SEARCH FINESCALE.COM

Enter keywords or a search phrase below:

What do you do with your model boxes?

15353 views
66 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    January 2005
  • From: returning to the FSM forum after a hiatus
Posted by jinithith2 on Wednesday, December 6, 2006 8:25 PM
I keep my boxes and display the box art behind the model. the other parts of the boxes w/o pics, I chuck. I keep all my decals in a ziplocked bag inside a mailing envelope with a carboard backing so it won't bend. The spare parts all go in my tackle box. it helps me keep my tiny room tidy
MJH
  • Member since
    April 2005
  • From: Melbourne, Australia
Posted by MJH on Sunday, December 10, 2006 6:37 AM

Fairly recently the empty box of a Monogram "Rascal" missile kit brought about $40 on eBay.

Makes ya think, doesn't it..........?<>

Michael 

!

  • Member since
    August 2003
  • From: PA
Posted by mjohnson on Sunday, December 10, 2006 1:47 PM
I keep the left over parts and decals. I also keep the instruction sheets but the boxes get cut up and put in the trash. Just do not have the room to keep the boxes.
  • Member since
    May 2006
Posted by MortarMagnet on Sunday, December 10, 2006 3:16 PM
I used to keep them, because I keep everything.  After a few "kit-teases" I started to get rid of them.  I had gotten my hopes up that I would get to build another________ so many times only to find a box filled with empty cut up sprue.  Now, I keep the unusually sturdy boxes for storage and put the others in the cardboard dumpster.
Brian
  • Member since
    May 2004
Posted by macla1100 on Thursday, December 14, 2006 11:44 AM

If you build a lt, then keep the box if it's big enough to store a completed model in that you've had on "display" for a while, I do with car models and I have 126 .... sorry 128 of which 12 are "works in progress" the others are "in waiting". So I some times store finished models in old boxes when I complete a new one. But the old boxes are clutter and unless you have room turf them out. If you have to, cut the box art out and save it in a folder, if you like it.

Bob

  • Member since
    December 2006
Posted by Recon 9 on Thursday, December 14, 2006 12:40 PM
 I have a system to use the box top as a reference sheet for camouflage, markings etc. First I soak the box top in warm water, maybe overnight. The paper will peel off the cardboard. Let it dry. Next I carefully cut out the subject and paste it to a standard size paper (size depends on best fit for most models you build) I use spray adhesive. The "document' then goes to a ring binder. No clutter, no fuss.
  • Member since
    April 2004
Posted by rjordan on Thursday, December 14, 2006 2:36 PM
I have been modeling for almost 40 years. I still have most of the boxes from my models. But, I don't keep the entire box. I put the spare parts in filing cabinets in small plactic containers for the different types of parts. Then I throw the bottom of the box away. I fold the top of the box at the break points and put it in a plastic food storage bag. That way, I have the top and sides of the boxtop. Then I file the top in the filing cabinet in the category in which it belongs (car, truck, tank, etc). I have mounted a few of the top, but I don't cut them. I separate the box at the glue points and mount the whole thing. That way you get the views of the front and sides with all of the info on the model.
  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: Wisconsin
Posted by pvgvandy on Thursday, December 14, 2006 4:00 PM

Well, if I ever really did finish a model, I would be better able to answer this question.  It seems that I have over a dozen models "in the works" so I still need the boxes to hold the parts that haven't been assembled yet.  Anyone else have the problem of not finishing what you start?

PVG

  • Member since
    November 2005
  • From: Amongst Words
Posted by aardvark1917 on Thursday, December 14, 2006 5:09 PM
I use a couple for brushes, files, & etc (all neatly separated), but otherwise I excise the main picture and toss the rest.

"Freedom is a possession of inestimable value." -- Marcus Tullius Cicero

MJH
  • Member since
    April 2005
  • From: Melbourne, Australia
Posted by MJH on Thursday, December 14, 2006 5:59 PM
 pvgvandy wrote:

Well, if I ever really did finish a model, I would be better able to answer this question.  It seems that I have over a dozen models "in the works" so I still need the boxes to hold the parts that haven't been assembled yet.  Anyone else have the problem of not finishing what you start?

