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Post by Bureaucrat of Chaos on Apr 21, 2017 11:55:42 GMT
I would like to ask your advice on building movement trays, I have no consistent way of building them but improvise all the time from stuff that happen to be at hand.
Now I need to build a few, in various sizes, and would like to know what materials you use. I don't know if I can be bothered to do sanding and static grass or maybe just paint them flat with the same colour as the rim of the bases of the regiment.
Any input much appreciated!
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Post by Horace on Apr 21, 2017 12:19:46 GMT
Well it really depends how rigid and hard wearing you want them to be. The way I build them is to get the box the models arrived in and cut it to size. Cut the remaining outsides of the sprue from the models to the correct length to use as a rim. Glue it down. Whack some PVA on the plastic rim and put stick sand to it. Then just paint it brown, give it a very quick drybrush with a lighter brown and add some static grass in patches. My Mrs always just made hers by cutting the cardboard to size then adding a second layer of cardboard around the very outside to create the rim, and painted and grassed that. They really are essential for ease of playing and set up though. I have found they have halved the amount of time it takes to set up games since I have started storing all my units on their own trays. I then just keep a few odd spare trays around for when we play different sized battles and stuff needs to downsize/needs a different tray. Mine look like these 2 pics below (they have started emptying on the bottom pic). I'll get some pics of hers from the battle I'm playing tonight
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Post by wilsonthenarc on Apr 21, 2017 13:06:46 GMT
After years of building mine from scratch, I found this source: tectoniccraftstudios.com/collections/movement-trays I got ALL the movement trays for my Beastman Army (current project) for $40. Friggin value town. I would have spent that much in materials anyways, and his finished product is really good. They got manufactured and shipped in about a week. See BOM below. **(Note) I know a few folks on this forum have had issue with Tectonic Craft Studios / Dan.Just wanted to weigh in and say my personal experience has been: 3 orders placed, 3 really good experiences. Dan (the Tectonic Craft Studios guy) does most of the shows in the Northeast. I think he is based in Utica area NY so if you're interested, look him up at an event and see his product first hand. My order:1x Custom Monstrous Infantry Movement Trays (40mm) - 3 / 2 for $3.25 each 1x Custom Skirmisher Movement Trays - 40x40 / 3 / 1 for $2.83 each 1x Custom Cavalry Movement Trays (24x50mm, 25x50mm) - 5 / 1 / 24x50mm (GW) for $3.05 each 1x Custom Large Infantry Movement Trays (25mm) - 5 / 4 for $4.25 each 2x Custom Large Infantry Movement Trays (25mm) - 5 / 3 for $3.46 each 4x Custom Skirmisher Movement Trays - 20x20 / 5 / 1 for $2.62 each Subtotal : $30.78 USD NY State Tax : $1.55 USD Monroe County Tax : $1.55 USD Shipping : $7.95 USD Total : $41.83 USD
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2017 16:28:25 GMT
Mine are made from Balsa Wood.
Bought a bunch of sheets of it from my local hobby store. For the edge I also use balsa wood, they make it in strips as well as sheets, I just looked for a dimension that I was pleased with. I make my trays 5x2, 6x2, and 7x2, but I also have some 5x3, 5x1, and 6x1; if I need a larger footprint I just combine multiple movement trays together. This also allows me to remove movement trays as my units take casualties. I do not like overly large movement trays that stick around after a unit has been depleted. A singe balsa sheet typically makes around 8-10 movement trays and costs about $4.
I measured out the dimensions that I wanted for the tray, cut it using a saw, then used wood glue to attach the edges. You can paint at this step if you want to (I didn't).
Because my models are magnetized to their storage trays I've also put down a sheet of that magnetic paper that you can find at Michaels. Now my models don't move or slide around the tray when I play. I was having trouble with the trays sticking to the board and not wanting to slide, so I also heavily glossed the bottoms so they'll slide along the table.
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Post by grandmasterwang on Apr 21, 2017 17:15:09 GMT
I picked up a couple of the GW Plastic movement tray bits for cheap ages ago so have used those a bit, mostly for 20mm models. I do like how the GW textured 25 man unit trays look and have painted a couple which I'm very happy with. Unless you customise them they are limited to fixed unit sizes. I have also bought a variety of trays from eBay off of randoms. These ones I generally just paint black/brown and try to ignore. I have made a couple of home made trays using leftover sprues to form the borders which keep the models in. I also use a couple of Lord of the rings based movement trays for models with circular bases as seen below. I should really texture and paint these but with all my unpainted minis and limited painting time I can't be bothered painting movement trays any more.
