BattleSystems Terrain: It’s Like IKEA for Necromunda

BattleSystems terrain has been on my radar for a few years now. It appealed to me when I first heard about it, and I’d always planned to pick up a box or two at some point.Having recently got into Planet 28, the timing felt right. My sci-fi terrain has, until now, been pretty non-existent, and my skirmish terrain, in general, has lacked depth, levels, and floors.Like most hobbyists, I don’t have much room for storing terrain (and certainly not for leaving it set up), so the idea of BattleSystems’ “flat-packed” cardboard offerings was quite irresistible.There’s also a strange nostalgic appeal of cardboard terrain, from those classic Warhammer 40k ruins and Epic Space Marine skyscrapers to the little cottages White Dwarf would teach you to make out of old Cornflakes boxes.So I reached out to the good folks at BattleSystems and enquired about reviewing two kits that caught my eye, and they very kindly agreed to send them out to me. The kits are the Frontier Core Set, and the Art Deco High Rise.I should clarify that I don’t do this often, if ever. Not that there’s anything wrong with the strategy, but I only want to spend my limited hobby time with stuff that I really like, or, like the look of. And like the look of BattleSystems, I do. So, let’s see what to make of it all…BattleSystems TerrainThe first thing I noticed upon opening the boxes was just how much terrain is packed into them. I mean, it’s pretty obvious from looking at the box covers, but it’s worth reaffirming that you get a lot of stuff, here.I actually found it quite intimidating at first, looking at everything in its flat-packed form. I watched a couple of YouTube videos to see examples of other folks putting BattleSystems terrain together, but it is pretty self-explanatory. Once I got started and stuck a couple of walls together, I quickly lost myself in the task. I found it quite therapeutic, actually. Like building a big 3D jigsaw.Taking a break for a bit, I rolled out the neoprene mat from the Frontier Core Set. Whilst the detail on it is excellent, the overall quality I’d describe as “fine”. I have a few neoprene mats from GameMat.eu, and they’re of superior quality. But it’s possible that BattleSystems make them this way as it’s easier to fold them in boxes.Back to the cardboard terrain, the attention to detail in the artwork design is second to none. It’s almost telling you a story of its own as you pop bits out and join them together. They’re double-sided too, so you don’t need to pay too much attention when you’re building it.I’m curious as to how others put their BattleSystems terrain together. I imagine it’s a bit like fiction writers: You have the meticulous planners who know every tiny detail before they get to work. Then, you have the “seat of the pants-ers” who just start and see where it takes them. I think I identify more with the latter, though maybe the more experienced you get with the kits, the more likely you are to dream up some grand designs.BattleSystems terrain is almost the polar opposite of the 2D neoprene terrain I talked about recently, and yet, I like these 3D cardboard structures just as much. As ever with this hobby, there are no right or wrong ways to do things. Everything is an option, and everything has its place.I’ll admit that I don’t see me getting much use from the scatter terrain in these kits. I found them a bit fiddly to put together and didn’t do a great job with some of the smaller parts. This wasn’t a major selling point for me anyway. I was really after the big stuff – walls, stairs, walkways, etc.I’m excited to bring more of a multi-layered, multi-platformed experience to my skirmish games. I do own a lot of cool terrain, but my miniatures are almost always fighting out their bat