Let’s take a break from the norm and talk about transport bags for your minis. If you’re anything like us, you have multiple armies, crews, factions, gangs, etc. for the many different miniatures games you’ve dabbled in at one time or another. My question for you is…how do you store them and, more importantly, how do you get them from the shelf to the table? We have tried a little of everything: foam trays, magnetized bases, display trays, and even some crazy DIY creations. They all have pros and cons, and very few were particularly budget-friendly.
Ever since Sabol Designs closed and their Armytransport line vanished from my local game shop shelves, it seems the only brand readily available to me is Battle Foam and potentially Feldherr. I like both of these companies, but foam trays aren’t what I want anymore. I’ve spent far too many years dealing with pluck foam, looking at custom load-outs that don’t fit what I actually buy (looking at you, X-Wing Miniatures Game), and cobbling my own foam trays together using supplies from craft stores to get the storage I truly need. I know Battle Foam has recently released their Magna Rack Sliders, but have you seen the prices on that?! As a girl on a gaming budget, I turned to the internet to see what else I could find. It was there I discovered the Army Transport Bag from Green Stuff World.
Unfortunately, living in the States makes ordering from Green Stuff World (a.k.a. GSW) very cost inhibitive as they’re in Spain and don’t really have much in the way of US distribution yet. The bag is spectacularly affordable, but the shipping is what kills it. However, I got lucky and found a game store across the country from me (Cobb Co Arena Games) that had one in stock at a higher price, but included free shipping – which I purchased immediately! It arrived quickly and, let me tell you, I am in love with this bag! The bag is padded, lightweight, and made of heavy-duty fabric. After tugging on it and playing with it a little to test its durability, I am fairly confident that it will last me a while. It also features a large GSW logo on the front. None of that is what makes it special, however.
GSW makes MDF wood cabinets to safely store approximately 200 minis. These cabinets are reinforced, customizable, and include magnetized rubber sheets for its four shelves. The army transport bag comes with this shelf unit and is meant to hold the entire unit inside of it! There are options to buy extra shelves and cabinets to store your minis as well. This creates modular storage alternatives outside of the bag as well as the added ease of simply swapping out the trays going with you for game night. The shelf unit comes unassembled but takes less than 30 minutes to put together. I do recommend some glue for the reinforced bits (as does the website). It is important to remember that this will be protecting those hours-long paint jobs – every little bit of added safety helps!
Once the outer shell is assembled, it is easy to see that there is a lot of room for customization. Each shelf is held in place by two pieces of MDF wood and supported further by a third piece in the back of the unit. It is up to you, the user, as to where you want to put the shelves. Since they come with metalized rubber, you will have to magnetize your bases before using this transport and storage solution. Green Stuff World sells magnetic sheets that you can cut to fit your bases or, if you’re like us, you can simply apply some rare earth magnets with super glue. 3D-printed base STLs can also be altered before printing to include space(s) for magnets.
The cabinet fits snugly inside the bag. Perhaps a little too snug as it took some careful maneuvering to get it where it needed to be. I feel the bag could be just a few microns larger and it would have been absolutely perfect. Otherwise, this bag has literally everything I could want. It is lightweight yet sturdy, fully customizable (within reason), modular, budget-friendly, and magnetic. Even when loaded with my entire Neverborn faction from Malifaux, the bag remains light and easy to carry. The strap, which I was dubious of at first, seems like it might also be able to handle the wear and tear of the constant back and forth from my home to the game store. I did take the advice offered on their website and added more metalized rubber to the bottom of the cabinet. This gives me five shelves of storage instead of four, though one is not removable. I pretty much just use that for my “big bads” or smaller vehicles. After owning this bag for just a few short weeks, I’m already on the hunt for another one!
All photos used in this review were taken and edited by Krista.