Sunday 10 January 2016

XWing Storage

I have very much got into the game of XWing over the last year, which is particularly strange when you learn I have never really even played a proper game of it!

I originally asked for the starter set as a birthday present and since then have collected a fair few add ons over the last year and a half. Spare cash is tight so they have all come about as birthday/Christmas gifts or as a result of selling some items on eBay.

I had managed before then to pick up a couple of aluminium KR cases which were on clearance on eBay (and a good deal they were too). After using a few different systems of storage for my XWing collection, and seeing it grow, I eventually moved them all into the smaller aluminium KR case.

This is an excellent case and well suited to XWing. I used a few old diskette holders I had lying around (plastic sheets designed with a sticky back that you would put on or near PCs and then slot in an old floppy disk you needed for something - tells you how long I have had them!). I then cut out a few choice bits of packaging from some of the expansions to slot it and it makes an excellent label.

The case is very strong, is lockable so it will not all fall out by accident, and came with good foam. Technically the foam was rejected (hence the cheap price on eBay) although really there is nothing whatsoever wrong with it except visibly you can see more air bubbles than usual. Mechanically it is perfect. The case has rubber feet enabling you to stand it on end or flat on your table and comes with a shoulder strap (not shown).

The top yellow sheet comes with all KR cases and sits at the top (even though the inside of the case has some padding at the top). The top layer has all the rulebooks (including expansion sheets with the extra missions in) and range rulers. You may note the top foam tray is actually an extra tray, i.e. more than SHOULD be in the box. This is because I have now maxed out my storage in this box and even still it packs in fine without damaging anything further down. This top tray contains the miscellaneous bits and bobs (like unusual tokens and a couple of the large ship cards and stands and generally stuff that does not fit elsewhere).

The next layer down contains most of the cards and gaming items. It has all the dice, movement templates, asteroid templates, many stands and stacks of cards. All the cards are sleeved and arranged by groups and put into a plastic packet (e.g. all missiles in one, all bombs in another, all Rebel pilots in one, all Scum in another). I have all the cards (including those that explain the game rules) and they pretty much just about fit in that tray. A lot of the movement templates are found here too.

The next layer down has most of the tokens and movement templates. They are stacked about 3 to a slot for the movement templates and arranged by faction. The tokens are arranged by type (with some common types having more than one slot). The Target Lock tokens are arranged by number as well - it makes it easier to dig out a matching pair.

At the bottom of the case are all the beautiful models. I did originally have them one to a slot but as the collection grew I had to have a rethink (again and again!)

The foam trays are actually designed for Vallejo paints as I got another KR Cardboard Case very cheap on ebay with stacks of that foam. I then discovered they are absolute perfect sizes for fitting all my IG Heavy Weapons teams in (the original 2nd Edition type, no bases) which worked out lovely. I then used the remainder for the XWing ships.

Most of them slot in very snugly and work very well. The Tie Fighters are held brilliantly within that slot (just pushing it out slightly) as long as the next slot is a thin ship. The A Wings fit inside the Tie Fighter shape nicely and the Tie Interceptors double up well. I do not like the Y Wings having to touch but they seem fine.

The horrible shapes are the X Wings (very delicate weapons and hard to cut out and keep in place), the K Wing (just quite large and not an easy shape), the Tie Defender (very hard shape - it is very big and is one of the few ships to be sitting pointing out of the case).

The B Wings are not so bad, cutting a simple slot for them worked well. The Tie Punisher is much bigger than the Tie Bomber!

The two large ships are a more recent addition and meant having to have a big rearrange and squash up of the smaller ships but I managed it. I always keep the spare foam I cut out in a draw and use it to protect items like these. I think I have just about used every inch of space in that case at the moment but it does mean, in theory, I can rock up with that case alone and play just about anything. That, coupled with all my XWing apps on the phone and my recent printing of the Solo rule (more on that later!) mean I have a very nice 'complete' collection - please let my Wife continue to stop me buying any huge ships!