My Chaos army is slowly getting assembled, although I haven’t done much in the past few days. By next weekend, I’d expect to have another two units of Chaos Warriors assembled and maybe another units of Knights and Marauder Horsemen.

At that point, the group will be starting to look like an army. There’s just one problem. I need movement trays.

Pre-Fab Options

There are, of course, some pre-fab options available.

I don’t like the standard plastic movement trays that GW produces. They look cheap to me, even when you paint and flock them.

The textured movement trays are a better option. They look very nice when painted and flocked. The only problem is… they come in one size. For a unit of Chaos Warriors – typically four columns and three to four ranks – they are the perfect size. For a cavalry unit (5-6 models wide) or a unit of 15 Warriors (5×3), they just won’t cut it.

I’ve used them in the past, especially as scenic bases for war machines. I might snag a few for my Chaos warriors, but they won’t be able to fulfill all my movement tray needs for this army.

I’ve also used the Gale Force 9 movement trays. They come in just about any shape/size you could want, and they’re pretty good quality. Too bad they’re $10 a pop. Even if I get my old discount at the store, I’m not sure I want to order a whole new round of these.

Do-It-Yourself – Balsa Wood

That leaves one option: DIY.

I’ve built some trays in the past, and I used to have a collection of balsa wood for that task. I spent $30 to order a bunch of wood, and it was a seemingly endless supply of boards and borders.

Too bad I threw all that out after I stopped playing a couple years back. I was cleaning and figured I’d never need the balsa wood for anything. So… now I need to find some more.

I didn’t have much luck last time with local craft stores, so I’m looking around the internet again. I’m also going to try something a little bit different.

Instead of sheets of balsa wood, I’m going to use sheets of craft plywood. It’s thin plywood made out of birch, usually with two or three plys pressed together. Plain sheets of balsa wood tend to warp over time, and I’m hoping that the craft plywood won’t have that problem. It also seems to be a similar material to what GF9 uses (because they definitely use a type of plywood, not regular balsa or basswood sheets).

I found two retailers I’m going to check out: MisterArt and AMainHobbies. They each sell Midwest balsa wood and craft plywood at pretty good prices.

I haven’t decided on the size boards that I want, but I think I might opt for the big 12 in x 24 in boards. Each board ought to be enough to make 8+ infantry bases and 3-4 cavalry bases. If I get the smaller boards (like 6 in x 12 in), I might not have enough left over to make cavalry bases – and a lot of wood will go to waste.

Plus the larger boards are much cheaper per sq. in. than the smaller boards. The 12 in x 24 in board is approximately $3.60, while 4 x 6 in x 12 in. boards (the equivalent square inchage) would cost about $5.25.

Once I order the stuff, I’ll post a recap of what I ordered, how much it cost, and about how many movement trays I think it’ll make. I’ll probably also write up an illustrated tutorial on creating movement trays – because there aren’t enough of those on the ‘net.