Movement Trays

MichaelStockin

MichaelStockin

Lord
So seeing as I am now doing oldhammer in 25mm ( https://forum.oldhammer.org/threads/michaels-25mm-wfb-stuff.37530/ ) as well as the 10mm, I was wondering what your thoughts are on movement trays?
Back when I first played WFB 3rd with my mates we slipped bits of card underneath the units with a bit poking out on either side to help us move units.
I definitely use them for my 10mm as they simply do not push well.

But for 25mm?
I am not sure, I think if I do, they will be just thin sheets the units sit on, out of sight out of mind?
I am less inclined to use chonky trays.

What do you all do?
 
I tend to use purpose made MDF movement trays, steadily built a collection which covers most sizes, numbers and formations. I can also decorate them to suit my basing material.

Paul / Golgfag1
 
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Not much of an army level gamer but I have the old GW movement trays that you cut to size for my Woodies. They work ok & aren’t too obtrusive. If I was going to do a proper job in future, I’d probably experiment with neodium magnets in the figure bases and use trays made from magnabase. Advantages: low profile movement trays covering the footprint of the unit only, can reuse them for other WFB armies as some unit sizes/configurations are common, figures can live relatively securely in Really Useful Boxes lined with steel paper when not in use.

FWIW, I’m getting fed up with figure cases as protection is not always what it should be and they take up a lot of space. If you pick wisely, RUBs stack well. Mine are mostly four & nine litre ones. A few 19s too. These all have the same footprint.
 
i'm a bit lazy in a way.. laser cut wood trays with thin-ish borders, put magnets in the figures and onto the tray. problem I got some not to bad stick on magnetic stuff but while it's not TOO bad for holding plastics, it can't hold metals, so i just end up putting some magnets or something onto the tray for smaller units (done that with my giant/wolf rats. Though the wood is use is 2mm ply so they do stick up a bit if that is a bother.
 
If you've got figures with magnets then you can always put tinplate on your movement trays. You'll get a better magnetic "stick" to that than the "magnetic plastic sheets". Careful cutting tinplate, it's always looking to slice your fingers up when you least expect it!

I've also seen people with magnetised figures using slightly thicker metal directly as a moment tray (no idea if they were just bits of biscuit tin lid or if they'd had some steel professionally cut, but you'd need to presumably clean up the edges so there were not too sharp).

For anything more than about two ranks I've always found a movement tray of some sort to be easiest. We used to make them out of card or use the various plastic ones that Citadel made over the years. I was going to make some new plasticard ones with a nice ¼ circle edging strip, but it's still on my todo list!
 
EricF said:
If you've got figures with magnets then you can always put tinplate on your movement trays. You'll get a better magnetic "stick" to that than the "magnetic plastic sheets". Careful cutting tinplate, it's always looking to slice your fingers up when you least expect it!
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Nice one. PWS sells ready-made galvanised steel bases including common regiment sizes like 100x80mm and 125x100mm. Sadly, they no longer enamel them.

https://pwsltd.square.site/steel-bases
 
Brilliant. Ages back I was looking for a company that would do some cut steel nicely, but whilst there are plenty that will cut stuff I didn't find anyone who was really quite right. Seems like they'd happily do some larger ones as movement trays. Now if they were powder coated as well that'd be the cherry on top!
 
wait... galvanised steel is magnetic? galvanising is applying a layer of Zinc as I understand it.. and Zinc isn't magnetic.. the layer thin enough to allow the magnetic nature of the Iron (Steel) to still work? mm.. guess I would be.. don't think I remember having tried it..
 
EricF said:
Yep. Wont be a problem.
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didn't know that.. kinda makes senses as the magnetic field isn't THAT weak so a thin coat of zinc will block it but mm.. Not that I'll do me too much good.. Custom sizing and all that on the whole and preferring to kinda do stuff either as cheap or much myself as possible.. Not really able to get a sheet of steel and cut it myself where cutting some plywood and gluing magnets (or sticking on some easy to cut magnetic paper) is far more easy
 
I don't use movement trays. Playing a battle of WFB is a great moment with friends and a sort of a zen meditation for me. I like moving models one by one, it's relaxing and I can recreate in the moment, enyoing the scenery, talking with others about the narrative and making really silly noises of drums, steps, and trumpets of the marching regimients.

Also, I like the possibilities of different formations that WFB 3rd edition offers, and a movement tray would be something unuseful if you change the unit frontage or want to adopt a hedge, testudo or square formation.

Another important reason for me is when units take casualties and the tray is visible. It a little aesthetically in my opinion.

I like that battles takes longer, not shorter. Wargames are like sex. The more time you spent, the more you enjoy. Why shorten it?
 
annagul said:
I don't use movement trays. Playing a battle of WFB is a great moment with friends and a sort of a zen meditation for me. I like moving models one by one, it's relaxing and I can recreate in the moment, enyoing the scenery, talking with others about the narrative and making really silly noises of drums, steps, and trumpets of the marching regimients.

Also, I like the possibilities of different formations that WFB 3rd edition offers, and a movement tray would be something unuseful if you change the unit frontage or want to adopt a hedge, testudo or square formation.

Another important reason for me is when units take casualties and the tray is visible. It a little aesthetically in my opinion.
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This is all fair.
Sometimes for my 10mm I have flocked bases to replace removed models, this way the tray is not visible.
 
not great for army building wise, But I want Skaven Dead-dead... I got the feeling the only reason for some of them 'corpse' figures was for way to show taken out models.. though could be used for dioramas.. pretty sure the figures didn't have much success which is why they are bloody rare... through later corpses for other games are easier to get..
 
I think you’re right. I recently paid slightly over the odds for the gloriously named C10 Half Orc ‘Stiff’. My intention is to use him as an objective in games. Rescue the blind drunk barbarian sort of thing.
 
I use laser-cut movement trays. If you want longer games, you can always increase the points values. Or just use every optional rule, obscure unit with dodgey rules and poorly written magic item you can find.
 
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