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A few months ago I put my entire stash in enclosed plastic tubs or in garbage bags and put them in my attic to make space in my closet. I just realized that although the plastic may be fine, how will decals fare in the attic? I live in a temperate climate whose temps can reach 90-100F in the summertime and 15-20F in the wintertime. Was this a terrible idea? Should I move them back out or will they be fine for longterm (years long) storage?
Otto;
Take your kits and wrap them in individual regular Brown paper Grocery bags ( The Brown Ones and then in the containers. Do you have or can you get a small file cabinet.( Dek Top size) ? Take your decals and put them in Ziploc bags, making sure the air is out and make files for them and close them away in the dark. Make sure you mark on the tab, Which Model Company, Scale and Kit Number.
This may seem excessive, so if you have a large desk drawer put the decals in the baggies and then in large Manila envelopes laying flat in the drawer. Lay a coupe of National Geographics on top of them to garauntee they are kept flat.
I bought a model at a yard sale once. It was the Airfix 1/72 " E " boat( the square whelhouse one. ) It had been subjected to attic for so long the grey plastic turned green and brittle. After painting it, Believe it or not ! With a wide brush full of Testers liquid cement she was buildable in about two days.
This seemed to bring back the grey color and delete some of the brittleness. It's an old antique Toy restorer's trick! Of course, when restored they weren't played with anyway!
Otto von LindbergWas this a terrible idea?
More than likely, I would think yes.
It's not just wild temperature ranges, it's the humidity. And I would worry about the styrene. You may be underestimating how hot it can get up there.
Just my opinion is all.
Attic storage is notoriously a bad idea. At least in the basement the temperatures are close to constantly temperate. Decals can be stored in sealed bags or semi-sealed containers w/dissicants to protect from humidity. PaulE
Attic temperature is bad for plastic. Chances are the parts will get warped even before they become discolored or become brittle.
nkm1416@info.com.ph Attic temperature is bad for plastic. Chances are the parts will get warped even before they become discolored or become brittle.
Worse still, if a kit contains soft parts, eg. flexible tracks on armour kits or "rubber" tyres in aircraft/car kits, heat may make the plasticiser leach out. Best case, the parts will dry out and crack up. Worst case, if the parts are in contact with regular styrene parts when this happens, the parts will be inextricably fused together, resembling a piece of some weird post-modernist sculpture.
Don't do it. Decades ago I put an expensive kit in the attic and left it there for almost 10 years because circumstances made it impossible to build models. I had parts that warped so badly they were unusable.
I will echo everyone's message........... terrible idea that will warp, melt, crack and distort plastic/rubber parts.
Too many models to build, not enough time in a lifetime!!
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