by Sam and Max
Introduction: I'll be posting a review in a few days, but thought I'd step BGG'ers through how to actually select which Game+Plus trays to purchase, as well as an example arrangement for the base game. If you've found the range of foam trays on the market confusing and expensive, Game+Plus trays are a reasonably priced solution. Since they're sold at Miniature Market, you can buy some trays with a boardgame, and reach the free shipping threshold!
The trays are made of pluck foam. Just remove the foam pieces to make the cavities to store your miniatures. Removed foam can be glued back in place. Miniature Market, a popular boardgame OLGS, sells the trays for $7.75 -- taller trays are *not* more expensive! They actually fit short comic book boxes (and you'll only need three for the base game), so you don't have to buy the holding bag until you have a few expansions.
Each tray measures 24 x 13 pieces of foam, and each piece is .5" wide. The trays themselves are 13" length x 7.5" width, with a 25" for rigid base. Tray heights are 1", 1.5", 2", 2.5", 3", and 4". I recommend using a spreadsheet program to make a template of 24x13 cells of .5" square size. Measure the height of the tallest miniature in the tray to determine the height of the tray to store a set of miniatures in.Here's the template with an example horizontal arrangement with the base set heroes and some heroes from Runebound and Descent 1st edition. You can store the figures either vertically or horizontally. Vertically lets you store more figures on a tray, and is better for the larger figures. Horizontally lets you see small figures better. Horizontally, the figures use a 1" tray. The heroes are in 2x3 cavities, and the rightmost cavities are 3x3 for the larger miniatures. (I've added a Reaper Miniatures dwarf for one of the coop expansions, and a zombie for the Reanimate.)This horizontal arrangement for the monsters uses a 1.5" height tray, because of the Barghasts.Because of the Shadow Dragon bases, you will need the 4" height for the larger monsters. If you cut off the Shadow Dragon bases, you can get away with the 3" height.More on the bag in the review (which will appear in the Game Accessories forum), but it's 1.5 feet tall.
It sells for $35 on Miniature Market, which is on the inexpensive side for these bags, but could still be a bit of a sticker shock for boardgamers.And, while this is impressive, you're not going to need this many trays for just the base game.Because someone would probably try it, you could stick the base game box in the bag as well (if you use the 3" foam tray because you cut off the Shadow Dragon bases).
However, a box full of cardboard may press down on the trays!So, instead, use the pockets on the bag. The holding bag comes with four pockets for storage. The front pocket has a velcro flap, and fits standard 8" x 11.5" rulebooks. The back pocket (not shown) has a zipper, and fits baggied items and small storage boxes.One of the side pockets also has a velcro flap, large enough to store a coop expansion, clamshell and all. I probably wouldn't use the clamshell, but it's nice to have a pocket that will fit the coop expansions. The other side, not shown, is a mesh drawstring, suitable for a dice bag or more baggies.Finally, without the box, after storing the rulebooks, baggies, and whatnot in the bag pockets, you can toss in the rest on top of the trays. The bag does have a shoulder strap.So, next time you're looking to reach that Miniature Market free shipping threshold, consider a few game trays!