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Post by Bureaucrat of Chaos on Apr 21, 2017 21:12:27 GMT
Really great feedback, exactly the sort of ideas I was hoping for, thanks! I'm happy to be able to store my minis on their trays currently, made from cardboard, foamcore, GW stuff etc., but I need to make a few more now. I have some old fixed size GW trays, and some leftovers from GW's modular trays, but they're not quite enough. Again, thanks for the input, the cogwheels are starting to turn...
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Post by rockcity on Apr 21, 2017 23:42:02 GMT
I have found they have halved the amount of time it takes to set up games since I have started storing all my units on their own trays. I then just keep a few odd spare trays around for when we play different sized battles and stuff needs to downsize/needs a different tray. !! Yes having them stored on the movement trays is a godsend. In the last year I moved and was able to store my armies on trays and holy smokes does it ever make getting stuff ready much faster. Nothing like picking out 100 skavenslaves out of a mass of rats
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Post by Naitsabes on Apr 22, 2017 2:21:27 GMT
something to consider is magnetizing. simply put it's the best thing since sliced bread. so whatever you use for the tray, include some sheet metal in there, stick rare earth magnets on the bases and you are set.
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Post by Horace on Apr 22, 2017 8:35:51 GMT
something to consider is magnetizing. simply put it's the best thing since sliced bread. so whatever you use for the tray, include some sheet metal in there, stick rare earth magnets on the bases and you are set. That is the gold standard but not something I have time for at this point
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Post by Naitsabes on Apr 22, 2017 22:55:12 GMT
but magnets SAVE time. no more arraying guys on the tray after an accidental slight bump. try it with one regiment.
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Post by dannytee on Apr 22, 2017 23:56:02 GMT
The way I build them is to get the box the models arrived in and cut it to size. Cut the remaining outsides of the sprue from the models to the correct length to use as a rim. Glue it down. Whack some PVA on the plastic rim and put stick sand to it. Then just paint it brown, give it a very quick drybrush with a lighter brown and add some static grass in patches. I would have never guessed that these were cardboard and extra plastic sprues. They look great for being scrap material. They stand up okay to the rigor of the battle field though?
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Post by dannytee on Apr 23, 2017 0:05:29 GMT
something to consider is magnetizing. simply put it's the best thing since sliced bread. so whatever you use for the tray, include some sheet metal in there, stick rare earth magnets on the bases and you are set. My lizards are magnetized. For their bases I used flat ductwork sheet metal and cut that. I did the cutting with hand shears which was a pain. Then I painted them the same color as the edge of the bases. For my skaven I am planning on magnetizing them as well. I don't think I will do the ductwork thing again but might try these bases. shogunminiatures.com/shogunminjaturessteeltrays%20030714%20Update.html
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Post by Horace on Apr 23, 2017 11:32:28 GMT
The way I build them is to get the box the models arrived in and cut it to size. Cut the remaining outsides of the sprue from the models to the correct length to use as a rim. Glue it down. Whack some PVA on the plastic rim and put stick sand to it. Then just paint it brown, give it a very quick drybrush with a lighter brown and add some static grass in patches. I would have never guessed that these were cardboard and extra plastic sprues. They look great for being scrap material. They stand up okay to the rigor of the battle field though? They stand up pretty well. The only real unit which ever causes me any concern (because of the tray beginning to flex) when picking the tray up by the long end is my metal Blood Knights. They are probably the heaviest unit I own and the tray is long. You can still pick it up by the tray though, so far no disasters Just make sure you apply plenty of super glue to the plastic
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Post by rockcity on Apr 23, 2017 15:18:01 GMT
What do you guys to adhere the magnet to the underside of the base? I have found that the plastic glue hasn't been working the best for me.
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Post by dannytee on Apr 23, 2017 17:48:39 GMT
I use a blob of green stuff. I make the green stuff into a small ball, push the magnet into it, then stick it to the underside of the base. I make sure the ball is a bit taller than the base. Then push the base against a table and everything ends up flush.
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