A Warhammer 40K Winter.

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Blimey, this festive season really is a dream come true for Tau fans. In this post I’ll take a quick look at the gaming goodies that Shas’o Nic’laus, The Red-hooded Victor of Yule Prime, managed to fit down my life support hab’s exhaust system.

What I got 1: New storage. Citadel Crusade Figure Case

Over the years I have used both professional options (Battle Foam, GW cases) and home-brew (lots of plastic boxes in a cheap suitcase). Both approaches have their ups and downs, so on a recent trip to my local GW I thought I would take a look at the Citadel Figure case range. Specifically the Crusade case (the largest one).

Up close, my first impression of the Crusade case was that it was much smaller than I had anticipated! How much could I get in there? If my goal was my Black Templars that was a concern (multiple predators, Rhinos, Land Raiders, Speeders, Stormtalon gunship, bikes etc.)

My second impression was cost...14,500 Yen (or just over 80 GBP).

Worth it?

In the end I decided yes. I wanted a new case, haven’t supported GW in a while, and I would like to upgrade from my 100 Yen shop boxes! The GW staff gave me a tour of the inside, taking it apart and showing me the funky foam arrangements and possibilities.

So here it is, with a Space Marine to show scale.

Citadel Crusade Figure Case

FYI, while looking at what was available online, I came across the "Munitorum Battlepack Case Harness" option. After seeing it in person I immediately put it out of my mind. I like the idea of a rucksack solution for the Crusade case that also offers additional storage for books, but at 12,500 Japanese Yen (70 GBP) it is simply too much money for what it does (for me). The case does come with a shoulder strap after all. 

I haven't had time to try and actually fit stuff in and write a review yet (even though today is "Boxing Day") but watch this space!

What I got 2: Warzone Damocles: Kauyon

NOT buying the harness meant I could invest in something else, so I went for the War Zone Damocles: Kauyon rules. At 10,500 Yen (58 GBP) this also wasn’t cheap, but it gives me the rules that I need to supplement my Tau Codex, including some of the newer units should I get some new models (Ghostkeel, you shall be mine…)

Image credit: Games Workshop website

Frankly speaking, I love the hardback Codex books. Quality feels great, nice pictures and plenty of fluff. I haven’t started reading this yet, but I’m looking forward to the rules and the story.

What I got 3: Dice.

Yes, dice.

There is a story here that I won’t go into in depth, but it involves giving a workshop in a foreign land, 200+ attendees, and my dice. Or to be specific, NOT GETTING THEM BACK! (My fault, I should have told everyone the dice weren’t a freebie!

What I got 4: Darth Vader Grissini Breadsticks (Plain)

Breadsticks - crunchy mini lightsabers in a box.

Not WH 40K, but the marketing is strong with this one...

...”Merry Sithmas”!

Storage Wars...results are in!

Credit: "Safe" by Will Folsom on Flikr (CC by 2.0)

I've been longing for some new miniature storage for a while now to complement my big old Battlefoam case. However every time I start researching the topic I get overwhelmed by the options or the complexity of trying to work out which foam options to go for. 
"Custom?" a hassle to work it all out...
"Pick and pluck"? Doesn't look very secure etc.

So, a few weeks ago I posted a poll on Google+ asking people to share what storage options they use for their miniatures. 

The poll system is dead easy to setup and only took a few minutes (which made it easier to understand why I see so many thousands of annoying "Which Jedi do you prefer, A or B?" polls in my stream...)

I asked:

Which miniature transport system do you use?
I'm thinking of getting a new miniature transport system. There are lots out there (more than I can include in the poll) but I'd like to know which are popular!

If your transport system isn't listed here or you'd like to comment on what system you use and why please leave a comment below. 

...below you can see the options and the results after 157 people had voted.

So, after 157 votes, the winner, at 36%, is: 
DIY/ Made it myself! 

Basically, the DIY option can be VERY cheap (literally saving you hundreds of dollars or pounds) and for most people is perfectly adequate for transporting models around to their FLGS or a friend's house.  I have DIY storage myself (see image above) and it serves fine for the most part.

