Bitz 'n' Bobz

Greetings everybody!

When you look to the header, you will notice a new subcategory:

Bitz'n'Bobz

There you will find items I am selling right now. Most of the stuff are real gems to collectors and nostalgics.

Go check it out!

Review: Laughing Jack Living Unit small

Greetings, everybody!

As some of you might be aware of, last weekend was the SPIEL in Essen, Germany.
A large tradeshow, where everything that carries "game" in its name (except for electronically games) is displayed: Board Games, LARP Games, Card Games and of cause Tabletop Games.

I don't want to start discussing the Fair itself, but I am visiting that event for several years now, always with the focus on the Tabletop part. The business has changed a lot in the last couple of years. While back then the reason to go to the fair was to see new stuff, today you see this new stuff on the web before hand. Nowadays I go to the fair for two reasons:
1. See products in real life. IE: Warzone by Prodos Games looked ok-ish on the web. I highly doubted that the miniatures would be of acceptable quality. Seeing them up close taught me wrong.

2. Find new stuff. While the interwebs are so wast, small companies sometimes slip through the net or never get noticed at all. To find at least one of them is a personal mission I am undertaking every year.
This year I found: 

http://laughingjack.de (still in progress)

Laughing Jack on FB

So let the review begin!

The Company

Support your local traders is in times of globalisation sometimes hard to do. Especially in the tabletop business, unless you live in Nottingham.

Therefore Laughing Jack gets a bonus point for being almost right around the corner from my place.

Another bonus point is giving for the fact, that this little company is seriously exploring the possibilities of spray cans for scenery painting. And they use the same brand as I do. +1

But most important part are the people. Compared to other exhibitors, the quota of heads working there in relation to the size of their display area already shows how passionate these guys are about their product.

 don't want to bore you with details, but these guys are really into their stuff. I could have spend hours listening to them explaining their design decisions, what evolutionary steps their products have made (which they illustrated with prototypes) and how they want to expand their product line. Especially impressive was the view into the future, since they were footing on their current designs. So, I know now, that I can upgrade the buildings I bought now in the future with more stuff. Great perspective (aside from my wallet... she is crying)!

Conclusion:
Awesome, passionate people from the local area, that enable you to do custom laser work on their terrain. What do you want more?

The Product/ First impression:

The product I will be reviewing is the Living Unit small (kindly sponsored by Laughing Jack). As you can see the 2,5mm MDF sheets come in a nice plastic bag. Compared to other ways of packaging, the bag has the big advantage, the loose pieces that fall out, will not disappear in the carper. That might sound like a little thing, but when I unpacked another kit recently (packed in shrink foil) I experienced a quite close contact with my floor, searching for all the missing pieces.

Infinity, the declared target use for Laughing Jacks Terrain, brings lots of different tastes when it comes to terrain. For most of the people, it is important that the buildings are intact and not skull-encrusted. From there on the taste differs quite a lot. From the steamy dschungle terrain on paradiso to the ultra clean cities on Neo Terra (where you can eat from the walkway) the Infinty universe offers a buck load of different settings.

The containers from Laughing Jacks make you think of pre-fab housings, that are simply dropped into place. 

I really like the rusty and rather dirty impression these containers leave on my retina. And they will work perfectly on my Silas Ark Table. 

I can also hear some of the voices that have declared my table "too dirty" for Infinity mouthing doubts, if these containers fit, but I happily point them into the direction of the painted pieces and I guess we all can agree on: The DO!

Especially with all the small details they already come with, they add lots of flair to the skirmish atmosphere Infinity provides (look at the door opening computer pieces and the CCTV later on)

Conclusion:

Being still boxed, the container whispers promising things and the impression the painted containers at the fair left was simple: not how much, but how many !

 Assembly:

Let the fun begin! I had already high hopes, since some pieces simply fell out of their frames. Most of the pieces that still stuck were ejected from the frame with little pressure, but some pieces where really hard to get out. That resulted in almost breaking some of them, since they were really small and thin.

Lots of pieces :D

With step one, it became evident, that you defiantly need glue to keep everything in place. At first I was a little irritated by that, but looking at the most fragile pieces of MDF I have encountered so far, it really makes sense that you don't need as much force as with MAS Terrain to get everything into place.
Fragile as it may appear during the first steps of assembly, the container get sturdier and sturdier the more progress you make. After the "skeleton" has been fleshed out, you feel like having a plastic rhino in front of you.

