This set of crates is more of the ancient GenCon plunder I recently unearthed at the back of a storage shelf, and I’m glad to be able (at long last) to add them to my terrain collection.

The pack includes four largish metal crates cast in the high-quality resin I’ve come to expect from Armorcast. There were no air pockets to fill or mold lines to sand. Just a quick coat of primer and they were ready for the workbench.

Painting took very little time, since crates are customarily just big monocolored cubes. The Armorcast crates aren’t just featureless blobs, however. They have several packing labels and other markings sculpted on, which keeps them from being too boring and generic. For painters like me who lack much skill in freehanding details like this, it’s a big help having even comparatively simple squares available on the models for some easy customization.

The size of these crates is just perfect to provide the average 25/28mm mini with roughly waist-high cover, making them ideal scenery to add to any gunfight. Being nice, solid resin, they also stack nicely to produce higher line-of-sight blocking cover if desired.

Crates like this are ubiquitous in many settings, from the modern day to the distant future, making this set a useful addition to any scenery collection. Like the dumpsters I reviewed a while back, I can see these crates being great projectiles hurled by superpowered foes, or perhaps objectives to be fought over by cyberpunk commandos or space marines.

The only real downside is cost. As with all resin, these crates are not cheap. Considering they’re mere “set dressing” some gamers may be reluctant to spend that kind of money for minor scenery pieces. Acquiring a selection of crates, boxes, barrels and so forth could quickly add up to a pretty penny. The cost issue is why I’ve moved to cardstock for a lot of my terrain needs in recent years.

Still, there’s a lot to be said for the heft and 3-d detail of resin. Certainly the durability of this kind of scenery means that once you have it painted and sealed you’re likely to get many years of use out of it. Ultimately, I’m glad I bought these crates, and look forward to seeing them on the tabletop soon.

Pros: Good detail, Useful in a variety of settings

Cons: Resin is expensive

Final Verdict: 4/5

MSRP: $7

Source: Armorcast

Popularity: 7% [?]

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