If you are reading this blog regularly, then you already know that my life is not entirely composed of painting – some gaming is also involved! Here and there a more gaming-centered article pops out and today’s review is just such an article. If you came here for a painting article, please do not be discouraged and still give thise one a try – who knows, maybe you will end up ordering a bunch of miniatures along with some cool looking terrain, or at least see something new?
I stumbled upon Right Arm Labs during Polish National Championships of Infinity the game. This friendly, wargaming terrain producing, company visited the event, providing awesome looking terrain pieces for couple of gaming boards. Many times have I gasped with admiration seeing how cool looking and playable their terrain was. Unfortunatelly for me, back then I didn’t play a single game on their terrain, but in the end I won a pinting competition and received some gifts funded by guys from Right Arm Labs. (Lucky me!). So I took my spoils of war back home and gave them a try in couple of games. Here’s my thoughts on them…
If I’m to categorise Right Arm Labs products I’d say they are of a good quality. The material used to construct them is durable and the parts fit perfectly to one another. They are easy to put together which is uncommon in the market of wargaiming terrain. Another uncommon thing is that they come pre-painted and not in some dismissive way, but a totally nice looking, precise and ready to play one. Sure, the colours could use some juice, but it’s better than regular HDF!
Right Arm Labs took an interresting approach to visual aspect of their terrain. Exteriors are a bit crude and some features were clearly left out to make these terrain pieces more playable. At the same tame there’s a lot of detail and pre-painting. Sure it’s not Zen Terrain complex design or Micro Art Studio’s fine style, but still it appeals to the eye isn’t it? We must remember that there are plenty one-man-companies that produce flat walled cubic buildings and don’t even bother to add detail. Right Arm Labs proudly stands above the latter.
Along with nice looks the Right Arm Labs Terrain comes with high playability. Flat surfaces and sharp angles are perfect for Infinity and will fit in many different games including Warhammer 40,000. Height and dimensions of the objects and terrain pieces goes well with 28mm scale, providing enough cover and options for our miniatures to explore. While smaller scenery pieces can be mounted on bases and used as objectives, the buildings are designed in a way that lets you manipulate their features between games! Just take a look at this interresting Control Room:
Now let’s break it into particular pieces…
Each of these pieces, even the floor, is two sided, with one side being more military themed and the other more industrial…
I see many different uses for this kind of building, including but not limited to: Objective Room, bunker, regularbuilding, urban platform…
They come pre-painted and let you manipulate features for more re-playability, but most of all they are well designed with particular pieces being held in place by sturdy elements. Even doors are made of two layers – one fitting perfectly into the wall, while the other is holding it firmly in place. Also, due to the clever construction, the walls seem much thicker than they actually are. The key feature is that the entire construction can be easily assembled/disasembled in a matter of seconds.
Price is the only thing setting me on edge when thinking about these splendid terrain pieces. A complex objective room along with a roof that must be purchased separately will see you spend around 50€ to obtain. I’m not suggesting it is not worth the price – I’m saying it’s just a lot for a single building. In comparisson for this price you will get not one but between two to seven Micro Art Studio’s buildings! It is a well known fact that most of us would rather spend majority of their hobby cash on miniatures instead of a gaming board. Still if you count in the time and resources required to paint a single building – the initial price of Right Arm Labs terrain does not look so bad.
Personally I think that Right Arm Labs does a nice job with their terrain. I’m willing to forget the price issue due to awesome playability and unprecedented solutions. I can only recommend you to try some of their stuff yourself. I’m sure that you won’t regret it.