PVG

Absolutely!  I am delighted (and not a little relieved) to find I'm not the only one.<>

<>MJH

!

  • Member since
    November 2005
  • From: Amongst Words
Posted by aardvark1917 on Thursday, December 14, 2006 6:17 PM
Of course, if I have yet to start (or finish) a particular model, I still keep the boxes they came in.

"Freedom is a possession of inestimable value." -- Marcus Tullius Cicero

  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, December 14, 2006 6:35 PM
      I cut the pic off the side panel and put them under the glass on my workbench.
  • Member since
    January 2004
Posted by mcsnead17 on Thursday, December 14, 2006 7:15 PM
 i put everything i  have started on the kit  back into the box so i know where i ended the kit only when i finished the kit then i throw the box out.
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, December 14, 2006 8:02 PM
I am at school so I usually don't have a chance to keep the boxes so I take pictures of what I like and cut out the picture and put it in a box. It is usually helpful to keep the box so you can see the finished product.
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Friday, December 15, 2006 5:53 AM
I cut the box-art from the top of the box and tack it up in my hobby room, after I get a photo to go with the documentation.  All documentation then goes into a folder....instructions, paint callout, photos of box-art and digital photos of the finished product.  Small pictures from side panels get cut out and used wherever they come in handy.
  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: Racing capital of the world- Indy
Posted by kaleu on Friday, December 15, 2006 9:52 AM
I sometimes paint my models in the boxes or use them to clean my airbrush or other modelling tools. I have kept a lot of extra Dragon sprues in some of the bigger boxes until I get bored and trim them and put the stuff into the parts bins. I never have kept any part of the box, they all get trashed. I have started keeping the instructions...
Erik "Don't fruit the beer." Newest model buys: More than I care to think about. It's time for a support group.
  • Member since
    January 2004
Posted by xsavoie on Friday, December 15, 2006 10:42 AM
You can always disassemble them and now that they are flattened,store the box top one on top of the other on a shelf.Barely takes any place at all.
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Friday, December 15, 2006 3:09 PM
i have an unused place of the room where i leave all the boxes for future reference and to keep the used sprues, instructions, unused decals, etc.
  • Member since
    April 2005
  • From: Palm Bay, FL
Posted by Rick Martin on Friday, December 15, 2006 9:59 PM
Since I build OTB I usually save the instructions (for IPMS contests) keeping them in one or two boxes. I usually throw the rest away since they have absolutely no value to me. In fact I don't think they have any real value as empties. Kit collectors would probably only be interested if they were full. "Marty" Martin
"Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons" General Douglas Macarthur
  • Member since
    November 2003
Posted by Jim Gardner on Saturday, December 16, 2006 9:24 AM
I've seen empty boxes for sale at model shows (flea markets) and on E-bay.  But I never bought any.
  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: Peoples Socialist Democratic Republic of Illinois
Posted by Triarius on Saturday, December 16, 2006 10:41 AM

They're delicious! 

Dinner [dinner]

 

 

 

 

Mischief [:-,]

Ross Martinek A little strangeness, now and then, is a good thing… Wink

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: Greencastle, IN
Posted by eizzle on Saturday, December 16, 2006 11:34 AM
 Triarius wrote:

They're delicious! 

Dinner [dinner]

 

 

 

 

 

Mischief [:-,]

LMAO Laugh [(-D]Laugh [(-D]Laugh [(-D] Ever tried them fried???

Colin

 Homer Simpson for president!!!

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: Peoples Socialist Democratic Republic of Illinois
Posted by Triarius on Saturday, December 16, 2006 11:54 AM
 eizzle wrote:
 Triarius wrote:

They're delicious! 

Dinner [dinner]

Mischief [:-,]

LMAO Laugh [(-D]Laugh [(-D]Laugh [(-D] Ever tried them fried???