Another surprising thing you realise during assembly is the clever combination of the laser-burned in lines and the engraved details, easy to spot at the roof-piece:

 

Two things can be spotted in this picture: 

1. The clever design. As the guys explained, they wanted to have no construction "squares" visible on the outside of the container. Therefore they disappear within this piece.

2. When you look at the round holes, you can see how thin MDF can be. I tested it... it still hold a surprising amount of pressure.

After the main piece has been assembled, the small details where next. Sadly the assembly aid is rather cryptic in this regard.

 

The computer terminal is next to the bed the thing that differ the Living Unit Small from the ordinary Cargo Container. Here you have to keep the further progress in mind and just glue one side into place. Otherwise you will have to mask the acrylic piece before painting the desk itself.

  

Here are some shots of the fine details worked into this design. Notice the small door-computer thingy. And the omni-present cctv, that just screams for rules like "don't use concilium banned weapons in this area... or else..."

 

 One of the things I really like about this kit are the left-overs. I know, once you have build a MAS building you fell like you can throw people to death with small cubic MDF pieces. But as you can see in the picture, here you are provided with lots of different sizes and shapes. And what is that good for? I hear you ask.

Well, rather easy, you have already stuff you can put into the rack that comes with the container. Just a lick of paint and these can be boxes of food, cans, ammo...

Conclusion:

I love containers. I can't really tell you why or what they trigger in my psych, but excessive hunts on ebay for AT-43 containers are mute witnesses to this obsession. Therefore I just have to love these.

But...

(and here comes the proof that I am not bought by Laughing Jack)

... there are a few "buts" when it comes to the assembly (in order as I see them most important):

1. Maybe it is because I am a teacher myself, but I feel no big love for the assembly aid. The kit is not as self explaining as the assembly suggests and there have been quite a few time that I was stuck or had to remove a piece because I realised it was in the wrong place (especially unfortunate because you have to use glue). I don't consider myself a veteran in MDF-kits, but I think I know my way round with them. Yet, I would highly welcome a more detailed and sophisticated assembly aid.

2.  I really dig the concept of having no visible connection points on the containers outside. Yet the plates with the door and the large window (which go on each short side of the container) need some sort fitting, so you know where they are supposed to go exactly.

3. The computer screen could use a mounting that would enable a complete build of the desk (so it can be painted) with the ability to mount the screen after everything has paint on it.

4. I think the combination of engraving and lasering the details is awesome, but I think the keyboards would profit from a laser line, since the engraving leaves little that can be painted as keys without them looking like they belong to an old typewriter.

 All in all the kit, once you have mastered its assembly, provides you with a pretty awesome container consisting of pieces that fit perfectly into each other. No pressing, no sanding, just few dots of glue and you get this box, that comes with a clever roof concept and some pretty cool indoor stuff.

Considering all this..

Price:

Well... here goes the hardest category. For a small business that is still on its way and producing in Germany, I think the tradeshow prices quite acceptable. The price difference between the ordinary cargo container and the Living Unit is quite good considering that you get instead of another rack a bed and a computer terminal that could easily fit into other buildings as well.
But when I think of filling a table with just containers in their various shapes and layouts (they have different sizes and shapes... make sure you have seen them as well!) over 10€ per ordinary cargo container seems quite a lot, especially when you compare them with other terrain.

 

So, for the price tag:

General Conclusion:

When we look at all the above, I think with a few fixes Laughing Jack could provide the gaming community with a fantastic product. Some helps for the assembly and a fix on the tradeshow prices and there you go.

Who should buy this product? Everybody that loves to add some great and detailed scenery to their table.
Would I recommend buying this product to my best-nerd-friend? Sure I would do. And probably buy even more while he is ordering.

This company is still small and in development, so I hope my points are taken as the friendly piece of it advise as it is meant to be!

Oh and while we are talking about advices: Guys! Make a MDF-Interior Set with your racks and beds. I have way to little interior in my buildings. I guess it would be a small effort for you, since you have already the layout, but I would the first to rip it off your hands!

People, if you feel like adding some stuff to your tables and helping a little company, go and get yourself some containers. You know, you want to!

I hope you have enjoyed this Review. If you have thoughts you would like to share, please leave them in the comments!

See you!

P.S.:
As an after thought... I put the container onto the MagLev I recently build. Works perfect.
And some Spartan Games boxes fit on the roof as if they were made for that...

Second thoughts:

Well, I had a bit of time to think about Laughing Jacks Products. especially since I have build a couple of more buildings since my first.

