I came back from AdeptiCon with a bunch of stuff. I acquired the vehicles for Wreck-Age that my partner and I backed on Kickstarter. I picked up a few Aetherium miniature sets to use for my own Broken Contract games set in the FerrumSky Mines, as well as for playtesting a future BC expansion. Finally, I came back with a bunch of scenery kits from Death Ray Designs.
The first project I chose to dive into when I got home was the Rust Pointe Dumpster from Death Ray Designs. I bought three of them and I have them all in various stages of completion. I don't generally do reviews, but I was so impressed with this little kit, that I wanted to talk about it.
As you can see in the photo above, it's just a rectangular dumpster, and a tiny kit at that. The immediate thing I want to note is that it comes with assembly instructions. A bunch of other MDF kits I own have no instructions, which was fine for the simpler ones. The last building I built though, had a bunch of successive layers to create depth. I missed a layer because I didn't have instructions, and it really bummed me out because the building didn't turn out exactly as intended. I don't have instructions for any of the models in the Broken Contract range, but I appreciate that they took the time to create a set even though this is a simple kit.
I wanted to show the design work outside of the packaging. If you look closely, there are a lot of really thin extensions off of various parts. This is a very clever design decision in my opinion. A lot of MDF kits look very chunky because all of the details that aren't burned in, are instead 1/8" thick. Austin at Death Ray Designs got around this by having these really thin extensions that aren't too fragile or fiddly to work with. This smart bit of additional design work creates more realistic depth and texture.
I tried to capture the design work a bit with this photo. When you look inside the dumpster, you see a bunch of little rectangles. Those are pushed in from the outside, and have the thin extensions that make for the external details being so beautifully thin. I love it.
Another thing I loved about the work at Death Ray Designs is that the nubs that keep the pieces attached to the frame are thinner than some other companies, making these slightly more delicate pieces easier to remove without breakage.
Everything went together smoothly with minimal filing to clean the pieces up. I do recommend test fitting everything before you glue. I've found that one of the 4 rectangular holes on both long side walls is a little too snug for the pieces you are supposed to push in. A little additional filing and you are good to go.
It's a little thing, but I like that they added feet and sled rails. Most dumpsters used in residential construction have rails so I appreciate little details like that. I know all of the model storage containers I use sit flat on the ground and don't demonstrate how they are moved or carried, so I was happy with this bit of detail.
Honestly, I spent way too much time painting this first one. I primed black and meticulously built up light thin layers of Citadel Zamesi Desert (like 3 episodes of Walking Dead worth of simple base coating.) I could have skipped all of that additional base coating time by just spraying the piece a solid color. Regardless, once I had nice, opaque coverage, I edge highlighted with Citadel Screaming Skull, and washed Citadel Agrax Earthshade just into the corners. When that was done, I sponged some P3 Thamar Black and Citadel Macharius Solar Orange onto the surface.Some of the larger black areas I highlighted with Citadel Leadbelcher.
When all of that was done, I hit the bottom and the inside with a dusting of Forgeworld Medium Earth Weathering Powder because this dumpster will be used for "sorting rocks" in the FerrumSky Mines.
It wouldn't be a fair review without some sort of constructive criticism, so here's my tiny bit: There were a number of areas that could have been filled in with other details like detritus. Their bricks (from Rust Pointe Brick & Block) and small tires (from Rust Pointe Tires) are both things that could have filled in some space. I could see beams or boards to pile in the dumpster as a possible cool addition as well. I realize that this would increase cutting time and that means they would need to charge a little more, but I love bitz and hate waste, but that is my only criticism. This is a gorgeous kit and I'm glad that I own three!
As you can see, it fits right in with my Broken Contract Breaker models and the other scenery I've created for the setting. I'm looking forward to using it in my upcoming games.
-Nick
nick@breakerpressgames.com
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