I have been waiting for years for a cheaper alternative to the FW ZM, IT IS FINALLY HERE. The ZM system from Death Ray is designed to fit the Necromunda tiles perfectly. I have spent the last week building 2 full sets of this stuff, about 18 hours total. I am just beginning the painting process which has been complicated because, I live in Michigan, and it has been cold up here. Painting is underway as of today though.
One kit is made up of 24 center column sections, 18 double wall Sections and 20 single wall sections. It goes together really easy but is time consuming. Once you get in a rhythm though the process speed up greatly. I did batches and spent about 4 hours a sitting working on it. The quality of the cutting and fit is top-rate. I have worked with Death Ray Design MDF before, as I own the Black Site set up and causeway kit that they had on special at Adepticon this year.
The Center column sections are the quickest build. Be strategic with where you place your PVA glue, an old paint brush is a must during assembly, at it goes together very quickly. I can knock out 24 of these with there little "light" assemblies in about 2 hours.
Wall sections are a slower process, this is mainly do to the ribbing that runs in an X pattern on them. It adds a really nice aesthetic, but it is time consuming. The good thing is everything is a great fit.
I built these in batches also. Doing all the main construction on a batch and then allowing them to completely dry before placing the ribs.
This is about one set. It would be a stretch to do a 4x4 table with one set. I think two full sets is the sweet spot if you are going to pull the trigger. That will give you a solid 4x6 setup. Necro tiles are available on eBay. I have a good friend sending me his set. I also plan on getting a ship interior neoprene mat in the future.
The pieces slot together perfectly and in many ways they are better in my opinion than the FW tiles, because the FW tiles are "fixed" and layout is changed by moving around 1x1 tiles. With this system, you can arrange it how ever you want. I will not lie, I WOULD LOVE a FW ZM, it is pretty, but it is also expensive and bulky to transport. I think I can get this system and 2 sets of card board tiles in a single tote. Being able to swap in the different Necro tiles makes for some interesting themey tables. There are also more Necro tiles coming with Gang War 2 expansion. The ones below were just previewed.
The system uses inbuilt wooden hooks to lock the pieces together also, so it is really stable.
Now the big task is painting them. They are all base coated as of about an hour ago. I am going to start the weathering process this week and hopefully there will be another post soon.
As a note. I asked the team at Death Ray Designs about Doors and they sent me some prototype photos but said they were embargoed as they haven't finalized the design. So doors, single and double are coming soon. Also in the photos were computer screens and other things that will integrate into the system. So this product is here to stay. The Rep I talked with said this was the most successful kit launch they ever had and demand for the item was FAR above estimates. They had to fight through almost two weeks of backorders after Black Friday, a good problem to have.
I will be taking the system to a buddies next week. He has a Forgeworld door set and I will test fit that and get some pictures up.
You can find the kit at www.deathraydesigns.com, it is called Deadbolt's Derelict.
Here is two full sets getting the base coat.
and some random shots of the unpainted version on the tiles.
Wow 2 sets! Interested to see how the doors fit. Good luck with the paint paint job.
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