This brings me to add, correct and revise a couple of things:

1. I complained about the side panels. I was missing some way of bringing the frame and the door piece together. There is already a way, but I was to dumb to see that...

the small computer terminals go right through both panels and give the needed fix point.


2. The rather cryptical assembly aid has already been up dated with newer products. Here a shot from the food booth container

As you can see, it is already more sophisticated. Not perfect... but way to go. Laughing Jack has already assured that these will get better and get additional assembly aids on their website for download.

3. Talking about details. Have a look at this AWESOME coffee maker!

4. The random bits and left overs from the frames are really inspiring. With a little imagination you can easily turn them into fun things. I am proud owner of a couple of beds... with little efford.

Review+: Terrakami MagLev Train Mk II

Greetings everybody
and welcome to the second Infinity related review+.

First of all... review+? What's  that plus for? Well... I thought I should share my experiences with this product and give you a hand if you assamble that.

So, first of, what on the menu?

Today we have

 

terrakami.com

a small company, in the constantly growing pond of MDF-Terrain. As it appears, you just have to have a decent computer and the software, plus access to a laser (haha... we are SO SCIFI!) and you can produce your own terrain... we will see if it is this easy with Terrakami.

The Product: The MagLev Train Mk II

...as presented on their webpage.

Let the review beginn!

PRICE:

Well... ask yourself, what would you pay for a train? Or a center piece of terrain on your board? I am more of a cheapo. I like doing stuff myself and if a few details and tweeks on a toy train would do the trick, I would be on that, rather than buying anything. But the paper-template-print-out from the Paradiso Book was out of question.

When I stumbled over the trains from Terrakami on the tournament, I recently wrote about, I just had to check them out online.

So, when you compare the prices, also with other manufacturers, you have to admit that 50€ for the MagLev Mk II Train, don't sound so bad. If it is worth it, we will see later, but from here, for the price:

PRODUCT:

So, what do you get for you money. Terrakami says:

"This model contains 2 locomotive units and 4 cargo wagons. Removable roofs and openable door for full playable interiors. Each locomotive includes a console objective marker. (Containers not included in the pack).

Locomotive measures: 110mm (W) x 200mm (L, at the base).

Wagon measures: 110mm (W) x 200mm (L).

20 rounds magnets (4x2mm) included."

I know, I should read stuff before I buy them, but I was a little astonished, when I unpacked everything, that there are no containers. It clearly, says it does NOT CONTAIN containers, but they where on the picture... 

ah, well... 

Your 2,5 mm thick  MDF plates come neatly wrapped up in shrinkfoil. Nothing fancy. But no need for that. Would just rise the price tag.

Content: MDF Sheets, Construction-Aid, Magnets... and loots of loose pieces.

When you un-pack your train, make sure you have a box at hand... because a lot of the parts are so loose on their frame, they will fall out.

A slight lift and off they go...

It seems, that Terrakami knows about this. Which results in an interesting packing-tech.

The Zig-Zag packing of the sheets prevents at least a little the pieces from falling out straight away.

Is this a bad thing?
No.
If you have assembled a MicroArtStudio Kit or a piece from Spartan Games, you know how stuck MDF-Pieces can get in their frames and sometimes to much pressure results in broken pieces.
With the Terrakami kit, you just have to breathe lightly onto the frames and everything will come out nicely, without a need to clean up anything. This saves lots of time during assembly.

Lets take a look at the MDF Sheets...

This is a complete sheet :D

But what! What is this?

Stencil Template

A stencil template! How cool is that?! In my book that is a quite innovative use of leftover palce. Another plus is, if you gently push out the letters and numbers you have some awesome details for your next terrain project.

Finally... an construction-aid.

Especially the first sheet is important.

While other manufacturers provide little to no help with their kits, here we have a quite detailed step-by-step (more on that later).

Conclusion:
The MDF with its close to 3mm thickness makes a solid apperance. The loose parts are no big deal to me (I actually see an advantage there) , the stencil templates are a fantastic bonus as are the acrylic parts and the magnets (!!! MAGNETS!!!). The only (little) downer is, that there was no construction-aid for the wagons.
So, well deserved,

DESIGN:

I am no train man. I know there are people keen on trains and their designs and I am well aware of my uneducated position, so please take the following with a pinche of salt.

When you compare the MagLev Train Mk II with other available trains, you will surely see the ammount of grey matter that has been put into this kit. Since we want to focus here on Terrakami, we can compare the Mk I with the Mk II...

