yea it looks bad a** when you open up your hard case with everything fitted etc. But after one range trip you will be done.
Ingenious!
I bought a pelican hardcase that fits perfectly my carbine in its softcase. I have just enough room to squeeze in some small stuff like my glock abd mags or ear protection etc. I have yet to use my hardcase. Its big as hell and is sure as hell heavy. My softcase does the job.
You really can’t beat the flexibility of a soft-sided case that can also be tucked into a hard case, if needed. The Storm FieldPak is great. It can fit any of the two AR’s I decide to bring to the range that day using the four rows of MOLLE loops, velcro straps and barrel covers to secure the rifles in place. The hard case still hasn’t left the house, but it would be ideal for airline travel. I picked the set up from Optics Planet when they were running a 5% off anything promo. It’s been money well spent. 
Pelican 1700 case with 5 custom layers of polyethylene foam, which is much firmer than your standard pelican pick and pluck and also closed cell. Also used some 3M high strength spray adhesive.
Used a Proxxon Thermocut hot wire foam cutter, which was a breeze to work and produced some nice lines.
Is this set-up suitable for every situation you’re going to transporting with an AR? Of course not, but for the purpose it was built it works perfect.
Does any of that stuff rub together when it’s closed? I use only soft cases but I really like your setup.
Nope. There is enough tension on every item on the lid that you can open it without anything falling out, even with the mags loaded. And the lower and upper are the same way, but I see what you are saying. But if I ever notice this becoming a problem, I’ll just place another .25 inch layer of polyethylene between the lid and bottom layers.
thought i might as well throw my pelican 1720 in this thread.
Blue Force Gear is blowing out some gear including their 28" SBR cases.
http://www.blueforcegear.com/categories/Last-Call/?sort=featured&page=2