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I own GSC, SM, Nids and DE. My DE have not seen play for a while (though that might change) and my GSC and SM are easy enough to transport. But my Nids are a hassle! Big bugs, odd shaped medium bugs. Metal HT with plastic wings, and kits of little griblies. Is there a way to make them easier to transport? And are there any on a reasonable budget?

I currently have the old double briefcase and briefcase that hold 6 and 3 foam layers from GW. It is OK, but when I go full Nids it is very strained.

how are you then transporting the cases? Are you carrying them, putting them in a car, putting them in a backpack and taking a motorbike, or using public transport?

If you have the space (EG a reasonable sized boot for your car, or are walking) then a granny trolley is a good way to do it. I've seen several people with big awkward armies pulling these sorts of trollies with various boxes bungee'd to their frames.

Go to Battlefoam (they're having a sale right now!) & order yourself some pluck foam trays for the big & oddly shaped critters.
There's also numerous trays of varying depths & slots for the little bugs.
They've also got a variety of bags/cases/storage boxes.

Maybe this idea is something for you? I build cases like this for my Death Guard because spikes, grenades and other things kept breaking off when transporting them in foam trays and I'm more than happy with it.

I had a battlefoam case for my nids, but honestly feth battlefoam.

Game Plus makes 10.00 pluck foam trays (no matter how thick the tray it's always 10.00) and a good crarry case with lots of pouches for a much better price point than battlefoam. Even my battlefoam case was eventually filled with Game Plus trays.

I normally jump into these threads with a recommendation for KR Multicase. Quality product, reasonably priced.

For nids, with all the spiky bits and odd shapes, I might suggest a magnet/tray system.

I second Jidmah, magnetized cases are the way to go for those kind of models. I'm also in the process of making my own ones, even for house storage.

 Lance845 wrote:
I had a battlefoam case for my nids, but honestly feth battlefoam.

Game Plus makes 10.00 pluck foam trays (no matter how thick the tray it's always 10.00) and a good crarry case with lots of pouches for a much better price point than battlefoam. Even my battlefoam case was eventually filled with Game Plus trays.

Game pluss trays seems quite good. But they seem rather slim. My flyinng hive tyrants are very big with the wings.

Is there a product similar to game pluss trays but wider? Ideally holding twice the sieze.

 Niiai wrote:

 Lance845 wrote:
I had a battlefoam case for my nids, but honestly feth battlefoam.

Game Plus makes 10.00 pluck foam trays (no matter how thick the tray it's always 10.00) and a good crarry case with lots of pouches for a much better price point than battlefoam. Even my battlefoam case was eventually filled with Game Plus trays.

Game pluss trays seems quite good. But they seem rather slim. My flyinng hive tyrants are very big with the wings.

Is there a product similar to game pluss trays but wider? Ideally holding twice the sieze.

I pinned the wings on anything with wings so that they could be removed for storage and transportation. It was a lesson I learned after the first flyrant I built. 2 pins in the joint meant I could slide on/off the wings with a snug secure attachment. For my flyrants they basically sat nestled in their wings. One wing down like a bowl. The model next with the pluck foam set up to secure the base and prevent movement. Other wing over top curving down around it.

Not for that price point. You want to search for "Pluck Foam" (the trays are built with a precut grid so you can just pluck out the pieces you want to make the space you need for the model). For termagants/hormagaunts for example I had a tray that was just slightly taller then the 25mm base. Then I would pluck out a full row and lay the models base to base withe guns overlapping tails. I think I had 10-15 models in a row. Definitely 30-45 models in a tray.

Again, battlefoam is going to get much more expensive.

Yeah, I have glued my wings on tyranids so they are not comming off.

Are there any bags that are wide enough to hold two pluck foam trays? All I found have only one. I think perhaps the battlefoam had something that was that sieze, but they where very exspensive.

 Niiai wrote:
Yeah, I have glued my wings on tyranids so they are not comming off.

Are there any bags that are wide enough to hold two pluck foam trays? All I found have only one. I think perhaps the battlefoam had something that was that sieze, but they where very exspensive.

Game Plus bags are all single trays stacked. Battlefoam has large bags that can have 2 trays side by side but like you said, expensive. Alternatively go buy a plastic storage bin with handles and lay the pluck foam trays in there.

Magnets in the bases, and metal cookie sheets in a travel case design to fit them like slide-in shelves.

Great vid, thanks for posting that.

A lot of the big tool companies like DeWalt and Makita sell interlocking tool boxes now that scale to whatever your need is, and pre cut foam trays are available. They are a lot better quality than the GW and repurposed pistol cases you see, and for the most part pretty economical for what you get.

I've been transitioning to that system both for 40k and actual tools, and had ordered some of the foam inserts, but I'm going to try putting that magnetic style in the boxes instead.

Both the nid players around here, seem to be carrying theirs swarms in a plastic bags, and the big ones are in a tool box for one dude and in a 5L icecream box.

The only problem I have with magnetic sheets like what Duncan shows is that they're not especially strong, and they're constantly fighting a battle between the magnetization and the adhesive. If the magnets win the sheet peels off, if the adhesive wins the models fall off.

I do basically the same thing (plastic bin with magnetic liner), but the magnetic liner I use is steel sheet, cut to size with tin snips and riveted to the bottom of the tray. It's dirt cheap and works great for Tyranids- you can see how 'Nids fit in my tutorial video.

