Mobile Army Tips...

[Xoan]

I am going on a trip through Germany in a few months, and I am looking to take an army with me when I go. I am going for about 13 months, but I am not going there "just" to game. hehe I am going to college while I am there, so while I want to get some gaming in I am not going to be building a table like I have at my home now. Here are a few of the things I have considered below...

I do not want a black army case like Games Workshop provides, in my opinion it looks a little too much like a gun case for an American to have while wondering the streets of Germany. So that drastically limits the type and size of army I can bring. My first thoughts were to get something that could fit in a backpack, and to use an all plastic army so I could bunch them up.

My first thoughts were play an army with the newer plastic models, and one that can be played with a smaller force. I believe Chaos Marines is the way to go. However, after Painting my Terminator Squad, I do not want bunch them up so I am looking for a way to put marine size models together in a backpack.

The Problem I have is that the 2000 point list I am looking at making is a total of 62 models. 2 are Terminator Sorcerers, 10 are Terminators, 20 are Lesser Daemons (Bloodletters), and 30 Chaos Marines made to look like Plague Marines. I believe the Bloodletters can be grouped together... they can be hard fit into any sort of foam or plastic tray/container. I was thinking of using spare parts trays with some sort of foam or something.

Anyone have any ideas?

[Soulbinder]

Have you look at the econo boxes that the warstore has it my be the way to go. I carry all my mini's in a plano 8606 tackle box with fold out trays with foam inserts......Just my 2 cents....good luck.

[locust]

Or if you don't mind spending a bit more, you could use the Sabol army transport system. Pluck & pull foam will fit just about anything. Plus it's available from the Warstore. (it's what I currently use) Alternatively, there is a newer company called Battlefoam that does custom foam and has generic cutout foam. Linkage: http://www.battlefoam.com/ I haven't used their stuff yet, but it looks really good. I plan on making an order with them sometime soon. Also my 2 bits worth.

[kturock]

Several years ago, my wife made a strap system for a guy to do same thing.
He had the chessex cases. She bought several yards of nylon strapping and some velcro.
the staps basicly made the cases into a backpack and the velcro'd closed and together. they looped around the cases and held them closed,, the had two arm holes to loop of his shoulders.

cheap and quick.

[Xoan]

That Battle Foam is crazy. I see it as power, in the sense that it increases the number of models, makes them safer, and costs a little more than a same size case.

The 432 case is enough for most armies that are balanced, and are below 2000 points for warhammer 40k. The 1520 is perfect for those non-balanced armies where you need 11 Rhinos, or if you playing IG in the near future "squads of Russes". I believe though the 432 case using the Space Marine pre-load would be the way for me to go. It is larger than I was really wanting, but it gives terrific protection in a fairly normal looking bag.

[MagickalMemories]

Personally, I think the black GW case might really be the best way to go.

--Hear me out --

First off... What does an American look like?
Right.
So, you'll look like any other person in Germany carrying said case.
I think you may be over-estimating the concern for the look of the case.

Also, however, there is a backpack that GW made, specifically, to fit these cases.
So, you've got a protective hard shell to surround your miniatures, and a backpack to carry it in.

Of course, you're probably talking about $100 or so to get both (presuming you don't have the case, already)... but you're looking at spending that for ANY good carrying case/system.

Just a thought.

Eric

[HarlequinZero]

I agree with MM. I got the bag from GW when Apocalypse came out and that thing is really nice. It fits a carrying case snugly and has pockets for all your extras. I know that bag is out of production, but GW DID make three more bags recently that I've seen around net. (Although I believe they, too, are officially oop as they were splash releases?) Anyways, the "Tactical" bag looked like it was a pretty nice backpack solution although still not as nice as the Apocalypse bag. Also, there was the "Heavy Support" bag which I've been thinking about getting. It's big enough to fit two cases and it has a pull handle and wheels so you can tote it around like proper luggage and not have all that weight on your back. And yes, both are a little pricey. It is GW after all.

[MagickalMemories]

In that respect:

http://cgi.ebay.com/GW-Tactical-Backpac ... .m63.l1177

http://cgi.ebay.com/Games-Workshop-TACT ... 0128226575

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catal ... tyle=wh40k

Eric

[JohnHwangBT]

First off... What does an American look like?

