Great Escape Games – Gallows Set

Great Escape Games, the company behind Dead Man's Hand, has just released another plastic terrain kit for the Old West: a Gallows.

This new addition to their extensive range of buildings and accessories sees them move another staple piece of every Western from MDF to plastic. We received a pre-release sample of just the sprue and assembly instructions, without the official boxed set.

The Gallows Set contains the gallows itself, as well as four 28 mm scale miniatures, all on a single large plastic sprue. It has an RRP of 20 GBP and will be available from October 10th.

The sprue is large and has reasonable mould lines which can be cleaned easily. Some of the larger pieces were slightly warped; this issue may have been resolved in the final production run.

Two leaflets were included with the sprue: one introducing the Dead Man's Hand Redux range, and the other containing clear assembly instructions for the terrain piece.

The main stand is built from the plate and struts. There are two removable doors. These look more like plinths and do not swing out to open at the bottom.

Although assembly went smoothly, the structure wobbled slightly at this point as the six feet did not have a flat connection to the ground.

Next, the sides and superstructure of the gallows are added. The gallows frame has a bit of play; make sure it is aligned properly.

The steps are added in the next step. These have a similar problem in that they are slightly bent and do not create a flush finish with the sides. Along with the main structure, this will not connect properly to the ground on all legs.

Once these are glued together, you can fix this by sanding or placing the structure on a base.

Now we add the railing with two long and two short pieces. This works quite well, as the right angles ensure that it is sturdy when connected to the frame of the gallows.

The gallows are now complete, so we can add the miniatures. There are four in this set, with a few options to choose from. These miniatures are compatible with the regular plastic miniatures in the range, and you can swap heads and arms if you wish.

There are two convicted felons with their hands tied behind their backs and two citizens. You can leave the nooses empty or arrange them so that the felon is connected to them. I decided to modify the bagged head without the noose. If you have access to the Gunfighters' infantry kit, you can simply use the head from that sprue instead.

The building is kept to a 28 mm scale. Some larger Artizan Miniatures (especially those with bases) may not fit, but the classic 40k/Necromunda range is similar in size.

The gallows have a footprint of about 9 by 9 cm.

Conclusion

This set is a welcome addition to Great Escape Games' plastic kits – their 12th set! It provides more detail than the MDF kits currently on the market, and the wooden structure can be painted quickly and easily.

We experienced some warping on the larger part of the platform, which caused it to wobble, but this can be an issue with larger parts on sprues. As we received an early version for review purposes, this may not be an issue with the final product.

While it is a complete terrain piece, especially with the addition of four miniatures, I think a price of 15-18 GBP would be more reasonable for a single sprue kit compared to other items in their range (25 GBP gets you a whole building). This is especially the case given that it could have been a bit larger to provide better playability with models on bases or heroic scale miniatures.

Nevertheless, gallows are flexible terrain items that can be used outside of the Wild West setting, from medieval times to the more lawless parts of the distant future.

• Production Quality: 4/5
• Design appeal: 4/5
• Options / Customization: 4/5 
• Value for money: 3/5
• Ease of Assembly: 3/5

Dead Man's Hand is a game by Great Escape Games.

The reviewed product item was provided by the manufacturer.