If you're short on cash or saving up for that big purchase, you might appreciate my project this week. I've been going over the 80 or so figures I painted a year ago and touching them up. I would say at least a third were chipped, despite a good coat of varnish. If you haven't varnished your models, spraying them down after a touch up is a good idea.
There are new rules in the Imperial Guard codex that implies heavy weapons teams need to be based together. A strict interpretation of the rules states that they must be on the bases they came with. If they came without bases, you get a free pass, although nobody will deny you the option of putting them on bases, especially large ones. After messing around with bases and magnets, I'm passing on this project, as there's no benefit to me and I'm technically not required. Basing or re-basing models is another good, inexpensive project.
Weathering vehicles is the next phase of my rehab project this week. Dry brushing and adding dirt will be most of that. That's the stuff I clearly did correctly with my new tanks. I'm also going over models to make them more uniform, after deciding in the beginning it would be more funky to make them all different. Now it just looks sloppy to my eye. This is another low cost way to improve your army without spending money. I'm also fixing mistakes I made early on, like gluing down turrets. I knew better at the time, having played Flames of War. It's nothing a screw driver and some touching up won't fix.
Finally, once you get your army tuned up, you may decide you do, in fact, want to spend some money. I know I do! I've been carefully eying the Battlefoam Pack 1520 case. I did all the calculations last night. It's got room for 22" of foam, and make sure you account for the quarter inch bottom of each tray. I'm about 3 inches short of fitting my entire army into one of these, albeit with room for a couple extra tanks and another Baneblade.
It turns out these cases hold a ridiculous number of men, but you don't save all that much space with vehicles. I probably save 5-8 inches of storage with my tank heavy collection. Still, if you have no storage, the Battlefoam system is a no brainer. I think I'll end up with two bags, my current Sabol Division case for less used models, including the Baneblade and Basilisks, and the Pack 1520 for my "active" army; stuff likely to hit the table. For those on a serious budget, I've got some new cases pre-ordered comprised of foam in cardboard boxes.
