While I was at Wargamescon this year, I had a chance to score some of Tectonic Craft’s terrain from the show. I ended up with three pieces of terrain, the Defensive Bunker, City Ruins, and Administration Ruins. I was stoked to have some new terrain to play with and have on the table, having something different than the gothic grimdark terrain that is the GW 40k terrain kits.
Design
I was surprised in how detailed the terrain is. The ruined terrain has tons of cracks in the piece, to showcase the stress that the terrain went under during its destruction. The bunker however, is pristine in its construction with stylized rivet holes, ladders, doors, and ramparts. There is a lot of detail for this laser cut terrain.
I also really appreciated how the ruined pieces did not have square bases. That was always something that bugged me about most terrain pieces in how each ruined piece was on a giant square base. I felt it looked weird and often didn’t fit the board. I love the jagged border of the ruins, but the angular shape of the bunker works as it is supposed to be a solid piece on a foundation.
Construction
The pieces are also pretty sturdy, being MDF and all. I had to check the terrain in a cardboard box on my flight back and all three pieces survived well as they were already fully assembled. There was some minor damage here and there on some of the thinner parts, but it stayed together very well.
I’d worry about some of those thinner pieces in the long run, but that is true about most every terrain, even the plastic stuff. It will all come down to how it is stored and played with.
Cost
It is a bit more expensive than the GW terrain, which sell for $33 a piece. The Administration Ruins sells for $45, the City Ruins sells for $30, and the Defensive Bunker sells for $35. MDF isn’t as modular as the GW kits, but the Tectonic terrain does give a very different feel, which is nice. Some of this will come down to personal preference.
Assembly
Unfortunately I can’t speak to the assembly side of things as it was already assembled when I got it. It looks easy enough, with a lot of slots and posts. Some simple wood glue will go a long way to secure it and make it last.
Pictures
Take a look at the three pieces I ended up with and a fully painted piece on a FAT mat!
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Check out Tectonic Craft Studios for your MDF and gaming needs. Pretty cool stuff.
Oh that stuff looks absolutely fantastic!
I totally agree about square bases being annoying on ruins. It’s too easy to do though.
I cut up MDF for the bases of all my terrain, and it’s WAY easier to cut into squares.
I like the look of the terrain A LOT, but the cost really puts me off. I’m too cheap.
I actually really like the square bases for ruins. It reminds me of industrial blocks, and city blocks.
Terrain like woods, and other natural features I like to see rounded bases. Just my 2 cents.
I’ve been thinking about picking up some of this terrain, thanks for the great review Aaron!