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.
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.
.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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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.
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.
.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!