Tuesday 7 November 2017

All the Necromunda Suitable Terrain I Can Think Of

So the new edition of Necromunda doesn't come with 3d terrain in the box, which isn't what everyone wants from it. I spend a lot of time obsessing over different lines of wargames scenery, so I'm writing up all the ones I can remember in case that's useful.

I've separated lines by material, and indicated where the company that produces them is based. If a line is roughly compatible with either the classic Necromunda 3" square bulkheads or the new Sector Mechanicus 5" tall walkways, I've indicated that as well. I've excluded lines which are purely small-scale detail pieces, as I would be here until judgment day listing all the suppliers of resin accessories. Most publishers have several lines, not all of which will be strictly "Necromunda-esque"

If you know of any that I've missed, let me know!

Injection-molded styrene

Games Workshop

UK with international distribution. Sector Mechanicus line is modular. But you knew about them already.

Mantic Games Battlezones

UK with international distribution. Based around 3" squares connected by tabs. Industrial sci-fi theme. Extremely cubic.

Tehnolog

Russian-made; distributed in the West by Pegasus Hobbies as Hexagon, Chemical Plant, Syberclicks. People may know it as "the Robogear scenery" as it was a pack in with the Airfix-distributed Robogear game. In theory you can buy the sprues in bulk direct from Tehnolog (and the line is slightly more extensive than is distributed in the west) but none of their affiliate sites seem to have an e-commerce portal.

Maelstrom's Edge

US based. Mostly a miniatures maker. They make a "terrain accessories" sprue which is explicitly designed to be added to scratch-built terrain to make it look like sci-fi buildings, and their blog has great examples of things to do with it

Amera plastic mouldings

UK based. Vacuum formed plastic. Super, super cheap, super basic. Great way to bulk out your board with light, cheap stuff.

Maki games

 European, modular plastic kits for making "space dungeon" (think: Space Hulk) and sci-fi buildings.

Cardboard

Battle Systems 

UK based. Dye-punched, colour-printed cardboard, connected with plastic tabs. Themes include shanty-town, high, low and gothic sci-fi.

Terraclips

US based. Fantasy-themed, but might be suitable. Dye-punched, colour-printed cardboard, connected with plastic tabs. Supply may be shakey as the producer, WorldWorks, seem not to be making any new products.

Infinity

Spanish, international distribution. Dye-punched, colour-printed, thin card. Folds together (benefits from gluing and, potentially, weighting). The pack-in terrain that comes with Infinity's starter sets is sold separately, very cheap.

Lasercut / CNC milled

Labmasu

Spanish, Lasercut MDF, main feature - walls for zone mortalis, and risers that lift up zone mortalis tiles.

PlastCraft

EU (Spanish?). Lasercut PVC. Lots of ranges, from steam fantasy to Samurai to Anime, and items from basic "fillers" to detailed centerpieces. Pre-coloured.

Bandua wargames

Lasercut MDF and acrylic. Sci-fi ranges and pre-coloured ranges.

Promethium Forge

US based, Lasercut MDF. Very similar to classic Necromunda bulkheads.

4Ground

UK based. Lasercut MDF. Variety of ranges including industrial Sci-fi.

Sarissa Precision

UK based. Lasercut MDF. Variety of ranges including a range of Sci-fi gantries.

Figurebitz


Uk based, Lasercut MDF. Currently working on a gorgeous set of Zone Mortalis walls.

Knights of Dice

Australia based, distributed in UK by Shiny Games. Lasercut MDF. Really detailed Neo-tokyo style range, and post-apoc American-urban range.

RedBeam Designs

UK based. Lasercut MDF. Several lines, including Dark Assembly (compatible with Sector Mechanicus) and Complex Red (budget, styled on classic cardboard Necromunda terrain.)

MicroArt Studios

Poland based, widely distributed (they were the first to the game producing Infinity terrain). Lasercut MDF; mostly sci-fi urban, and victorian sci-fi. Sci-fi vehicles. Also produce Hardfoam stuff - the stacked boxes are a good hill alternative for an urban setting.

Zen Terrain

Poland based,  Lasercut MDF, urban sci-fi and vehicles.

Warsenal

US based, well established. Lasercut MDF. Urban and Arabic sci-fi, plus a small range of post-apoc scifi.

Dark Ops

UK based, newcomer. Lasercut MDF. Variety of (small) ranges with sci-fi themes.

Warworld Gaming

UK based, Lasercut MDF. Basic Necromunda-y line. One kit based on the classic GW bastion model!

Warmill

UK based, well established. Lasercut MDF. Urban and military sci-fi. Extensive ranges. They also make some totally sweet resin mechs.

Fantasy Arc

US based, Lasercut MDF. The best damn space-ship tunnels I've ever seen, and sci-fi trains.

Burn in designs

US based, Lasercut MDF. Several different ranges.

Laserterrain

Lasercut - seems to be printed aluminium. Sci-fi spaceship tunnels.

