I've been using some plano cases to store all my stuff but I'm thinking of making the switch to pluck foam for my ships. I have a few questions if you all can help

What minimum thickness does the foam need to be to accomodate the ships? 2"?

Is there any "local" type stores that sell pluck foam that would work, like a Michaels, Fabric store? I'm in the US and I know it will vary by state and even city. Shipping cost's seem to be pretty expensive for this stuff because of the size i guess.

Are there any good online retailers that you have used? What is the best deal you have found?

Any other info that I should know before ordering my foam?

Thanks

I've bought all of mine from my LGS. Minimum thickness depends on how you plan to use it. If you want 1 tray to fit everything, it needs to be 2'' to fit the lambda. If you want to stand X wings up on their nose (not recommended because the cannons get caught on the side of the foam) then you'll need 2'' as well.

I have 3 x 2'', one for large, imp, and rebel, but with W4 coming out, I need to redo my rebel anyways, and there really isn't any reason to get the 2'' for them, 1'' is probably fine, though I might go with 1.75'' so I can still stand the HWKs up sideways. You might be able to get away from 1.75'' on the imps, but it'd be close, I'd measure your TIEs first.

Keep in mind that the overall size is .25'' larger since they have a foam bottom.

Rebels laid flat will fit in 1.0" thick foam (and the YT-1300). Imperials and large ships will fit in 1.5" (shuttle on its side).

A good idea is to template your ship size and look at how many you can fit on a tray. For example a tie Fighter is 1.5" x 1.5". Cut out a cardboard piece that is the same size and work on a layout on a sheet of paper so you can see where your current and future ships will go.

I didn't anticipate the growth of my collection and I'll now have to redo for Epic and Wave 4 stuff, plus what is not in a proper container at the moment.

Thans so far for the responses. The only LGS near me doesn't seem to sell Pluck Foam. I'm a home gamer anyway so i don't know many LGS and buy most of my stuff online. So with that said has anyone tried these from MM:

http://www.miniaturemarket.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=pluck+foam

The price seems pretty good and since I can easily get free shipping with my future ship orders that would be convenient

Edit: And if MMJoe is still out there on these forums his input would be great as the descriptions don't have dimensions

http://www.onlinefabricstore.net/Navigation.aspx?N=0&Ntk=primary&Ntt=pick+%26%20pluck&Nty=1&D=pick+%26%20pluck&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Dx=mode+matchallpartial

cheapest I have found. They do not list any 1.5". I bought some and was happy with the foam. Soft, and easy to work with. I think they have free shipping if you spend over 50 bucks. I just bought a sheet of 1" and a couple sheets of 2" just to mess with.

http://www.onlinefabricstore.net/Navigation.aspx?N=0&Ntk=primary&Ntt=pick+%26%20pluck&Nty=1&D=pick+%26%20pluck&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Dx=mode+matchallpartial

cheapest I have found. They do not list any 1.5". I bought some and was happy with the foam. Soft, and easy to work with. I think they have free shipping if you spend over 50 bucks. I just bought a sheet of 1" and a couple sheets of 2" just to mess with.

That is one i was looking at. The problem is I don't know if the foam has the 1/4" bottom that gaming Pluck foam has. The other issue is there is no way I can justify enough of it for the free shipping, and with MM i can toss a few pieces of it into my next order which will already be at free shipping price or higher. When you get your sheets I would be interested to know if they have the 1/4" bottom if you don't mind posting about it. Edit: Or you said you have some of it already so does it have the 1/4" bottom?

The Pluck foam at MM comes from this http://www.portablewarfare.com/products/ company and is only $7.75 a tray and I know it's for gaming so I'm leaning towards that if I can wait until I order my transport or other ships.

Go to Johanns fabric store and buy foam. Cut it yourself! 7$ for 2x15x17

http://www.onlinefabricstore.net/Navigation.aspx?N=0&Ntk=primary&Ntt=pick+%26%20pluck&Nty=1&D=pick+%26%20pluck&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Dx=mode+matchallpartial

cheapest I have found. They do not list any 1.5". I bought some and was happy with the foam. Soft, and easy to work with. I think they have free shipping if you spend over 50 bucks. I just bought a sheet of 1" and a couple sheets of 2" just to mess with.

That is one i was looking at. The problem is I don't know if the foam has the 1/4" bottom that gaming Pluck foam has. The other issue is there is no way I can justify enough of it for the free shipping, and with MM i can toss a few pieces of it into my next order which will already be at free shipping price or higher. When you get your sheets I would be interested to know if they have the 1/4" bottom if you don't mind posting about it. Edit: Or you said you have some of it already so does it have the 1/4" bottom?

The Pluck foam at MM comes from this http://www.portablewarfare.com/products/ company and is only $7.75 a tray and I know it's for gaming so I'm leaning towards that if I can wait until I order my transport or other ships.