Recently the gentleman of the last
chancers have been discussing the best way to transport your precious lumps of
plastic to their green felt battlegrounds, or anywhere else frankly. So I
thought I’d chronicle some of the popular options that folks around the Irish
tournament scene have been using in the past couple of years.
The KR Multicase
The last number of years has seen a big
increase in the number of KR cases floating around the tournament scene. The
reasons for this can be split as follows
1)
KR provide an excellent system
for storage. Their hardened cardboard inner cases can easily be stacked up in
whatever space the other half has designated for you to store your models. This
can most definitely lead to a nice quiet life for you!
2)
Transport wise KR provide you
with a myriad of options, from their small K-Lite case, to the Larger Kaiser
case and all the way up to wheeled aluminium travel cases
3)
KR have been very generous with
sponsorship for a number of ETC teams from both the UK and Ireland, which has
most definitely upped their exposure
All in all they’re a solid choice, not
overly pricey and with good carrying capacity. I’m not a fan of the card inner
cases so that’d lead me to other carrying options, also the foam isn’t top
drawer. So yep a solid choice
Battle Foam
This could be described as the “top end”
of army transport. Battle Foam offer, what they believe to be, the highest
quality of miniature transport on the market with their combination of highly
personalised bags, with more pockets, holders and pouches than you could
possibly ever need and their options for laser cut foam.
For those of you not familiar with the
process, Battle Foam will laser cut any of their extremely high quality foam to
fit any template they’re supplied with. They also offer stock options for
highly common or prized models, to allow you to transport stuff like your new
Warmachine Colossal or Baneblade.
This is all fantastic and is undoubtedly
top of the scale when it comes to straight up quality….But there are a number
of issues that you can run into
1)
Cost, a battlefoam case isn’t
chep. In fact it’s not even in the same postal code as cheap, it would live
further up town, past Priceyville, all the way up in Richtown. Basically for
the average gamer a Battle Foam case is a luxury that you can’t afford. Have a
look at the above site if you don’t believe me.
2)
Size, the cases range from
those that are just that little bit too small, to those that are just that
little bit too big. Maybe I’m crazy but I’ve always struggled to find a case
that fits exactly what I need it to without being a serious size!
3)
Nerd man walking! A Battle Foam
case, between its size, design and copious logos will draw questions if you’re
carrying it. If you’re something of an incognito gamer, looking to stash a case
underneath your desk before heading to the gaming club that night. This might
not be the bad boy for you!
All in all, it’s top of the line but by
no means perfect. Be very sure that this carriage system is the one for you
before splashing the cash.
Portable Warfare
This case is a personal favourite of
mine, It is not flashy, it isn’t massive and the company currently only support
two carriage system types, the APC which is similar to a cut down version of a
KR card multicase and the Sergeant, which would be described as their frontline
carrying system.
The sergeant (of which I have two,
sitting not too far from me in my office as I speak) is a great bag. It
supports the Blu Foam that portable warfare themselves supply, but is fully
compatible with pretty much every other foam system available currently. It can
be stacked multiple ways and despite it’s pretty neat size it can carry a good
amount and has pockets for everything I’ve ever needed for my tournament
travles. They’re also available in a whole whack of interesting colours (orange
or pink anyone), also they clip together to improve storage capability at home.
The bad stuff
1)
One style of case is pretty
limiting for the most part, you’ll fir up to 2.5 k of a standard 40k army but
after that you start to stretch the little case that could’ capabilities
2)
They’re small bags but they
have large logo’s, its hard to disguise it as anything other than a nerd purse
3)
Only available online, many
other cases are available in your local gaming stores, sadly as far as I’m
aware you’re only able to order these bad boys online
In conclusion I love this little case,
it’s never let me down and I’ve carried my Dark Eldar and Necrons all over
Europe with only ever minor repairs being required…So I’d give this fellow
serious consideration
Sabol Army Transport
This could be described as one of the top
producers on the block, the army transport is widely (and rightly) regarded as
a brilliant army carrying system
They have cases for every size of force
from 500 right up to 5000 points. Also they don’t price themselves out of the
market either, being as affordable an option as both KR and Portable Warfare.
Their foam is excellent and can be easily customised (using their on site
planner) and they offer a pretty affordable embroidery service if you want to
go whole hog with the customisation of your case.
The issues
1)
Big logo….everyone else does it
right
2)
I’ve found that with my own
case there can be a tendency for the black in the case to become washed out or
stained over time with wear and tear. It’s not too bad but since I’m pretty
easy going with these sorts of things I have a sneaking suspicion that this
might annoy other folks
That’s right only two bad things, this
case really is awesome!!!!
Feldherr
I love these bags remorselessly….The
website has a brilliant overview section that details everything you need in a
bag and which bags have what. If you want massive carrying capacity and the
ability to lock your case then go for the hard case (it looks just like a tool
box, making it pretty inconspicuous to carry). If you want something a little
funkier and more manageable, have a look at their messenger bag, no logo,
covers with different colours that can be easily swapped out and as a good a
carrying capacity as any Sabol product of a similar size.
Another awesome edition is the “no hidden
costs” customising feature. Basically as you customise your case to your
specifications the cost is shown at all times which Big Mo loves to death (or
so he’s saying). Basically it lets you know how much money you’re blowing as
you’re doing it, no bad thing!
Bad Stuff
1)
They don’t laser cut their
foam….that’s all I could come up with on this one
So with free European shipping and a free
t-shirt you could do a lot worse than buy one of these bad boys, I know I’ve
invested in one as a Christmas present from me, to me…Yes I know I’m sad!
Anyway guys, hopefully you’ve gotten some
good information that’s perhaps informed you the right carrying system for you
to use!
Laters
Mandy
