Whoever came up with pre-painted Warhammer terrain, take a bow; you're a goddamn hero.
After going hands on with the set, I think it's going to make a lot of gamers very happy. Yes, it looks amazing… but the time it'll save you is so much more valuable, and this is one hell of a time-consuming hobby. No matter whether you're putting together a 10-man Kill Team or forging an entire Warhammer 40K army from scratch, it's a marathon. While I think most of us would love to create a battlefield with the same level of care, there are only so many hours in a day – and scenery often seems to hit the bottom of our collective to-do list as a result. Warhammer 40,000 Battlefields: Armageddon is designed to bypass all that by providing fully painted terrain out of the box, and the result is impressive.
This battlefield-in-a-box is now available to pre-order direct from Warhammer ahead of its October 31 release date, but it's worth checking indie retailers like Miniature Market in the US or Wayland Games in the UK as they often provide discounts. While you'll pay handsomely for the privilege no matter what (it was estimated at around the cost of two Combat Patrol box sets, so roughly $350/220), I think this pre-painted terrain is worth that investment considering how much easier it is than painting scenery yourself.
The idea here is simple; speedrun a full Warhammer 40K board with as little effort as possible. To that end, Warhammer 40,000 Battlefields: Armageddon pieces arrive painted on the sprue, so all you need to do is clip them out and slot them together (they don't even require glue). Don't get me wrong, I think Warhammer's claim that you can create a battlefield in minutes is generous. There's a lot crammed in this box, so constructing it all will take an hour or two at best. However, that's a fraction of what it'd take to make and paint everything by hand.
Plus, it'll look good straight from the box. While I can see some being put off by the grainy style (an unavoidable side-effect of UV printing, where paint is sprayed on and dried instantly using ultra-violet light), I think that actually works with 40K's grungy aesthetic. There's a literal grittiness to this scenery.
It's fairly low-key too. It fits the grim darkness of the far future without drawing too much attention to itself. Your models are likely to pop against this backdrop, which is only right; they're the real stars of the show.
Crucially, it's more accurate than I'd expected. While some less-noticeable details get lost, the things your eyes are drawn to look fantastic. There's a precision and neatness here that I don't think many of us would manage without dedicating hours to the cause.
Is it perfect? No. My biggest issue stems from the sprue connectors. You have to clip them off, and that obviously leaves a nubbin of gray plastic behind. But even then, many of those connections are hidden on the finished product (with the exception of rounded pieces), and the grungy nature of this terrain obscures them unless you look up close.
Listen, I enjoy cobbling together battlefields. Hand-crafting boards out of foam or 3D-printed materials and painting it all up is my jam, but even I get worn down painting the fiddly details of yet another ruined building. Warhammer 40,000 Battlefields: Armageddon lets you bypass all that effort and get a good-looking table ready with the minimum of effort.
I'll be very interested to see where the idea goes next; it's got so much potential. A pre-painted Kill Team or Age of Sigmar board? Yes please.
Speaking of Age of Sigmar, the Khazalite Holds army makes the old feel new again... but is that a good thing?
- See today's best Warhammer 40K deals at Amazon
