Warmaster – A fortified Manor

A while ago, I fixed a mistake I did even a longer time ago - I treated myself to the Fortified Manor. This came out around the late 2000's, in June 2007 to be exactly (shown in White Dwarf #330). I wasn't even a student when it was released and the price was 40 GBP / 59,95 EUR, and stumbled across it a few years later in our local wargaming store when I think it was around 70-80-ish euros and for that money you got a whole Battle Force back then. Besides, I didn't had the room for a gaming table so stocking up on terrain wasn't my priority.

Yet, the item got discontiniued and what made this set special, was that it was not just a combination of the chapel and tower, but had an exclusive sprue with parts to connect the two buildings, and that would create quite the price surge in the years. So seeing the manor on ebay for 200 to 300 Euros wasn't uncommon, and they sold for that price, which made it worse. I was not going to pay that amount of money and would simple sit it out - and I was proven right, as I had the chance to pick up two copies from their re-release in January at 75 EURs each.

But why did you get greedy and bought two? Well, the tower and the chapel are more than 90 EURs if you just buy them, making it cheaper to go for the manor and you even get the fences and exclusive sprue free on top as well.

So, yeah, we got it, Dennis, you made a bargain, but there is Warmaster in the headline. So what does this mean? I get to that directly. As written above, the 2nd hand market pricing, showed there was a demand for that kit, and while there were some alternatives, somebody went very close - as close possible and made a crowdfunding campaign for a digital copy.

Scenic Play released the The Old Keep project, that you can now buy in MyMinifactory, and recreated this building, including some varations and alternative parts as a STL for printing. And as many terrain files work quite well scaled down to 40% for Warmaster, as I recently did with the Slum Huts by Infinite Dimensions, I did the same with the Old Keep. Especially as it really fuels my Old World / Warhammer theme for Warmaster. I don't have the time on my hand for mass combat in 28mm, so Warmaster is a proper substitute.

I scaled the files down to 40%, set up two plates and after two around 10 hr print sessions, I head everything that I needed. The details worked quite well downscaled and the fit wasn't a issue either.

A quick mock up. Keep in mind, this is without glueing and I didn't had the chance to clean / grind some parts flat, but that does look proper, doesn't it?

But does it Warmaster? And as you can see, I would say it certainly does. It has space in the yard for a few bases, a regiment actually and will make for a proper strategic asset / mission objective. Just as intended.

But for stability this will be based. It will be painted in the style of the bigger piece, to fully incorporate the joy-full theme of the not so grim-dark Warhammer-era. And for two days of printing and a very neglectable amount of resin, this is a satisfying addition to my terrain collection.

Next up, some even more sturdy and bigger parts for Warmaster.