Sunday 15 September 2013

Review: Warmill Satlink MDF/Acrylic Terrain

By Harold

Warmill MDF/Acrylic Terrain
Satlink
Avaliable from: http://www.warmill.co.uk
Cost: £13.99

Hi everyone,

I'm not sure where I first saw it, but when I did I knew I had to have it. I think I saw a preview picture a couple of weeks before it was released and I kept bugging them until I could order it!

When I saw the Satlink it instantly invoked invoked an image of a lone colony outpost, or military installation, that needed a high-powered communications array.  A great objective and terrain piece. 

It also reminded me of bases that you fight over in the video game Planetside 2 (which, while i'm not very good at, is a lot of fun and a great online sci-fi military game).

Image from the Warmill website
I loved the color of the acrylic pieces too, especially with the pattern they have on them.

The kit arrived promptly and in a small cardboard box with very nice picture of the item on the outside.  Inside, nicely packed, was a (very helpful) instruction sheet, two sheets of laser cut MDF sheets and a bag with the acrylic pieces in it.  It's a very professional packaging and presentation.

What comes in the box

The acrylic pieces. Don't forget to remove the paper backing!

I was also impressed with all the pieces!  This kit was well designed, but it is still a challenging kit.  On a scale of 1 to 10, i'd probably put it around 8.  It's not terribly complicated, but there are a lot of opportunities to break fragile pieces and many of the steps require almost absolute precision on the previous steps to properly align.  

Detail of the etching.
The keyword for this kit is DRY FIT!  Seriously though, I'd dry fit everything two or three times to a) make sure it was the right piece b) make sure that everything fit together the right way or if I should be doing it in a different order c) to see if there was any cleaning I needed to do of the edges.

Completed pieces before painting and attaching the acrylic.
It's nice how the base is separate from the antenna.  It makes it easier to store, and if you wanted to mount the base to a larger MDF base you could without having to have the antenna always attached.

The base
While designed for 28mm, I think it works perfectly for 15mm:  (I think it actually scales better!)
   
Scale with a GZG Spacesuit guy on a US Penny
Scale with a GZG Spacesuit guy on a US Penny
Scale with a GZG Spacesuit guy on a US Penny

I plan on painting it tomorrow.  Something really easy, I will spray it a grey color, wash it with strong tone from Army Painter and drybrush.  I want it to have a "used" and "in-the-elements" look to it. 

After I paint it I will glue on the acrylic panels. I'll probably use white glue since I don't want the super glue to fog it up.

I hope you liked this review!   If you have the skill I would definitely recommend this kit for your 15mm battlefield!

9 comments:

  1. That is a very original and interesting looking kit,i can see that being used as a main games objective(knock out the comms)

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  2. Looks like a nice center table objective! I only wish they'd scale down some of their other products...

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    1. Yes, they have some great looking stuff... I think some of their stuff might work just fine though, even though it's designed for 28mm...

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  3. Really really good that mdf is developing to combine materials for new effects.

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  4. Great review Mr H. Enjoyed this a lot.

    GBS

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  5. It would make a great objective in both scale tbh. Fantastic looking kit though.

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  6. Been eying this one for a while as well, really nice to have some shots to show the scale. Thanks a bunch for sharing!

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  7. Thanks guys! Glad you liked the review.

    Looking at their website, I just say their warpgates (under battlefield accessories)... needless to say I'll be doing another order soon!

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  8. Also checkout their clear hexagonal or advanced alien tech bases in what ever clear color you like as they would make perfect alternatives to Likto's force shield markers.

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