Thursday, March 7, 2019

New Shapeshift Overlord Legion Bag Is Full of Innovation and Goodies


Phobos Foundry has created a new method to carry your miniatures just about everywhere you need to go to get your game on. I got to test out the new Shape Shift Overlord Legion Bag and there were plenty of cool improvements that made it rather fun to go through.


Previously......
Quite some time ago we took a look at the Shapeshift carrying case and while I liked the trays, the case itself had a few issues. While it was not flimsy, it was not padded and I was worried that it might take a fall and break bases and miniatures. The wing nuts on the bars that held the trays were a good idea, but space was tight and those wing nuts took up too much space.

Phobos Foundry has fixed all of that and a whole lot more in this new case. Even working on the shipping/taxes to get you your new case has had a ton of time and effort in resolving. The owner and creator has spent a tremendous amount of time and care into the design of the trays and the case making it well worth your time to check out what these cases have to offer.


The Trays 
So lets take a look at the Overlord Bag starting off with the trays.

These things are cool, and with the sliding bar fit just about any size based model you have. You can even mix and match, as you simply slide the bars back and forth with a quick turn of the screw loosens and tightens it all up.

I took this off their site on how much these bags can carry
1 Overlord bag
6 ShapeShift Evo trays
4 Steel Plates for magnetized models

If your models come on a base, here’s how many minis will go on ONE Evo tray:
Base Size
NUMBER OF MODELS
20mm  70 models
25mm  48 models
30mm  35 models
40mm  20 models
50mm  12 models
120mm  1 – with a lot of space for smaller minis

Now it took me about an hour to assemble all the trays. All that really means is getting the bars in place with the screw and nuts. I had a bunch of trays to set up and it felt like it took a bit to get the nuts and bars in place. Putting on the bars and attaching the shoulder strap really is the only assembly required. You can see below how the bolts will attach into the slots.



Once completely set up it's a simple half turn of the screw with the included long allen wrench to loosen up the bars. (a short wrench was included too, but I ended not liking it as it was harder to use with models on the tray). The long one worked best, and with a half turn to loosen or to tighten the bars are quickly sliding where you need them. There were extra wrenches that came with the case as well, just in case you are robbed by trolls.


Now the Bars themselves are much improved. The nice soft rubber cushion there.... see the pics. Really helps grip your model and not damage your bases. Custom bases  would also work well with the way this grips. You can see in the pic below that they will literally fit just about any bases I have.



Once the bars are in place, the models do not move. You can gently push the bars up against your bases before tightening for the best grip. Then your models will do this.........


The pics are of the White Trays simply because they are easier to show in pics. The black trays are the exact same..... well...... except that they are black and have a cool shine to them.


Now another cool things is that there are metal plates that comes with the case. At first I was scratching my head a little..... then it hit me... oh yea for magnetized models. So yes, you can attach the metal plates to your trays and these things will now hold your magnetized bases in place as well.

So you can really get a whole lot onto these trays and its rather quick to slide the bars around to take models on and off the tray. Here is a look at some of my 40k loaded up.


Now here I was comparing the old trays to the new. The primary thing is that the old trays work just fine in the new cases, although I really like the new ones much better.



The Overlord Bag
OK. The bag. First off there are two compartments in this bag and each one opens up on the end. This gives you quick and easy access to your miniatures, and they look great on trays... (for all those guys that are always looking over your shoulders when your pulling out miniatures).

The bag itself is padded and durable enough, as in nothing felt flimsy or like it might be something to watch out for. It even comes with a shoulder harness to help carry it. See the zipper on the front.. that's for your books/everything else.






Overall
The product itself is very well made and those trays I just love how flexible they are for a wide range of miniatures. While many of you may still love the foam and I have no dislike for it, these trays are just very cool and handle many situations... (like long weapons) that cases just don't do well without spending a lot of extra cash on custom cases and foam. Foam has broken a lot of spear tips in my days.

The only downsides I really had with it was the assembly ( I was not feeling well and its hard to do anything while coughing up a lung). Otherwise I love the padded new case and the upgrades to the trays with their versatility. I may even be able to put my dark Eldar Raiders in this case to see how that works (they  notoriously do not travel well).

If I had a wish list, it would really only include a separate pouch for dice/ measuring tape, and of course for extra screws and nuts (because if there is a vent 20-30' away from where I am getting out my miniatures, luck will figure out how way to make a nut or screw fly across the room and like a vortex suck it down into the gone forever abyss).

 So many things make this a Great  and fun Case. Definitely check them out at the link below.

Here is a link to the case I reviewed on the Phobos Foundry site.
https://www.phobosfoundry.com/product/overlord-legion-set/

Overlord Legion Set
$159.50 USD
1 Overlord bag
6 ShapeShift Evo trays
4 Steel Plates for magnetized models

The Phobos Foundry Store for more types of bags, including ones that are designed to fit in overhead compartments when flying!
https://www.phobosfoundry.com/store/