Carrying case: Worth it?

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**orkishlyorkish**

Hi I've been wondering for awhile now, is a case from GW a good investment? Right now I use a box that used to be used for holding money and has about 9 compartments that each hold about 1 squad of 10-13 models. Anyways I have 3 questions-

1) Is it worth it for the price?- It costs about 60$ plus tax for a case and, on my LOW budget I would rather get 2 squads than a case.

2) Will it really protect my models so good?- The box I use offers pretty good protection because a full squad doesn't move around too much. I also have another looser box for things like land speeders and bikes.

3 How many models can it hold?- I don't want to be spending 60$ if it holds half my army and then whenever me or my sis expand even with a squad or 2 we need to spend another 60$.

Any other advice to support/dissupport getting it please post here.
Whatever advice is the majority I will most probably follow.
Lastly if anyone could provide cheaper alternatives please tell me.
to get an idea of my boxes hieght and compartment length, each one could hold the hieght of a dreadnought and the length of a LS from wing to wing.

**H.B.M.C.**

orkishlyorkish wrote:is a case from GW a good investment?

No.

A case from here on the other hand will hold much, much more, and in a more practical manner.

**Tizz**

Agreed, GW cases are not worth the investment. Sabol are great and the upcoming Battlefoam look even more awesome

**warpcrafter**

I prefer the hard-shell cases myself. I just don't trust anything flexible. And yes, a case for your miniatures, wherever you get it from is a good investment. Having them sitting snug in there individual foam niches is better than rattling around in a box.

**orkishlyorkish**

OK thanks guys. For the price matter I'm thinking of checking E-Bay for cheaper stuff. I'm not looking for mint condition as much as just a place to store my guys to bring to the place to paint and play.

**orkishlyorkish**

One more question. Is battlefoam cheap for what it comes with and does it just come with foam and no case?

**H.B.M.C.**

Others will have more detail, but from what I recall it can do both - you can buy the foam in a case, and also buy the foam separate. Same applies to Sabol foam.

I think the BattleFoam is also made to fit other people's cases, so they've made foam that will fit in a GW case, or inside a Sabol case.

**orkishlyorkish**

Hey just wondering but what's wrong with the GW citadel model case? just want to know why I shouldn't get it.

**Vertrucio**

It's small, and despite the hard outer case, the inside is poorly laid out. The foam inside is poor, usually doesn't fit most models let alone an army, it also moves around inside the case instead of fitting snugly, which also means your miniatures get jostled around more.

It also just doesn't hold all that much for the amount you pay.

I know the other more serious cases seem to cost a lot, but they hold a lot, and double as a pack to carry other gaming supplies, they also tend to have better or customizable foam arrangements, and more.

**H.B.M.C.**

They cost heaps. The foam cannot be customised to the same extend as Sabol or Battlefoam. They don't hold much.

**LunaHound**

The only transport i'll consider using are the magnetized ones. I would rather use my socks box then the usual foam ones.

**Lordhat**

I like my GW Cases, I do wish they could hold a bit more, but the good news is, if you have enough models in them the lid actually compresses the trays a bit, holding them in place. Of course, I did get both of mine for free.

**Scott-S6**

The GW army case is better than the smaller one. The latches are a particularly weak point on the small cases.

The army case has six trays each holder 9x4 models (total 216) The 9 models per row is really annoying if you ten man squads! It is a good case though and it can be had significantly cheaper than the store price if you hunt about.

If you want to do this really cheap then find somewhere that sells upholstery/bedding foam and ask if you can have some of their off-cuts. You can get loads of pieces of foam for pennies if you ask nicely. Or, you could have them cut a bunch of pieces of eggshell for you - that'll cost slightly more but be much less work. Then make a case from foamboard and lots of duct tape. That's what I used to do when I was a student!

**BDJV**

I actually like the GW cases, but then I have a crap load of them from my time working at GW. They were a good buy with the employee discount!

I'm gettin' ready to replace most of the foam with custom cut Battlefoam trays.

**two_heads_talking**

orkishlyorkish wrote:OK thanks guys. For the price matter I'm thinking of checking E-Bay for cheaper stuff. I'm not looking for mint condition as much as just a place to store my guys to bring to the place to paint and play.

PM me, I have about a dozen cases I'm thinking about selling.. Perhaps we can work something out..

**dietrich**

I like the GW cases if my army only has infantry. So, I use them for LotR and Necromunda and Bloodbowl (that I have like 12 of them, I need to find something to use them for). For armies with vehicles, Sabol is the way to go since you can carry vehicles and infantry in the case(2). If I was buying new, I would definitely just go with Sabol due to the price difference. I've never had a problem with the soft-shell case.

**Demogerg**

Old hardshell suitcases (Thriftstores=win)
a couple of eggshell foam layers, and Bam! hardshell, cheap, and customizeable (just cut the foam to fit your larger models)

EDIT: another benefit, you dont look like nearly as much of a nerd walking around with 2 generic suitcases than you do with 2 "games workshop" cases

**Crazy_Carnifex**

QFT

**Casper**

I think it depends on a few things. First personal preference of cource. Second the GW cases are expensive, (ill elaborate more in a bit). Finally it depends on your army.

For insance my orks currently use all the spare foam from my leftover flexible foam trays. The orks sit in ziplock bags by squad (so i dont misplace any) and then the are put in a shoebox or two. Main reason i dont like the GW trays for them is well, they don't fit and I hate to cut up all the foam for each individual ork.

However my tau are a different story. I was able to fit everthing but my crisis suits, broadsides, transports and tanks in small GW case (i think its small, its the one with 3 layers of foam). Its great for them as it requires me to take less cases of stuff to my FLGS. I use to have lots of flexible foam and it just wasn't an effectve way to take them.

I would think that they would work well for any compact infantry army such as guard, SM, CSM, Eldar. Really depends on your army and what you currently use for them. I would shop around before deciding to toss your old system.

**Trench-Raider**

I've got two of the small GW hard cases that I obtained as part of a large trade about four years ago. The cases are pretty sturdy and work well enough. However they are certainly not worth the money that GW charges and I would never actually pay for one. As others have pointed out, there are much better options out there.

If you live in the US and are on a budget, the inexpensive hardshell gun cases make decent army cases.

TR

**whitedragon**

Walmart usually sells pistol cases for 7-10 dollars that are hard shelled, about the same size as GW cases, are packed with eggcrate foam, and have cool designs on the outside.

**Trench-Raider**

Yup....those are the kinds of things I'm talking about. Also the large rifle cases can hold a large number of figures.

I've got a few of these sorts of cases....but they are all busy holding guns rather than miniatures!

TR

**Ktulhut**

Some sort of carry case is worth it, for sure. I have a GW one, and the sentiment that it doesn't hold as many models as it should is accurate, but having said that I've DROPPED IT (d'oh) twice now with no damage at all to either the necrons (including oh-so-fragile wraiths) or the heavily converted Genestealer Cult that was in it on each respective occaision. So get one, you can drop your whole army and not sweat it.

**orkishlyorkish**

Thanks for the ideas guys =) I'm thinking of either buying a case from someone (PM me if you're selling one cheap) OR I might buy Sabol, for Sabol what would be the best and cheapest thing to get if you have orks and SM, about 1500 points each? Last option is what trench and dragon suggested but problem is I live in Canada. Anyways please give me some advice on what I should get if I get sabol =) and also what's a better deal? Sabol's motor pool or battlefoams P.A.C.K.?

EDIT: Would they also sell the pistol cases in Canada at walmart and what whould I use for the foam or does it come with foam?

**JohnHwangDD**

warpcrafter wrote:I prefer the hard-shell cases myself.

And yes, a case for your miniatures, wherever you get it from is a good investment. Having them sitting snug in there individual foam niches is better than rattling around in a box.

Agreed on both points. My minis are in hardcases, and I'm very glad about it. Solid-sided, long-term protected storage allows the to stack & store on shelves taking minimal space. Plus, they're better protected in transit.

**Ktulhut**

I've tried using pistol cases and met with failure. Unless your a very competent craftsman as well as hobbyist, you're better off saving up and getting a professionally made one. Trust me, I know all about budgets and wargames. I've been on and off the sickness benefit for a year and a half and that is f**k all money, tbh.

**warboss**

i like my GW hardcases and wouldn't trade them for sabol/army transport/battlefoam. the foam on the inside, on the other hand, is frustrating. what genius thought that a row of 9 slots is a good idea in a game where 90% of infantry units come in 5 or 10 man squads standard???

**Gwar!**

While not cheap, what ya'll really want is a P.A.C.K.

Failing that, I recommend the Pistol/Rifle Cases as they are much cheaper than the GW case and work just as well.

**orkishlyorkish**

Gwar! wrote:While not cheap, what ya'll really want is a P.A.C.K.

Failing that, I recommend the Pistol/Rifle Cases as they are much cheaper than the GW case and work just as well.

Erm... If you didn't notice my posts I'm kind of on a tight budget and the P.A.C.K. is 150$ US and I'm Canadian. I have taken a few looks at it before and it's a pretty good deal but I can't afford the things that are good deals since they're usually still expensive

On a different note would a rifle/pistol case come with foam that I would just have to cut or is it empty? I could probably cut the hole in foam where pistol would go to fit my LR but that's assuming it come's with foam...

Anyhoo, Thanks for all the advice, any more advice would be useful

**Belphegor**

Pelican
Comes with foam and can be used in personal defense.