New Games Workshop Carry Case: Review

After seeing the new games workshop carry case, I was confused about how it worked, but after seeing a friend buy one and fill it with about 4000 points worth of blood angels I was rather impressed. And I do need a new case for my renegades and heretics so I thought that I would give it a go. So now that I have one in my possession, I will share my thoughts on the new case.

I have purchased the largest of the GW carry cases so my review will be based on that item, I can’t speak for the smaller cases.

First Impression

According to the GW website this box should transport “any model, however pointy, placed anywhere within the channels will be protected” so they have some big promises to keep.

Looking at the box, it really does look quite sturdy and tough. Compared to the old GW case this has a larger depth but is smaller in the other two dimensions. So I think it’s a fair trade over all. The foam confused me at first as it’s very different from all that has come before. I do like how the different compartments work; having 4 sections which come apart to make 8 in total, so getting access to what you want isn’t a problem. Looking at the GW video showing you how much you can fit into one of these things, I should fit a lot of stuff in here. So far, so good.

After some playing around

Well straight away the infantry went in without a problem, and I can fit a lot more of them into the case than I could before with the old ones, and the KR cases. Tanks fit in relatively quickly and easily provided the turrets can come off. I have a Leman russ which I got second hand with the turret glued in place and it’s really not going to fit without cutting, which I don’t want to do. The others you can sit on top of one of the sections or put inside, so not too bad. With walkers like dreadnaughts which are a big block of plastic, this case holds them great, but I am a little more sceptical about my sentinels which are in some delicate positions at the moment so they might not survive the transport. While I can’t say for sure they will brake I don’t want to risk it. I purchased the larger case so I could theoretically fit in all of my stuff, and in the GW video it holds a knight, and I have seen it do so with my own eyes. But when I came to try and put in my valkyrie... the case was too small. Unless I could magically fit it in diagonally (you can’t) it would fit, but in reality it’s a go for my flier.

The thing with the new design of the foam is that I feel a guide is needed, or at least some helpful tips. My heavy weapons team do fit in but I’m not sure which is the best way for them to go in. I feel I’m wasting unnecessary space. Should I put them sideways? Just put them like the other models and fit the foam over their base? I just don’t know.

Another aspect of the case that sold it to me is that if you drop it your models should remain unscathed. Well... bollocks to that i'm not dropping it to find out.

Conclusion

Overall I think the product is a brilliantly thought out item which will help a lot of people transport their armies hassle free. However I think the case isn’t ideal for all armies. The first time I put my infantry in they all fit in really well, but when I came to close the box a sergeant with power maul lifted high, soon became the sergeant with the knuckle duster as the maul broke off upon closing. This box will be perfect for the solid models like space marines, tau, necrons and orks. But the flimsy ones like small nids, dark eldar and chaos with point bits on will likely suffer casualties during transport. Maybe it’s my lack of experience with this case, or maybe a slight oversight on not showing us how to pack this properly is the reason, but something is missing when I pack this box.

So if you have a sturdy 40k force, buy one, it will transport it like a dream. If you have flimsy, point models... maybe not.