My wargame table is designed with shelving underneath. I put underbed
storage boxes under the table on the shelving.
I use a 41 quart
underbed storage boxes by Sterilite to hold most of my collection. First I
put in a shelf liner, it is a sort of plastic mesh, then on top of that I
line the box with corduroy fabric with the lines running parallel to the
length of the box. The shelf liner keeps the corduroy in place. The corduroy
lines keep the vehicles from rolling around in the box. I put a 3X5 card
with the contents marked in large marker at the end of the box, in letters
large enough to read from ten feet away. I have over 100 of them.
I
also use the taller, 56 quart box. It is much taller and it allows me to
store my larger buildings and much of my 60mm stuff goes in them too. These
are lined the same way as the underbed storage boxes.
A couple years ago
I got two resin/plastic storage sheds with extensions, they are outside the
house on a concrete driveway used by the previous owners of the home for
their motor home. I weigh each box and place the weight in pounds on a
sticker and it goes on the outside of the box, near the
label of contents.
Boxes are stacked with the heavy ones on the bottom and light ones on top,
no more than eight high. No box is more than 15 pounds and most are about 7
pounds.
It is a lot of work and expense to get it all set up, but it
keeps the collection insect, spider and rodent free. I used to use cardboard
boxes but after several water leaks, mouse attacks and spider and June bug
invasions, I took the plunge and my whole hobby budget for the year went to
upgrading
the storage. It was well worth it, and because I store on site I
don't have to go anywhere to get anything and I don't have to pay a monthly
fee either.
It also makes finding the collection much easier. I am
still working on the project, I need a few more boxes. Usually I have
purchased them on sale at Target or similar retailers, the corduroy I got on
sale from Joann's. The storage sheds came from Loews, my wife and I put them
up in a day. It does get hot in there, I am investigating solar powered fans
to keep the air moving.
My tens of thousands of unpainted soft
plastic figures are in Tupperware type plastic boxes in my attached garage.
They are kept inside a chest of drawers and cabinet designed specifically
for that purpose. Despite being kept away from UV light and temperature
extremes, some of the older figures
have still gotten brittle. Mostly
Airfix, and Esci, in the 30+ year old range. Some of my older figures are
just fine however, even cheapies like Giant of Hong Kong that are 40 and 50
years old. I suspect it is as much in the plastic formula used as it is in
their storage.
