So has anyone tried combining all of the expansions into one box? What did you do?
I do that, including the 6-player packs. At that point, there's so much stuff that the insert (any insert) is a little pointless. I have 4 plano boxes: two 5-compartment boxes with invaders, Dahan, and Energy, for use during play; one 4-component compartment with the tokens (Beasts, Disease, etc); and one 6-component compartment for the player disks. Everything else goes in bags.
One key if you go with plano boxes is to make sure you get ones that will fit a stack of 2 inside the box.
I keep all expansions + 6-player pieces + some additional playtest components + a stack of muffin cups for on-table organization all in the core box.
The only insert I kept was the 4-well one; the Invaders + Dahan are therein. (I might have peeled a few of each out to make sure none bump over the lip.) Everything else is either (a) a stack of cards, (b) a board, or (c) bagged.
I don't bother including the Invader Board extension most of the time, but it does fit too if I wanted to.
The only key things in packing it up are:
- First: stack of Spirit Panels + stacks of cards.
- 4-well insert goes atop the panels.
- (Everything else willy-nilly)
- Last two things in are core rulebook, then island boards. The island boards keep the rulebook fairly snug over the 4-well insert, which keeps the minis from going all over the box.
@dpt
Would you happen to know which Plano models (i.e. #'s) you’re using?
The 5-compartment boxes are 3449, the 4-compartment box for tokens is 3448-40, and the 6-compartment box is a competitor that doesn't seem to label its boxes, but 3448-60 looks equivalent.
My only minor complaint is that I wish the lid of the 4-compartment box detached more easily.
There were a couple good foam board custom inserts floating around the forums.
I'm still quite pleased with mine after heavy use these past few months. I might remake it out of aluminum at some point, but it's not high on my priority list right now.
Like Grysqrl, I made my own. It is really very easy to get into, just some patience, some basic materials, and a few Youtube how to videos.
https://imgur.com/gallery/xjO2L
@dpt, grysqrl, linkfox
Thanks guys. Definitely helpful! Unfortunately the full range of Plano sizes seem to be less widely available here in Canada, so I’m leaning towards learning how to foamcore and making my own insert. (Though for my first I might go with a less complicated insert to get the hang of things before attempting Spirit Island).
There are GREAT videos online. Look in that thread that Grysqrl linked to, I linked a few of them and some general tips. A few of those i'll repeat here:
SHARP exacto knife. Be reacy to change blades often.
METAL ruler - plastic or wood will shave off from the exacto knife and not do you any good for straight lines
PATIENCE in cutting, keep the knife at a 45 degree angle and be ready to cut the same line 3-4 times
get a self healing cutting mat. Little pricey, but they are SOOOO worth it for protecting tables. And better than trying to find enough cardboard to do the trick.
Feel free to ask if you have any questions, but all i learned was from self experience and youtube, so I'm sure you'll do fine!
We've got everything into one box, including keeping the two smaller inserts. It closed perfectly until we added playtest material! Much simpler than messing with foam core, although less satisfying, I just made 4 small card trays out of decent card, so all the cards go there, everything else in a stack beside it, fear, blight, presence, fear separators and tiny adversary tokens scatter round the side, then we've got the two trays that came originally to hold Invaders, Dahan, Energy and explansion tokens. Maybe I'll make something better one day, but this definitely does the job and I'm currently busy tackling Gloomhaven...
Thanks lynkfox!
After reading yours/Grysqrl's comments, and checking out some how-to videos on youtube, I ordered a self-healing cutting mat, some foamcore, and a box of dress pins last week. Thanks to free two-day shipping, I was even able to build an insert this past Saturday. It was NOT for Spirit Island, but Century Spice Road since I had sleeved my cards for that and the provided insert no longer worked.
I learned that I need a better hobby knife (apparently the dollar store one I had on hand could be better, though there's little surprise there), and I think I'll tackle one other game first before I turn to Spirit Island, but all my fingers are still intact and I'm pretty happy with what I made, so I'd say I'm off to a good start!
Its addictive! XD
I have foam core trays i made for Sentinels even - a long tray for the center of the table for HP tokens and a slot tray for the status tokens, that slides right into a plastic box I got at office max.
Once you start getting into it, you'll find you want to make more and more of them!