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Adam_Barrow

Sleepless Knight
True Blood
Dec 25, 2010
3,068
Nashville, TN
I recently took a hard look at the busted up tackle box I've been carrying around hundreds of dollars worth of plastic in for years and decide "Nope, that won't do!" So I finally pulled the trigger on a Table War army transport case. I hope this review will show off some of the features of this bad boy, and maybe answer any questions you might have about the case. Enjoy!
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The case I purchased is the Table War Half-size Case Mark III (in stylish black and silver). The Mark III case differs from the Mark II in the clasps only. The Mark II had combination locks, whereas the III has metal loops for affixing your own locks. It has a clear acrylic front, and they bill it as a transport /and/ display case. The case is pretty dark looking though the window, so I don't see it fulfilling that display case purpose very well.

So as for size, this thing is about as big as a guitar amp head, and nearly as heavy. The hardware on it is pretty heavy duty. These clasps on top and on the right lock the swinging front closed.

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Those hinges on the left, they let the door swing pretty wide, but **ALERT** they are not enclosed mechanisms. The front door can be completely removed, and I dropped the god damned door off the thing twice before I realized what was happened. Be careful leaving the door open, it'll fall right off if you're not careful.

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Those other two clasps on the sides allow the top of the case to flip up as well, which makes it super easy to remove units/trays when you've got the top back and the door open. Here you'll see the hinges on the back.

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Alright, so that's the outside. Let's get to the important bits. The Mark III Half-size Case has slots lining the inside walls--think an adjustable bookshelf. These slots let you reposition the two trays that it comes with. There is also a drawer that can fit into the bottom of the case.

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The shelves are pretty wide and deep. Those holes, which I assume are for allowing taller models to stand up through higher levels, are gunna be covered by magnetic sheets very soon. The idea is to have metal sheets on the bottom of my movement trays, and then the magnetic shelves will hold everybody in place during transport. The shelves are just /barely/ too small to fit two 4 rank horde trays deep, meaning they don't fit perfectly flat but they'll still fit in there. Here I've pictured two horde trays, that's a 6 wide/4 deep tray in the middle, and two 5 wide/4 deep trays on the right.

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The drawer is about as deep as your standard box o' dice. It looks great for storing odds and ends like books and tape measures too. The drawer is not attached, and does not have any runners to slide into the slots like the shelves do. It kinda just sits in the bottom of the case. It's also heavy as eff, so probably all wood with their vinyl black glued around it.

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Alright, let's talk about the space in there. Short version: You're gunna need something else for your Terrorgheist. My Zombogres, the drawer, and the 20mm infantry shelf all fit pretty nicely. A Mortis Engine or other tall + slender things are going to fit just fine lying on their sides. Dat Tbat tho. Here's some different configuration shots, including one with the top open.

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The lid closes just fine in that last pic, but you'll note I can only fit one shelf and the drawer has to be removed to fit ol' Joan in the bottom compartment. Still, there's lots of space in there if you feel like getting creative.

And one more shot of the logo printed on the inside of the lid.

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So pro's:
This is a heavy duty case with some cool features (you can order more shelves/magnet options, cup holders for the sides--I'm not kidding, cup holders--, and it's got enough versatility that I don't see myself having any problem fitting 85% of what I'll be taking to a tournament in this one case. Options to throw locks on the clasps are nice, too.

Con's:
A little heavy, especially all populated with dudes in it, but that's party of the structural soundness I believe. That drawer sorta just sitting in there feels a little tacked on, there could have been some runners on it, but it fits snug enough that it's not going anywhere. The whole box locks down pretty tight when all the clasps are down. The door coming all the way off is a bit of a pro /and/ a con. I'd like a way to lock the door on when it's open, but it's nice have full access to the contents of the case when the door is off and the lid is up. Also, some of the interior vinyl they've dressed it in isn't the best fitting. They've glued the sheets around a wood frame obviously, and some of the workmanship there could be a little better, but again it's not a glaring problem.

