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Other Stuff => General Wargames and Hobby Discussion => Topic started by: Mammoth miniatures on September 25, 2024, 10:35:41 AM

Title: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Mammoth miniatures on September 25, 2024, 10:35:41 AM
This is my holy grail.

Some years ago (probably about 17 years ago...) I purchased a single 2' x 2' terrain tile from Porthmadog models in wales. It was a vac formed thing - quite tall, sold with holes drilled into the sides and a set of plastic screw connectors to allow it to connect to other tiles.

The shop had a range of these tiles - rivers, trenchlines, hills. But I have NEVER been able to find them again.
AFAIK they weren't an amera product, and I've never seen them anywhere since. Porthmadog models told me they remember them but don't remember who made them and they have long since gone out of production.

Does anyone know who made these, or even know what I'm on about?
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: anevilgiraffe on September 25, 2024, 11:09:53 AM
can't help, but intrigued...
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: zemjw on September 25, 2024, 11:22:16 AM
The only vac-formed scenery I remember is Bellona. I still have some of their 6mm rivers in the cupboard. However, I don't know if they ever did anything bigger

I found this thread on tmp (warning, very disturbing image at the top of the page o_o) - http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=499179 which might help (after mind bleach has been applied to get rid of the image)
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Mammoth miniatures on September 25, 2024, 12:39:18 PM
The only vac-formed scenery I remember is Bellona. I still have some of their 6mm rivers in the cupboard. However, I don't know if they ever did anything bigger

I found this thread on tmp (warning, very disturbing image at the top of the page o_o) - http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=499179 which might help (after mind bleach has been applied to get rid of the image)

Doesn't look like it was them. although I am curious what the image was that so troubled you, since it seems TMP just shows a random image with every page. Alas, it's lost to the ether.

My suspicion is that they may have been produced locally by a welsh company or by someone with easy access to a large bed vac former and they probably only did a few of each. but I live in hope.
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: zemjw on September 25, 2024, 12:56:56 PM
Doesn't look like it was them. although I am curious what the image was that so troubled you, since it seems TMP just shows a random image with every page. Alas, it's lost to the ether.

I've just about purged it from my mind, but it was a bloke in a mankini waving guns about. It was wrong on every level lol
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Diablo Jon on September 25, 2024, 03:27:57 PM
I've just about purged it from my mind, but it was a bloke in a mankini waving guns about. It was wrong on every level lol

That is Sean Connery in the movie Zardoz it's been a long running punch line to a joke on TMP though so long running I'm not sure if anyone remembers what the original joke was.
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: voltan on September 25, 2024, 07:36:35 PM
Does anyone know who made these, or even know what I'm on about?
yes I know what you're on about but can't remember the name, give me five minutes to search for it.
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: voltan on September 25, 2024, 07:46:57 PM
Right, I had to go through most of my old Harbingers to find the bloody advert, but I believe you're looking for Warscape by Warscape games, at least that's what the ad calls them. I think they also did a spacey set called lunarscape or something like that.
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Ran The Cid on September 25, 2024, 07:52:28 PM
ZITERDES produced a set of 2x2 terrain tiles.  Stood about 2 inches off the table.  Came in a variety of flat, river and hill sections.  I don't recall drilled holes or a screw system to hold it together.  Appears they are out of production also.
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Mammoth miniatures on September 25, 2024, 07:56:02 PM
Right, I had to go through most of my old Harbingers to find the bloody advert, but I believe you're looking for Warscape by Warscape games, at least that's what the ad calls them. I think they also did a spacey set called lunarscape or something like that.

Ooo that's a lead I can follow! Tha KS for the research. Do you mind letting me know which issue of harbinger the ad was in?
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: voltan on September 25, 2024, 08:15:14 PM
Ooo that's a lead I can follow! Tha KS for the research. Do you mind letting me know which issue of harbinger the ad was in?

Issue 5 page 71.
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Tim Haslam on September 25, 2024, 09:36:05 PM
I saw some of these on FB market place only a few days ago!
At least I’m pretty sure they were the same product.

I was in that model shop, in North Wales a fair few years back, and noticed those vac formings.
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Ninefingers on September 26, 2024, 02:46:02 PM
ZITERDES produced a set of 2x2 terrain tiles.  Stood about 2 inches off the table.  Came in a variety of flat, river and hill sections.  I don't recall drilled holes or a screw system to hold it together.  Appears they are out of production also.
Ziterdes were clip together
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: dwbullock on September 26, 2024, 08:16:08 PM
Amera Plastic Mouldings, maybe?

