"My magnetic tray storage" Topic

Lead mountain has grown so big I've reached a point where figure storage is now the number one hobby issue I face. I know some of you can relate to what I'm saying. I lost a lot of sleep on it over the past few years and sunk a good many hours into research but I finally have a solution I couldn't be happier with.

Essentially there are two solutions. Here's the latest and greatest one:

This is the day these trays arrived. No sheet metal inserts yet. Below you can see I use powder-coated steel shingles for tray inserts.

And here are some glued and some double-decker trays. Most 28mm figures can fit in standard 2" trays but it's not too hard to make a few taller ones for larger figures

Listen to some basic capacity numbers for these. 98 figures on 25mm bases per tray, or 162 figures on 20mm bases.

Here you can see the tough reinforced sides and the feet that help them stack

Powder-coated shingle. I cut them with Malco snips and glue them in with liquid nails for larger figures, and I'm going to use lift-out insert trays for smaller figures so I can slide them off rather than pluck. These shingles are a couple bucks at big home improvement stores and are 8 x 12".
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Here's the earlier and still excellent one using Snapware, and you have even more flexibility when it comes to skirmish games, etc:

These have lift-out insert trays.

I minced an awful lot of words about them on my blog including how-to, dimensions and capacity, where to source them, how to accomodate different-height figures, why this will save your life, etc… pretty much all you need to know if you're interested but too much to copy and paste!

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And flickr wants me to link back to them:
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Please let me know what you think!

Great solution! I'm definitely checking out those gem trays coupled with aluminum cases. Thanks for the info.

The gem cases are a great idea.

Absolutely excellent idea, can you tell me the internal size of the trays please?

Thanks, this is an excellent and helpful post. Have you tried using them for transporting your Dwarven Forge dungeon pieces?

where do you get those cases from?

Thanks for sharing some good ideas.

Re the powder coated steel shingles; would they be suitable for 28mm unit bases roughly 2" x 12"? After cutting are there sharp edges or can they be filed?

Interesting solution. Have you traveled with the new case? Had any issues with figure movement?

I have a few foam KR cases for my RPG and skirmish figures but was contemplating a more economical magnetic storage solution for my larger historical armies. This looks very intriguing.

Hi all, thanks for your comments.

@Rapier Miniatures: The internal clearance is minus 1/16" per inch of height, ie 2" tray has 1 7/8" clearance. Internal area is 14 1/8 x 7 3/4".

@Luckyjoe: You know, the 2" tray is just barely too short for Dwarven Forge, I tried it! For now I'm keeping it in the styrofoam trays with some extra in some plastic drawer chests.

@WarWizard: from gemsondisplay.com. 5 star service all around!

@IronDuke596: After cutting (with Malco snips) the edges are razor sharp, yes. If gluing in the trays it's not a problem but if I will be getting near the edges I snip off the corners and using a sanding block all around. Works well and no more dangerous edge. Should work well for you I think and Malco snips make a really straight cut.

Syrinx0: I've traveled with the Snapware cases and they travel very well. From all I can tell so far the black trays with hard case will travel even better. Soft cases are also available for very little and I'm going to try one in my next order.

There's some of the above and a lot more info in that blog post I mentioned too.

Many thanks.

Nice solution, very compact.

Great idea – for UK folks here is a UK URL:

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Sizes up to 3" deep.

Not sure where you would get a tin shingle from in the UK…… guess its time to trawl the poundshop unless anyone has any ideas?

Finally bit the bullet and ordered some from Gems on Display. Their service was fantastic and they arrived yesterday. Got 2 of the 1" trays (limited use) and 10 of the 2" trays plus a clear lidded one to use as the top of the stack. I think I will need some of the 3" trays or just cannibalise the 1" ones for mounted figures.

Interesting, very compact. Thanks for sharing.i

Hi, thanks for the link and info. I ordered the grey soft case and four of the three inch wooden trays. Hopefully, they'll arrive by Thursday. I'll post a description and what I think of them.
I'll order another one with a stack of plastic trays after I receive the first order.

OK. Great service from these guys. Package arrived today. The case is heavy duty with rubbery, thick vinyl. The wooden trays are wrapped in leather patterned black wrap. Very sturdy with only slight flex to the floor of each tray. The one thing that I noticed was the lack of the little corner tabs to guide and hold the trays in place. Careful stacking will be needed. I'll figure out how to solve that issue. A few ideas already spring to mind. Possible just glue my own little guides made of wood in place, copying their solution. I'll be ordering more in the next day or so.
Highly recommended.