It’s been a while since my last post on this subject, so let me quickly repeat my review criteria:

• Capacity: The product has to have enough space to accommodate a satisfactory quantity of the owner’s miniatures and gaming materials.
• Customizability: The owner should be able to tailor the product’s capacity to his particular needs, i.e., to the peculiar shapes and sizes of his miniatures.
• Reusability: The owner should be able to re-customize the product’s capacity if he decides to reorganize, or if his needs change.
• Accessibility: The owner should be able to get his miniatures into and out of the product with a minimum of fuss.
• Manageability: The fully-loaded product should be convenient for the owner to move from Point A to Point B.
• Security: The product should to be sturdy enough to withstand, and protect its contents from, travel-related damage.
• Economy: The product shouldn’t be inordinately expensive.
• Attractiveness: Form certainly follows function, but the product nevertheless shouldn’t be butt-ugly.

In my last post I’d promised to cover Chessex and GW cases, but given the depth of the review I’ll stick to one at a time.  A review of GW cases will be forthcoming.

Chessex

Most wargame and RPG grognards have owned a Chessex product at one time or another.  The company’s been around what seems like forever: I can remember seeing Chessex ads in Dragon Magazine when I first started getting into gaming in the early 1980s.  Chessex’s bread and butter is dice, but they also sell a line of figure storage boxes.  The boxes come in two sizes — “large” (holding two 16″ x 6 ½” foam trays) and ”small” (holding one 9″ x 4″ foam tray) — and different SKUs have different pre-cut foam configurations inside.  The cases themselves are made entirely of sturdy plastic, and have hinged lids and a lift-latch closure.

Capacity is where the Chessex boxes really fall down.  The most tightly-packed foam configuration available for the large case has 80 1 ½” x 1″ cutouts.  Customizability is also fairly limited: while the small box is available without pre-cut foam, one’s customization options are otherwise limited to trying to (very carefully) remove the dividers from between cutouts to fit larger miniatures.  Reusability is thus only decent: if your miniatures fit in the cutouts you can reuse Chessex cases all day, but after you cut the foam there’s no going back.

Accessibility, on the other hand, is quite good, owing both to the relatively small size of the cases but also to Chessex’s inclusion of a stiff divider between the trays in the large case.  The divider has stitched-on nylon handles that are longer than the top tray is tall, so that the top tray can be lifted out of the case by the divider, to get at the figures in the bottom tray.  The only gripe here is that the lift-latch closure on the cases stays stiff even after hundreds of openings, and it can take some effort to actually open the cases.  Manageability is, though, mediocre: the texturing on the exterior of the cases doesn’t prevent them from sliding off one another when stacked, and they don’t have any handles or suchlike.  Security is awesome: the hard plastic exterior of the cases is practically bombproof, and the interior open-cell foam is stiff enough to provide great protection without compressing the contents.  Furthermore, the textured grey cases are reasonably good-looking, so attractiveness is above average.  At $30 for the large cases and $13 for the small cases, though, economy is questionable: while a smallish Sabol Designs case is soft-sided and thus nowhere near as sturdy as a Chessex case, it has far greater (and far more configurable) storage at around the same $30 price point.

The verdict:

• Capacity: D.  In absolute terms the large case can hold a healthy number of figures, but relative to competitors Chessex cases’ capacity is miniscule.
• Customizability: D.  Very limited options, here, and if you have figures that require greater than a cubic inch of storage volume you’re pretty much out of luck.
• Reusability: C.  Fine if you’re switching out one set of regularly-sized figures for another set of regularly-sized figures, but nothing doing otherwise.
• Accessibility: A-.  The small size of the cases work in their favor, here, and Chessex has added some handy features to the large case to make it even easier to get into and out of them.
• Manageability: B-.  Since they lack handles, you can carry one or two of these cases like textbooks, but beyond that you’ll have to throw them into a bag or cardboard box.
• Security: A.  The hard-sided cases aren’t likely to be destroyed by anything the typical gamer throws at them, and the protective foam is good quality stuff that ensures the contents are well-protected.
• Economy: C.  Notwithstanding the quality of construction, the lack of capacity means the cases are of mediocre value at their price point.
• Attractiveness: B.  The textured surface of the cases doesn’t help with manageability, but it makes them look nice.

