Hi:  We use hundreds of small four and five frame nucs for our research.
 
They are approximately 9 7/8" high, 10 1/2" front to back, and 7 3/4 to 9
1/4" wide (depending on whether they are four or five frame units).
 
We have used these in Seattle, Maryland, Montana, Idaho, and Washington.
Climates range from wet and cool, to hot and dry.  We start the units with
about 1# of bees.  Mid-summer, they are often 3 stories high, with an
additional 1 or 2 supers pulled and stored for re-feeding in the winter.
 
These units are far less expensive and can be more easily transported than
full-size hives, yet for the most part, they perform more like full-size
colonies than breeding nucs.
 
The frames are standard Dadant deeps, cut to 1/2 length.
 
We stockpile bees in standard deeps divided into four corners.  So, we can
setup new nucs easily.  We also store wet frames in long boxes, where the
frames sit cross-wise.  Add a queen and a small population of workers, and
they will keep out the robbers and wax moths.
 
We first tried this approach in Seattle in the ealy 80's.  We used small
units because we thought that our testing might irreversibly contaminant
full-size equipment.  Disposal of full-size units is costly.  These
smaller units are more expendible.  They worked so well, we now use them
in all kinds of situations, including deserts.
 
Some years ago, I found that we re-invented the wheel.  Queen breeders in
Alabama use a very similar system.
 
Jerry Bromenshenk
The University of Montana
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http://grizzly,umt.edu/biology/bees