I don't know why, but I was a bit surprised to see GW in second place in the poll. Sure, they have the perfect opportunity to sell cases, but I never found their cases to be anything other than serviceable (although their new cases look much better than the old ones in a "I'm on my way to a SWAT team call-out, rather than a mate's house" kind of way.) 

I have heard good things about KR, so they were definitely an option I was considering, and it was good to see they were getting some love in the poll too. I wasn't surprised to see people using Battlefoam - they have a good marketing operation and website and tons of case options.

Overall though, the results confirm that if I stay with a DIY solution I'm in good company. That's comforting, considering that I probably can't afford to splurge on a commercial solution immediately anyway!

Thanks to the 157 people who voted, and those who commented too...

...I'm off down to the "Hundred Yen Shop" to pick up some more storage!

:-)

Image: "Want some Tupperware?" by RageZ (CC by 2.0)

Storage Wars...Miniatures Edition.

Public_Storage_Doors by Ed Chambliss
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ 

OK, I don't need that much storage...

...but I feel like I'm getting there!

• Skaven (2,500-3,000 painted, 1,000 unpainted)
• Black Templars (1500-2000 painted, 300 unpainted)
• High Elves (1500 painted, 1000 unpainted)
• Tau (3,000 points - roughly?)
• Chaos Space Marines (750 points)

So I think it is time to consider some additional storage options. What storage options would you recommend? There are some popular options around, but should I choose one of these or continue with a homebrew option?

Here are some of the options I am familiar with (I know there are a lot more, so this is not an exhaustive list):

Battlefoam

Years ago I bought a Battlefoam Pack 1520 for my Tau and that has proved to be a great option. Lots of room and great foam, but not very easy to carry (the design has now changed).

Pros:

+ Great quality foam.

+ Some cases have hard sides for extra protection.

+ Customized foam for almost any armies.
+ Attractive, clear website.

Cons:

- Expensive/ premium prices (although a new low-cost range is now available.)

- Not a local supplier (I live in Japan)

KR Multicase

Image from:
http://www.somethingswrong.sg/2012/09/kr-multicase-kaiser-3.html 

I haven't used or bought them, but I have heard good things.

Pros:

+ I like the cardboard case + outer case approach.

+ Prices seem reasonable.

+ Customized foam options.

Cons:

- Could be just me, but I'm finding their variety of foam options bewildering...

- ...not to mention the website, which I find confusing!

Games Workshop

GW have recently changed their case designs, including an innovative kind of foam design and a wider variety of size options (Crusade, Battle and Skirmish).

Pros:
+ Foam design looks like it would be very adaptable to fit different sizes of models.
+ Reasonable cost: 75 GBP for the large size including foam seems reasonable (not that 75GBP is a small amount of money though?)
+ Quality appears reasonable.

Cons: - Does it hold enough models?
- Doesn't look like it would work for Warhammer Fantasy, where you are looking at ranked units of 50 Skaven...putting them individually could be a huge hassle!

Homebrew (DIY)

This is what I do now with all my Skaven and High Elf armies. Each box costs 100 Yen from (about 57p or 85 cents at today's exchange rates). I will stack 4-6 of these in a medium-sized suitcase to take to game days. I have about 8 of these boxes in total.

Pros:
+ Super, super cheap! Yeah, less than a pound per box is pretty good.
+ Durable. Hard, thick plastic with a durable, hard plastic lid. Doesn't flex much. 
+ Flexible. Often stack-able.
+ Widely available. (Hardware stores, 100 Yen shops etc.)
+ Good for units in movement trays. You can fit x1 -x2 movement trays inside, making game setup really easy (but consider magnetizing them before transportation!)

Cons:
- No straps. Needs to be carried in something else (holdall or suitcase).
- Difficult to secure models and stop them rattling around. No foam padding. If you are worried about your models stuff needs to be wrapped.
- Doesn't look great...

Any recommendations?
(Edit: I setup a poll on Google+ for some of the most popular options:
https://plus.google.com/+OliverBayley/posts/AcfNzK1vwJL )

+Cheers+