BP Laser

Lasercut MDF. US based. Variety of lines including sci-fi spaceship tunnels, urban sci-fi, ruins, vehicles and more.

Systema

EU based. Lasercut MDF. Mostly sci-fi urban.

Impudent Mortal

US based. Lasercut MDF. Industrial and rusty sci-fi lines.

Miniature Scenery

Australia based, CNC MDF. Several sci-fi lines including some amazing sci-fi vehicles.

Kromlech

European (Polish?) Lasercut MDF. "Ork" (ie shabby, bolted together metal) themed buildings.

TTCombat

UK based, Lasercut MDF. Variety of ranges, the Industrial Hive range is classic Necromunda.

PWork Wargames

European? Mostly make game mats, but also have a range of lasercut MDF and PDFs.

Wargames Tournaments 

UK based, Lasercut MDF. Budget focused. Do a Necromunda-esque line.

Lasercut Card

South Africa based. Lasercut card. Industrial theme. Cheaper than MDF.

Jackal Designs

Australian. Lasercut MDF. Urban scifi. 

Cast Resin

Fogou models

UK based. Post-apoc Shanty buildings.

Armorcast

US based. Super-broad ranges - they've been around for decades soaking up other people's oop moulds.

Tabletop scenics

European? Totally fantasy, not in the least Necromunda themed, but totally beautiful.

Ainsty Castings

UK based. Lots of accessories, huge variety of different ranges.

Miniature Building Authority

US based, mostly "historical" but includes a shanty-town line.

DIY

WorldWorksGames

Print, cut and stick modular system - uses foamboard to create base plates base plates. Pretty damn cool stuff, but lots of work. Several sci-fi lines.

Dave Graffam

Print cut and stick cardboard models. Several sci-fi kits.

Toys

There are loads of kids toy kits that make great terrain with a bit of work.
Multi-story garage

Resources compiled by someone else!

Project Necromunda

Saturday 7 October 2017

Everything I Have Learnt About Children - a poem

A child is a kind of vegetable with deep roots you cannot pull out.
It changes the pH balance in the soil, thrives in shade or sunshine, needs frequent watering and takes over your whole garden
Unless you pot it; in which case it will take over your whole house.
A child can easily be identified by its leafy fronds and distinctive colouration.

A child is a species of invertebrates that snuffles and croaks and is covered in short silver hairs, with skin the colour of hot velvet. They make their home in your arms and live a parasitic existence drinking sap and laughter and blinking with idiotic wonder at your nose or a lampshade or the carpet.

A child is a controlled substance under Class A of the controlled substances act
Illegal to purchase but easily available from encounters at street corners or meetings with disreputable midwives.
The effect is a long-lived ecstatic high characterised by contentment and no longer giving two shits about more or less anything else.
Side-effects include sleepleeness, back pain, hormonal changes, retreat from social life, financial ruination and irreversible addiction.
Children can be smoked or injected and are available in the form of a pill.

A child is a coin,
Heads and tails both possible outcomes, tumbling midair and catching the light in flash after flash of silver as it emerges from your palm,
A bravura sleight of hand trick that surprises everyone, no-one more than yourself,
And the coin always spinning and never coming to rest.

A child is a monumental, twelve pint and a Milwall t-shirt dickhead
A perpetual end-stage rageaholic dickhead
As drunk as a student and as thick and angry as an emu or an ostrich or another enormous flightless shithead
And its just as well they're too tiny to drive cars or operate forklifts or other violent machinery
And I'm not saying I've got anything against them but
I read how they lower house prices and always send their money abroad
And you wouldn't be happy if your dog married one
Would you?

A child is an ash tree,
An inevitable presence in any garden left untended for more than a minute,
Growing so rapidly and so stealthily you could swear you just turned your back during a picnic to pick up a tub of Marks and Spencers flapjacks and there it is, a tall reed of a tree
Sneaking up between the fir and the buddleia,
Half bashful,
Half full of lip.

A child is the future winking at you with charm
And with threats, and you realise
One day the child will be older, which means you will be older, and the world will be older,
And the child who will be an older child will run through a door, maybe the same
Older door or another older door in the same
Older world and look at this new, older you
And they won't believe and certainly won't understand that the world was younger
Once and things were different once,
And the child will run by riding the hurricane of passing time
And laughing as if all this is normal.

A child is a prime opportunity to create new synonyms for taking a shit, and I urge you to be creative.
For example: "Dear God,
The baby has taken off her nappy and given the opening speech of the Conservative party conference all over that nice suede armchair we got from your mother."

A child is almost certainly plotting something and probably up to no good
But this will make you proud because after all
The world needs cunning people who will steal fire, talk truth to power,
And get the better of all the other scheming bastards out there.

A child is a thin, balloon-like skin filled entirely with snot.

A child, like a wizard, is never late. Neither are they early.
They arrive precisely when they mean to.

A child does not enter into negotiations.

A child will ruin your life
And it is the best thing that will ever happen to you.