Unboxing and Review: Battlefront Factory (BB192)

Another review rolls off the factory production line.

Box Art

Battlefront's factory building is a nice addition to the Battlefront's range of buildings. The factory is a Team Yankee piece and provides a good 1980's industrial building to create a cold war period table. The building is a large feature, measuring 16.5 cm (6.5") by 8.5 cm (3.5") by approximately 8 cm (3"). It comes standard with 2 levels, the bottom with shutters, doors and windows. The upper level is just windows. Finally, the building also has a black removable roof.

Box Packaging

Like all the Battlefield in a box stuff, the factory is well packed in a dedicated foam container. This is sturdy enough to be used to store and transport the building. There is a compartment for each piece to prevent any damage from pieces colliding during transport. My building arrived in perfect condition.

The building is available on the Flames of War site on this link. They retail in Australia for $73.50. This makes the factory one of the more expensive pieces. Like the church and the manner house, the factory is a center piece for the table. You should only need one.

In game terms the building can hold 6 medium bases per level. I.E 12 in total. There are openings on every face so the building makes a great fire platform.

I hope you enjoyed this review.

Review: Battlefront Fast Food Restaurant.

Today I un-box one of Battlefronts new Battlefield in a Box (BiaB) Team Yankee buildings - The Fast Food Restaurant or McPizza King.

The building is available on the Battlefront website for US$40 or AU$59 from my local store.

The building comes in the now very familiar BiaB outer box. Like always, it is fully painted, fully assembled and ready to use.

Ironically, unlike your favourite 1980's burger, this packaging is without polystyrene. The packaging is limited to a cardboard wrap and a lot of bubble wrap. A minor quibble but I like to store my buildings in their original box and this building doesn't really have one.

The building is simple enough, a whitewashed exterior with a white-lined red roof. The building is an amalgam of iconic US fast food joints. 

It is great that Battlefront are supporting Team Yankee with more modern buildings and terrain. This certainly fits the bill. I like that this can stand alone or be part of a series of other buildings. It wont work on a WW2 board but will look fine on a Team Yankee board with WW2 buildings.

Who remembers those hideous orange tiles?

As an extra, Battlefront have released a PDF to add window and other details to the building. The PDF is here.

This is a large building and will certainly draw attention on the table. It is nicely detailed and would look even better with a parking lot. However, at sixty dollars, it is a fairly large investment and the price is in line with the large building catagory. I think this is a good option for a Team Yankee regular. For a FOW regular who plays the occasional game of Team Yankee, I think the warehouse is probably a better place to start as it can be used on the WW2 table.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the review. Feel free to leave feedback.

Review: Battlefront Large Desert Building (BB134)

Today I review the Battlefront (BF) Battlefield in a Box Large Desert Building.

You will recall from my Not a News Years Resolution post and my Previous Mosque Posts 1 and Post 2, that I am working on my first desert table. I want to have it ready in time to throw myself headlong into some MW gaming as part of the v4 reboot.

With that in mind, I recently picked up some more desert buildings. I am pretty sure that this building has been around for a while and has simply been reproduced. However, I might have this completely wrong. What I can confirm is that these are available on the Battlefront website for US$26.

The packaging is the usual BF standard. The cardboard box has a picture of the contents. Inside is a foam box with a cut out for the building and the well. The building is in 3 pieces and the well 1. All pieces made it to me free of damage.

The pieces are the usual resin. The finish of the outside of the building is reminiscent of the other pieces in the desert range. Again, like the Mosque pieces, there are battle scars on the outside. 2 sets of roof pieces can be removed to allow stands to be placed inside and on top of the building. The building is covered in little touches that really set the piece off such as stair cases, barrels, cases and battle damage. Taking off the roof pieces, the interior is all brown. There is no finishing to the interior walls or floor. No big deal for a wargaming piece.

The well is a nice little vignette. It could go virtually anywhere on the table. Just like similarly sized European fountains in the walls box, this piece will add some colour to the table.

