Sunday, November 8, 2015

Product Review: Black Grom Studio 28mm Jailhouse & Sentry Box

Recently I've been looking to expand my 28mm terrain for use across multiple time periods/genres. Outside of Old West buildings, I'm not a big fan of lasercut MDF terrain because, for the price, I find it too often boring and without detail. However, I did a search on Ebay a few weeks back and came across these two pieces which are unique and cheap!

Both sets are available from Black Grom Studios on Ebay - a seller who specializes in lasercut MDF terrain. Based out of Poland, his prices are extremely reasonable. Including postage here to the US, I ended up paying about $25 for everything - a real bargain when you consider I've paid the same amount for one Old West building, half the size. Shipping was super fast, arriving at my house within a week via registered airmail!


The jailhouse and sentry box arrived in good shape, separately bagged, but without instructions. As you can see from the pieces laid out above, it can be a little confusing if you don't have good modeling skills. I highly recommend dry fitting pieces together BEFORE gluing. The trickiest part of assembly was the initial fitting of the interior walls (two cell walls and two roofline walls) which had to be slotted together at an angle and then pushed inward.

The only problem with this kit is the oddly shaped front door (you can see a picture of it on the seller's Ebay store) - an overly large, hinged affair that looked cartoonish. I left this piece off entirely and built a new, more realistic door from plasticard.



Total assembly time (including covering the joints with wood putty) only took about 1-2 hours. The roofs are removable, providing access to the upper gallery, four cells, and two guard rooms. Due to the construction, there's not much access to the lower central corridor but, outside of skirmish games, this shouldn't present much of an issue. Doorway height is good - allowing both washer and plastic based figures to stand in them. All interior rooms provide enough space for at least four 25mm based figures. Total size is approximately 7.5" L x 8" W x 5" H (to upper gallery roofline).





The sentry box is quick and easy to assemble. The gate and gate posts have a predrilled hole to stick a piece of plasticard rod or wire through, to make the gate moveable up and down. Total size is approximately 1" W x 4" L x 1" H.

The box is sized correctly, with enough interior space to accomodate one 25mm based figure and a removable roof. It has a nice curved door and vision slits along the other walls. Total size is approximately 2" H x 1.25" W x 1.25" L.



I'm extremely happy with these pieces, the price, and how quickly they went from purchase to full assembly. I'm going to be following this seller and may be purchasing more items. Pics of my completed jail facility coming soon!

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