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Hey Guys, Sorry if this is the wrong forum. I looked through the threads and found plenty of KR vs Battle Foam threads but not one asking this...

I recently picked up an empty Battle Foam P.A.C.K 720 bag for my heavily WIP Ork army and planned to pickup some foam for it once I had worked out what I need. I had a look at the Battle Foam website and couldn't find certain trays I was after... a few of these appear on the US version of the site but not the UK one and some others don't exsist at all. I looked at the KR site and found they have pretty much all the trays I'd need for my stuff inc ForgeWorld. Having looked at the measurements on both sites:

Battle Foam tray:
W394 (15.5 inches)
L305 (12 inches)

KR Foam:
W380 (14.9 inches)
L255 (10.3 inches)

Now I'm not looking to get a KR bag, I made my choice and picked Battle Foam and if I have no other choice then I will need to use their Tray Creator to make them myself but I just wanted to ask since KR have these trays ready to go, has anyone used any of the KR trays in their BF bags? seeing as they are only slightly different I imagine sticking some foam down the sides to bulk them up would work?

Thanks guys, I appreciate your help.

I think BF use the same size foam as GW.
Only KR and one other foam maker use the KR size, but most others match GW sizes.
This needs checking though. I only use KR.

Since this is here does anyone have any experience with KR foam in either the single or double wide Sabol Design bags?

 Skinnereal wrote:
I think BF use the same size foam as GW.
Only KR and one other foam maker use the KR size, but most others match GW sizes.
This needs checking though. I only use KR.

They don't use the same sizes.

I have a GW one from the paint set from about 5 years ago and the GW trays are between 15-25mm shorter on the longitudinal axis than a KR case. That said I still used one in a KR cardcase (along with 2nr regular KR trays) to take some paint on holiday with no bother.

I guess what would be useful is for someone who owns both to post some measurements/photos.. can anyone help with that?

I wouldn't use KR foam with a BF bag. Due to it's overly soft nature (squishy), I think KR needs to be closely/tightly encompassed within it's case.
Too much weight on top of an unsupported KR tray will smash it and the models in it.

Eric

That is a good point Eric raises and it's worth considering reinforcing the bag with some plastic or card sheet if you go this route OP.

 MagickalMemories wrote:
I wouldn't use KR foam with a BF bag. Due to it's overly soft nature (squishy), I think KR needs to be closely/tightly encompassed within it's case.
Too much weight on top of an unsupported KR tray will smash it and the models in it.

Eric

Thanks Eric.. I had not considered that. I think the BF tray creator will be the route I'll have to take. I should be able to make some of the trays although I'm a bit lost when it comes to the fw stuff like megadreads.. am i better ordering pluck foam for these?

I appreciate everyones help so far.

You are NEVER better off with pluck foam.... that stuff sucks.
Why not contact UK Battlefoam and see if they cant get the tray program from US to cut the trays you desire?

 gregor_xenos wrote:
You are NEVER better off with pluck foam.... that stuff sucks.
Why not contact UK Battlefoam and see if they cant get the tray program from US to cut the trays you desire?

I should be able to make the US designs on the UK tray creator.. even better than the off shelf stuff. The Forge World Ork trays don't exist for stuff like megadreads and the tray creator doesnt have thosr shapes. Although KR does.. hence the dilema

 Regnak wrote:

 MagickalMemories wrote:
I wouldn't use KR foam with a BF bag. Due to it's overly soft nature (squishy), I think KR needs to be closely/tightly encompassed within it's case.
Too much weight on top of an unsupported KR tray will smash it and the models in it.

Eric

Thanks Eric.. I had not considered that. I think the BF tray creator will be the route I'll have to take. I should be able to make some of the trays although I'm a bit lost when it comes to the fw stuff like megadreads.. am i better ordering pluck foam for these?

I appreciate everyones help so far.

Not a problem. My pleasure.
I have a LOT of experience using the tray creator. It's FAR more simple than you'd think... just potentially time consuming.
First, BF has a lot of premade cut outs. You can check one of these and see if it looks like it'll work for yours. If you have a relatively standard pose, it likely will.
If you have a custom pose, though, you can just build one of your own. Granted, I haven't built one for either of my Megadreds yet, so i can't give you specifics on how to do THOSE, I can give you the general method you'll use to go about it:

Start with your model and a ruler. Now, figure out how you want it to sit in the tray. Do you want it to stand upright (safer, but takes up more vertical room) or to lay down (less vertical space used, but more potential to shift around)?

Measure the varying widths of the model. Once you know that, you can use the pre-created shapes (circles, squares, etc) to BUILD your cut out. I did not know until contacting Romeo directly, but you CAN let the shapes overlap in order to create exactly what you need. I was not aware of this at first and was concerned that, if I overlapped something, it would screw up the program they use to cut out the shapes. Nope!
For example, with my Dark Eldar, I created a lot of custom trays for my Warriors, because what came in the stock tray was not right for the models I had (not enough slots for heavy weapons and Sybarites). I figured out the general height and width of the models laying on their size and chose that rectangle. Once done, I figured out how big of a square I'd need to peg onto the side of that rectangle to work for all Splinter Rifle and Blaster armed Warriors, universally. I did the same with a rectangle that I could stick on the side of the initial rectangle that would work for both, Heavy Weapons AND the weirdly posed arms of the Sybarites with Agonizers.
Once I knew my sizes, I figured out how many of the "HW" slots I needed and arranged them as closely as possible. I filled the rest of the tray with "generic warrior" slots. By flipping every other row, I was able to get them closer together and squeeze more models into the tray.
In the end, my tray holds less models than the stock tray, but it holds MY MODELS in the way I need it to.

Here's a great thing, IMO, about BF. At your request, they will include the inserts that they cut out of all the trays at no extra cost.
Why is this important? MANY reasons.
1) Unfilled slots can have the insert left in them, increasing the integrity of the structure (tray).
2) If you're laying a large, fragile model (MegaDred) on it's back, you can order your tray a little thicker. Then, you can pull out the insert and sculpt an insert for the models slot that will hold the model in place and keep it from shifting
3) The small model inserts make GREAT packing materials for Ebay sales or trades on here, Bartertown, etc. I'm STILL using mine from two years ago!


I hope you find this helpful.


Eric

Heck, even if he doesn't find it helpful (which I am sure he will find it helpful,) I definitely find it immensely helpful! Thanks for your insight and time Magical!

Glad to do it.

Eric

 MagickalMemories wrote:
Glad to do it.

Eric

He is right... "How's that for a slice of fried gold!"

Thank you for all your help. It's given me alot to think about and I will start working things out over the coming weeks and put in my order. I will let you know how I get on.