Guardians of the Galaxy Starter Review

Hey there folks,
My latest Marvel review is now up on the Wayland Games Blog (here)

Check it out and let me know what you think.

- Hendybadger

Marvel Avengers Starter Review

As you may know, as well as writing here on ToaTS and a couple of other places, I also write on the Wayland Games blog.

My latest post over there is a review of the new Avengers starter for the Marvel Universe Miniature Game.
Check it out HERE and let me know what you think.

- Hendybadger

Gotham Penguin, Joker's Daughter and Owly Giveaway Last Day!

Hi all!

My latest review is now up on the Wayland Games Blog. This time it's the Joker's Daughter and Gotham Penguin.
Head over and take a look.

Plus today is the last day to enter the 'Owly' giveaway on my Wayland posts.
Commenting on the Penguin / Daughter Review, Court of Owls Review and Batman: The Game Board posts enters you into the giveaway where three people will win some Owly goodies!

The winners will be announced in the next couple of days.

- Hendybadger

Court of Owls Review and Giveaway

Over on the Wayland Games Blog this week I have  Court of Owls review looking at the starter box and Gotham Butcher.
But, that's not all it is!
By commenting on the article you could also be chosen to win some very nice 'Owly' Batman Mini Game models!

Head over and take a look HERE

- Hendybagder

Marvel Mini Review - Green Goblin + Doctor Octopus

Hi all!
It's time to take a look at some of the recent Marvel offerings from Knight Models.
The last couple of months have seen releases of two of Spiderman's biggest foes. The Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus.

Both of these models come in the usual Knight Models packaging. A blister with all the parts shown on one side held in tightly with foam and the backing card showing a finished version of the model inside.
While these models don't have rules cards like the Batman ones do at the moment, there is talk of a Marvel minis game coming in the future.

Here you can see the parts included in each. I did forget to include the new plastic scenic bases that now come with all KM models.
These parts were VERY clean. Minimal mould lines and only a couple of bits of flash to remove.
The Green Goblins's body is in four parts withe a single part glider and a smoke trail.
Doc Ock is a single piece body with two separate arms and a pair of arms attached to the base tab.
I decided to cut the base tabs off of these to mount them on resin base toppers so ended up with four lose Doc Ock arms.

Glue time......

The Green Goblin was really simple to build. All of the parts fit together really well with barely any gaps, no more than any other metal model anyway.
Doc Ock took a little more work but only due to the fact I separated the base arms and mounted it on a higher base then usual. This meant that I need to do a extra bit of bending on the robotic arms to get him to stand the way I wanted him.
There are quite small connections on the body so make sure you have the arms in the position you want them and then glue them strongly one at a time.

On Wayland Games these will set you back £10.36 each. It might seem a bit much for a single mini but these are quite big, very detailed and licensed characters. Plus, its no more than a ship or character for some of the bigger games out there.

Overall, I am in LOVE with these minis. They are both really big imposing villains that fit the Spiderman setting really well. The sculpts and poses capture each character perfectly and I can honestly say that these are both now up there in my Top 5 Knight Models minis ever produced.
I really can't wait to see what Marvel goodies they come out with next.

Scores -

Green Goblin - 10/10 Badger Points

Doctor Octopus - 9/10 Badger Points

What do you think of them?
Will you be picking up any of the Marvel range?

- Hendybadger

Multiverse Gaming Terrain Review by Steffen

Today we have a guest post from my friend Steffen. A look at some of the Multiverse Gaming terrain. Click on the images to view at full size.

Steffen, over to you ....... (Hendybadger)

I have recently fallen in love with Multiverse GamingTerrain and their amazing products. I started off with their CornerApartment Building and loved it, so I decided to get some more of their stuff. Ian aka Hendybadger graciously allowed me to post a review of some of this stuff, so today I'm showing you my Old Diner and Aircon Ducts.

Old Diner

The diner is an amazing kit at its low, low price of just €17.99. It consists of three sheets of 1.5mm thick HDF and a sheet of "matte board" which is like laser cut card.

The details are very crisp, and everything I've ever bought from Multiverse Gaming Terrain has been ridiculously well cut. The parts need next to no cutting in order to remove them from the sprues, which is a huge plus from me. There's nothing worse than an MDF kit that's almost impossible to remove from the sprues.

It took me a little less than an hour to assemble this gorgeous kit. The roof and doors are removable for practical reasons, as this allows your models to enter the diner (though it's unfurnished inside).

Something I really like is the choice you get with the corners. You get two lengths of matte board - a long one for making enclosed corners, and a short one for making windowed corners. Since I knew I wanted to put windows made from blister pack plastic in my diner, I decided to go with the enclosed corners.

Gorgeous, isn't it? Next up I painted it (well, it took me a few weeks...). I decided to go with silver and blue for the main colors, inspired by my local diner in Minneapolis - the Nicollet Diner. I went with grey tones for the walls and roof.

Front:

I love the rooftop sign. I'm going to write "The Nicollet" on the white area when I find a suitable pen to do it with. I will also add a red "open/closed" sign in the window on the door. Looking back, I may have gone overboard with the dirt on the windows, but at least you can't see that there's no detail inside, not that it matters in my games of Batman Miniature Game.

Back.

Here's a few action shots of Green Arrow, Mr. Zsasz, and a Bane henchman from the Batman Miniature Game duking it out.

Aircon Ducts

Unfortunately I somehow managed to not take any pictures of my aircon ducts before assembling them, but here's an unpainted picture.

As you can see they consist about 50/50 of HDF and matte board, which keeps cost and weight down. They feel highly durable.

In this €9.99 kit you get two long straights sections, two short ones, two T-junctions, and eight corner sections.

