Dungeons & Lasers - PrismaCast Dwarven Mine review We can understand if this terrain, very clearly designed for Dungeons & Dragons style roleplay gaming, seems like an odd choice to showcase in Wi. Our content is focused on tabletop wargaming, after all - not so much delving into dwarven mines! It’s the ‘PrismaCast’ tag on the packaging that makes this set worthy of a much closer look, though, and we were instantly extremely curious when we grabbed a box from Archon Studio’s stand at Salute. The PrismaCast process transforms the usually bare plastic of the Dungeons & Lasers range into glorious colour, with frames ‘painted’ and ready to be assembled and gamed over straight out of the box. The painted terrain on the frame. There are two colour variations for the ground, with some floor pieces having blue water pools. We’re always fascinated by new technology (that we don’t fully understand!) at Wi Tower and PrismaCast certainly fits the bill there (see Under the Microscope to the right). What is clear, regardless of the method behind the application, is that this set - true to its claim - provides a fully three-dimensional, textured, modular, and already painted set of dungeon terrain. How well painted? Consensus in the office was generally quite positive, with the floors, rocks, and puddles looking akin to terrain that has been brush-painted with Contrast or Speedpaint to a decent level. The standard drops somewhat with the lighting effects present on torches and the wall sections that hold them. These are closer to a toy-like finish and the object source lighting is so ineffective that it would probably be better if it had been left off. This doesn’t do huge damage to the final aesthetic, but hopefully, this aspect of the range can improve in the future. A dungeon made with half of the pieces. The modular system is fixed together with unpainted plastic clips allowing for different layouts. North Star’s Silver Bayonet figures are not included! As a first effort, we’re quite impressed, and we’re intrigued by what PrismaCast can do in the future. The extra £24 above the price of the unpainted set isn’t extortionate either. We’re not expecting to see digitally painted, competition-standard models any time soon… but technology is moving fast, so who knows what could be next.