Rhino on rails... the MkI

I am not bothered by the quite boxy space-marine-touch of the Mk I, but it make the Mk II stand out even more. When you compare the walls, their construction and their thickness, you can already see how sophisticated the Mk II appears. There is room for engines, cable and the like. The straigh no-90°-angle design of the interior and the outer surface gives that spacy scifi look. But it still give a realistic impression, as if this train could actually exist.

Mk II: Angled and thicker walls

Mk I: Thin walls

When you assemble the train and you have put other kits togther already, pay attention to the clever use of the angled pieces. So far, I haven't seen the like.


Conclusion:
The design-evolution from Mk I to Mk II is easy to see and a huge step forward. If there would be a Mk III I would hope for a little more details on the wagons. I guess there should still be some space in the MDF-Sheets for some braces as in the Mk I wagon.
But all in all, the prettiest train set in MDF there is right now (aside from the Mk II Passenger Wagon... man... that is awesome aswell :P)

ASSEMBLY:

Step one: Make sure you have enough room and all the pieces that have fall out by no.

Step two: Make sure you have the construction-aid page with the nummerical description of the different pieces at hand.
Step three: Assemble. Due to the good work the laser did, I had to cleaning of the pieces, nor any problem with fitting them into place. Astonishingly I didn't need any brute force to put the pieces together (as you need with your MAS), but they stuck and kept their place without any glue. Just to be save, I aplied some wood glue here and there, but more of a habit than a necessity.

Here are some things I noticed during the assembly, you might take into your consideration when building your train.

If you put piece 3 into place first, piece 2 won't fit anymore.

Assemble piece 7 with the two piece 5s first...

... before puttung them into place. If you stick to the plan here, you might experience some troubles.

Because piece 11 and 12 look pretty much alike, pay attention to little marking on the 11 and that it is pointing forward. Also put 11 first into place. The connection between 11 and 12 look smoother this way.

Roof Assembly: First put 34 into place, then 35. I found it handy to glue 34 first.

Chair Assembly: Put the 17 first on both 16s. The add the 18. Other way around will get impossible to work :)

Don't use glue for the connetion of A1 and 28. It fits and holds without it and makes it easier to remove the glass for painting. Same goes for the green acrylic part.

 During the assembly I noticed the wicked angles and was impressed by the good fitting. But see for yourself:

 A minor downer: My tomcat has to get a ladder to reach the green display. I am sure that could use a lower mounting on the wall to look a bit more realistic.

ASSEMBLY of the Cargo Wagon:

If you have put the Locomotive together first, you will probably find it easy to fiddle the wagon together. If you want to skip the try and error, here is how you do it:

To bad the construction-aid is just this picture ;) The lower bars are the ones to go on the edges of the wagons...

... since the have little nooks the reach over the corner.

Pretty selfexplaining where these long bars go...

Finally the shielding on the sides and you are almost ready.

Because we have one finaly step to master: THE MAGNETS!

I made the mistake and simply glued the magnets into place. The resulted in them dissapperaing in their sokets never to be seen again. Ofcause, if they are so deep in there, they won't work their magnet magic.
So I have come up with a little trick, with close to no extra work:

Here you see the sokels and the little wood cylinders that are basically left overs. Don't throw them away!
If you cut them carefully in half, you have perfec spacers to give the magnets in their sokets the right hight.

For that, glue the sokets onto the wagons (I recommend wood glue) and then put the halfed left-over-cylinders into the holes.

The glue with superglue the magnets into place.

Pay ATTENTION to the north and south of the magnets!!!

In doubt dubble check if the magnets face in the right direction to actually work!

Conclusion:

I had about 2h of fun with this set. Most of the time was eaten up by the first locomotive every step being a care approach, since I didn't want to mess it up. The second Locomotive was done in mere minutes, since I knew where everything went. Same was with the wagons. Once the assembly was understood, the rest was done quite fast.

The tricky part was with the magnets... but hey. Magnets are awesome and add that "uuuhhh" and "aaaahh" to an already quite awesome model.

On the other hand, it says it is not a toy... an atleast a little challenge should lay in every model, don't you think?

Final Conclusion:

 

Do you want a fun and challenging center piece of terrain that can be subject of almost countless missions for your scifi-skirmish of choice? Do you want to pay as much as a Landraider (he still costs 50, right?) for that?

Do you want to play that ultra cineastic mission from Campaign: Paradiso on something else than print-out-train-markers?

Then this train is for you.

Would I buy it again? Yes.

Would I recommend it to my friends and fellow nerds? Yes 

Away with all the little minor improvement ideas... the MagLev Train Mk II with Cargo Wagons get well deserved: