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Now that I'm getting back into things I need to pick up a transport of some sort. What would you guys suggest for lugging around a high model count IG army with a few vehicles? Is battle foam the way to go or is there something cheaper/better out there?

Cardboard. I've been using it for 10 years, never busted a model while transporting it.

I used to use a shoebox without bubblewrap or anything. As long as you dont go throwing your case around it works just fine.

Edit: It occurs to me you said IG, so a shoebox probably isn't going to cut it for size. Try and find some big plastic storage boxes and put some bubblewrap or felt on the inside then.

Tissue's seem to work well. They soften it up without taking up much room.

Well that wasn't the sort of response I was expecting. Good to know, though, that'd certainly save a TON of money. Just would be a little paranoid I guess...

How do you guys stack stuff like that? Again, high model count incoming... but I plan on varnishing them pretty darn well anyhow.

I use battlefoam, but I also spend an obscene amount of time painting and modeling.

Tackle box I bought a walmart for $20 and it works like a charm.

I've been looking at doing something better for my space marines. Instead of spending a ton of money on battlefoam or another type of case, I'm going to try getting a tackle box, and then getting some upholstery foam to line it.

I transport my light plastic, high volume models in a cardboard or plastic box then stick some egg crate foam or some bubble wrap on top to keep them from jostling around, works fine. Any metal/finecast or big model i use foam trays from army transporter. Though I don’t recommend there product as there canvas bag has no support. So i stuck everything in a Husky Utility Cart that i got at home depot. the best part is that it has a seperate top compartment that can hold individual quick units for quick play and you can pad lock it just incase and can fit about 5000 points in smr or tau. Its about 50 bucks for the cart

If you want something simple to order and no doubt a quality product, I would suggest battlefoam. Sabol is also good if you want to save some pennies.

I bought a used metal army surplus container that used to hold nightvision goggles. Got it on ebay for $35. lined it with foamcore, cut some custom foam to fit it, and i can fit 100+ guardsmen, 9 tanks, and about 14 heavy weapons teams in there. Its damn solid too, I'm sure i could throw it out the window on the highway and it would be fine. Total cost was about $50, and some time to cut out the foam core and foam pieces.

I use two of these:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Plano-Protector-Series-Four-Pistol-Case/16662942

Regular price is about $15 and each holds about 120 infantry.

I have one for my infantry, and the other holds my Rhinos, Preds, Bikes, Dreadnoughts, Aegis Defense line, and Land Speeders

I have a KR Multicase Kaiser 2 for my Eldar, I checked it on a plane this past weekend and the only thing that broke was poorly glued on in the first place, none of the actualy fragile models were damaged in any way. It's a lot cheaper than Battlefoam, but the website's a pain to navigate so ordering can be tricky, although if you email them they'll help you out.

I plan to make my own using my old Graphic Tablet's box and will cut the shapes on camping insulation (the thick foam you put under the sleeping bag).

When I get myself to do it, I'll post the results.

I'm no longer a student, but I still have a new, expensive North Face backpack so what I'm planning to do in the future (and what I suggest for you) is ditch my tackle box and buy the KR trays that come with a couple layers of foam in a cardboard brief case. Get it cut for only infantry, and then just buy two of those and put it in a backpack. No need to pay for the expensive bag to store the trays.

Battlefoam is good, but incredibly expensive.

I much prefer KR Multicase.
Does the same job, many of the same options, a fraction of the cost.

After christmas I'll be ordering a whole bunch more Card Cases to go in a Backpack 2, so I can just grab whichever army I want at the time, and keep everything in a nice neat stack when I don't want to take it with me.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Model_Case_Reviews_and_Recommendations

for a more balanced view - but I'm a KR person

If you want the best, go with battlefoam. It's also the most expensive.

I've got several battlefoam bags, and never looked back.

I think the biggest one at the end of the day for me is this:
Backpack 2:
10" foam
10"x15" trays
Empty £43.99
Core £82.99
Custom £99.99
Postage free: inc. in price.

PACK GO:
9" of foam.
15.5"x12" Trays
Empty £73.20
Standard £120
Custom £132
+ £12 P&P

Both KR and Battlefoam are highquality products, both have lots of options, but for me, this means the backpack alone will be £100 with custom foam from KR, or £144 from Battlefoam.
I'll be needing more foam aswell, as I have just under 18,000pts of model to find homes for.

