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Hey Dakka, I was looking for some insight as for gaming cases I should get for storing my 40k minis.

My first thought was the citadel cases, they look versatile, and they seem pretty good, but I'm relatively inexperienced in this area.

What's the most cost effective case you can think off? Any recommendations? I'd prefer no pick and pluck cases, or custom fitted cases as I am looking for something that can expand as my armies do.

Thank you!

~Mikey

Some years ago I made my own cases. I bought some zippered fabric storage cases from Ikea and some foam and foam glue from an online store. Buy a 1/2" inch sheet for the base of each layer then a sheet of whatever size you need to cover the models. Repeat for as many layers as you need to fill the case then cover with another 1/2" layer.
Mine worked out at less than £15 for a case that you can customise to your heart's content.

I even snazzed one up with a guitar strap that I stitched on as a carrying harness. Way cheaper than almost anything you can buy that's equivalent.

I'm gonna make a satchel one for my guildball stuff.

GW cases, certainly the old plastic ones are not ideal and far too expensive.

I have most of my minis stored in KR multicases. Their card cases that stack and fit into a number of bag options they provide and are as cheap as anything I have seen that is specifically made for minis.

Their website can be overwhelming for the uninitiated due to the amount of options but its well worth taking a bit of time over. They are very helpful if you want to call them.

I've got a mixture of Battlefoam, Figures In Comfort and Mantis cases, and they all work pretty much in the same way. Mostly card/plastic boxes that you put trays of whatever size in.

KR are the same idea but I think easier to source in the US.

KR have a US depot too I believe.

Cool. I just know that FIC and Mantis are fairly small UK based operations, so I assume just not worthwhile for US customers due to the shipping.

Free shipping in USA if you spend $110 on KR website.

Feldherr is also very good. They're a German company, but they have a US & Canada webstore.

https://www.feldherr.net/en/webshop-englisch/feldherr-usa-and-canada/

11x17 copy paper boxes with home made foam liners work well.

Yeah, i'll second box files as a good cheap way way to store things. Just layer the models with bubble wrap.
Splash out on a good versatile case that will fit 2kish for when you need to travel.
If you're taking more than 2k/3k of models it probably makes sense to drive so everything will be fine in the box files.
Just take it slow and no Dukes of Hazzard jumps!

I use KR for all my GW models. I try to get a case soon after getting the kits, which helps me decide whether to buy a kit.

But, I have to set aside up to 1/4 to 1/2 the price of the models to get them boxed properly. This is probably fairly standard, though.

The KR cases I use are the hard (Alu) boxes with foam in, or the Kaiser bags and backpack for card-and-foam cases.

Cheap rigid plastic box from anywhere + a thin sheet of steel glued at the bottom (optionally, additional sheets on the sides).
Then, magnets under every base of my miniatures. For vehicles or flying stuff, I had to be a bit more creative sometimes, but I always found ways to make it work.

With strong magnets, nothing moves in the box: you can shake it hard, everything stays still. You can also pack things a lot more, as you don't have foam taking most of the space. And it's 100% modular.

The magnets are not cheap, but the boxes are. All in all, I paid less than if I had bought decent foam cases.

I did it the other way round - magnetic sheet on the base, and then if you've based your mini's on steel based coins or washers, they'll stick. There's a UK based company that does magnetic sheets in A4 or 4L "Really Useful Box" sized, which is what most of my non-28mm-skirmish stuff live in.

Up/downside to that is that the mini's won't stick to anything else.

Herzlos wrote:
I did it the other way round - magnetic sheet on the base, and then if you've based your mini's on steel based coins or washers, they'll stick. There's a UK based company that does magnetic sheets in A4 or 4L "Really Useful Box" sized, which is what most of my non-28mm-skirmish stuff live in.
Up/downside to that is that the mini's won't stick to anything else.

Strong magnets in the base of miniatures when bunched together can make for some comical moments.
I like to use "fender washers" (smaller hole in them) in my bases to weigh them down.
You can always keep a bunch of small rare-earth magnets to shove in between to get the same effect as magnetic sheet but using a galvanized sheet in the case.

 gummyofallbears wrote:

What's the most cost effective case you can think off? Any recommendations? I'd prefer no pick and pluck cases, or custom fitted cases as I am looking for something that can expand as my armies do.

I personally own 3 of Battlefoam's 1750XL cases... They are great for storing large amounts of minis, but perhaps not the best for transporting a single day's worth of gaming minis (unless you play huge games... or your army just has insane amounts of minis)

Battlefoam is pretty spendy, but the ONLY models I've ever had break in them, were old metal minis that were posed in odd positions, and they broke at the standard metal model breaking points (re: the joints). The standard infantry tray is great for infantry in "standard" poses (ie, 2 hands on gun or arms generally at their sides). Once you get into super dynamic posing and anything necessitating a larger footprint, it does become slightly more of an issue in their cases.

The newest style of GW case isn't bad... I'm currently storing my Skitarii in one. The drawbacks to this case comes in the fiddly bit department. I originally bought it thinking I could store around 2k points of Harlequins. The first time I opened the case after transporting them, any troupe member with a CCW had a broken blade, one of the shadowseer's staff had bent (it broke later, but not due to case). I think this case does better with the more robust lines in GW's offerings (ie, marines, new AoS stuff and the like).


A couple guys in my LGW have brought armies in using KW trays, and I've often looked at them just for ideas and perhaps getting some as a storage option.