It's OK to see your troops blown away in action: You can live with that.. But it breaks your heart to see their paint get chipped. Luckily this doesn't happen to me very often because I carry my miniatures around neatly packed. This is how I do it. What you'll need: a VHS video cassette case a nice block of foam or a few smaller ones a sharp knife plastic glue, the heavy duty kind a tape measure At present, VHS cases are easy to get and cheap, mainly because so many people are just throwing them away. You probably have a few yourself. First we need to do some planning. How many miniatures do you want to fit into the case? What are their sizes and do they have peculiar positions or weapons sticking out? These facts will determine how many will fit in the case and what kind of compartments you'll need to make. For my two cases I chose 12 compartments: I think this is about the maximum number of 28mm miniatures that will fit into a case, while still providing enough protection. Each space isn't very big, but my eM4 troopers fit into them nicely and that's what I wanted. To get the right height I just placed the big block of foam in the case and cut off the part sticking out of it; no need to measure things, it's just that simple! I decided I would make six identical pieces each consisting of a 'wall' of foam on the end and two spaces for the miniatures. With each piece having one open side I wouldn't need to 'dig' into the foam to make a hole, something I learnt from a previous attempt. The six pieces would be lined up so they would profit from the 'wall' of the piece next to them. Finally I would also need a single 'wall' to make up the end. Step 1: Cut out the wall, but make sure you don't cut completely through the foam: Stop at about 0,5 cm from the bottom. It needs to remain attached to the rest of the block. Step 2: Cut out the compartments by cutting a line at the top and bottom of each of them. These cuts are at a straight angle form the previous cut. So this is four cuts in total.

Step 3: The next cuts are made from the side (you can lay the block on it's side of course) to clear out the compartment. Be careful not to cut too far. Step 4: This one is optional. Cut out a small depth at one side of each compartment, so the base of the miniature has a little extra space. This is a fiddly step. Step 5: Cut out a final 'wall'. Step 6: Dry fit all the pieces in the case. If they fit, take them out again, put glue in the case and put them back in. Contact cement is best for this. Step 7: Almost there, hang on. Cut a sheet of foam to fit the lid and glue in on the inside. Step 8: Allow everything to dry. And you're done. There you have it: an almost-free carrying case for your troops, in which you can carry about two units for a game of Combat Zone. Of course this layout is quite straightforward, but you can adapt it for other troops and miniatures easily.