Archon Studios’ pre-painted PrismaCast terrain looks magical

There’s a new brand of pre-painted playing surfaces on the market and no one I’ve spoken to seems to know how they’re made. As far as I can tell, it’s Polish Space Magic.

In February this year Archon Studio (Wolfenstein The Board Game, Masters of the Universe: Battlefield) announced PrismaCasthis new line of pre-painted tabletop terrain pieces. But the offer – that these pieces would come straight out of the box, on a plastic mold, but with “details usually reserved for the industry’s elite painters” – just sounded too good to be true. Now that I have the first of his retail versions in my hands, fresh out of a box from his Polish factory, I’m pretty shocked. This Dwarf Mine: Pre-painted half-height walls look great, with multiple shades of colour to build up a highlight and a nice evenly applied glaze to bring out those little details. There’s even an attempt at object source lighting, with lanterns and torches casting colourful shades and shadows on the walls.

Photo: Charlie Hall/Polygon

Simply put, Archon’s terrain looks excellent – not quite as good as I could get at home myself, but far better than anything I’ve ever seen fresh out of the box. And I have absolutely no idea how they did it, nor how they managed to make it so cheaply. The set here costs $89.99 and covers a pretty large portion of the table. For a decent layout, you’ll probably want at least a couple of these.

Photo: Archon Studio

I’d say they did it by hand, but the parts are just too uniform. There’s a machine involved somewhere in this process, that’s for sure. The problem is that none of the professionals from the world of industrial printing I’ve spoken to off the record this week have seen anything here in the United States that can do this kind of work. They, too, are stumped.

“It’s our own technology and we’re constantly developing it,” project and marketing manager Kamil Grochowski told Polygon in an email. “The product you’re holding in your hand is the first in a series, so you can expect the quality to only get better!”

While we don’t know what kind of equipment they’re using, Archon has provided the rough outlines. According to the initial press release, the terrain will first be hand-painted by a professional artist. On this box, Kuba Sawicki is listed as the painter of the Dwarven Mines, and he’s even mentioned on the back of the box. Sawicki’s work was then converted into a digital model using photogrammetry, a technique that’s been around in the world of video games for at least a decade. But then… somehow… they then applied it to the highly irregular surface of the miniature.

How that happens remains a mystery. But I’ll tell you what: The finish is strong as hell. Scratching it with a metal drill, even with a decent amount of pressure, will do little to change it. If you want to repaint or otherwise improve the finish, Grochowski says you shouldn’t bother stripping it off. Instead, you should just paint over it.

In addition to these Dwarven Mines, Archon will soon be releasing another set. Designed in collaboration with Paizo, Pathfinder Terrain: Abomination Vaults pre-paintedwith all its unfathomable horrors, will soon be delivered.

Dwarven Mine: Pre-painted half-height walls were demonstrated using a retail version from Archon Studio. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, but Vox Media may receive commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. You can find For more information about Polygon’s ethics policy, please click here.