Introducing the Magazine Tray

Magazine Tray is coming to life…

We recently shared the first photo of our new Magazine Tray on social media — now it’s time to reveal more details 😊

How it was created

We have to admit — we were a bit worried at the beginning.
We had never made such a large tray before, and this one has a completely flat lid with no pattern.

Usually, any pattern (like compartments or indentations) adds extra rigidity and strength to the tray. In this case, both the lid and the bottom are flat, so we were concerned it might feel too flexible or not solid enough.

However, after receiving the first prototypes, all our concerns disappeared. The trays turned out to be very sturdy, and with magazines inside, everything works perfectly. Now we are confident that we have something really great to show you.

What makes it different

The biggest difference compared to our other trays is the interior — it is completely empty.
There are no compartments inside.

At first, we considered designing something similar to traditional magazine trays with fixed sections. But we quickly realized that there is no single solution that would work well for all magazines.

From the beginning, it was clear that we would need to create multiple versions to cover different use cases:

• magazines with large counters
• magazines with cards
• magazines for 18xx fans (yes — including Mainline, one of my personal favorites 😉)

Each of these would require a different internal layout. On top of that, some games include dice or other components that would require even more space and different dimensions.

Our solution

Instead of forcing a single fixed design, we decided to take a different approach.

The Magazine Tray is designed to work together with our existing trays.
You can place your magazine inside — along with any of our shallow trays — and create your own perfect setup.

This gives you full flexibility:

• Like counter trays? → You can use them inside
• Playing 18xx and using Mainline? → Standard shallow trays fit perfectly
• Lots of small counters? → Use our new 30-compartment tray
• Cards inside the magazine? → Combine shallow trays with our card holders
• Prefer baggies? → No problem — they fit as well

One Magazine Tray gives you many different configurations — each tailored exactly to your needs.

What about the price?

You might think that such flexibility would make the tray more expensive — but that’s not really the case.

If we designed a tray with fixed compartments, we would likely need to produce it in multiple large parts. Each of these parts would significantly increase production costs.

In practice, this would make the final product cost roughly the same as:
👉 one Magazine Tray + a set of smaller trays

So instead, we give you a flexible system — at a comparable price — but with far more possibilities.

How it looks in practice

As you can see in the photos below, you can fit any of our current shallow trays inside the Magazine Tray, while still leaving enough space for the magazine itself (including maps).

To help visualize different setups, we have added a few popular magazines to our shop — along with example configurations and photos:

• Paper Wars #103 Second Fallujah
• Strategy&Tactics #336 First Punic War 264 to 241 BC
• World at War #92 Narvik 1940
• Battalion S3 #1 Danger Forward: The Battle of Gela, July 1943

Designed for your shelf

We also paid close attention to storage.

The Magazine Tray is designed to be as slim as possible, while still comfortably fitting:

• shallow trays & counter trays <- please check the product page to see the list of trays that fit perfectly inside: Magazine Tray
• magazines – the tray is optimized for US Letter format magazines (the standard used by most US-published titles).
• maps

So it fits neatly on your shelf without taking unnecessary space.

Dimensions

Please check the product page to see the dimentions of the Magazine Tray

Special offer

As always, for the end of the month:

• the new Magazine Tray is 20% off
• all other trays and sets (not discounted) are available with 10% discount using code: MagazineTray

Labels for Your Magazine Tray

We have also selected labels that fit perfectly with the tray size and allow you to clearly describe its contents. We tested them with our own games, and they work really well — they are easy to print and look great in use.

You can download a print template from our website, but we recommend using the manufacturer’s dedicated software for designing and printing labels. It offers a wide range of fonts and layout options. The only limitation might be if you want to use a custom font installed on your computer, but in most cases, the built-in options should be more than enough.

One additional note: print durability. We currently use an ink printer, and the prints can smudge with frequent handling. To solve this, we protect the labels with a permanent foil — also available in our shop.

What’s Next

For many magazines, a smaller tray will be perfectly sufficient. At the moment, we offer two options:

• a tray with 12 compartments
• smaller counter trays

Good news — more options are coming soon:

• May: a new tray with 9 larger compartments
• Summer: a shallow tray with 18 smaller compartments

This will significantly expand the range of configurations available for the Magazine Tray and make it even more flexible.

Market Situation & Future Pricing

Unfortunately, we also need to share some less positive news.

Current global conditions — especially those affecting East Asia and fuel prices — are impacting plastic manufacturing across the industry. We have already received information that raw material costs have increased by around 20%.

In addition, supply times are getting longer. Previously, the waiting time for plastic was about 2 weeks. Now, when stock runs out at the manufacturer, the delivery time can extend to up to 6 weeks.

This may affect our production timelines and could lead to price adjustments in the future.

Shipping costs are also rising. We have already received price increases from all European couriers. So far, international shipping prices remain unchanged, but this may change soon — especially as air fuel costs have increased significantly, which directly impacts long-distance deliveries.

👉 Because of this, now is a particularly good time to purchase — especially while current discounts are still available.

Questions?

If you have any ideas or questions, feel free to reach out — we’ll be happy to help!