Mantic Terrain for Stargrave

[nicknorthstar]

I got some of the Mantic Sci-Fi Terrain painted up for our Stargrave games. I think it looks pretty good and it's good to play over.
https://www.northstarfigures.com/list.php?man=66&cat=653&page=1

[Malebolgia]

Looks great and Deadzone scenery is excellent for Stagrave. But the Deadzone player in me cries for the bases underneath the scenery

[Chief Lackey Rich]

I've got a pile of that stuff still on the sprue that I've been trying to find time for, but unfortunately all I've got left are the "damaged" frames, all the intact building parts were used up back in 1st edition.  Makes it kind of hard to work with.  Need to either bite the bullet and buy more intact frames or lean into it and do a table full of ruins.

Hmm.  I don't suppose anyone's got some intact frames they'd like to trade for some ruins? 

Regardless, the stuff works fine for skirmish gaming outside of Deadzone.  Plenty of room for most figs, good sturdy structures and if you're reasonably smart about how you assemble things the interiors are pretty accessible.

But the Deadzone player in me cries for the bases underneath the scenery

Deadzone's all cube measurement anyway.  The bases shouldn't affect play dramatically - you can always just measure 3" distances, or hold a spare building tile over the non-gridded part of the table as a measuring template.  And the bases will look better in every other game, including Firefight.

Underrated game systems, both of them. Always surprised at how little chat they get around here, and in general.

[Malebolgia]

Oh yeah, they will work for Deadzone very well, but I really prefer unbased scenery, especially if you have a lot (which you should because the game is way better with loads of scenery). It just makes it a lot easier to see in which row-column models are.

[Chief Lackey Rich]

Oh yeah, they will work for Deadzone very well, but I really prefer unbased scenery, especially if you have a lot (which you should because the game is way better with loads of scenery). It just makes it a lot easier to see in which row-column models are.

Well, that's true.  I suppose if you're playing on a gridless table/mat you could lay down some tape or something to mark the 3x3 grid, though.  Do it in bright colors and call it a "tactical display" from the orbiting spy drones, right?

You can do some pretty impressive stuff with that kit.  I built a couple of tables' worth for a guy who'd backed the original KS heavy and he had so much I could go hog wild.  Had one structure that was 18" high, with stepped levels so people could actually get all the way to the top.  Pretty much filled a row/column all by itself.  Still rock solid too, although that was one where a base would have made me feel better just to reduce the chance of a clumsy move knocking the whole thing over.

[zemjw]

I built one set a while back, but had issues getting parts to click together. The fit was so tight that they're never coming apart, which makes storage a pain. I also made the mistake of using the world's stinkiest spray paint on them.

I still have several unbuilt sets in the loft, but those two factors mean every time I think about doing some,  I chicken out 

[Grumpy Gnome]

That terrain is looking good! Kicking myself now for passing in an opportunity to get a bunch of that at a great price.

[Chief Lackey Rich]

I built one set a while back, but had issues getting parts to click together. The fit was so tight that they're never coming apart, which makes storage a pain. I also made the mistake of using the world's stinkiest spray paint on them.

I still have several unbuilt sets in the loft, but those two factors mean every time I think about doing some,  I chicken out 

Despite Mantic's claims to the contrary, they aren't really designed to be broken down once assembled.  They're actually easier to build if you apply solvent glue while attaching the clips, the stuff lubricates the join and softens the plastic briefly, making it fit better (albeit permanently).  They're definitely one of the more irritating terrain kits to assemble and need some pre-planning to get the most out of, but you can still make some pretty nice structures out of them and their size is good for modern models.

[Bloggard]

great work with those @ nicknorthstar. That set-up should make for wonderful games of SG.

and agreed @ Rich - Deadzone etc - very neat systems, oddly absent from this forum.
Mantic are just doing open beta testing on a revised version of FF, btw.

[Chief Lackey Rich]

and agreed @ Rich - Deadzone etc - very neat systems, oddly absent from this forum.
Mantic are just doing open beta testing on a revised version of FF, btw.

I'd seen the beta was open but hadn't really looked at it yet.  More doing skirmish gaming these days, although maybe I should take advantage of the current fan outrage with GW to try to draw some folks into Firefight as a 40K alternative.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Nice work on those buildings (and the figure conversions).

[nicknorthstar]

I can't take credit for the buildings, that was David Marshall, but thanks for the figure compliment !

[Thargor]

I'm using that too.  It's great stuff, but I'm glad I got extra connectors to make it sturdier.

[nicknorthstar]

Speaking of Mantic, we sent their Hornet Dropship to be painted by Artmaster Studios for our photoshoots & games. Looks great.

[Chief Lackey Rich]

Lovely, very well done.  Look forward to seeing that showing up in your beauty shots.

Mantic's vehicle kits are quite nice for the most part, and generally much easier to assemble than (say) GW stuff is - and rather a lot less expensive.  The Mule, Hornet, and whatever the Enforcer aircraft is called are particularly good IMO.  Even their not-Squat AFVs that look suspiciously like they have beards have grown on me over time.