Thursday, 21 June 2012

Really Useful Box(es)

I have been looking for a solution to an old wargame problem, the storage and transportation of 28mm figures on multiple bases. Individually based figures are easy these days, the multicase systems with individual figure slots have seen to that; and jolly good they are too. But when you have half a dozen figures on a 60mm x 40mm base it is tricky, add a couple of flags to that and the problem more than doubles.

On a trip to Ramsgate with my parents I was told that The Range store was selling some neat plastic boxes ideal for my wargame figures. I was sceptical at first, these plastic storage boxes are all well and good but they all have rounded corners along each edge, the figures just wont sit flat or still. Plus, I have found that they are often very weak at the corners and are liable to break or crack quite easily. These boxes, however, are quite different.







The boxes are made by a company called 'Really Useful Box', hence the title of the post, you see? 

http://www.reallyusefulproducts.co.uk/uk/

There are dozens to choose from, each one designated by capacity in litres and a brief suggestion of possible content. The beauty of the boxes lies in their internal design, it is flat and uses ninety degree angles everywhere. Figures can sit in these boxes edge to edge, all neat and tidy without that room to slide about the place. The boxes strength comes from external molded ridges rather than the curved shapes found in lesser boxes, this makes them very hard to crack let alone break. The lid even snaps down to be held in place by sturdy handles! And, being so strong, they stack up brilliantly. I bought the 4 litre box designed to hold a ream of A4 paper, but is actually a bit longer, 295mm x 395mm x 88mm according to their blurb but actually a shade smaller all round but not by much, a guidline rather than definate measurements perhaps?





The trouble I had was that the figures would still bump and bash together even with nice ninety degree angles keeping them straight. Unit bases will never make a neat block no matter what shape the container...there is alway one stand that will stick out whatever you do. So I bought a sheet of 2mm thick mounting board from Dunelm Mill and with ruler and sharp pencil, sharper craft knife, a little bit of GCSE maths, a hot glue gun, two paracetamol and a box and a half of special 'Mr. Men' plasters, I built my own figure tray to the exact specifications I needed for my Marlburian figures. I can now house and transport six battalions of infantry based to Beneath the Lily Banners requirments. Ignore the brigadier figure in the pic, that is just there fo the time being.



Ok, so making the tray was a bit of a pig but I got exactly what I needed for an outlay of £8.50, a lot cheaper than converting a £25.00 multicase, and I can house six battalions. In all, a real success and one sheet of card will work for two boxes. I can highly recomend these really useful boxes, I am going to be needing a few myself!

12 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Hi Ray,

      That is just what I thought! Great minds thinking alike once more!!

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  2. Neat idea thanks for the head up. There is one of those stores by me and yet I rarely go in there

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    Replies
    1. Hi Brummie,

      I find the Range can be quite a useful place. The do a nice range of paint brushes that are worth a look, the really small 0000 and 000 are very good, just hard to get hold of sometimes as they sell out quickly.

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  3. Did you think about getting the smaller really useful boxes and putting them in the bigger really useful boxes? Also I recommended your blog to some people I work with so the genius of your word is spreading!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Ollie,

      It did cross my mind but where would it all end? Before you know it you end up buying them small enough for an anorexics lunch box or big enough to sleep in so people mistake me for Michael Jackson; and I am not going down that road again! Took me weeks to...no, no, i promised myself to not be bitter about it.

      And yes, spread the word!!!!! :)

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  4. Also you should blog about your daughter starting up with the building of models!

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    Replies
    1. I am way ahead of you, thats coming next(ish)!! :)

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  5. Hobbycraft also carry the Really Useful Boxes lines.

    Andy K

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    Replies
    1. Hi Andy,

      Thanks for the nod, I have also seen some at Tescos this week. It seems that not every store sells the same ones so you need to shop around.

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  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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