The Half-size Case Mark III ran me about $180 USD, counting shipping and forgoing the cup holders. Shipping was pretty fast. I ordered on the 13th, and it showed up on the 20th. Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase. I opted for the Half-size because I'd read reviews that said the full case Table War offers wouldn't fit in a car trunk. I think this Half-size + the old plastic GW hard case (with interior foam cut to fit a big monster or two and enough individual infantry slots left to safely house character models) will be all I need to lug around to games from here on.

I hope you guys find some use out of this review. I'll say again, this is a cool case and I'm glad I sprang for it. It feels like I have a Cadillac now compared to the old tackle box I used before. If you've got any questions I'd be happy to answer what I can. Thanks for reading!
 

Dragonet

Wight King
Feb 3, 2015
450
Bromley
That's the most awesome case I've seen! I love the mobile display case idea, of course the tradeoff has to be weight with a wooden frame. Have you thought about fitting lights inside to boost the display aspect of the case? You could go for a battery pack, or even a flying lead with a plug on the end for mains power?
 

Adam_Barrow

Sleepless Knight
True Blood
Dec 25, 2010
3,068
Nashville, TN
@Dragonet I think you could definitely rig your own lights. There's plenty of room in there, depending on how many models you're wanting to showcase. It'd probably take a power drill to string a line through, but if you've got those kinds of tools it'd probably work awesome.
 
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Theerteen

Cheerful Cranium
True Blood
Aug 20, 2012
1,503
Germany
This looks awesome. Thanks Adam! I'm still going with the plan to use a big toolbox, but this is, including selfmade metal-sheets for magnetized transport, going to be a good piece of work and money. So 2,3 months of saving some money for this baby seems not the worst idea. Still afraid of the shipping costs to germany.. :/
 
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Adam_Barrow

Sleepless Knight
True Blood
Dec 25, 2010
3,068
Nashville, TN
@Theerteen Thanks, man! The only investment in time that I've got for this case will be cutting some magnet sheets to size for the trays, which shouldn't be more than a ten minute process. Having a case that's pretty much good to go out of the box is definitely a good thing.

I actually emailed Table War this morning to ask what shipping to Germany would be. I'll let you know as soon as they respond.
 
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Theerteen

Cheerful Cranium
True Blood
Aug 20, 2012
1,503
Germany
Thanks a lot! I will think about how to finance one in the next time (much stuff in my flat to buy, including a tv ;D ). They really look perfect!
 
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Zephyr

Master Necromancer
True Blood
Mar 3, 2008
2,522
Rotterdam
Thanks for the review, very good-looking case I must say. The fact that it'salso a great display case is pure win. The only thing that would me back is the weight of it(damn brittle bones of mine) but obviously this also adds to the sturdiness.
I'm currently looking into a good case. I'm getting the new GW one next month but that's not enough for the insane amount of models I own. This one will certainly be on my list as well.
 
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Adam_Barrow

Sleepless Knight
True Blood
Dec 25, 2010
3,068
Nashville, TN
@Zephyr I'm glad you found it informative. I heard about GW's new cases the day my TW case arrived, and I'm still glad I went for it. I needed to be able to pull full units out, already set up on their movement trays, and my case has room enough to spare for that. I play two horde armies, VC and Skaven, and pulling 180 rats out of foam one dude at a time would take forever. With this case, I flip the lid back and I'm ready for deployment.

Thanks for reading!
 
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Dragonet

Wight King
Feb 3, 2015
450
Bromley
I've mounted a lot of my infantry and cavalry on regiment bases of 4 or 2 per base, speeds things up and makes the ranked units sturdier, provides scenic basing possibilities, also planning rank interaction for spears and lances is easier. Only drawback is potential changes for 9th Edition...
 

Zephyr

Master Necromancer
True Blood
Mar 3, 2008
2,522
Rotterdam
I needed to be able to pull full units out, already set up on their movement trays, and my case has room enough to spare for that. I play two horde armies, VC and Skaven, and pulling 180 rats out of foam one dude at a time would take forever. With this case, I flip the lid back and I'm ready for deployment.

*whistles* that sounds really good. I got rid of my horde armies but the thought of being able to cram so many models into one case PLUS the fast deployment is a seller for me. Def. going to save up for this!
 
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