So, I accepted a new job. Part of this new job involves a week and a half off. What am I going to do with that sort of time? Well, for starters, I’m going to base my armies. If you paint your armies, you probably think I mean something different than I actually mean.
When I got bitten by the 40k bug, I got bitten by it hard. I started about 5 or 6 armies, stuffed them all in cardboard boxes, tupperware, toolchests, the whole shebang. After a while, it got nearly impossible to sort out an army like that. Minis get forgotten, and it’s almost not worth the trouble to switch up an army list so you can put them in your best cardboard box. Clearly something needs to change, and this coming week I intend to change it.
Most of you folks that take a lot of miniatures around either do what I do, or you purchased a ton of foam. To be honest, purchasing foam scares me. I’ve got too many miniatures to even think about considering foam as an option, because everything is differently sized, and if I’m getting a transport system, I want it to work for all of my armies. If I get foam for all of my armies, we’re talking several hundred bucks of foam. You and I both know that I’d rather get another army for that kind of money. So what did I choose instead?
I chose magnetized bases. Some time ago, I purchased magnet bases for my Warmachine figures, enough to last me through several armies. I haven’t tried to do the same for my 40k armies, but that changed a few minutes ago, because a few minutes ago I bought enough bases to magnetize CSM and Grey Knights.
I’ll buy a few toolboxes or toolchests, or build sheet metal trays into a wood box and affix a handle, or cut up a plastic organizer from target. If I don’t muck up cutting those sheets of metal, I’ll be able to select my armies by swapping metal trays.
I might paint some miniatures over this break, but I would never promise anything like that. I figure I should make the army transportable without dumping a bunch of metal minis into a tin before I worry about painting it, otherwise I’ll scuff up their supposed paint jobs.
Hooray!
That is a noble way to spend a week and a half off.
I concur with David, and might add that I’m a little envious of a week and a half of time to fill with miniatures. I haven’t bought any minis in almost 2 months, but I anxiously await the Stormraven, which I will attempt to build as fast as my excited little hands will let me.
And then, if I get this job at the Nerdery, I might look into buying a War Machine battle box. It seems like the only right thing to do, after all.