Any experience of Amera Buildings?

[traveller]

I think the AMera kit Z241 Ministry Building looks promising for a Victorian palace or government building:

http://www.amera.co.uk/product.php?range=z

Any experience on building these kits?

Grateful for any comment!

[Dolmot]

Be careful. They're just vacuum formed 1mm thick plastic sheets. Most likely there's no interior whatsoever - only the back side of outside wall shapes. Also the vacuum technique doesn't make perfectly sharp corners. The test piece I bought years ago was so softly defined that I didn't even bother painting it. If it's still the same, you might be better off with cutting your own card sheets. At least you'll get sharp corners and thicker walls if desired.

Wasn't happy, but that's just my own single experience, not the ultimate truth.

[Agger]

I have been fairly happy about their stuff on more than one occasion, but I haven't ordered some of the more detailed stuff. Their scifi bunkers and some of their ruined temples have been great additions to my gametables, but only because I needed something made fast! you won't get stunning details or anything, but I still think it is some great stuff for the money.

[Doc Twilight]

I can't speak of Amera, personally, but there was a vendor who sold very similar items at Historicon and other US conventions on the East Coast for a number of years, before he presumably retired (as he stopped showing up long before I moved to California). A friend bought several of his pieces and used them to build some ancient terrain. They looked fine, and apparently painted up quickly. The main issue was durability - to whit, they had none. After a couple sessions of being on the table, being handled, being used for placement of troops inside, etc... the pieces simply started cracking, sloughing off paint, etc.

It could be very different for Amera; they could use very rigid ABS plastic for example (the kind used in stormtrooper armor) but I'm always wary of thin, injection molded plastic terrain as a result of my friend's experiences. Also, since they say that the material can be easily cut with household scissors, I'm a little dubious as to how strong it may actually be.

Again, your mileage may vary, and if it's a good product, I don't mean to dissuade you from it. Just sharing my own observations of a similar, if not identical, product.

-Doc

[Col.Stone]

The amera terrain is soft as mentioned, but quite sturdy, it lacks detail on the inside, being vacformed the rear bits are negatives of the front.
i have a few of their ruins and they're nice for the money, some work requiered tho to make the most of them

they are on the list for terrain i'd get more of

[Gluteus Maximus]

I think the AMera kit Z241 Ministry Building looks promising for a Victorian palace or government building:

Very true and it would probably be useable for 18thC scenarios such as the various American wars. It might even make a very nice Governor's residence for pirate games 

[Dewbakuk]

I'm intending to pick some up for a few things. The plan is to run plaster into the inside 'recess'. This will add very little to the cost, will give them strength and rigidity and will detail the interior, given that the interior of most buildings is plaster anyway Plus plaster is easy to put bullet marks, scrapes, chips etc into.

[traveller]

Thanks for your comments!

it seems they could be a good option but yesterday I found out that their european postage fees are horrendous. The Ministry building price is £25 and the postage is £25. The closest distributors prices are 25% higher than Ameras so case closed.....I might use the Italeri Berlin House instead and add some pillars.

[Col.Stone]

postage of £25 is ridiculous

[Dewbakuk]

Thanks for your comments!

it seems they could be a good option but yesterday I found out that their european postage fees are horrendous. The Ministry building price is £25 and the postage is £25. The closest distributors prices are 25% higher than Ameras so case closed.....I might use the Italeri Berlin House instead and add some pillars.

I'd be prepared to ship something on if you had it sent to my house instead? Obvious problem with that is there is no way of knowing how much 'actual shipping' would be until it arrived and I could weigh it. Would be immensely amazed if it turned out to be £20.50 though

[traveller]

Thanks for the generous offer but I wonder how sensitive this item is considering their answer below:

"Yes it is light, about 800 g but much too large to be posted by small packet airmail.  The only other alternative is by courier, hence the £25.  Our UK prices are used only as suggested retail prices to stockists."

I thought it was flatpacked and would then be fairly easy to ship. However some of the comments above indicates that the detail and sharpness of features may be a bit weak so I think the Italeri Berlin House might be a better deal. I found it for £18+£10 postage.

[Dewbakuk]

Fair enough. It probably is flat packed but our post office has measurement criteria for it's postage types. It's possible it doesn't fit within that, although I expect it would if packed right.

The offer wasn't entirely altruistic, it would also have been a good way for me to get a look at it before I bought it 

At some point I'll get one myself and let you know

[Wachaza]

They're quite robust if you fill the backs with expanding foam and prime them with a decent primer. They're cheap to buy but they do need a lot more work than things like the Pegasus or Citadel buildings. If you want a set up on the cheap and have time then they're a good buy.

The postage is likely down to the dimensions shifting it into a higher category. The change to Pricing in Proportion where they charge by size and weight rather than just weight made sending some things by Royal Mail very expensive, especially overseas.

[anevilgiraffe]

Fair enough. It probably is flat packed

it isn't...

I ordered one ages ago when I had a bit of spare, thinking it would work for UNIT HQ... damn thing is massive... the box is a big proper box... haven't done a damn thing with it

[Thunderchicken]

They're quite robust if you fill the backs with expanding foam and prime them with a decent primer.

That's exactly what I do. I've been using some of their trenches and ruins for about 4 years and they're still going strong.