Overall: C+.  For tabletop roleplaying games or skirmish-style wargames, where a gamer needs a storage and transport solution for a limited number of regularly-sized figures, Chessex cases might just be ideal.  Other wargames, though, will stretch and exceed Chessex cases’ capacity, and trying to wrangle an army that’s crammed into multiple Chessex cases will likely strain a gamer’s patience and wallet.

Random Hit! forums link to a Blood Angels project log.  This is good stuff, showing troops, Dreadnoughts, and Terminators.

This is my first crack at a Space Marines Rhino (this is the one that was included in my Battleforce box, which I wanted to put together and paint before I started working on Baal Predators and suchlike).

I’ve assembled the body of the Rhino, consisting of two tread assemblies, the undercarriage and lower glacis, the upper glacis and windows, the interior separator, and the hinged rear door.  I’ve left off the roof for the time being, so that I could paint the interior before closing it up.  Also unseen is the magnetized bit of plasticard that I’ve fabricated: there are a couple of rare earth magnets embedded in the top edge of the hinged door, and they’ll attach to the magnets in the plasticard to prevent the door from randomly falling open while the model is on a tabletop.

The entire model was primed white with Duplicolor sandable auto primer.  I wanted the interior to have a spartan, all-metal look, so I basecoated it with RMS Shadowed Steel (9052) (corresponding to Citadel Boltgun Metal) and then washed it with Les Bursley’s Heavy Body Black, to give it some added dinginess.

The wash, unfortunately, went on a little streaky, as can be seen in the side-angle views.  Probably I’ll need to go back and touch up, later.  Also, I suspect I’m going to want give the floor of the model another, more brownish wash, to suggest dirt and mud in addition to the black grime suggested by the black wash.

Lesson for the future: paint the interior separator before gluing it in place.  The interior of the Rhino is altogether too tight to permit finesse with a paintbrush.

This is an overdue post, showing off the completed, and stuffed, Sauder armoire that I’m using as my workspace.

The first image displays the inside of the armoire doors.  I’ve modified them by hot-gluing a couple sheets of corkboard to the inset panels.  This gives me some space to tack up reference material, such as a color wheel (top left), model assembly instructions, or user manuals for some of the small electrics that I use.  Also attached to the door, on a 3M temporary mounting hook, is the coiled air hose I use for airbrushing.

The second image displays the main work area, which would be the monitor space if I was actually using the armoire to store a computer.  There’s a Masterson Fresh Water Rinse Well in the back left.  The tiered paint storage is a Mini Expand-A-Shelf, which I found at the Container Store in Santana Row here in San Jose: it’s just the right size for half-ounce and one-ounce dropper bottles, and cost about five bucks, which is way less than you’d spend on one of those Pantier carousels or specialized hobby shelves.  The mat covering the surface of the work area is a standard-sized Slip-Grip hobby mat.  The row of five 16-ounce squeeze bottles on the left contain distilled water, diluted Liquitex Flow-Aid, Liquitex Matte Medium, Windex (which I use for diluting paint that I’m going to put through my airbrush), and ultrasonic cleaning solution.

The third image is a view of the entire upper portion of the armoire.  On the shelf above the main work area I keep my wet palette, several different colors of Daler-Rowney acrylic ink (used for making washes), my painting notebooks, adhesive labels for paint bottles, and an Optivisor (incredibly handy for fine detail work).  The lamp, positioned above the work area, is an Ott Lite TrueColor HD, which provides overhead full-spectrum lighting.  In the nooks to the right are a variety of stuff that I like to have close at hand, from masking tape and spray laquer (top shelf), to my airbrush, green stuff, pin vise bits, needle files, and poster tack (middle shelf), to various adhesives, brush-cleaning soaps, a ceramic palette, and a tool and brush carousel (bottom shelf).  Ideally I’d like to do away with the clamp-on lamp in favor of something relatively low-profile that I could attach to the roof of the armoire, because in the current configuration the light and its clamp do get in the way of the shelves, a little bit. 