From a gaming point of view, this set will be great. The ability to put troops inside is to be the 1^st criteria for a building. After that it needs to look good and it does. Finally, this came out of the box table ready. What is not to like? Well done Battlefront – another winner.

I hope you enjoyed this review!

Review and Unboxing - Battlefront Mosque Walls (BB179)

A little while back I reviewed the Battlefront Battlefield in a Box Mosque here. The Mosque was pretty impressive alone but Battlefront have also released a box of walls to complete the set. Here is my review of the walls. At the end I also have pictures of the 2 sets together.

Review:
The box is inline with the high standard you can come to expect from Battlefront Battlefield in a box. You can see the contents on the back and a picture of the components on the cover with appropriate supporting models. My box was $32 Australian dollars. Although designed for the Arab Israeli period, it will work for WW2.

The box

Taking the plastic off and opening the box, the contents seem really well packed and secure in the foam insert. There are 4 walls, each 3.5cm high. There is also 2 gates and a Minaret. The Minaret is a match for the one supplied in the Mosque set.

The walls and Minaret in their foam protection.

The Battlefront packaging for the Battlefield in a box has come a long way. I purchased the old eastern front buildings when they were released and they came in a cardboard box without bubble wrap. Result - chipped resin. I am pleased to say that this packaging is light years ahead of the old eastern front buildings.

Contents of the box arrayed.

All of my components made it to me unscathed. Best of all the packaging looks like it will be ideal to carry and store my set. This should keep it in good condition until someone drops it at a tournament!   :)

Here are the contents assembled more coherently.

The set as seen in the picture above is probably not much use without another largish model in the middle. The walls are high (taller than a 15mm figure) and seem way to grand for anything other than a centerpiece (like the Mosque). Not a problem as such but it is not really a stand alone terrain piece.

That said, this is top notch terrain. As always with Battlefield in a box, it is fully assembled, fully painted and ready for the table. The models are nicely painted and best of all, blend in with the rest of Battlefronts desert buildings. I particularly like the battle scars in evidence on the walls. A small touch but one that really adds some realism to the terrain and makes is look like it belongs on the battlefield.

Here are some closeups of the components:

One of the gate pieces between 2 walls.

A Minaret

And, there is no point having the 2 boxes without some pictures of them together. Here is the Mosque and the Mosque Walls together.

The Mosque in all it's glory.

A close up of the front of the Mosque behind the walls.

I think combining the sets really brings the model to life. I think this will look great on my table. I am one more step closer to that MW desert table. C'mon Battlefront, where is version 4!?

I hope you enjoyed this post. I have been travelling this week and haven't had any real hobby time to paint, model or blog. However, the Hasty Attack blog has passed 5000 hits while I wasn't watching. It seems there are some people reading it. Please feel free to leave comments.

Flames of War at Cancon

Cancon has always been the highlight of my gaming year. It is a chance to get away, catch up with mates, have a few beers and play some games. Cancon is only just around the corner and I know many - including me - are planning their Cancon weekend.

Crowd Shot from Cancon, Photo from Cgs.asn.au

Cancon is also the largest gaming convention in Australia and as such has the most on offer for the gamer. From dinosaurs to gladiators to Star Wars X Wing there is a tournament or demonstration game for everyone

There are also a ton of traders offering all sorts of goods to spend your hobby dollar on.

If you haven't been to Cancon, I can recommend it as a great event.

But let's talk about Flames of war. This year there is:

Flames of war nationals - Early war 1550
Flames of war nationals - Late war 1625
Flames of war nationals - Team Yankee 100

Night Flames nationals - Late war 1000
Night Flames nationals - Arab Israeli 1000

War in the desert - Campaign event 

I understand there are less spaces available than there were last year, so if you intend to play, you should consider registering at the CGS website Here. Once the total cancon entries hits the venue limit, entries will close.

I hope to have more posts before, during and after Cancon. See you there!

