A recent adventure with my collection has been that of storage. Since having moved, I haven't even had the time (or perhaps admittedly, the patience) to update my index for my collection and thus the total population. However, the general idea of such is over 5,000 pieces in total. These include mostly original sculpts and models from a variety of brands, but also childhood friends, original customization art pieces done by friends, works of experimentation done by myself, very small items, and items with very fragile composition. This presented some challenges when I was faced with finding a way to quickly store and house them, with the obvious hope of retaining them all as they were previous to storage. This, in and of itself, was a very stressful time for me. Following here, I discuss a few of the storage methods I have used in the past and have heard described by collectors from around the world. Perhaps this post will be of some interest to some...
I got my first animal figures circa the age of 3 (discussed in a previous article). As a child growing up as the youngest of seven children, I imagine the storage of personal items and toys for us all eventually became a challenge for my parents. I remember all of these items needed to have a proper place in the house as well as have convenient storage options for each person. Lots of small boxes and bins, as well as plastic drawers and closet organizers were set in place. Growing up, my animal figure collection was largely kept in a clear plastic drawer set, jumbled together. The first set of drawers that I remember would hold probably around 40-50 small to large size Schleich or perhaps 30 medium to jumbo sized AAA figures (my toy collection at the time had both). As time went on and my clear interest in the toys never faded, the group of course gradually got larger. By the time I was a preteen, the drawers had graduated to something the size of triple the capacity of the above and my collection of playthings was likely around 250-300 pieces. Then, I had my moment of becoming a collector proper, and very soon, the figures moved into a bookcase for display. And there they stayed, simply moving around from shelf to shelf and eventually from my bedroom into the basement, until midsummer of this year (2022).
Pictured above is an example of my early drawer storage system. Forgive the grainy photos, they are from 1998 afterall. First drawer contains "My Little Pony" toys, lower two drawers contain my Schleich, Safari Ltd., and AAA animal models.
As you might imagine, being contained in drawers for years and being played with actively (I would not have described myself as playing rough with my toys, however we did all sorts of adventures. For instance, I remember setting up models in my small sand box, burying the garden hose in a sand-volcano, and jumping for joy to turn the water on full blast!), the models bumped and scraped against each other, sustaining moderate paint loss. The opening and closing of the drawers, dumping in and out of the drawer container, and transport of them all did no favors to the preservation to the paint work of several figures, sadly. But only 3 toys were ever lost (2 models were found again eventually, the other was swallowed by the above-mentioned sand box disaster) and only 2 others were ever broken (incidentally, doing things that should not have fractured the plastic, but did). Since then, besides the occasional tumble from my clumsy hands while cleaning shelves, the models have been safe standing on their own on a shelf. As a brief aside, I retain these models as they have been dear friends to me, but I intend to also find "show pieces" for many to enjoy the original finish of the figure as well as maintain my memories in the other model. Anyhow, with my recent move, my strategy by and large was to utilize small plastic shoebox size containers, layering models down with bubble wrap in between, and not packing too tightly. This method, I feel, helped reduce the risk of compression from weight and was a good container size to keep things organized by type in general. Larger models like elephants, cattle, dinosaurs, or Breyer horses, were placed similarly in larger plastic totes due to size restrictions. Very small models were included in plastic bags to artificially enlarge the space that it takes up (to help me keep track of it) or were placed in small cardboard jewelry boxes that were then placed inside the plastic shoe boxes to ensure that my smallest of models won't get lost in the shuffle. This ultimately resulted in lots of larger cardboard boxes to keep the smaller plastic shoe boxes organized, as well as several totes and smaller plastic boxes.
Pictured here are the same drawers. Some of the models you can make out include: the middle drawer - a large AAA white tiger in the top of the drawer, the Schleich lying down Holstein #13142 below the handle, a AAA polar bear cub and white tiger cub on the lower left corner. Then in the bottom drawer - the Schleich white hen #13126 in the lower left drawer and a AAA kangaroo to the right of the drawer handle.
I have seen the topic has been debated before and has made me curious to how others deal with long-term storage of collections not on display. Some collectors have the splendid luxury of utilizing real scientific specimen drawers. This is unique as it can store lots of smaller figures neatly and in an organized way while also not taking up much space. Some still use plastic drawers but place the models in a single layer and standing up, perhaps even including cardboard spacers or similar to keep them from rubbing. Some collectors use bubble-wrap or paper to wrap up figures, but each has its downsides depending on environmental conditions. If too warm or wet a climate, sometimes plastic-like wrappings can peel paint off figures. While using the wrong sort of paper, some inks on newspapers for example, can leave dark smudges on priceless figures. Environment usually is the largest key player though. Extreme temperature fluctuations can warp figures delicate features like legs, antler or horns, or appendages like trunks or ears. If severe enough, it can ruin a model beyond any saving. And this only covers figures with the original finish, further complications arise with custom remodeled figures or repaints. Some unfortunate collectors and collections have also seen the injury of what unsecured boxing can result in; the nibbling of insects and rodents oddly attracted to plastic, again, utterly destroying a figure. There is some debate over individually wrapping models versus grouping them together, and it seems to depend on the materials involved. I myself am not very well versed in recognizing the different composition types and could not tell you much further information on the topic. Regardless, the general idea of good storage keeping seems to be temperature control, reduced weight/pressure (aka don't store too many or too deep in one container), be mindful of the wrappings themselves, and ensure that the container is properly sealed from living invaders. Then, the rest is up to the models themselves in regards to what they will tolerate.
This is my first foray into the real storage world for my collection. I am hopeful and pray that when I open those boxes again soon, that the treasures inside will have survived the several month storage session as well as the 650-mile drive. However, only that moment will prove how they tolerated the experience. I am curious, if anyone cares to comment here: How do you store your models? What packing materials do you use? What climate are you in? What sorts of models do you have? The best way to learn how to do things like this better is to discuss methods and experiences. That way, maybe long-term storage doesn't have to be so scary for collectors.
Pictured here: My collection in storage A) examples of the small plastic "shoe box" sized totes filled with models and bubblewrap. B) One stack of the moving boxes with these smaller plastic boxes inside, upper small plastic totes contain extraneous items like original packaging and accessories. C) The next stack of totes containing the larger models. D) The last stack containing the Breyer collection (inside the black and yellow totes) and extra models for trade and my artwork tools (cardboard boxes)