Tuesday 16 October 2018

Future Worlds Landscape - Modular Wargames Terrain

As I slowly get back into my model making and wargaming hobby I have been looking for new and interesting projects to sink my teeth into. I was contacted by Nick Fatchen and asked if I would like to review his Kickstarter Project called Future Worlds Landscape, and this seemed like a perfect little project to get me moving again.



I have always enjoyed the terrain making side of wargaming, probably more so than painting the figures. So when this came along I jumped at it. I wasn't sure about the idea of 3D printing a large number of tiles to make the terrain, but I soon realised that I can slowly add to the set as and when I need to.



Before I go any further, here is the link to the Kickstarter:-


Now I must state at this point that when Nick asked me to review these kits I had planned to print off the whole set straight away, however, both my sons and my 3D printers have been playing up and I have not been able to print any at home. I have had a couple of tiles and some of the connecting clips printed on the machines at my work, but they are too busy for me to do any more at the moment. I hope, from what I have printed, that you will be able to get an idea of the system.


The idea is that you can build up a collection of tiles that clip together to build different hills and obstacles for different games. There are a series of different tiles that have internal and external corners, straights and pieces that change height from one side to the other. There are also edging pieces which give a smooth transition from the table to the hill (unfortunately, I have not yet been able to print any of these).


The tiles clip together with a firm push and grip tightly, but also come apart easily, when you need them to.


The clips push into slots in the sides of each tile and these line up perfectly, with each different configuration.


Obviously, you do need to make sure that the edges of the tiles match.


Depending on the tile, there are between 2 and 4 slots on each side. I have found that 2 should be fine to hold the tiles together, but it is handy that you don't need to use the same two every time...





Underneath the hills, there are extra supports that hold them up. These also hold the tiles together for added rigidity. I have only printed the 1" pieces, but there are also larger ones for the higher hills.






 I had hoped to have a few more printed and have them painted for this review. As that hasn't happened we will have to make do with the painted examples from the Kickstarter page (which can be seen at the top of this article and also below).





 Personally, I am not to keen on the paint job on these examples as I think it highlights the edges of the tiles, however, as this is promoting the tile system, that is probably the intention.

The detail on the tiles is fantastic, and really captures the different textures of the scenery. I was really impressed by this once I had the actual tiles in my hands.

The process of 3D printing this system is not a fast one, and there is a certain amount of clean-up involved. Although the clean-up should be minimal as the files are designed to be printed without any support material. Mine were done with support material as the guy that runs our printers felt they needed it. I will be doing the next lot without, both for speed and to save filament.

I must admit, I think this isanm excellent system and I am looking forward to getting more printed to build some nice big and versatile layouts...




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