Review and unboxing: Battlefront Mosque (BB178)

The MW desert reboot is coming!!

If you read my recent why we fight podcast review, you will know that version 4 is coming. Also coming is the relaunch of the mid war period starting in the desert. Both of these things have got me very excited.

My first army was a US MW army and the desert and MW are still my favorite period. When I started playing flames or war, it was simpler to simply collect a European table of terrain. Now, with v4 and the desert reboot, now is the time to start putting together my desert table. I have collected a few items and I will be picking up some more in coming months. I really hope that Battlefront release some new pieces with their desert releases. Fingers crossed!

Review and Un-boxing:
One of the pieces I want my table to feature is the Mosque that Battlefront recently released for the Arab Israeli period. It will work well for a WW2 desert table too. It is a fairly big piece so, a good piece to start with.

Here are my pictures and comments as I unbox the Mosque.

The box.

Inside is a foam-wrapped package.

Individually wrapped pieces

Mosque components.

The pack also contains a Minaret

Building pieces and Minaret

And the complete Mosque and Minaret ready for the table.

The Mosque is large enough to house 4 medium bases. There is also some room on top around the dome for some small bases.

This is my first piece of Battlefield in a base desert terrain and it is a beauty. The model is made from solid resin. Mine was very well packed as you can see above and arrived to me with zero damage. Like all Battlefield in a box pieces, it is fully painted, fully assembled and table ready. Including taking photos, I had mine out of the box and table ready in 5 minutes.

The dome on the building and the Minaret are a bold gold/brass colour and really stand out from the white walls. It will also stand out on a desert board too. The roof is cast with a small crate that serves as a hold so it can be easily removed and figures placed in side. Inside, there is a nicely detailed patterned floor that really adds another level to the building.

The only minor quibble I have is the crescent for the dome. It is quite a long piece and I expect it will break first. However the dome looks perfectly good without it so no big deal. Overall, I give this box 9 out of 10.

The model is currently on sale on the Flames Of War site for $37.50 USD. Here is the link. Overall, I think this is excellent value, especially as it is on sale. I think mine was $60 AU and I consider this a pretty good deal.

Tournament Coverage: Waffenbruder 2016 - Day 2

For day one coverage, please click here

Thanks to the Hasty Attack corespondent, here are some pics of day 2.

I understand David and Conrad won. Well done to them.

Deployment

Street Barricades

Defense set

Tankovy and the railway to no where

Tankovy on the attack

Review – Battlefront Battlefield in a Box – Manor House: Arnhem (BB175)

I didn’t subscribe to the latest premium property offer from Battlefront. I like all the models in the Battlefield in a Box (BIAB) but wanted to pick and choose just a few to add to my terrain pile. Despite the now famous delays, it was the first subscription I really should have got in on.

For those who haven’t been exposed to the BIAB range, it is a series of terrain pieces designed to be taken straight out of the box, fully painted and placed down for immediate gaming. What’s more, it is exactly designed to suit Flames of War figures. It is the right scale and even the Battlefront bases fit perfectly in the buildings. They are well constructed out of resin and stand up well to the typical abuse they are treated to on the gaming table. I routinely take mine to competitions and have yet to have a piece break.

The Manor House: Arnhem is no different. This is a limited edition piece and I was lucky to get my hands on one. The model itself is painted a simple white with a green dry-brushed roof. What is nice about this building though is the balconies and grand windows. The building was very well packed. Each part was wrapped separately in bubble wrap and the pieces were then well packed into a cardboard box. Mine arrived without damage.

Unlike the simple houses, the Manor House is more suited to sitting by itself surrounded by perhaps some crops, gardens or a fence. This makes it (like the Church) a little bit of a centerpiece on the table.

In terms of usability, each section lifts off to allow stands to fit inside. The top and bottom floor is each divided into 2 rooms, each capable to holding 2 medium bases. That is 8 medium bases in total.

Overall I am very impressed with this model and highly recommend it.

Here are photos. I hope you enjoy!