This was a two stage process. The outer and inner walls were PVA'd together first and then the separate pieces were assembled into the corner sections. This was all straightforward, the only fiddly bit was fixing the triangular piece used to strengthen the corner.

Anyway here's a couple of photos of the finished article, not bad for a fiver.

The assembled corner sections

A close up with figures to give a sense of scale.

My Latest eBay Bargain.

I was browsing eBay when I came across a retailer selling lots of MDF terrain pieces. I saw this one auction for 12 painted 28mm ruined building corner sections which I could use for Bolt Action and Chain of Command, so I thought it was worth a punt. I expected it to be expensive but he had a ton of auctions running and this must have got missed as I won it for my initial bid of £4.99 inc p&p!

The eBay photo.

The package arrived today and the contents are shown below. The walls are similar to 4Ground buildings in that they have an inner and outer wall you glue together. So, in total, you get 60 MDF sections to glue together to make the 12 corners. The quality of the laser etching isn't great but for a fiver I can't complain. I'll glue them together and maybe stick some clump foliage on them to simulate Ivy to jazz them up a bit. Now all I need is somewhere to store the assembled models, maybe it's time to move to a bigger house!



The 60 painted MDF wall pieces

 

In case you're interested the retailer was 'wargamestournaments' on eBay.co.uk.



Quick Review: 15mm MDF Walled Farm from Commission Figurines

A few days ago I took delivery of the new 15mm Farmhouse complex from Commission Figurines. It comes in three plastic bags with the parts already punched out, as can be seen in the photo below. The parts are mounted on an 8" x 9" base and the finished model has internal floors in two of the buildings as well as removable roofs. There's lots of nice detail on the windows and doors as well as exposed brickwork in various places to give the farm a 'lived in' look.

There are instructions on how to assemble the model on their website but it's pretty straightforward as the parts only fit in one place. I would recommend that you use a sharp craft knife or file to slightly trim the various tabs and slots as some of them are a very tight fit.

You start by assembling the three roofs.

Then you move onto the external walls.

Once that's completed you can start adding the various buildings.

The Barn

The Barn and the Farmhouse

The Stables

Once those are in place it's time to fix them to the base.

Next up are the inserts for the barn and farmhouse which provide the base for the internal floor.

The internal floors added

Lastly it's time to add a couple of cosmetic touches in the form of an outside staircase to the barn and extra detail to the gateway.

And that's it, a very quick and simple model to assemble. Certainly a lot less complicated than the 4Ground kits I've built in the past but still a very nice finished model.

I'd like to say here's one I finished earlier but the one shown below is a painted model from their site. Sadly I don't think my painting will be up to this standard.

The finished article

So what do I think of it? Well the finished model will make a great centre piece for my Napoleonics but it's generic enough to work ok for any period from the 18th century to the modern day. It went together easily, the price is good at £22.50 and the removable roofs and internal floors are a good idea. I can't see any downside to the model so I give it 10/10.

If you want one and aren't in a hurry you could choose one of these for £20 by selecting it as your pledge option in Commission Figurines KickStarter. There are also a number of other good deals on offer as they look to expand their range into 20mm and 28mm. I've pledged for some of the 28mm stuff to use for Bolt Action.

I've added a link below to one of my reviews of their 15mm WW2 buildings for those of you who are interested.

Quick Review: MDF terrain from Commission Figurines

MDF Buildings Kickstarter

Last year I made some posts about the great MDF buildings from Commission Figurines (links at the bottom of this post). Well now they're looking to expand their range with a Kickstarter project. They're not looking for tens of thousands of pounds like some Kickstarters just £6,500 and the various pledge levels are good value for money. So if you're in the market for some MDF terrain check it out. I'm going to go for some of the 28mm stuff for Bolt Action and Pulp Alley. To whet you appetite here's some eye candy.

The new walled farm

The terrain in action at Derby 2012

Their first design - Berlin Strasse

More pictures can be found on the Kickstarter page and their site. If you have a blog I'm sure Walt would appreciate it if you could give his KickStarter project a quick mention.

Links:
Quick Review: MDF terrain from Commission Figurines
FoW: MDF Terrain

More MDF Buildings

I've finally finished off the first of my MDF buildings from Commission Figurines. It too a lot longer then I expected as there's so much detail to paint. As well as the doors, shell damage and exposed brick work there's over fifty windows to paint.

