Storing your stash... ?

Judging by your statement I guess putting them under your bed would be out of the question.( I have stored a decal sheet or two between my boxspring and matress in a big ziploc bag). Secretly of course. 

Being in a shed and being protected may make a differance. I would worry about the decals though. Would it be possible that you could get some of those cheap document protectors and place the decals in them within a binder? I grew up in Massachsetts and had a shed I would keep mine in, but not for extened periods(maybe 2 to 3 months) of time and had no problems.With the decals in a binder.    

Also if  your worried about the temp in the shed you could depending on how big it is put a lightbulb in there and turn it on on those sub zero nights the bulb may generate enough heat to keep the kits protected.

I am just spit balling here and probably not giving you much to go on. Hope I can spark an idea for you though.  

Thanks warlock... and yes, under the bed is already filled and so is under my son's.

Gee, why didn't I think of that? Putting the decals in sheet protectors and keeping the binders in the house. 

Humm... light bulb for heat... me gots an idea...
Some cheap insulation,
small used wood burning stove,
heat lamp or ceramic heater,
a few shop lights,
a workbench, a few drawers and shelfs,
a bunkbed for when I'm sent to the dog house,
and I have a temporary hobby room!

Gets me off the kitchen table.

Now to alter my hobby want list...

and I'll need to run the electricity...

"Honey, you're losing power to this side of the house for awhile". 

I don't know, sounds pretty risky to keep them in the shed all winter. Things tend to expand and contract as it gets hot and cold, so that might lead to a lot of warped models or at worst a lot of cracks and brittle plastic? Your just gonna have to build faster Jhande The temporary hobby room does sound like a good idea though, but if you are in the dog house and go outside, are you sure she won't lock the door behind you? I know mine would leave me out until my lips were blue, then just crack the door to tease me with warm air! Women...

Good God Jim it sounds like you took my spitball and started turning it into a snowball. I would think twice about the bunk bed though. Try getting an old Army Cot. If you make it too comfortable she just may lock the door on you and not let you back in.Let her think you not as comfortable as it looks.

If she gives you the look that mine usually gives me when she thinks I get a hairbrained idea. Give the old standby answer. If I do this I can get more kits out of your way so you will have more room. Always make it sound like you have her in mind. She knows I am usually Bs'g her but it sometimes works

 

I have kept models out in my shed for quite a while here in Montana without any problems. We can see winters here at -20 and -30 for streches at a time. I keep all of my decals in a Rubbermaid container in the house. I have had no problems with brittle or warped plastic.

 

Me personally, I'd worry about the temperature fluctuations. I'm build a kit that spend a lot of time in a garage, and it's warped really badly. maybe you could put the kits in an insulated plastic crate.

It isn't cold, per se, that will be harmful. Thermal cycling, however, is generally bad for polymers (like styrene) and high temperatures with UV are really bad. Keeping them there in the summer will be your problem. High humidity is also bad for the boxes, the decals, and ultimately the plastic. A friend of mine wound up growing fungus on some kits he kept in a very humid basement!

Thanks for the thoughts and ideas guys. I think the wife and I just might have worked out a solution. We trade in our big nasty computer desk in our bedroom for a notebook computer, that way we can reclaim the wall space. Now we buy (her choice of course) one of those armoires. I fill it with my models that I keep buying. When we finally move into our home, which we hope will be within the next year or two, she reclaims the armoire.

Not to worry warlock, I have two sheds and a camper trailor in the yard already. Before anyone ask's... Yes they are filled to the brim. I wouldn't make it too comfortable in the new shed. Besides, she wouldn't lock the door... my new chainsaw makes new doorways right quick.

Just kidding, we been together over 20 years now. We somewhat worked out a system and we kind of get along.

warlock0322 wrote:

Always make it sound like you have her in mind. She knows I am usually Bs'g her but it sometimes works

That works pretty well.  I have found that the ultimate is to trick them into thinking that it was their idea in the first place.

well you could reclaim some space by putting your son up for adoption 

Just kidding

but if you have that many kits you may think about one of those rental storage places (if money is not a major concern they keep things above 50 degrees

or if you have a relative nearby maybe they can store 20-30

jhande,

I have lots of space, so if you care to ship some models out my way...

Another good thing here is that the humidity is very low all year round. I have had several kits out in the shed for a while and when I get them out to build, no problem. The shed keeps things relitively cool in the summer too. There is a huge tree that shades it.

 

Thanks for the offers guys.

If my stash starts to bulge the doors of the armoire I'll look into shipping cost.

jhande wrote:

Thanks for the offers guys. If my stash starts to bulge the doors of the armoire I'll look into shipping cost.

