Review of Systema Gaming Habitat Unit 2

Systema Gaming Base-0 Habitat Unit 2.

Alright, the container was a nice, solid bit of terrain. But I think we're all eager to get a look at the larger pieces! So let's take a look at the Base-0 Habitat Unit 2 from Systema Gaming.

As you can see there are quite a bunch more parts, three sheets to be exact, but even without instructions I had no trouble putting it together. Again, these are not complex constructions which help reinforce their utalitarian nature. The base plates (and the roof of the square building) are all constructed the same way with a number of girders underneath which lift them off the ground a bit and also allows you to stack them.

Top building.

Removable roof of course. The windows you could either keep covered or pop them open as you please.

Most of the the parts have only two sprue connecting points so come off quickly and they don't take a long time to clean up. Detailing is simple but decent enough. There is barely any interior detailing and these simply don't have the same level of detail as, say, the MicroArt buildings or the upcoming stuff from Antenociti but that really doesn't bother me all that much. The industrial design works and you could likely get a table full of Systema stuff before filling half with some more detailed alternatives.

Bottom building with the little patio. The railings and ramp are all removable so you can customize the look.

You can see the underside of the roof and the girders and tabs that keep it in place. Ladder is of course removable.

The modularity is also a big plus as you can easily change your battlefield depending on mood or scenario. That's actually the main reason I haven't invested in any of the MicroArt buildings yet - very nice looking, but they're simply a bit too big and... static for my taste. It seems as if the entire range has been well designed to allow you all manner of combinations. For example, you could put the larger building above on top of the Communications Unit that I'll be reviewing next. Combined with some catwalks I really think this has a lot of potential!

Building high...

...or building low.

The handrails are easily movable, just like the ladders and the roofs. In fact they are almost too loose, but I suppose that is better than being stuck on too hard so you'd damage the paint when moving them. That's pretty much it I guess.

Next up will be the Communications Unit!

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Review of Systema Gaming Base-0 Container

The... sprue? Map? Board? What do you call these things?

Hello there! As promised earlier this month here is the first of three Systema Gaming Base-0 reviews. I wanted to get this done earlier, but as you know life has a habit of getting in the way. In any case lets start out at the smaller end of the spectrum and have a look at the Base-0 Container!

Ever sinze AT-43 produced their (now highly sought after) plastic containers back in 2006 it has been a type of terrain that has proved immensely popular with all kinds of modern and sci-fi gamers! I was actually quite surprised at how long it took until someone picked up on this great demand for containers and started producing something similar. These days most of them are made from HDF rather than plastic though so detailing is necessarily different.

All popped out.

At 12cm x 6cm x 6cm the Systema container is a little bit smaller than some of the other stuff out there which I actually find quite welcome! In general I go for the smaller pieces when given the choice as it makes it easier to puzzle together the battlefield I'm going for. The build is quite straightforward and to really start with the basics I first put together the small scatter terrain box that is also a part of the kit. It makes a simple 3cm square cube which makes for good cover for a regular 28mm model.

Rubber bands are good for this kind of job.

The container itself went together quickly and it almost felt like I could have done it without glue! The exact nature of laser cutting really does make for a perfect fitting kit. While the joints are visible they have been incorporated into the design which makes for a solid industrial look which puts it in a not too hi-tech/not too gothic zone which should make it work in a lot of different games. Mine of course, being primarily Infinity, but also Judge Dredd, MERCS and Deadzone (do I have too many sci-fi skirmish games?).

"Ah, good to have that nice solid container covering my back! I should be safe from that Cameronian here."

The ladder comes off and can easily be placed in different positions on the container and there are a few different alternatives for the printing on the side. The doors are solid pieces so don't allow for an open position out of the box, which is a bit of a pity, but that's me being picky.

Overall I think this is a nice solid piece of terrain that is versatile enough to fit in on most modern/sci-fi tables. While the design isn't extravagant it has a good utalitarian vibe to it. Oh, and the price isn't to be argued with! For €6 (~$8.30) each or €20 (~$27.6) for three of them plus a bunch of boxes you'd hard pressed to find something cheaper. Bottom line, I really quite like this little kit and I will be getting a bunch more!

Container+box+Guilang.

Hmm... now it just needs some paint. Currently have a can of armypainter green in the wardrobe. There are green containers in the real world, right?

Next up will be the Habitat Unit 2!

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A Couple of Upcoming Reviews...

The other day I found a nice little surprise in my mailbox; a trio of scenery products from Systema Gaming that Primož sent to me for review purposes. What we have here is a Base-0 Container, Communications Unit and a Habitat-2 Unit, all in nice, thick MDF!

I first came across Systema Gaming last year and was intrigued by the solid designs, high customization options and good price (including free shipping!) so I'm quite eager to get to work on these things! I'll start out with the container and should have the first review up sometime during next week.

In other news, we have our first proper Deadzone gaming day coming up on Saturday so expect a report from that event as well. I'm also glad to see that the MERCS: Recon kickstarter have started to pick up some momentum again after the inevitable mid-valley lull. I'm currently in at the OPFOR level and financing it by offloading some old third edition Tyranids.

Oh, and speaking of Tyranids! I found my old copy of Tyranid Attack and I don't think I'll be able to resist doing a bit of a retro playthrough of it. From my memories of it it's very random and should be played with the right mindset, kind of like Battlecars or DungeonQuest. I'll try and remember to take pictures of the frenetic action... with space marine scouts attacking dermal sphincters, being killed by brain eating larvae and so on. Hehe!

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