Before we get stuck into this unboxing and review article, I have to say I’ve been really looking forward to this box (and it is a massive box!) landing at S&B HQ. And now here it is, and it’s on my hobby desk!

Back in June, shortly after the launch of the new edition of Warhammer 40k, GW announced that along with new Starter Sets they would also be releasing a brand new box of scenery. Nothing new there…oh aside from the fact it was PRE-PAINTED SCENERY!

Yes, they had taken the the scenery that they were releasing in the Starter Set and were making copies that were pre-painted. This the first time they have released models in this way, outside of cardboard scenery.

As someone who starts painting scenery and never finishes a full boards worth, I was really keen to see what these would be like, and now it is time to find out!

Our thanks to Games Workshop for sending us this set to unbox and review. If you fancy treating yourself to some Warhammer, or maybe some hobby supplies, then why not check out our affiliates over at Element Games? Not only will you be giving us a helping hand but you’ll also be saving yourself some cash VS RRP!

Unboxing The New Pre-Painted Armageddon Battlefields Set

We love an unboxing video here at Sprues and Brews! You can check out our unboxing below, which also includes a few comparison shots.

What’s Included in the Battlefields Set and What Size Game is it Designed For?

One of the most important questions is how much scenery do you get in the set, and the answer is enough to fill a 2,000pt game. As is the way in this new edition, the scenery is designed to work perfectly with the new missions in the edition.

Let’s run through exactly what you get in the box:

• 8x Large Manufactorum Ruins
• 8x Small Manufactorum Ruins
• 2x Shock Arrays
• 2x Capacitor Stacks
• 4x Rockcrete Barricades
• 2x Generator Shrines
• 4x Galvanic Pylons
• Cardboard Footprints for the Scenery (fully ready for the current Chapter Approved missions)
• 4x Cardboard Tiles

It’s a great selection of scenery, with some really nice details pre-painted on, such as warning symbols, sector markings and hazard stripes along pipework.

My favorites are the Generator Shrines, with there plasma coils. You even get lighting effects on some of the buildings!

We have of course seen this scenery before, albeit unpainted, as they appear in the Warhammer 40k Starter Set which was released shortly after the new edition launched.

Assembling and Storing The Set

Not only is this scenery pre-painted, but its also push-fit, so you don’t require any glue to put anything together in this box.

Everything, bar one scenery piece, were really easy to assemble. You can mix and match some of the wall sections, as well as some of the smaller end pieces on scenery such as the pipework, which is a nice touch.

You can check out the sprues below:

The only scenery piece I had a little trouble with was the Shock Arrays, with the really thin pipework and plasma beams. You need to be a little careful when pushing both sides together, to ensure all the connection points are properly snipped, cleaned and lined up. A tiny bit too much pressure caused a couple of bits to snap for me, although these were easily glued back together and I ensured I was super careful on the second one. Matt didn’t have any trouble when building the ones from the Starter Set, so it could well be just me!

Once all your scenery is assembled you’ll actually be able to fit them all neatly back in the box they came in, making storage easy, which actually for me is quite a big thing and means I don’t have to treat myself to yet another Really Useful Storage Box…

New Scenery In Action

I’ve included some shots of the new scenery next to models and on the board in the unboxing video, but I did want to include a little slideshow in this post to again show the scale of the buildings next to models.

I was also interested to see how it looked next to the Kill Team scenery, so I took a shot next to a piece I’d previously painted. I actually think the scheme I went for on mine sit well next to these ones!

How Does It Compare to FutureProof Terrain?

Now whilst straight out of the box painted scenery is new for Games Workshop, it isn’t a new thing in the hobby, with Futureproof Terrain from Snot Goblin being one of the most popular pre-painted scenery pieces currently on the market. I actually reviewed one of the first sets a while back, which you can check out here.

Futureproof Terrain is like LEGO, allowing you to create small to absolutely massive buildings, should you wish too (and have enough parts too!). However, whilst it blows GW out of the water with regards to flexibility, the new pre-painted scenery from GW is more detailed, and has more variety of detail. Having less parts means they are also a lot quicker to assemble. This Armageddon set also includes the footprints required for your buildings in order to match the mission maps from Chapter Approved.

Summary

I’ve reviewed a lot of stuff here on Sprues and Brews, but this box has to be up there as one of the best things I’ve had the pleasure of unboxing.

I am notorious at not completing sets of scenery, so to have a fully painted 2,000pt size amount of scenery, that you can put together at supersonic speed, then store away in the box it originally came in, is quite simply awesome.

The only very minor point I’d want to make is the box includes 4 fold out tiles to play your 2,000 point games of Warhammer 40,000 on. My issue with tiles is they can slide apart mid-game, and whilst these are solid cardboard tiles, over time I could image them becoming damaged from constant folding. If you pick up this box then I would recommend treating yourself to a suitably themed mat to play on.

This box is set to retail at £250, which is a fair chunk of cash. If you were to buy the non-painted set, boards and footprints, you’d be looking to spend about £218. That figure however doesn’t include the price of the paints and, more importantly, the time it would take to get them all painted, and that’s the main draw here, so I’d be more than willing to pay the difference of around £32 so to have a fully painted set of buildings out of the box.

Yes, close up you can tell its printed painting, but in the heat of games you cannot tell. Your models will look awesome battling over objectives on this terrain.

GW have stated this is a limited release, at least for now, so I would recommend getting an order in early if you can. I do hope this box means we’ll see more pre-painted scenery from them, either full battlefields or even just individual pieces. Time will tell.

If you watched the video you’ll hopefully come away thinking ‘jeez, Dave was super impressed with this scenery’ because honestly I am, and I cannot wait to have some games of 40k on it.