I'm not that happy with how it's turned out as the colours I chose don't really work, plus the dip just ended up making the building look dirty rather than picking out the detail as I'd hoped. Although it does look ok on the exposed brickwork. It's not too bad from a distance and it will be surrounded by other buildings so it will do for now.

On my other building I'm not going to bother with the dip, hopefully my colour choices will be better and it will look ok.

Quick Review: 4Ground 15mm MDF Church

Having successfully assembled the 4Ground Terraced Houses I moved on to building their Church yesterday. The kit comes pre-cut on nine pieces of MDF some of which have been painted. The pre-painted version costs £30 while the unpainted kit costs £20. 

As with the Terraced Houses kit it's essential to follow the instructions carefully, only pressing out the pieces you need for each stage. Dry fitting the pieces together helps, as does checking back with the photos to make sure you have things the right way round.

The first stages are easy. You assemble the carcass and then add the exterior cladding as shown below. They recommend PVA glue but I used a clear glue and had no problems.

After the ground floor of the church is assembled you move on to the tower. The tower comes in four sections, each of which are assembled separately. The ground floor of the tower was straightforward but the subsequent levels are assembled differently. Here you glue the exterior walls first and then add in the interior supports. This can get tricky as it's not always obvious which way round the various pieces go, I had to take apart a couple of pieces and redo them to get it right. 

After the tower is completed its time to move on to the two porches and the roof. These were no problem, although I did find them a little fiddly in places. I'd had problems with the roofs on the Terraced House kit but these went together smoothly. The last job is to insert the cills on the windows. Again a bit fiddly but easy to do. The completed model looks good and would grace any wargames table. 

The finished Church with a US 105mm Cannon for scale

The church roof comes off easily so your troops can occupy it to hold off the enemy. The tower comes apart as well and you can place a small base on each level, so it's ideal for artillery spotters or snipers.

The disassembled model

I give this kit a 9/10. As with both kits I think the instructions could be more detailed for certain steps but this is a minor niggle. I will probably buy more kits from 4Ground and have no hesitation in recommending them to other wargamers

Assembling the 4Ground 15mm MDF Terrace

I decided to assemble my 4Ground pre-painted terrace kit yesterday afternoon. I was a bit apprehensive at first as there's so many parts. However once I got going and followed the instructions and photos it went together fairly easily.

First tip, don't punch out all the parts as they are all lettered to indicate where they should go. Next have a look at the instructions and punch out just the parts you need, placing them on your work bench in the same layout as shown in the instructions. This really does make things easier. Then dry fit them so you understand how they go together. They recommend using PVA to glue the parts together but I used a clear glue (Bostick or Uhu type) and had no problems. I found that it held the parts together better while you were assembling each floor.

The ground floor has a passageway through it which makes it a bit tricky at first but a quick dry fit should sort things out. A nice touch is that the walls and floor of the passage are painted as well. A little detail but it shows the thought that's gone into making the kits. The process is assemble the floor add the long side walls, then the end walls and finally the dividers.

The next step is to glue on the outside walls. Again you do the long walls first and then add in the end walls. This is pretty straightforward, just be careful with the glue and that's the ground floor done.

The next floor is easier than the ground floor as there is no passage. The process is otherwise identical.

The first floor carcass

The first floor with the exterior fitted.

The roof section is by far the trickiest and most fiddly. You start by glueing in the gable ends. You need to pay careful attention to the instructions here so you get the parts in the right place and facing the right way. Again dry fitting and checking with the pictures is a must.

After you have the base of the roof done the next stage is to assemble the roofs themselves. I had a problem fitting the roofs to their supports and this took a bit of fiddling about to get them to join up correctly. Just be patient! The worst part was the dormer windows. I managed to get the small parts together ok but getting them to fit nicely in the hole in the roof was impossible. In the end I just accepted there were going to be gaps and ran glue around the inside of the roof where it met the window to try and get a better seal.

I still have to add the cills to the windows and doors but I'm waiting till the glue hardens properly before I fiddle about with them. You also get chimneys but I'm not going to bother with them. Here's a couple of shots of the assembled model.

What do I think about the the kits? They're well thought out and in the main go together easily. The fact that you can lift off the various levels makes them great for hiding your troops in FoW. Also they're very sturdy and should stand up well to rough handling. The only downside might be that the burn marks from the laser cutting are visible which could annoy some people. But you can always buy the unpainted kits and do them yourself. Overall I give them a score of 9/10.