 

No problem there. I come up to Massachsetts once a year if they start bulging those doors I'll just bing my pickup truck up to ya and save you some money on the postage

This thread is getting pretty funny! You guys are all so nice to offer and help out a fellow modeler like that...

eizzle wrote:

This thread is getting pretty funny! You guys are all so nice to offer and help out a fellow modeler like that...

No big, anything for a brother in styrene!

I store my kit in a closet at my job. I find that on those dreary work days I can take one out and put it on my desk. That way I can think about how I might use them and look at the kit to determine paints, techniques, etc... that will make my kit building more enjoyable. I know that most folks may not have this option but it really works well for me.

You can make more room for your models if u kick ur misses out ;) plenty of benefits...She wont be able to nag u after u spend the rent money on a few kits LMAO my wife will kill me if she reads this post...

My problem is one rooms to dam hot, and the other is too cold lol i tried a test with both, but these were with paints. In my hot living room the tinlets starting ouzzing clear enamel liquid. Im in the process now of trying my fridge of kitchen, seems to be ok. But not as cold as the guy who started this post, -20 -30 gezz, even i dont get that cold and im in scotland lol our worse is about -8 -12, not much colder than that..

Thanks warlock, but uhm... don't know about your truck. Mine would burn up $30. - $40. in gas just heading south to the Mass border. Me thinks UPS would be cheaper LOL.

Yeah, so nice of everyone willing to help me out.  

Well Sasarchiver, kicking my kids out would give me more room, two actually.
So far the temps haven't dropped that low this year. I think around -15º F or -18º F is the lowest we hit so far, been warm this winter.

Jim you have a point about the gas. Don't really know how much in gas it would take. Maybe $30-$40 in gas.

I would have to calculate the number of kits the truck could hold both the bed and the back seat of the cab.  Shipping cost (with the new postal rates) vs the gas expense. Might just be close. ( Where is the kids hand held graphing /computing device).

Glad to hear that you worked it out though. The Armoir sounds like a good Temp fix but always keep the shop in the shed idea close by. That really sounded like a sweet deal to me.

I once tried that idea myself. One of the hardware stores has a 2 story shed for sale. I tried as hard as I could to talk my better half into it. She was all for it. Until she saw it. She walked through it loked intently and then turned to me and said. "No, I would never get you inside the house to do any work".

Thus there goes her excuse for ever complaining about how many kits I bring in the house.    

I feel for you warlock about the shed.

Our first shed filled up quick storing the usual yard tools, my wood working tools, mechanic tools, air compressor and workbench, torches and other crap in it. My wife wanted me to sand down some furniture and refinish it. Well, it was cold and windy out at the time so I fired up the belt sander in the kitchen. The next day she came home from Sears with a 10' x 13' metal shed and said - "this should be big enough to re-do the furniture in, one piece at a time at least". Well, I refinished some furniture before she started taking over and storing stuff in it. I have a little space left to work in there, but I lost most of the shelf space.

I can't wait till I get my own garage again, yes this mans territory, no woman allowed.
Dang... never thought I'd hear myself say that, I must have been married too long or I'm getting too old. 
My wife thinks I'm nuts... she looked at the blueprints and said - "it looks like the garage is much bigger than the house!". I reassured her that I designed it "just" the right size for "our" needs. 

Woman, they just don't have their priorities in order. 

i ask you jhande   what kinda stuff is she saving in those sheds(THAT IS MORE INPORTANT THAN MODELS)

Well, we went from a good size 7 room house to a small 5 room mobile home. So we're storing furniture, clothing, books, small kitchen appliances, some kids toys, holiday decorations, collectables,... hey wait... that junks not more important than my model stash!

Most of the stuff was fairly new and expensive, so she didn't want to throw it away and a shed is cheaper than a storage room. She wants all that stuff when we finally get our home.

Actually, now that I think about it... probably one third is my tools.

Oh Jim this thing was a beauty too. It was 2 stories. There was plenty of room for all the usaul yard tools and storage just on the bottom floor alone. The upstairs would have been mine. I had a buddy of mine who is an engineer look it over and told me we could wire and plum the thing from the existing house. The thought of a model room with maybe a half bath and wired. Could have been a mini house all to its own. That was my downfall. I should have never tipped that card til it was to late.

Yes the Garage is man's territory. The only problem is mine is attached to the house. So my wife thinking it is attached her stuff can slowly make its way there. If you are going to get the garage get it free standing away from " her domain" or things will start popping up in there that are not yours.

 

I already went through that ordeal of a garage being my place and not a place for her things. After all, she had the basement, attic and most of the rooms in the house. Garage was mine!

See, I planned ahead... just in case I don't get a dedicated hobby room in our future house, I planned for an in-law apartment above the garage. She likes that... but she forgot... the garage is mine! 

My wife is pretty decent about things that I want though. As long as the family is taken care of first, then no problem.