Foamboard trays for Really Useful Boxes

Rebetting foamboard

Really Useful Boxes are the best friends of many wargamers. I simply line them with magnetic sheet for storing multibased figures on steel bases, but I discovered the hard way that this did not provide adequate buffering for individually based 28mm metal figures which ended up in a heap when transported.

My first solution was to create interlocking slats from 5mm foamboard in the form of a hashtag (#) but I more recently became aware of the Warbases  MDF RUB trays which would allow me to pull out complete units en route to tabletop deployment.

Unfortunately the Warbases trays (with full-size and half-size footprints) lacked the granularity I personally needed to minimise figure movement. So I decided to make my own foamboard trays for my individually-based 15mm Sci-Fi armies with 1/4 or 1/6 footprints and various heights based on dividing the internal height of a 9 litre RUB by 3 or 4.

I worked extensively in foamboard when producing my 'Crossfiregrad' buildings. The methodology here was exactly the same but without windows the foamboard trays required a lot less cutting.

The trays were planned using CorelDraw, printed onto paper and Spray Mounted onto Foamboard. As before, the trays were rebetted, stuck with UHU Por and reinforced with dress pins. This makes them strong and keeps the corners square. The tray bottoms are lined with heavy-duty magnetic sheet. 

A 3-storey 1/6 footprint tray under construction

The 1/4 footprint trays measure 105mm x 168mm, the 1/6 footprint trays are 105mm x 112mm and the heights are 35mm or 46mm or multiples thereof, i.e. 70mm, 92 mm or 105mm, depending on what needs to be stored. You can fit two 35mm-high trays in a 4L RUB or four in a 9L RUB. Three 46mm-high trays will fit in a 9L RUB.

The advantage of this approach is that the trays are completely modular and can be swapped between armies as required. Although they require more work than the hashtag dividers, they will be my preferred solution in future.