Friday 10 April 2015

New GW Crusade case - aka I have too many Orks!

It has been a while since my last post, but I thought I would give my thoughts on the new GW cases.

My Ork army from last year's Tale of Gamers has continued to expand beyond the single case I started with.  Including my son's old AOBR figures, I was carrying around two cases plus the Stormclaw box of unmade sprues and clippers etc.  A double case seemed the logical next step, and then GW released its new box range.  Whilst the smallest one would be very useful for storage at club, I opted for the Crusade version, which is advertised at holding 400 figures.

This morning I finally got the chance to transfer my models and it was a squeeze! Apart from my Morkanaut and Stompa (!) I got all of my own figures in and even squeezed in some of the boy's models.  However, the lid needed to be closed carefully.  See the pictures at the bottom.

The Stormboyz and any models with banners or bosspoles need to be laid down to fit and I had to turn one tray upside down to go over the vehicles.  I like the idea of the zig-zag foam, which is very flexible.  However, it is not as easy to count the models as with the old trays, where you knew exactly how many figures were in a row.  Smaller models like Gretchin or even magnetised weapon arms etc will also 'float about' a bit more, now that they are not so contained.  I think it could take longer to unpack, which could be an issue if bidding for set up time in Apoc games.  My Orks have always taken a long time to pack away after games, and I don't see that improving soon.

The case itself seems to be made with thinner plastic than the old ones and the clips are certainly smaller.  Whether they are more durable than on my last case, one of which broke off, remains to be seen.

I can also imagine that if you have a lot of the old metal figures then it could get quite heavy too.  The strap seems to be the same as before and the handle is solid enough.

Overall, I was a little disappointed I could not fit more in, but it will certainly be more convenient than carrying two cases all the time.  As for the unloading and repacking time, I suppose that will improve as I get used to it.

Bottom layer

Second layer

Third layer

Fourth layer (top)