Miniature Building Authority Buildings
Miniature Building Authority. It’s right there in its name. MBA is certainly positioned as the authority on miniature buildings. I drool over their website and Youtube videos of their terrain at trade shows. The company makes me want to play whatever pulp miniatures game is out there just so I have a reason to buy their “High Adventure” line of buildings. It’s the same for their Middle Eastern style buildings. That and a lot of first person shooters. “Tango down.”
Moving away from questionable lines of thought and sticking to what I do know, I own the Witt House and the Corner House with Turret. They come packaged in their own special styrofoam shells. Both are raised on rectangular bases 5mm from the bottom. This fits with how many gamers model their buildings, but I prefer a flat approach. The footprint on the Turret House is 4 1/8th inches squared. The Witt House is actually 4 5/8th inches by slightly over 4 3/8ths. These buildings really are 25mm scale. If you’re very particular about your scales, it may disturb you to place a Warmachine or WHFB model near them. The base of my Corner House was painted green and I easily went over it with some grey craft paints. You can see the damage or pink gunk my turret came with in the video.
The main advantages of Miniature Building Authority buildings are the open window areas, multiple stories of use, and how the city ones can be lined up next to each other. Unlike most other manufacturers you can actually stick your finger through the “windows” of the MBA buildings. This is great for determining whether a model can really see the assassin waiting on the other side of that wall. I bet there is someone out there who either wants to model closed windows or already has on his MBA buildings, but for me, the true LoS is a great feature. While I will contrast the various fantasy building manufacturers here (wait with bated breath!), Crystal Caste’s buildings aren’t ready-equipped with inserts to make them into true two story structures. MBA buildings are. Miniatures down below? Check. Miniatures on the second floor? Check. Lastly I like how you can create a more European or medieval look with these buildings. Any city that was not bombed out in Europe has buildings that adjoin, whole rows of them. Standalone cottages, houses, towers, and the like simply cannot compare.
If you know MBA, you should already know the downside: the price. $60 for a prepainted house. Yes, it opens, but it’s black on the inside. The exterior paint job is alright, nothing to rave excitedly about. The green base has already been touched upon. The garishly painted (bordering on neon) chimney pot on my Turret House poses a dilemna. How should I repaint it?
Overall Miniature Building Authority buildings do set a certain standard in the prepainted terrain market. I think they are the company to beat with plenty of competitors eager to do so. I would like to eventually get the Ladd House and even the Tudor Tavern. But at $119.95 for the tavern, that might be pretty far away.