Imperial Assault is one of my favorite games-if not my most favorite.

However, one thing that continues to bother is the excessive amount of packaging they use in their products such as their miniature expansions. For instance, I'm looking at my Rebel Scouts right now, and the amount of paper and plastic they are using to packaging 3 tiny miniatures seems unnecessary.

IA isn't the only product that bothers me. Destiny foil wrappers are another. I'm hoping that FFG considers a more eco-friendly way to package their products for the future.

Seen all the posts about the Gamorrean Guards in Jabba's Realm? The big box figures are not in the same protection and it shows.

Imperial Assault is one of my favorite games-if not my most favorite.

However, one thing that continues to bother is the excessive amount of packaging they use in their products such as their miniature expansions. For instance, I'm looking at my Rebel Scouts right now, and the amount of paper and plastic they are using to packaging 3 tiny miniatures seems unnecessary.

IA isn't the only product that bothers me. Destiny foil wrappers are another. I'm hoping that FFG considers a more eco-friendly way to package their products for the future.

Ok i don't wanna jump on you (i really don't so sorry if it gonna turn that way) but few points:

1. Packaging is the first advertisement in a shop. It needs to bling. More bling = more waste after unpacking.

2. Packaging is the protection for the merchandise. Imagine thousand of those needs to be shipped from China to US and then worldwide. Less plastic cutouts mean higher percent of broken miniatures.

3. Destiny point is totally out of the blue. Boosters are packaged that way for almost 30 years now and you jump on Destiny...?

4. Im buying FFG products for ~7 years now, board games never felt "overpackaged". Usually other way around. Xwing and Armada (never bought IA i have to admit, but i guess its pretty the same) - sometimes maybe a little, but those games need way better protection than ordinary board games - look my point 2.

So no. Overall i think FFG is doing good job in this field.

In terms of IA, they don't bother protecting the figures in the box expansions, so surprised they go to the effort with the blister packs. They could probably switch most of the packaging to recycled cardboard which is much more friendlier than plastic.

MTG tried switching to eco friendly packaging for a hot second about a year or two ago. It resulted in many people receiving damaged product due to the nature of cardboard sliding around inside cardboard and a huge blowback from the customer base.

I like my products arriving in not-ripped-to-shreds condition. I'm sure some day the technology will be developed that protects fragile cards and miniatures without using plastic. Heck the other day I say water in a box at my grocery store.

I too would appreciate more eco friendly and Frustration-Free (to steal a term from Amazon) packaging for the reinforcement figures. The blister packs they come in are a pain to open and waste a lot of space for 1-3 figures. I think the game boxes like Jabba's Realm are basically fine and don't need to change, but there's more stuff they have to include in those. Since the figure packs are only including a few figures and cards, there's more flexibility in designing them.

Tvboy, the eco friendly MtG packaging was for a premium product (Modern/Eternal Masters) and was kind of a way for them to test new options. I had no problem with my box of Modern Masters with the Eco Friendly packaging (I liked the little pack boxes) but I'm sure they learned a lot from trying it so I'm glad they did. I don't think karatechop is suggesting the same level of changes though.

Agreed, the blister packs seem to come with an unnecessary amount of plastic. Maybe it's be better to just group all the uniques into a single blister release. If you're buying one, chances are you're buying them all.

It's not as if you can buy all of the parts to the game individually, anyway. I can't, for instance, buy a second tank without getting another Hoth set. At least this would cut down on the plastic to figure ratio

I don't disagree with the earlier posters about having adequate protection and better marketing for their products. However, my only thought was whether FFG could maybe think about being more efficient in accomplishing the same goals. I'm here staring at a 24" x 24" whole box full of plastic and paper...just to add 9 small figures to my collection?

That's kinda on you. You can recycle that paper and plastic or even just pack down your waste. I'm sure with a minimum of effort most of your garbage could be shrunk smaller than a 2' x 2' box.

That's kinda on you. You can recycle that paper and plastic or even just pack down your waste. I'm sure with a minimum of effort most of your garbage could be shrunk smaller than a 2' x 2' box.

I really thought the OP was going to ship his friend somewhere and was looking for advice on how to box him up. Oh well.

Compared to the "crate of styrofoam peanuts" my games get shipped in, I'm hardly concerned about the amount of packaging for IA. I'm buying an overpriced lump of plastic, I'd like for it to get to me in one piece. You can't vacuform cardboard, so there really isn't a good substitute that I'm aware of that can be easily, quickly, cheaply produced that holds the miniature snugly in place.

I really appreciate this thread. My wife and I have spent a good amount of time working with local NGOs trying to reduce the amount of singe-use plastics in our community. We live on the coast and find ridiculous quantities of plastic (especially small fragments) on the beach. So needless to say that when my recent christmas present to self included waves 4-7 I got a pretty dirty look from my wife when I created a full trash can of plastic. I totally appreciate the need to protect our miniatures but there are so many alternatives to plastic these days that provide equal protection. Many of them look and feel just like plastic! FFG just needs to know that this is important to their customers. Here's some info about some of the alternatives:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-tech/sustainable/5-plastic-substitutes.htm

The only thing wrong with the blister packaging is that you need dynamite to get the stupid things open.

thats the best part! everyone loves risking their lives to get at their toys!

id like FFG to start improving their big box packaging, a cardboard insert using most of the space for voids causing models to be damaged in transit and it is just naff. Of all the big boxes I've bought from FFG most have had models delivered with at least one model damaged/broken or suffering from stress marks other game systems come with trays (usually made of plastic unfortunately) that offer much better protection to the models. Look at the Walking Dead All Out War box for example, that came with a lot of models but each was in a little cradle and was well protected, couldn't complain about that product at point of delivery!

There is of course the option to make sure to recycle the plastic from the packs rather than to toss it in the general waste. That's why I do (the former that is).

There is of course the option to make sure to recycle the plastic from the packs rather than to toss it in the general waste. That's why I do (the former that is).

Unless something's changed, the packaging FFG uses is not recyclable. I've never noticed the recycling emblem on any blisters.

If you buy these toys online the packaging makes no sense. If you sell these toys in a brick and motor store, it makes perfect sense. You're not meant to easily open it up to steal the figure or for that package to be so small it can easily slip into a pocket. So yeah, you get to buy a lot of air with that figure.

Also, FFG's manufacture has pretty standard packing and while one size doesn't fit all, they only have a few sizes to choose from. So a small figure seems silly in a big package, but that big package is meant to handle smallish figures and medium sized figures. Packaging is a part of the manufacturing cost and FFG seems to have worked with their manufacturer to streamline that process a lot to save costs.

What is really needed are better ways to recycle and dispose of the plastic we use, which is a lot.

What is really needed are better ways to recycle and dispose of the plastic we use, which is a lot.

What is really needed are better ways to recycle and dispose of the plastic we use, which is a lot.

Which really depends on where you live. In some places separating your paper and plastic (and other things) out of the rubbish is expected - and the infrastructure is there to do it without much effort. Other places it is not the case.

Ex-Red Guards root through my bins and pull out the plastic to sell for recycling. I keep meaning to ask how communism worked out for them, the ******* ***holes. I wonder if it ever bothers them that they burnt 5,000 years of their civilisation's history so they could get the chance to root through a foreigner's trash to buy rice.

Huh?