Troop Boxes Being Manufactured

Just an update on the troop-carrying boxes that Joe Wilgis, a retired furniture maker up in the Sacramento area, has recently started producing.

I bought the first prototype. It was well crafted. The fixtures were a little crooked, although perfectly functional. I removed them, refilled the holes, and reinstalled them. This may have been an idiosyncrasy of the prototype, since the boxes I've seen recently have much truer lines all around. Also, the prototype was heavy, weighing in at 40 pounds. Since it holds a lot (and I mean a lot) of lead, the weight when full is significant. I would not willingly carry around a troop box packed with lead. The newer models are trimmer, but I don't know the final weight. The boxes come unfinished. I stained mine with a dark-walnut Watco oil. Fixtures (hinges, latch, handles, corner caps) are brass.

The box is great and I wouldn't trade it (or sell it - people have already made ridiculous offers for it) for the world. The frame is sturdy plywood, sanded smooth and with slightly bevelled edges. I don't know much about wood, so I can't identify the kind and quality, but it looks beautiful, smooth, and clean.

The prototype stands about 30" high. Each of the four drawers is roughly 22" wide by 16" deep. The top of the box lifts up and the front drops down to provide access to the drawers. (On my prototype, the front has to drop all the way down - a full 180 degrees - to provide clearance for the bottom drawer. This problem has been corrected in the production models.)

As soon as I got the box home, I started packing it with figures. The top drawer is the deepest, with plenty of clearance for 25mm standard bearers and lancers. The second and fourth drawers are deep enough for infantry (and most of my infantry standardbearers) and cavalry. The third drawer of the prototype was a little shallow, but deep enough for infantry and most cavalry. There is an additional flat storage space under the fourth drawer, deep enough for a rule book or two, measuring devices, dice, super glue. The drawers slide in and out easily, even when packed with lead.

By the time I was finished, I had the entire Prussian Auxiliary Corps (XXVII Division Grande Armée 1812) in the box, 25mm In the Grand Manner units at 1:20: 24 32-man battalions, 80 skirmishers, 20 guns, five limbers, 12 eight-man squadrons of cavalry, and a total of 40 line and landwehr lancers. Also, I had all the essential game and emergency-repair materials tucked away under the bottom of the box. (I toyed with the idea of trying to lift this load of lead, then thought better of it.) A Corps In A Box. What a concept!

Just an update for everyone about the boxes. Since Gary received the prototype, Joe has corrected the little "glitches." The boxes now have three drawers that should be able to hold cavalry with no problem. The fourth drawer will take infantry, and all but the tallest standards. What he did to allow for this was use shallower drawer dividers, and more evenly spaced out their placement.

The boxes are made from Luan (sp?) plywood. When fully packed, they indeed can be heavy. I have asked him to make a stand with casters that the box (or boxes) could be placed on and rolled around. It will be a simple little stand, and should eliminate the need for a truss later.

Like Gary, I would not part with my boxes for anything. I, too, have been offered large sums of money to do so. So if you want one, or two, or three, or whatever, just place your order. He currently has three done with another one due out as I type.