Industrial Cargo vs 20' Cargo Containers: Which Terrain to Buy
By Welcome to Monster Fight Club! | Published: 2026-11-01
Category: Comparisons
Compare Industrial Cargo and 20' Cargo Containers for tabletop shipping containers, line of sight, and cyberpunk terrain. See which set fits your table.
Quick answer
Choose Industrial Cargo if you need scatter cover, objectives, and loose cargo for skirmish games. Choose 20' Cargo Containers if you want tall, colorful line-of-sight blockers and elevation for a container yard or city table.
Scale and footprint: loose cargo vs solid blocks
Industrial Cargo gives you many small pieces: 6 pallets, 16 barrels, and 16 boxes. That makes it easy to scatter cover across a board or mark objectives without committing to a large footprint. The trade-off is that small pieces take more handling and storage, and they won't block sight lines the way a full container does.
20' Cargo Containers gives you five solid containers in five colors with unique corporate logos. Each one is a large block that blocks line of sight and provides elevation. The trade-off is a bigger table footprint and less flexibility for small scatter cover unless you add other pieces.
Assembly and painting effort
Industrial Cargo accessories do not come painted, so you'll need to paint barrels, boxes, and pallets before they match a finished table. That's a good fit if you enjoy batch-painting small scatter pieces.
20' Cargo Containers use glueless assembly, which lets you mix and match parts within the kit and with other Monster Scenery container sets. That reduces build time, but you still need to decide whether to paint the containers or leave them in their colored plastic for a quick tabletop look.
Line of sight and gameplay impact
The barrels in Industrial Cargo are tall enough for a 28-32mm figure to take cover behind without fully blocking their line of sight. That creates partial cover and objective play rather than hard walls.
20' Cargo Containers are designed as line-of-sight blockers with elevation. That changes how ranged units interact and gives you vertical play, but it can slow down games if you place too many containers in narrow lanes.
Trade-offs to weigh before you buy
- Cover vs. walls: Industrial Cargo barrels give partial cover without fully blocking line of sight, while 20' Cargo Containers create full line-of-sight blocks. Pick based on whether you want skirmish cover or hard lanes. If your group prefers ranged fire lanes, containers change the game more than barrels.
- Painting time vs. assembly time: Industrial Cargo comes unpainted, so budget painting time for many small pieces. 20' Cargo Containers assemble without glue, so you spend less time building but still decide on paint. Choose the set whose prep time matches your hobby time.
- Table footprint and storage: Industrial Cargo scatters across the table and stores in a small box. 20' Cargo Containers take up large table space and need more storage room for five solid blocks. Measure your storage before committing to a container yard.
Product facts
- Industrial Cargo: Includes 6 pallets, 16 barrels (8 of each type), and 16 boxes; unpainted. Gives you plenty of small cover and objective markers, but you'll need to paint them to match your table.
Industrial Cargo - 20' Cargo Containers: Set of five 20' containers in five colors with unique corporate logos; glueless assembly. Provides tall line-of-sight blocking and elevation with faster assembly, and the colors work well for cyberpunk terrain.
20' Cargo Containers
Which set fits your table?
Best for
- Skirmish players who want scatter cover, objectives, and loose cargo for cyberpunk terrain.
- Hobbyists who enjoy painting many small accessories and mixing them with existing scatter.
Not for
- Players who want tall line-of-sight blockers and elevation without painting many small pieces.
- Gamers with limited storage space for large solid containers.