I'm never going back to foam- magnetized cases fit a lot more models in the amount of space, are far more conducive to irregularly-shaped models, and don't have any issues with paint abrasion.

@catbarf wow, that was great. And cheap.

Two questions:

- How is it with metal models? (I have 4 hive guards, 1 hive trant with wings.)

- How is the box for tipping sideways?

I've build Ducan's box and I can easily hold it upside down and nothing moves one bit, including all the DG daemon engines and princes. Even the full metal winged daemon prince doesn't move around after putting 4 magnets underneath, though I wouldn't do the up-side down stunt with it.

I do use self-adhesive metal sheets (they are not magnetic themselves) though, and they are completely impossible to remove once the glue has dried.

My method for transporting pretty much anything. Metal sheet bottom of plastic container(another to ceiling if room), magnets for bases.

Only issue I have is I ran out of magnets and order of 400 is stuck in finnish airport or something since 13.10. Bloody corona causing havoc with packets from china it seems.

 catbarf wrote:
The only problem I have with magnetic sheets like what Duncan shows is that they're not especially strong, and they're constantly fighting a battle between the magnetization and the adhesive. If the magnets win the sheet peels off, if the adhesive wins the models fall off.

I do basically the same thing (plastic bin with magnetic liner), but the magnetic liner I use is steel sheet, cut to size with tin snips and riveted to the bottom of the tray. It's dirt cheap and works great for Tyranids- you can see how 'Nids fit in my tutorial video.

I'm never going back to foam- magnetized cases fit a lot more models in the amount of space, are far more conducive to irregularly-shaped models, and don't have any issues with paint abrasion.

Do Crystal Fortress cases have the same issue with their sheets?

Is there any way to effective bundle the boxes into something portable?

I agree with the video from Duncan Rhodes and it’s exactly what I do. Flat bottom storage containers with rubber magnets on base. Models with magnets on the bottom and so long as the model is light, it will not move.

Bigger models will also be fine except under quite serious conditions (dropping) but the risk with them is that they can slide. Personally for those I have a second layer of rubberised magnets, but with holes cut that the bases can also slide into. The lip around the base then stops in moving but this is not foam. This will work for house to car to table, not for things like airplanes

Decent sized toolbox, bit of padding. Job done, won't cost much either.

 Stux wrote:
Decent sized toolbox, bit of padding. Job done, won't cost much either.

Yeah, this is how I transported my dark eldar vehicles. It is not ideal though, as the toolcase is quite cumbersome.

For the portability angle, this is what I was talking about. This particular model is cheap right now ($20 to $30) as they've come out with an upgraded set.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D_UFtCRKj0

I'm gonna second the battlefoam magnetic cases. i have seen them used for nids and for warmachine with magnets on their bases.

https://us.battlefoam.com/magna-racks-2/

Niiai wrote:@catbarf wow, that was great. And cheap.

Two questions:

- How is it with metal models? (I have 4 hive guards, 1 hive trant with wings.)

- How is the box for tipping sideways?

I've done a couple of long (6+hr) road trips with my boxes, including a number of pewter minis. The Biovores and Lictor didn't even shift. If you're concerned you can always double up on the steel sheet (or just use thicker sheet, if you have a convenient means of cutting it) and/or use heavier magnets.

I can hold the boxes upside down and everything will stick, but I wouldn't shake the ones with monstrous creatures or pewter minis (Gaunts and Warriors sit fine though with 3x2mm and 5x2mm N52 magnets respectively).

Sliding is an issue for heavier models if the box is placed on its side, because the steel doesn't provide much friction. I'm thinking I might spray paint the steel, which ought to help, but I don't think you can really stop something like a pewter Hive Guard from sliding if the box is held sideways. I keep the boxes upright, and the magnets are sufficient to deal with incidental bumps.

One idea I've seen is to put all the heavy stuff in its own box, then add padding or packing material around each model. The magnets keep them more secure than bouncing around in foam cases, and the padding prevents damage from unwanted movement. You could even, I suppose, just insert foam with cutouts into a magnetized case.

Jidmah wrote:I've build Ducan's box and I can easily hold it upside down and nothing moves one bit, including all the DG daemon engines and princes. Even the full metal winged daemon prince doesn't move around after putting 4 magnets underneath, though I wouldn't do the up-side down stunt with it.

I do use self-adhesive metal sheets (they are not magnetic themselves) though, and they are completely impossible to remove once the glue has dried.

My issue with self-adhesive solutions is that glues are unpredictable. I often find it'll be hard as a rock when applied, but then it sits in the sun or a hot car and loses adhesion, or dries out over time and starts to crack, or absorbs moisture and loses its stick. The plastic used in those tubs (usually polypropylene from what I've seen) also isn't conducive to adhesives; I've seen people use hot glue or even two-part epoxy to secure metal sheets and then have the whole thing just peel off.

I mean, all that said, if your solution works then more power to you. I'm just very wary of adhesive-based solutions with models that I spent so much time and effort painting. I trust rivets.

Blastaar wrote:Do Crystal Fortress cases have the same issue with their sheets?

No idea what they use, sorry.

 Jidmah wrote:



Maybe this idea is something for you? I build cases like this for my Death Guard because spikes, grenades and other things kept breaking off when transporting them in foam trays and I'm more than happy with it.

+1 for Duncan's guide. I had similar trays back in the day and they were great. The magnets also help weigh down top heavy models, Tyranids tend to be more top heavy than most.