How many figures is 18000 points?! you are going to need what 8 to 10 KR cases?

@evertras what have you got - I enjoy the puzzle of trying to fit armies in KR cases

 RFHolloway wrote:
How many figures is 18000 points?! you are going to need what 8 to 10 KR cases?

@evertras what have you got - I enjoy the puzzle of trying to fit armies in KR cases

There's a few Apoc units there, but it is overall 17889pts and 545 models.
(451 on 25mm bases, 40 on 40mm bases, 14 on 60mm bases, 14 Bikes, 20 Vehicles, and 6 SuperHeavies (scratchbuilt Biotitans mostly) spread across several armies.)


I figure I'll need a case for my Tau and CSM then 2-3 for my Dark Eldar, another for the Orks, then I'll probably make my own boxes for the biotitans. (Oh this isn't including my Skaven, so that's another case...)

I count 3 cases for the 25mm, half a case for the 40mm, a half to 2 thirds for the 60mm -, third to a half for the bikes (maybe more if they are dark eldar. The vehicles will depend hugely, and the biotitans only you will know. - Cost will depend on how much needs to be custom foam (mainly vehicles) and how much is just regular trays.

 RFHolloway wrote:
How many figures is 18000 points?! you are going to need what 8 to 10 KR cases?

@evertras what have you got - I enjoy the puzzle of trying to fit armies in KR cases

Currently still building everything, so I don't have concrete numbers. Looking like a handful of tanks and a couple chimeras, might try out 2-3 valks, and just a ton of infantry. I'm going to need a better idea on that before I really commit, I think. The 'shoebox with tissue paper' solution might work out until I really settle.

 RFHolloway wrote:
I count 3 cases for the 25mm, half a case for the 40mm, a half to 2 thirds for the 60mm -, third to a half for the bikes (maybe more if they are dark eldar. The vehicles will depend hugely, and the biotitans only you will know. - Cost will depend on how much needs to be custom foam (mainly vehicles) and how much is just regular trays.

A good number of things are heavily converted or scratchbuilt - most of it will need custom foam.
But a lot of my infantry for example, I can fit 2-to-a-slot atm, so I'll be running them more to a tray than average.
I've been thinking on this for a while (hence the count I had to hand xD) but yeah, I reckon 5-7 should cover it.
Not cheap, but I figure it needs to be done.

Evertras wrote:

 RFHolloway wrote:
How many figures is 18000 points?! you are going to need what 8 to 10 KR cases?

@evertras what have you got - I enjoy the puzzle of trying to fit armies in KR cases

Currently still building everything, so I don't have concrete numbers. Looking like a handful of tanks and a couple chimeras, might try out 2-3 valks, and just a ton of infantry. I'm going to need a better idea on that before I really commit, I think. The 'shoebox with tissue paper' solution might work out until I really settle.

Its the Valks that are the issue - they need a separate box each - One box takes a valk and 4 leeman russ/Chimeras and 20 troups and will be £33 inc delivery as it is custom foam - IG10 is the load out. That just gives you the cardboard box which is fine for storage (the cardboard is really strong) but you may want to pick up a carry case to move them around.

For troups if they are small you can fit 200 troups in a case using the M trays or 160 with a bit more room in the N trays (N are fine for space marines) - that is £25 as this is standard foam. - load out will be 8 M4H's or 8 N4H's (or you can mix freely between them)

Hope that gives you an idea of what to budget.

 Bloodfrenzy187 wrote:
Tackle box I bought a walmart for $20 and it works like a charm.

This. I use tackle trays (minus the box) and put furniture padding in that has outlines cut out for some of the more expressive models (normally captains and sgts). A typical tackle tray with run about $5-$8 depending on the size and manufacturer, and you can get a $12 thing of furniture padding that will fill up about 15 trays. Most trays will hold about 20-30 infantry minis. For vehicles I normally line a shoebox with the foam and cut out holes to hold the tank in place. Most shoeboxes are tall enough and wide enough to hold 3-4 tanks safely.

When its time to load up and travel, I just put the trays in a duffle bag and I'm on my way.

I will always recommend Portable Warfare. I love my bag. There are cheaper options.