All of the corner sections have a side with four peg holes (so you can turn them any way you want). Four of them have two peg holes, and the other four have two pegs. This allows you to create endless configurations of aircon duct systems.

Here's an example setup where I've used almost all of the pieces.

Finally, here's an action shot on top of a building just to give you a sense of the scale.

In keeping with Hendybadger's tradition, I'm going to award both these kits a number of Badger points.

Diner - 10/10 Badger Points

Aircon Ducts - 9/10 Badger Points

Batman Scenery Review - Construction Set and Dumpsters

Hi all!
I think it's about time that I catch up with some of my Knight Models reviews.
Over the next few weeks I will be look at 3-4 months worth of Batman and Marvel releases. Some on here and some over on the Wayland Games Blog.

I'm going to start off today with a bit of MDF scenery. The Construction Set and Dumpsters for the Batman Minis Game.

Both of these sets come packed in clear bags with a Batman topper. These bags mean you can see exactly what you are getting before you even leave the store or open it.
They also each include some very handy building instructions. Something a few of the MDF kits out there at the moment are missing.

The Dumpsters come as a set of two on identical sheets while the Construction Set is split between two sheets. These sheets include two skips (one Wayne, one Queen), a Wayne pallet, and a pair of barriers.
The Construction Set came off of the sheet really easily while the Dumpsters needed to have a craft knife run around the back of the parts lightly to remove them. Not too bad as it's something you often expect to do while building this sort of scenery.

Time to glue!

These Dumpsters were very easy to build with the instruction sheet handy. Each section is a couple of layers thick to add raised detail and the fronts have Gotham City cut into them to add a little extra of a 'Batman' feel to your board.
The only thing to watch out with this is the pin that runs through the back of the lids. You will need to run a file over the mould lines to get a good fit. When you do though, it lets you open or position the lids however you like. Another nice little touch.

The pair of Skips that come on the Construction Set were an easy build. You make the main structure and then add the details on top. This makes them very sturdy and strong.
While both are the same design, they have different logos on. One for Wayne Enterprises and one for Queen Industries. Batman's and the Green Arrow's own companies that are involved in several industries in the DC world.

The other items in the Construction Set are the two barriers and the Pallet. The barriers just need the feet gluing on so are beyond simple. They are handy to place around the board though.
The Pallet took a little more work as each strip attaches to roughly three others. Little bits of glue and a bit of patience is needed for this one but it looks fantastic when finished with a Wayne Enterprises logo displayed across the top.

So, how do they scale against the miniatures?

The answer? Really well! These bits of scenery are ideal for blocking paths, adding cover to duck behind and increasing your chances of a 'Ping' roll when being shot at.
The logos also also help make your board feel and look like an actual DC setting.

To buy these kits you are looking at around £4.80 for the Dumpsters and £7.99 for the Construction Set. Prices from Wayland Games.
While they aren't the cheapest scatter terrain on the market, for the quality I think they are a fair price.

Overall I would give them-

Dumpsters - 7/10 Badger Points

Construction Set - 8/10 Badger Points

What do you think of them?
Good additions to a board or not?

More scenery coming soon.
- Hendybadger

Review - Multiverse Gaming Corners Apartments, Street Lights and Sewers

Recently I received a great parcel from Mutiverse Gaming. Some samples of their new Dark City 30 MDF terrain range. A 3 floor Corner Apartment Building and a set of Street Lights and Sewer covers.

It's taken me a little while to get the post together due to issues mentioned in a recent post, but I can finally review these lovely kits!

First off, lets take a look at the sheets these parts come on.
In the top image, the parts on the far right are window sills and wall bracers. The second image has a small row of window details.
The 5th picture below was something I hadn't seen in MDF kits before. This 'grey board' is a thinner and lighter sheet used for extra details.

The parts came out of these sheets really easily. There were very small tabs on them to hold them in place, but they were taken out really quickly with a craft knife. They didn't even need cleaning up afterwards.

The Street Lights come in several parts. Most of them though are stacked on the main pole to create the light and case around it at the top. Very simple to put together and everything was a great fit.

The floors of the building were quite simple to arrange. As a corner building, it has 5 walls and the parts for each floor are all on a single sheet together. No getting mixed up with similar parts this way which is great.

One of my favourite things about this kit was fairly simple but very effective. Each floor comes with bracers that fit over the tops of the wall joints. Where with other kits I have had to hold or clamp parts together while they dry, these bracers do the job for you while also adding extra strength to the building.

Once the floors were dry, I found that they stack really nicely. Each slips onto the one below without being forced but due to the size of the pegs, they don't slip or move around at all.
The 'grey board' details with this kit really do add a nice touch. Edging bricks, window frames and door details pair with the window sills and small sill toppers to make a building that really stands out against its competitors.

The street lights and sewers are very nicely sized. As it's a 30mm range, they are bigger than most others on the market but it makes them look more realistic with models around.

The ground floor of the building also has movable doors. These are on stands and fit snugly in the door frames or can be opened for play inside the building or even as a quick route through instead of around.

So you can see the overall size of these kits, I have added the Dark Knight and his sidekick as that's the range I will be using them with.

As I was given these to review, I don't really want to comment on the price too much, but if you wanted the the Apartment Block is around £23 and the Lights and Sewers set are £4.50.
I think these are great prices and I will be buying some more for my table very soon.

All in all, I LOVE these sets. The ease, details, strength and size all appeal to me.
They are both getting added to my City board for my next game.

Time for the scores....

Lights + Sewers - 8/10 Badger Points

Apartment Block - 10/10 Badger Points

Keep and eye on the blog for more from Multiverse Gaming in the near future and a MASSIVE thanks goes out to them from sending me these goodies to review.

- Hendybadger