Yep, with SPAM!!

Laugh [(-D] Laugh [(-D] Laugh [(-D]

Ross Martinek A little strangeness, now and then, is a good thing… Wink

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: Greencastle, IN
Posted by eizzle on Saturday, December 16, 2006 1:54 PM
mmm... toxic inks... Dinner [dinner]

Colin

 Homer Simpson for president!!!

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: A secret workshop somewhere in England
Posted by TANGO 1 on Saturday, December 16, 2006 3:33 PM
I put mine in the cardboard recycle bin. (After I've built the kit that is......)Wink [;)]
Regards, Darren. C.A.G. FAA/USNFAW GB
  • Member since
    August 2003
  • From: USA
Posted by mtollens on Sunday, December 17, 2006 8:30 PM

I recycle as well; I've had to take 20 years worth of kits and store them in huge plastic bins so the critters out in my shed don't poop or die in them!  Some are still in boxes but a majority are stacked in the bins.

 If you have a job and all of your bills are paid then you shouldn't be hiding your purchases from your spouse; keep some "mad money" set aside for your habit (er, hobby!).  It's our hobbies that keep us sane..........maybe I'm just fortunate to have a wife that supports my hobby!

 

Max

Max Tollens "plastic surgeon"
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, December 20, 2006 7:40 AM
Like a lot of modelers, I cut off the box art and keep it along with the instructions. Because my Mom never threw anything away I still have box art and instructions from kits I built in the 60's while in elementary school. Like Revell's "Flying Cloud" clipper ship. Changing to the subject of spouses: My wife told me one time that I couldn't buy any new kits until I had built at least two of the ones I already had. That idea quickly died. We are still married after 24 years so I guess buying kits really isn't that much of an issue with her. Honestly, the trick is NOT to hide it from your significant other. Compared to house, car payments, auto insurance, etc. modeling just doesn't take much out of our budget. My wife is a Star Wars and Star Trek fan. So building the occasional spacecraft for her to display is a good way to share the hobby.
  • Member since
    June 2006
  • From: Davenport, IA
Posted by Disco on Saturday, December 23, 2006 5:00 PM
Since there really is no such place as "away", I can't throw them there.  The ones I get rid of go in the recycling bin (as everyone should!); some I opt to keep to store the bagged kits I pick up from time to time.  The instruction sheets and unused decals get filed into folders.

Why isn't phonics spelled like it sounds?

  • Member since
    January 2005
  • From: returning to the FSM forum after a hiatus
Posted by jinithith2 on Saturday, December 23, 2006 7:05 PM
*inhales* I have a little flamethrower in my garage...and I uhh...
  • Member since
    February 2016
Posted by alumni72 on Tuesday, January 2, 2007 1:31 PM

I used to save the boxtop art - didn't bother with the ones that only had a picture of the assembled kit.  Then I'd keep one box end and, if one of the sides had pics of other kits, I would save that as well (so I'd know what else I wanted to buy).  Then I would paste the box end onto looseleaf paper and keep them in a 3-ring binder.  I haven't built for over a decade, so I don't kknow where that binder is right now.  But I do have all the instruction sheets from all the kits I;ve ever built.  Well, most of them.  And that's a huge stack of sheets. I also had a box with leftover decals - it wasn't airtight, so most of them are no good any more. But I would write the kit description on the back of the decal sheet in pencil whenever that info wasn't already there.  I have a couple of nut & bold wall cabinets that I used to sort spare parts, either by type or by kit.

Sadly, a lot of the boxart I kept was ruined when the exhaust pipe from our furnace came loose and spewed soot all over everything in the basement.  Even now, almost 10 years later, if I take a kit off of the shelf I have to wipe it clean, or else the coating of soot will get over everything.  I still have a bunch of the box tops...they're just substantially darker than they used to be.

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY!

Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.

SEARCH FORUMS
FREE NEWSLETTER
By signing up you may also receive reader surveys and occasional special offers. We do not sell, rent or trade our email lists. View our Privacy Policy.