Battlescale - an unashamedly enthusiastic overview

I've made no bones about the fact that if there's one part of the wargaming hobby that I do not enjoy it is scenery and terrain. 

I freely admit that I lack the skills to scratch build my own pieces - and indeed I have no inclination or desire to learn these skills - so what is a wargamer like me to do?

Of course, for 28mm there are plenty of MDF options that provide a cost effective solution for the sceneryphobe... but what about scenery to go with smaller metal peeps? 

My favoured size for non-skirmish gaming is 10mm thanks to the large and varied ranges at places like Pendraken coupled with the ease of storage for forces.  But unless we want to wage war on Planet Bowling Ball we still have that scenery problem don't we?

Well, no... thanks to Battlescale there is a superlative option for 10mm (and 6mm, and 3mm etc.) buildings and scenics.  I first found them when I was looking for some suitable buildings for my Tyrone's Rebellion project (see my previous post for more pics)

I'm sure you'll agree that even with my ham-fisted painting the detail and texture in these pieces makes them really look the part!

I was hooked.  I have since added Timber-Framed and Clapboard buildings for various projects - as well as some Adobe buildings for my Operation Compass games and various pieces for general WW2 games set across North and East Europe.

Battlescale are the first, and so far only, company where I have seen some scenery and then looked to find a project to suit! Let that sink in...as a sceneryphobe I'm not sure I can give higher praise than that! (It's an imagi-nations project making use of the Battlescale Mediterranean buildings by the way).

The buildings, hedges, walls and more that I have from Battlescale - regardless of what era or theatre they are for - are all wonderfully detailed and made with care (honestly, no resin product from anyone in any scale comes anywhere near - and I've had a fair few in my years of wargaming!). 

If you have a need for some scenery at smaller sizes please do consider Battlescale -  I strongly feel that as wargamers and hobbyists we need to offer our support and custom to those smaller companies putting out top-quality products for our wonderful shared hobby, and I can think of no higher quality than Battlescale.

NB I'm not on the payroll of Battlescale - I'm just a very very happy customer that felt like waxing lyrical and putting some positivity out there!

Battlescale - Timber Framed, Clapboard, and Walls

No - it's not a wargamer rendition of the Three Little Pigs, it's the contents of my order from the absolutely brilliant Battlescale! 

So, I placed an order to get some scenery that would work for my projects I have coming - ECW and Fenian Raids.  As with my previous order for my Tudor project, these are all superbly cast, with pretty much no clean up (except the usual wash!) or fixing needed - if only all purveyors of resin miniatures/buildings were as good as Battlescale eh?

The Timber Framed range of 10mm buildings seemed a good choice for ECW, so I ordered a variety...

First, the rather impressive Merchants House - this is a tall three-storey building that'll provide a good centrepiece to the collection:

A particularly characterful piece is the Gatehouse:

Rather brilliant isn't it?

I got one each of the two two-storey houses from the range - as you can see one has a smaller annex, the other features the overhanging second floor that is quite often seen on real life buildings of this type:

I also got the single-storey building - which has a nice L-shape to it, providing even more variety:

Finally from the Timber Framed range I ordered a pair of Cottages:

(that shows the front and back - they are the same building)

I also bought the Village Shrine - I'll probably use this also for the Tudor project (well until Battlescale make a Celtic High Cross that is.... I'm secretly hoping if I mention it enough here and on Twitter it'll magically make it a reality one day 😆)

I then turned my attention to the Fenian Raids project... I figured Clapboard was the way to go for this one.  First up, the Clapboard House:

It's a good size too - something to help give a focal point in a game as an objective perhaps.

I also ordered the Clapboard House and Carriage Shed for some variety:

I particularly like the small entry to the basement you can see on this side!

Finally I bought a pair of Tiled Timber Cottages which seemed to fit well enough with the Clapboard look.  I'm not sure why I buy two each of the smaller buildings (see above and the pair of Crofts for the Tudors...)...

(again that's back and front - they are two of the same building)

Finally on this order I opted for the rural wall set... this represents absolutely incredible value for money.  It's a twenty piece set, with corner pieces, straight lengths, a couple with gates and a couple of breached sections.  I cannot express how good the value is... seriously, go order this (and/or the equivalent hedge set) straight away before Battlescale realise it's mispriced or something!

Anyway, here's a couple of pics showing the different pieces in the set:

I feel I have to add here that I am in no way affiliated with Battlescale - I'm just a very happy (and impressed) customer!  The ranges they have will certainly help me continue my forays into 10mm (and 6mm) gaming! Very, very highly recommend their products (and service) to all.

Battlescale buildings, barricades and hedges

You may recall me posting about the scenery I ordered specifically for this project from Battlescale - I'm happy to be able to say that it is all painted and ready for gaming with!

First up the buildings - you may have followed the journey on Twitter of my painting these.  I eventually settled on a recipe for both the brick work and the thatch, which I'm recording here for my future reference!

Stone - GW Mechanicus Standard Grey, AP Strong Tone, GW Mechanicus Standard Grey (drybrush), AP Field Grey (drybrush), GW Administratum Grey Grey (drybrush)

Thatch - Vallejo Iraqi Sand, AP Military Shader, GW Ogryn Flesh, Vallejo Iraqi Sand drybrush.

Now that's done - here they are!

Starting with the pair of crofts (the one on the right shows the rear of the croft):

Next the Barn and Cattle Byre:

As you can see the Barn is a larger piece - the Byre has the additional detail of the trough which is a nice touch.

Finally for the buildings I have the Pig Pen - complete with a Pendraken pig. She's called Cailín by the way!

I've given the mud in the pen a coat of gloss varnish to make it look somewhat wet.  I really like this piece and think it'll add a very fun element to the gaming table.

Next we have the Hasty Earthworks pack.  I kept these really simple - as they are useful for a range of settings I went with my standard non-desert base colour:

Finally we have a selection of hedges (Vallejo Extra Dark Green, AP Strong Tone, GW Death World Forest drybrush):

Here's a close-up too:

I really enjoyed painting all of these pieces - I'll certainly be picking up more from Battlescale for a few 10mm projects!

10mm Scenery - Battlescale

As I planned out the rest of this project I quickly realised I needed some scenery pieces that would work at this new (to me) scale.  I looked around and discovered Battlescale - they offer a range of scales and settings/periods, but a quick look at the 10mm offerings firmed up my plans!

I opted for a couple of the 10mm Crofts, to represent simple homes that will work for rural Ireland.  

There are a variety of agricultural buildings that match perfectly with the Crofts - so I picked up the Cattle Byre, Pig Pen and Thatched Stone Barn:

I also picked up a selection of hedge pieces - went for mostly straights with a couple each of corners and gated sections.  Here's one of each to give you an idea:

Finally I spotted a set of Hasty Earthworks - a pack of four felled trees/rocks that I think are generic enough to work for a range of settings. There are two different designs that you get at random - I got lucky and ended up with two of each!

The sculpts are all really nicely detailed and the casts were very clean - requiring next to no tidy up or prep beyond the usual bath! The prices are really good value too, and the pieces have a pleasing weight to boot.  This was my first time buying from Battlescale, but it won't be the last - and I can definitely recommend not just the quality, but the service too.