Storing models... How do you do that?

The problem with eBay is shipping completed models. I have twice had shipped models trashed and will not mail a model again.  I remember reading of an experiment by a high schooler for a science fair.  She mailed a box with three recording accelerometers.  Everyone was amazed at the high g-readings.  Considering what the boxes looked like on the stuff I mailed with package services, I can believe it!  Only stuff I sell now is stuff where buyer will drive to my house!

Not knowing what type of models and what kind of place you live in makes it hard to say, but if I were in your shoes, I'd go buy some cheap shelf brackets and shelves and install a bunch of shelves up out of the way somewhere. Put all your models on 'em close together and cover in plastic wrap or newspaper to keep the dust off. I'm not a big fan of storing models in containers in closets because inevitably you're going to need in there from time to time for something else. Those containers will get jostled and we all know what happens then. Just my .02.

Make a long-distance move now and then.  The movers will solve your problems….  :-)

I think part of the storage question is what kind of models are they?  

For ships, I would recommend getting large plastic storage bins, put in several side by side with thick pieces of high density foam between and below the hulls (you can probably get scrap HDF at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, AC Moore, etc.).  I do not recommend putting anything above deck-level as it will cause havoc with the rigging.  Also, put some in front of the bow and behind the stern.

For airplanes, I recommend plastic bins again (if they're all the same size/brand they stack well).  I would use a base of foam again and use packing peanuts on top.  If the gear is down, you might want to build small cardboard tubes to protect the gear.  

For cars and armor, I would suggest shoeboxes with packing peanuts.

Inevitably, some parts are going to break off.  But at least they can't get away and they should be quick and easy to reglue.

Groot

80% I put my models in diorama settings in plastic stackable cases .I use a large closet room to stir them and inter change them with my large wall display case.Also use a portion in a garage to do the same.I have stored them in their cases in cold garage temps before w/no problems.I have the contest models in the wall display case.Good luck.P.S.What about the unbuilt kits?

Don Stauffer

Ah, the ongoing dilemma of the scale model builder- what do you do with them after you build them.  

Ah, the ongoing dilemma of the scale model builder- what do you do with them after you build them.  For flying models it is easy- you go out and crash them.  But it is a real problem with non-flying models.  They WILL take over your home after awhile!  It is driving me to smaller and smaller scale so that I CAN display them all.  Many modelers my age (mid-seventies) go to larger scales, as we find vision and manual dexterity tends to decline, but they all discover that problem- where to put them!

Although I have never stored any of my built models (I've never built enough of them to worry about it!  ), I would definitely recommend that you not store them in an attic in the South, especially Texas. I have seen what ambient heat will do to a kit in a car, so I could imagine what it would do in an attic. I wouldn't store kits in any area where it gets above 100 degrees F.