Think they went out of business, but found some listed at https://www.nobleknight.com/Publisher/Amera-Plastic-Mouldings (https://www.nobleknight.com/Publisher/Amera-Plastic-Mouldings)

Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: anevilgiraffe on September 26, 2024, 08:22:21 PM
Amera went out of business?  :o
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: dwbullock on September 26, 2024, 08:22:46 PM
Well, maybe not.  Maybe just a dodgy website address that I have....
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Iain R on September 27, 2024, 12:27:58 AM
Amera went out of business?  :o

No. No they did not.
http://www.amera.co.uk/ (http://www.amera.co.uk/)

As for the OP's tiles, I know the exact ones he's talking about, we sold them in the model shop I worked in back in that exact timeframe (I was there 2003-2008) but I cannot for the life of me remember the manufacturer. They were in grey plastic, the screw connectors were white. We had an big 6x6 or 8×8 desert board set up using them in the gaming area, it was glorious.
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: manchesterreg on September 27, 2024, 06:28:34 AM
Amera website is infected with a virus or malware, my av will not even open it, and just black screen it
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Mammoth miniatures on September 27, 2024, 07:32:01 AM
No. No they did not.
http://www.amera.co.uk/ (http://www.amera.co.uk/)

As for the OP's tiles, I know the exact ones he's talking about, we sold them in the model shop I worked in back in that exact timeframe (I was there 2003-2008) but I cannot for the life of me remember the manufacturer. They were in grey plastic, the screw connectors were white. We had an big 6x6 or 8×8 desert board set up using them in the gaming area, it was glorious.


Those sound like the ones!

The ziterdes ones don't match my memory - although they may have changed them over the years so it's possible they made them.
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: fastolfrus on September 27, 2024, 08:25:37 PM
don't remember them at all, but in the 1970s I got some WWII scenic pieces that were in very thick vac-formed plastic (about 1mm thick?) about 2 feet square, also a castle about 3 feet square (with towers rising to about 8 inches)
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Harry Faversham on September 30, 2024, 12:32:58 PM
Daft wot you come to regret, innit? Me and our kid bought the Bellona walls in the 60s, ala Charles Grant. We used them up to about 10 years ago, when I flogged 'em to go upmarket. Now I wish I'd have kept and tickled them up.


 :'(
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Doug ex-em4 on September 30, 2024, 04:56:35 PM
Daft wot you come to regret, innit? Me and our kid bought the Bellona walls in the 60s, ala Charles Grant. We used them up to about 10 years ago, when I flogged 'em to go upmarket. Now I wish I'd have kept and tickled them up.


 :'(
Just in the process of "tickling up" my Bellona walls which are the same vintage as yours. I’ve carried them round all that time, through six house moves and only got round to refreshing them now.

Doug
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Harry Faversham on October 01, 2024, 11:10:06 AM
Sell 'em to me Doug, save yersen a ton of work!!!

 ;)
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Tom Dulski on October 01, 2024, 12:16:16 PM

 Are there pics anywhere of what these look like? I'm curious to see.
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Harry Faversham on October 01, 2024, 06:48:17 PM
Charles Grant's 'The Wargame' and 'Battle for Practical Wargamers'!
 :-*
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Doug ex-em4 on October 01, 2024, 11:31:44 PM
Are there pics anywhere of what these look like? I'm curious to see.

These are mine pre-refresh. Fifty years of wear and tear has had its effect. They were intended for 20mm figures, as I recall but are fine for larger figures.
(https://velodoug.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/img_6296.jpeg)



And here they are in use a couple of years ago.
(https://velodoug.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/c4332279-3fc5-4b31-8f52-b4d18deae66d.jpeg)


Doug



Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Tom Dulski on October 02, 2024, 12:37:00 PM

 Okay thanks, looks like something that could be easy enough to make yourself if you can't buy it.
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Mammoth miniatures on October 02, 2024, 02:32:22 PM
I was very kindly provided with a picture of the advert from Harbinger issue 5 for the WARSCAPE vac formed terrain tiles and sure enough, that's them! There doesn't seem to be a single other bit of info about them online and the name warscape has been picked up and dropped a dozen times in the last 10 or so years.

(https://i.imgur.com/ZJYnU6H.jpeg)
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Ragsta on October 16, 2024, 11:28:24 AM

Hopefully now you have such an image you can use it to ask around?
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Daeothar on October 16, 2024, 12:02:55 PM
Ah, yeah... I vaguely remember these now.

Never saw more of them than this one picture in Harbringer though...
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Mammoth miniatures on October 16, 2024, 03:49:28 PM
Hopefully now you have such an image you can use it to ask around?

I was able to use the wayback machine to have a snoop over the website. Yep, these are exactly what I remember them being - it seems they didn't make a huge range of designs but I am surprised they didn't catch on. The website mentions £500,000 of investment funding to bring their idea to life. At £15.99 a tile in 2004 I can imagine they may not have made their money back.
Title: Re: Searching for a lost product - Vac formed terrain tiles
Post by: Karadek on October 31, 2024, 02:51:48 PM
There was Geo-Hex, but they weren't vac-formed. At least, I don't think they were. Probably not helpful, sorry.