Bolt Action - Review: Mandertory Miniatures Bocage

Since the moment I picked up my first dice and sent it rolling onto a table stacked with toy soldiers, I have known the value of nice terrain; not so much value in dollars but what value it adds to gameplay. Just like I can't bring myself to play with unpainted miniatures, I also have big issues in playing on a table that is not aesthetically pleasing.

To add to my collection I have had my eye for some time on the absolutely stunning bocage set that is made by Mandertory Miniatures and sold through Warlord. I finally made a decision a few weeks back and took the plunge on a purchase through Warlord and I am stupidly happy with no buyer's regret at all despite the price.

What is bocage? Well, according to the World English Dictionary, it is: 'The woodland countryside characteristic of northern France, small with irregular shaped fields and many hedges and copses'.

 

A set comprising of 4 x 12 inch sections, 4 x 6 inch sections, 2 x T sections (around 8 inch total length) and 2 x corners sections (again around 8 inch total length) of a total length of 8 1/2 feet will set you back 120 pounds. It is expensive but then you are paying for quality, sure I have seen some fantastic homemade bocage but I have neither the skill nor patience to make something of this quality myself.

 I ordered it through the Warlord site and took advantage of free postage over 150 pounds with a few additional units that I am sure I really needed. (That's right, that's right. - J) Mandertory also offer free postage however it is set at 200 pounds (which would be easy and willingly reached without even trying!). Postage is a major issue here in Australia, everything has to be either shipped or flown and is generally prohibitively expensive so any chance of free postage rings my bells.

The package arrived in a very reasonable time and the packing was immaculate with no damage at all. All the pieces are ready to slap straight down on a table with no assembly or painting however the trees are removable for ease of storage or transport.

The bases and mounds are cast in resin and prepainted with attention to detail, the foliage is flock and although I can see this being a weak point it can easily be replaced with stuff bought at you local hobby shop if it starts shedding. The trees have plastic trunks so will hold up to any transportation requirements.

In game they will offer variation of cover, some parts of over 28mm tall completely blocking LOS while other parts allow for rifle sections and tanks to poke their guns through and shoot from hard cover. With the mix in shapes I can see firelanes being set up where if you get stuck halfway there will be no where to go and nothing to hide behind - a nice challenge in my mind!

I can babble on all day but the pictures speak a thousand words, I really like this stuff and am happy with only 8 1/2 feet at the moment as more I feel could really slow games down. If you have some spare cash and are time poor check out the bocage through Warlord or Mandertory to add that high end amazing terrain to the table.