Kickstarter: Miniature Terrain by THMiniatures

This week, three days before it was scheduled to arrive, my box of THMiniatures terrain arrived. I kickstarted this project because the terrain looked good, fit the main mini wargame my some and I play (Warmachine/Hordes), but could be multi-purposed. I figured this made it a good idea (affordable terrain is hard to find).

Also, this was a Canadian company and Canadian game companies are rare things, so I admit nationalism was also a root cause of my backing their Kickstarter.

I’m lenient on Kickstarters, especially mini-related Kickstarters, because they are unlikely to deliver on time. As long as the creators are keeping me informed as to the delays, I forgive them the delay. I’m careful about who I kickstart, and I’ve focused on companies like Reaper, Dream Pod 9, or Monte Cook Games because they are companies with a proven track record of making things. I felt like this kickstart was a bit of a risk as the company was new, and so I only made a conservative backing.

I’m glad to say THMinatures proved me wrong: they delivered on-time, even a little early in my opinion. They kept us updated, but not overwhelmingly so, throughout the process. Overall, this was a satisfying kickstart.

Now the actual terrain:

All 11 pieces arrived undamaged in a small box and the order was filled correctly. Each piece is a resin, something like the 3-d printing I’ve seen. The logs are a smooth and regular and perhaps too tubular, which might be a material or a design problem or limit. The stone blocks, wooden planks, and rough ground look nicely textured. I haven’t painted material like this, and I’ll report back on its quality.

The pieces are neither bendable nor fragile. They feel well made, and there aren’t any visible bubbles, like you can sometimes get with resin (GW “finecast” I’m looking at you…I’m glad I missed out on that boondoggle).  They are sized to fit minis well and combine well in appearance. The apprentice had fun arranging possible patterns and I think the terrain presents some fun narrative and tactical opportunities.

Here’s the unpainted terrain with a few WarmaHordes figures:

And here’s a few pieces with Reaper models:

Sorry for the lack of gameboard and lightbox, but you can see the terrain fits the range of miniatures and would enhance a table nicely. 

This was a great kickstart and a good product.  I’d recommend THMiniatures as a company to trust. I’ll reserve giving a final “review” until after I’ve had a chance to try painting the pieces, but I'm optimistic about their future.