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The terrAin Team – Mission Debrief

23rd Jun 2023

Martin Thirlwell



Martin here,

Well what a fun activity that was.. and I’d say a pretty resounding ‘MISSION ACCOMPLISHED’!


Let’s go over to the guys who took part and find out what they were aiming to achieve, what worked and how they painted it up:

First up is Screaming Mad Mu… sorry, I mean Jonny!

I love creating post apocalypse style dark and dirty Sci-Fi, be that armies or terrain, so before I’d even picked up my first bag of connectors I had the painting idea nailed down: lots of rust, lots of grime. I then got to thinking what sort of gaming pieces or terrain would suite that well and showcase the diverse range of things you can create with the Sci-Fi TerrainCrate range. I play a lot of Deadzone and some Necromunda so I wanted to create something that you could play those type of games on or around. So after some heavy procrastinating, out of nowhere, came the idea for my Oil Rig!

I had the idea to use the Landing Zone sets and essentially stack one on top of the other. However, once I had seen Clive adding level after level to his creation, it quickly became a challenge of how tall could I build it…

I think the sets we all have managed to build have been fantastic and really show off the flexibility of the range. I can’t wait to try out a few games on it!

Thanks Jonny, over to you Dan

I’ve been messing about with these terrain kits for years now – they’re awesome fun and everyone should have a go! This time I used the Landing Zone (great for diagonal pieces and stairs), the Deadzone Terrain Booster (great for general buildings), and the Street Accessories pack (great for Cyberpunk-style details). This build was for a desert outpost and I decided to try and give it a little bit of a galaxy-far-far-away aesthetic with some vendors, animal enclosures, and a bright and weathered colour scheme. I was really happy with the main building as it’s got a good mix of inner/outer areas and a little outward-facing cover. This makes it perfect for Deadzone, and is sure to attract most of the fighting into the middle of the board!

Painting was  done by blending a few spraycoat colours from different angles, picking out some key details, and then getting stuck in with weathering powders. For a little settlement stuck out in the elements, I wanted it to feel dusty and grubby. This run-down impression was finished off with an exploded outbuilding, and a large water-leak from the main building’s pipework…

Clive, you’re up…don’t worry, I ain’t gonna stick you on no plane fool!

A bit like Jonny, I wanted to create a dynamic and interesting tower, but mine was less grim-dark and painted up in a true Deadzone style. Clean and corporate, using light colours.

My kids and I are addicted to playing Deadzone, so this new terrain piece has allowed me to think up some new scenarios to play with them as a family!

And finally Martin, tell us about your much-anticipated ‘The Space Rat – Bar and Grill’! (You do realise you are talking to yourself, right? Yes, of course I do. Cool, just checking.)

Going slightly against the grain of the unplanned ‘tower competition’, I designed my terrain sets around filling out a board and having only a couple of height levels. This allowed my to use just a couple of box sets to achieve my Cyberpunk street. The main building is ‘The Space Rat – Bar and Grill’. The second and third are smaller eateries… the ‘SpaceRat and Lobster’ and a ‘McSpaceRat’ fast food joint. The final building is a toilet, as too much space rat can cause stomach problems. I wanted to ensure I had created lots of gantries that are usable in-game, and they’ve come out well.

I tried to show off the grime and filth of my setting by using texture paints and oil washes, contrasting with the stark lighting of neon signs and some OSL for the street lighting. It was my first time using the Dirty Down rust paint, and it’s pretty amazing!  I’ve played both Deadzone and Shatterpoint on it already, and it was awesome for both games!

Let us know on social media which one is your favourite, and how you could use our Sci-Fi terrain for your games of Deadzone, Firefight, Kill-Team or Shatterpoint!

I love it when a plan comes together!

– Martin