The fourth image shows what lies beneath the main work area.  If the armoire were being used as intended this is where you’d stick your CPU tower, your printer, and your printer supplies.  I’ve got a power strip, my air compressor, and my bitz box in the CPU nook, my ultrasonic cleaner, my Wahl mini-filer/sander, and a hot glue gun on the printer shelf, and my toolbox (really a Plano fishing tackle box, that I use to hold other loose tools and supplies beyond the stuff on the desk), my portable spray booth, and my cutting mat underneath the printer shelf.  I suspect I’m going to end up buying some kind of liner to place underneath the ultrasonic cleaner, to prevent any dripping onto the armoire’s finish.

The final image shows the keyboard shelf pulled out.  I’ve got another, smaller Slip-Grip mat here; to the right is a box of powdered latex gloves (which I find especially useful when I’m airbrushing), and to the left are two pairs of cutters (one heavy-duty pair from GF9, that I use for cutting up sprues and other brute-force work, and one high-end Lindstrom RX8148 tapered and relieved ultra flush cutter for finer work — my wife uses these things for beading and they are awesome, worth every penny) and a box of Pic-N-Sticks (one of which you can see in use in the work area, if you look carefully).

Not pictured is the top of the armoire.  Up there I’ve got a bunch of other stuff — a few bottles of paint that won’t fit on the Expand-A-Shelf; some airbrush cleaning solution and a bottle of Scalecoat Wash-Away paint remover; a roll of paper towels; my Dremel Stylus; some rare earth magnets; and several as-yet-unassembled model kits.  I’m trying to be more disciplined above not unpacking and assembling models until I’m ready to actually paint them.  I’ve also got a fan up there, which helps circulate air through the room without creating wind inside my work area.

Many, many apologies for the long silence.  The move was successful, the armoire is finally together, and I’ve replenished all my various modelling and painting supplies that were past their use-by date.  I’ve even added a few new tools to my repertoire.  Finally, finally, I feel sufficiently set up to actually do some work.

But that’s where we run into some problems, because while I’m still jazzed about my Combine army, the fact of the matter is that the mothership has really back-burnered Ogre, to the point where even looking for a new casting outfit to supply miniatures is low-priority stuff.  Given the lack of manufacturer support for the game, I’ve found it easy to get distracted with other projects.

For example, That Game™ has recently sunk its mandibles into me, and I’ve got a bunch of space marines — Blood Angels, to be precise — that are on the burner.  It’d seem ungentlemanly not to give the Adeptus Astartes equal time with the North American Combine.

So the blog’s focus is going to wander, a bit.  Initially I’d envisioned it as all-Ogre, all the time, but I think it’s going to mutate into something which is more about my wargaming hobby activities in general.  Naturally that’ll still include a heavy dose of Ogre, but the nuke-lobbing cybertanks are going to have to learn to share the space with (among other things, as time goes on) the genetically-engineered supersoldiers of the far future.

I’ll have some tool- and project-related posts, with pictures possibly even some video, incoming within the next week or so.

The replacement parts from Sauder arrived Wednesday, and I managed to complete assembly of the armoire Thursday morning.  Regrettably, I was unable to photograph the construction because my digital camera appears to have sprouted legs and wandered off somewhere.  With a new digital camera in hand, though, I’ll take some shots of my new workspace shortly, and start talking tools as well.

Contacted Sauder; they shipped out replacement parts today, which should arrive sometime next week.  A photo essay of the assembly, and of the furnished workspace, will be forthcoming.

I purchased the Sauder armoire through an Internet merchant (OfficeFurniture.com).  It shipped via UPS a week ago, and arrived today.

Unfortunately, it arrived in unusable condition.  Both of the end pieces (which make up the sides of the armoire) as well as the printer shelf piece have badly crushed corners, and the finish of one of the end pieces is scraped and gouged.  Additionally, there’s a contoured “skirt” piece that was actually snapped in two.  The extra cardboard “padding” in which Sauder encased the carton for shipping (apparently bubble wrap technology has yet to reach Sauder’s headquarters in Archbold, Ohio), as well as the styrofoam padding inside the carton, completely failed to prevent this damage.

I’ve submitted a request to Sauder for replacements for the damaged pieces, but it’s anyone’s guess when they’ll arrive; I’ll give them a call tomorrow, to see if they can’t expedite things.  I’ll also be contacting the merchant that sold me the piece to inform them of UPS’s profound suckitude.

