Oval Movement Trays For Tabletop Wargaming

Oval movement trays are specialized gaming accessories designed to efficiently organize and transport multiple miniatures with oval bases as a single cohesive unit during tabletop wargaming, making it significantly easier to maintain unit formation and execute group movements during battles. These trays are particularly useful for cavalry units, larger monsters, and other models that typically use oval bases, allowing players to quickly reposition entire units while maintaining proper spacing and alignment, which is crucial for measuring ranges and determining unit coherency in many popular wargaming systems.

Oval movement trays are particularly useful in mass battle games because they allow for a more natural and fluid formation of units while maintaining cohesion during gameplay, especially when maneuvering around terrain features or other units on the battlefield. Unlike rectangular trays, oval-shaped movement trays enable smoother wheel movements and pivots during unit rotation, which better simulates how real formations of soldiers would move and adjust their positions in historical battles, while also preventing models on the outer edges from becoming displaced or misaligned during play.

Oval movement trays are perfectly compatible with regular tabletop battles, as they're designed to maintain proper unit cohesion while accommodating models with larger bases or irregular formations. The oval shape actually provides excellent maneuverability during gameplay, allowing units to pivot and wheel more naturally than traditional rectangular trays, while still maintaining consistent measurements from the tray's edges for determining ranges and combat engagement.

You can find oval movement trays for your wargaming miniatures at various online retailers and local gaming stores, with MiniWarGaming Forge offering a particularly good selection of these essential gaming accessories. Whether you're looking for single-model display trays or multi-model movement trays for your infantry units, there are plenty of options available in different sizes and materials, including MDF, acrylic, and plastic varieties, to suit your specific gaming needs and miniature bases.

Oval movement trays are compatible with any tabletop wargame that uses oval-based miniatures, particularly those with standard 60mm, 75mm, or 90mm oval bases commonly found in fantasy and sci-fi skirmish games. These movement trays are especially useful in rank-and-file wargames where units need to maintain formation, as well as in games where multiple models on oval bases need to be moved as a cohesive unit. The oval shape of these movement trays perfectly accommodates the specific base dimensions while ensuring proper spacing and alignment, making them ideal for both competitive play and casual gaming scenarios.

Oval movement trays for tabletop wargaming are most commonly manufactured using durable plastics and 3D printed PLA (Polylactic Acid), with both materials offering excellent durability and precision for maintaining unit cohesion during gameplay. While injection-molded plastic trays provide a cost-effective and uniform solution, 3D printed PLA movement trays have become increasingly popular due to their customizability and the ability to create specific sizes and configurations to match various unit formations and base sizes.

When selecting oval movement trays for your miniatures, prioritize trays made from high-quality PLA filament with a layer height of 0.2mm or less, which ensures smooth surfaces and precise fit for your bases while maintaining structural integrity. The trays should feature reinforced corners and edges to prevent warping, along with strategically placed connection points that allow for secure linking of multiple trays without compromising the overall stability of your formation during gameplay.

Most oval movement trays are tournament legal for competitive play, as they don't provide any unfair advantages and simply help organize and move units more efficiently during games. However, since tournament rules can vary between different events and organizers, it's always recommended to check the specific tournament guidelines or contact the event organizers directly to confirm their stance on movement trays before participating.

Movement trays are designed to be compatible with the most common base sizes and shapes used in tabletop wargaming, including round bases ranging from 25mm to 32mm and oval bases typically used for cavalry units. As long as your miniatures are mounted on standard-sized bases, they should fit securely in corresponding movement trays, though it's always good practice to check the exact measurements of your bases against the tray specifications before purchasing. The snug fit ensures your models stay in formation during gameplay while allowing easy removal for individual combat or casualty removal.

For the best results when painting oval movement trays, start by priming them with a high-quality plastic primer, then apply two thin coats of your chosen base color using a large flat brush or airbrush for smooth coverage. Once dry, drybrush the edges with a lighter shade of your base color to create depth, and finish with a protective matte varnish to prevent chips and scratches during gameplay.