This is the final review in the mini-series that I suppose I should have titled “GenCon Swag From Ages Past.” I bought this pack towards the end of my Warhammer 40k obsession six or seven years ago and it ended up buried in the deepest recesses of an obscure shelf in my basement until I unexpectedly turned it up along with several others in a recent cleaning binge.

Though it was purchased long ago and far away by an past incarnation so remote from my present self that he thought 40k was a pretty neat pastime I’m still glad to have this pack. Though I’m mostly an RPG guy these days, it’s general scenery like these crates that gets the most use out of terrain collection.

Almost regardless of genre there will always be crates or crate-analogues. Pulp villains use them to ship stolen antiquities, modern drug smugglers hide dope in them, space voyagers of the far future keep spare Kregan Drive Crystals in them. I especially like that this set has a number of separate crates, rather than having them all cast as a single pile, since it allows a lot of flexibility in how I use them.

I’ve bought a good deal of product from Armorcast overt the years, and I have yet to be let down by their attention to detail. These crates are no exception, sporting intricately-sculpted boards and even packing labels. The sizes span a useful range from a crate suitable for a case of rifles up to a sizable container that would nearly accommodate an engine block.

Resin terrain can be expensive, but this assortment of crates retails for only $7, which strikes me as quite a good value given the wide variety of uses for them. I much prefer to use resin scenics like these when I can get them. The cardstock that serves me so well in many of my buildings slides around the table too much when used for props as small as crates. The reassuring heft of resin is hard to beat for such applications.

My only real gripe with this set is that the crates are only detailed on five of their six sides, meaning that these is only one “right” side up for each piece. It’s not a major thing, but it does slightly limit the ways you can set the crates up on the tabletop, and it seems like it would have been easy to detail the sixth side the way all the other Armorcast crates in my collection have been done.

Despite this minor issue this is a very nice set of crates, and would make a useful addition to any terrain box. They paint up very quickly, and look nice on the tabletop with just a quick Minwax dip to bring out the detail of the planks. Especially for the price it’s hard not to recommend this set to gamers of almost any era.

Pros: Detailed, Good value, Flexible

Cons: Only detailed on five sides

Final Verdict: 4/5

MSRP: $7

Source: Armorcast

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