An American looks like a white guy who doesn't dress or act like British, French or German. The clothing and style is a bit "off", and doesn't fit in with the locals, or the typical visitors. The mannerisms and such don't match anything from Europe, so the conclusion will be American / Australian.

As far as travel cases go, Sabol is a good choices. Personally, I went with Chessex hardcases, which I transport 4 at a time in a square-sided gym bag. Therea re 3 flavors of hardcase, good for carrying:
- 40 Assault Marines / Terminators / large models (1 layer of 40, 2" deep)
- 80 regular dudes (2 layers of 40, 1" deep).

The 56-model case is good for Wraithguard and other large models on 25mm bases. Or double-up and put 112 small models (LotR / Guard)

[Xoan]

An American looks like a white guy who doesn't dress or act like British, French or German. The clothing and style is a bit "off", and doesn't fit in with the locals, or the typical visitors. The mannerisms and such don't match anything from Europe, so the conclusion will be American / Australian.

I would agree with that statement, while I was talking to one of my instructors who lived there most of her life, she told me that American's dress and acted differently from Germans, and when we speak in English or German it will be very clear. I can personally say that most Europeans look different both in the face, in the cloths they wear, and they also acted different.

For Example: I drink a lot of water, about 2 or 3 liters a day, in Germany they don't offer water at restaurants, they have mineral water from what I gather. So if you don't want beer, soda, mineral water, or some sort of fruit juice your options are limited, and asking for just water would unusual. hehe

I have many of those gray hard cases, and several GW cases, it is something to look into... the only thing is I have armies in there... I haven't played these older games in a while, but I still like the miniatures.

[gpfredette]

You can get this backpack: http://thewarstore.com/WARGAMINGFIGUREBACKPACKS.html, at the War Store for $40.00 plus the $6.00 shipping and it will hold one of the GW Cases.

I personally have one of these and I think it is great.

Maybe a slightly cheaper way than getting the GW back pack (which if you need it to will hold two of two cases).

Thank you,

[HarlequinZero]

You can get this backpack: http://thewarstore.com/WARGAMINGFIGUREBACKPACKS.html, at the War Store for $40.00 plus the $6.00 shipping and it will hold one of the GW Cases.

I personally have one of these and I think it is great.

Maybe a slightly cheaper way than getting the GW back pack (which if you need it to will hold two of two cases).

Thank you,

Yea, actually I'll agree with gpfredette on this one. I did a little research on the GW "tactical" backpack and while it CAN expand to fit two cases it looks like the pack expands OUTWARDS from your back. In other words, if you were carrying two cases you'd have this huge hump protruding out from your back. And I can't imagine if you were using a primarily metal army as that thing would weigh a ton and totally throw your center of gravity.

However, I still think the "Heavy Support" bag is the way I'm going. It's a piece of luggage I can wheel around two of the BIG GW army cases in.

[Xoan]

SoB would suck... and I have a ton of them heh

[JohnHwangBT]

I regularly transport Guard + Storms + Sisters. That's well over 200 metal minis base, plus other stuff brought. It's not a big deal, as it's in a carry bag.

[Xoan]

Well I got my Battle Foam Case today, and it is pretty bad ass... It is just as they advertise it to be, but I would warn that the trays with the smaller holes are really not good for 40k. I am able to put dwarfs in there nicely, but they are not very deep so guns and backpacks tend to create issues. Even my Sgts have a problem fitting into the Space Marine holes, and require a slightly larger hole because of the Power Fist. heh


All that being said I am very impressed, and I am sure after loading these a few times I find the best and fastest way to work with these miniature trays. I also bought a 1520 bag to carry/store part of my DnD miniatures, and it is pretty dang sweet. The trays that hold 60 smaller miniatures and 5 larger miniatures work perfectly for homanoid size models. I even put my Saber Tooth Cats that are large creatures into the large holes, because they aren't very tall and don't stand out of the hole.

They also can truly customize a hole to what you need. I had put in a request for a piece of foam that my laptop could fit into, and they made it for me. I also asked for as many 2X2 holes they could put on a 2" piece of foam so that I could store large creatures, they were able to put 30 holes on one tray that is a large portion of my large creatures which is awesome.



Thanks for the help on this guys I think I know how I am going to set this up!
Clark