We’ve got more HexTech to talk about! Gale Force 9 and Thunderhead Studios have been kind enough to send me their latest batch of pre-painted, ready-to-play terrain pieces. Wave 8 brings us yet more additions to the Atlean Steppes, the new autumn-flavored Light & Heavy Woods, and the all-new Sprawl.
Volume 3 of the Atlean Steppes differs from the previous HexTech hills as they’re generally long and straight, perfect for creating ravines or canyons for players to set up crushing ambushes. Just like all the other HexTech hills, these hills come pre-painted and textured, with generally hexagonal bases for ‘Mechs to stand on. Provided they fit, of course—there are plenty of ‘Mechs that are just too beefy to snuggle up to a few of the corners these terrain pieces present.
There’s no surprises to be had with the Atlean Steppes Volume 3. Things start to get interesting once you look at the Light & Heavy Woods, Autumn Edition. These beautiful bushes (and trees) are all in shades of orange, yellow, and red, with bases that make slotting the exact trees (and bushes) you’d like easier. These bases also come with little circular holes in the middle for you to glue in tiny magnets to ensure those trees stay put, provided you glue the corresponding magnet to the tiny circular indentation in the base of each tree [ed. I’ve been informed that those tiny magnets are included in the retail box].
Be sure to test your magnetic polarity before you glue that final magnet, otherwise your tree will be repulsed from the base instead of attracted!
Just like the Summer Light & Heavy Woods, you’ll get a collection of hexes that represent a light copse or a veritable forest, depending on how many trees you slot inside. You can always decide to leave some of those bases blank to represent the carnage of war, or even replace one with a custom-built crater (you’d have to make that yourself though—the package just contains trees and bases).
Finally, we arrive at what Trinity City has truly been missing: The Sprawl. These four smaller-sized buildings are painted a drab, dull color to represent abandoned or run-down buildings—perfect for representing slums or a town long-evacuated from constant war. Or maybe they’re just the utilitarian dorms you’d find in a world racked by constant sandstorms. Whatever the case, these buildings at another great flavor to your next urban sprawl.
What makes these buildings special is the new base they come with. Instead of a felt base with an indentation that’s supposed to fit the shape of the building (and on some occasions, didn’t fit particularly well), these buildings come with a small rubber protrusion designed to fit into a similarly-shaped hole in each building. This keeps the base secure with the building while being much more forgiving than the previous design.
These are smaller apartment-style buildings, so don’t expect it to keep standing if you jump a 50-ton ‘Mech on top of one. You’ll get some good flavor and some good cover, but a skyscraper battle this ain’t. This is down in the dirt mudslinging.
I had zero complaints about the quality of Wave 8. Every piece was well painted, there were no scratches or dings, and everything fit together easily. Just as HexTech has always promised, we were able to start playing with these pieces as soon as we managed to extract them from their bubble-wrap prisons. Small, incremental improvements make each new wave of HexTech an absolute joy to play with.
HexTech Wave 8 arrives in January at your favorite games retailer. Prices remain reasonable for what you’re getting and are listed in the convenient list below.
- Volume 3 Atlean Steppes – $40 USD
- The Sprawl – $40 USD
- Autumn Woods Light & Heavy – $40 USD
Once again, hats off to Gale Force 9 and Thunderhead Studios for the great new products and for sending me samples for this review.
And as always, MechWarriors: Stay Syrupy.
