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Hi all, just a mini review of some terrain I bought from Zen Terrain recently, as they are new this year I thought some of you might be interested -

Chapel -



CRAB -



Basically, I'm very impressed. The first thing to say is that of all the MDF I have tried so far, Zen are the only manufacturer who pre-cut everything, so the pieces don't come on frames but in bags. This means no cutting the pieces out, which can be time-consuming if done carefully, problematic when trying to cut a very thin piece, and aesthetically not ideal as even the finest sanding can still leave a slight visible area where the part was joined. So, much of the difficulty of working with MDF goes away, and you just have a jigsaw to glue together.

Building the models I found pretty easy, the CRAB was much easier than I thought it would be. The parts fit 'just-right', which Warmill also do, compared to say MAS where a tight squeeze is required, or Sarissa where the fit is a bit loose until fully glued. Service from Zen was fine, the models arrived very quickly, and good VFM to my mind, even with shipping. The paintjob and too-much-glue marks are my fault

As to the models themselves, the chapel I like, it isn't as big as I thought, footprint slightly smaller than a MAS apartment, and no usable interior, but for the price I think makes a great piece. The CRAB I love, not just for the looks but for the fact it provides at least some vague context for the ever ubiquitous crates.

All-in-all, will certainly buy again, even in a MDF market with a lot of really, really great stuff.

Edit - good instructions included with both models too.

Is that a cargo robot? I'd like some more pics of that. Do containers actually fit on its forks?

They're very nice people, I will have a review of their stuff on Data Sphere in the next 2 weeks, I'll repost it here, too.

Can't do more pics right at the moment, but yes it will hold a cargo crate - anything up to around 60mm wide by 60mm high would fit.

Thanks Darkjim for your review. Glad you found the models easier to assemble than anticipated. There will be more exciting stuff coming over to our site.


You can see more stuff from us here on dakka as well - also showing stuff coming soon.
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/608915.page

Didn't know about these guys, have now bought some hab units as I like the look and stacking. cheers for the reviews

Are the building roofs removable in game, so if models go inside during play they can be moved and positioned correctly with ease?

The chapel is one solid piece and I don't think the interior is intended to be used in game, though the roof area could easily fit a sniper or two.

Don't know about the rest of Zen buildings, but I certainly intend to pick up more of their terrain this year, it just goes together so well.

rafyn wrote:
Are the building roofs removable in game, so if models go inside during play they can be moved and positioned correctly with ease?

That is the only issue is that the roofs are not removable. They usually have doors cut in the design but not actually removable either. I have the habitat units, great pieces but unfortunately can't use them fully to the potential with open doors or putting men inside the building.

Just a point - BPLaser completely cut everything too. No frames.

Didn't know that thanks, they do some really nice stuff too.