Several years back my wife and I moved from our 2BR apartment into a rental townhouse with a roommate.  Until then I’d had a dedicated miniatures workspace, which truth be told was little more than a folding table in the corner of one of the spare bedroom (which we used as a home office).  It wasn’t much, but it enabled me to spread out my tools and paints and whatnot on a surface where expensive electronic equipment, or wood finish, wasn’t at risk from the vicissitudes of the miniatures craft.  Unfortunately, due to space considerations in the townhouse, I wasn’t able to set the workspace up again, and my equipment and miniatures languished in a closet for the year and a half we lived there.

They’ve continued to languish in a closet in our current place, a 2BR flat.  The problem here hasn’t been space so much as floorplan: while the unit does boast a small side room that could be used as a craft space, I more or less surrendered it to my wife, who needs a workspace for her side-business (bead jewelry and soap making).  Meanwhile the spare bedroom/home office is laid out such that it would be more or less impossible to set up both of our computer desks and a miniatures painting workstation without blocking off either (a) the closet or (b) the sliding glass doors that open onto the patio.  The alternative of working at the kitchen table or the coffee table has been suboptimal, because such workspaces are inherently impermanent and, when using them, I’m constantly running the risk of damaging the furniture.

Well, the times, they are a’changin’.  In a couple of weeks we’re moving again.  The 2BR apartment we’ll be moving into has a townhouse floorplan, and we’ll again be using the spare bedroom (only slightly larger than the spare bedroom in our current apartment) as a home office.  However, we’re getting rid of the two massive 6′ x 6′ L-shaped computer desks that we’ve carried through our last two moves (they’re old enough that they’re unlikely to survive another disassembly-reassembly process anyway) and replacing them with more compact 4′ x 4′ corner desks.  This, and a more sensible arrangement of doors and closets, is going to give us significantly more space to work with.

Initially I’d been considering simply setting back up the old folding table.  But then I ran across this video from Les at AwesomePaintJob.com:

Les is using, for his workstation, a converted computer armoire.  This is one of those ideas that is so simple and elegant that I am embarassed that I didn’t think of myself: I literally spent several minutes gawking at the video, and feeling stupid.  Consider all the advantages of a setup like this:

• It has a fairly small footprint.
• It nevertheless gives you a sizeable — and, with the pull-out keyboard tray, expandable — permanent work surface.
• It makes efficient use of space, giving you plenty of nooks and shelves for storing paints and tools and supplies.
• If you’re having guests over, you can, simply by closing the armoire doors, hide your work area from view without having to break everything down and put it away.
• The interior walls of the armoire help contain any spills or messes: a spill can grow in just one direction, not four.
• It provides a platform on which to rig a lighting system that’s superior to normal room lighting.

I could go on.

Now, Ikea no longer sells the particular armoire that Les is using, but it turns out that similar pieces of furniture by Sauder are available, fairly inexpensively, from office supply stores (and, of all places, Walmart).  The drawback of the Sauder pieces is that they’re not solid wood all the way around: the rear panel is chipboard with a wood veneer, so you’re not going to be able to mount anything to it.  They also seem to be a little smaller than the Ikea pieces (no space for a ridiculous photo lightbox like what Les has, sorry), and I reckon cable routing might be a bit of a challenge if you have a lot of electrics in your repertoire.  Still, I can’t really imagine a better solution short of a full-blown studio.

So the plan is to, just prior to the move, order one of these pieces from Walmart for delivery a few days after we move in.  That’ll give us a little time to get settled before I have to build another piece of furniture.  I’ll put together a photo essay of the construction and outfitting of the piece, and once I get it satisfactorily equipped, I’ll pull together a video “tour” of my new workspace.

Answering the question of whether his post yesterday means that Combine CMCs are on the drawing board, once SJG’s miniatures casting situation gets straightened out, Richard Kerr writes:

Yes, definitely. Hopefully by the time Ogre 6th comes out (we *are* working on it!)

Cynics will roll their eyes at the reference to the long-awaited, oft-delayed, nigh-mythical 6th edition of Ogre.  Me?  Thinking about honest-to-goodness new miniatures, I’m going to require some alone-time and perhaps a cuddle, later.