Safest storage.

As I posted in another post I'm moving to South Korea and all of my models besides few that I'm taking will be left at my parents house.

I was wondering what is the best way to store them while I'm gone? I won't be back home for at least a few months,maybe more since my fiancee won't have any leave left over. They are currently all on shelves,no natural light can get to them and it's pretty stable here in regards to dampness and temp. Should I just dust them all and put them back on the shelves until I return or should I box them up? If boxing is better how should I do it? I have schleich and schleich-like brands no Breyer or Peter Stone or anything like that.

No one else is going to be going in my room other then my mom to dust or something so I don't have to worry about anyone messing with them. Like kids playing with them. So no worries about that kind of damage.

Thanks everyone

I wish I could find it, but Phil (schleich61) had a good suggestion, although it was pretty labor and resource intensive. I think (I'm not sure I'm remembering correctly) involved bagging up each figure, putting small sets of figures into smallish plastic containers and then putting those into larger plastic containers. It's the best suggestion I've heard for storing figures. I have about 900 figures in storage now (as the result of a move), but they are packed in individual plastic bags which are in turn in large plastic containers. The individual plastic bags provide some protection against scratches, but the figures aren't well protected against being warped and bent out of proper shape. I put some of the more valuable and precious figures into smaller boxes that would protect them.

I don't know if that's helpful. I hope others will share experiences with storing figures. It would be a helpful thread. (assuming there isn't already such a thread. If so, maybe a moderator could merge it.)

Good luck Emily!

Remember to put support the legs of thin-legged models, like horses.
Cardborad is fine, - the brands use it too when shipping from the factury.
And if possible, put the boxes near the floor, as it is hottest beneath the ceiling.

On thing that you should NOT use, is foam-plastic chips !!!
I did that once, and they stuck to the models, - it was completely impossible to get it all off !!!
Thus my older Schleich elephants all have little, white dots sticking to them  

I like to ship models in a plastic bag, wrapped in toilet paper , then bubble wrap, then another layer of bubble wrap, then in a box with packing peanuts, making sure there is at least 1-inch space from the figure to the end of the box. Now, that's overkill for storage.

I agree with Susanne about the dangers of plastic chips, indeed, I'd go further and say better not to have any type of plastic touching plastic figures for long term storage.
Best to pack your figures in shallow boxes, tins, whatever (which can include plastic boxes) to avoid crushing, with tissue paper at the bottom of each box, and pack figures in layers, with tissue between each layer of figures.
As Susanne indicates, where using bigger boxes, pack chunky figures at the bottom, such as hippos & bears, at the bottom, and anything with fine easily broken parts, such as thin legs, tails, antlers/horns, on top, so they won't be crushed.
Obviously then your smaller boxes can then be packed into big cardboard boxes, and stored somewhere with a reasonably constant temperature, not too hot or cold.

I've got mine in bubble wrap. Is that reccomended?

Emma wrote:

I've got mine in bubble wrap. Is that reccomended?

I wouldn't keep them in bubble wrap. I've seen cases of the bubbles melting onto the model. You're better off putting them in plastic bags then bubble wrap.

Oh no! How on earth does that happen!

Emma wrote:

Oh no! How on earth does that happen!

I doubt many (any?) of us here have enough expertise in the chemistry of plastics to know exactly how or why it happens, suffice it to say it (reactions with figures and bubble wrap or other plastics with long time contact) has happened, so best not to take any chances.

Gosh ! I keep mine with boubble wrap

A curiosity, perhaps : some of my Reislers have been kept in a box with cotton wool ( the real thing, made of cotton fibres) for over 50 years, with no problem
We did not have plastic bags or bouble wrap etc back then

  You probably know how long it takes to pack everything up again

From what I've experienced it was a heat issue. You should be fine with bubble wrap as long as they are stored in a temperature controlled location.

LeeAnn wrote:

From what I've experienced it was a heat issue. You should be fine with bubble wrap as long as they are stored in a temperature controlled location.

It no doubt depends on what type of plastic figures are made of.
If your collection is all modern brands, might be OK because modern types of plastic.
Vintage plastics, especially the very vintage (1945-55) types such as cellulose acetate was/is chemically unstable, so always be cautious with these. Many 1955-65 era polythene figures had chalk powder mixed with the molten plastic in an attempt to make the paint stay on better (paints of the period regularly flake off, which is why so many old plastic figures have so little paint left), but now, 50 years later, these figures are disintegrating - which is why I'm a bit reluctant to pay 'the proper price' for some old figures, especially the Britains 'Eyes Right' series and Timpo 'solids' (one piece Timpo plastic figures, in contrast to their swoppet types).

Thanks everyone for so much information!!
Is there any risks at all to just leaving them on their shelves? I have thousands in Schleich and other brands and I don't want anything to happen to them.

If they're all Schleich & similar modern brands they should be OK if not in too much direct sunlight - just a bit dusty. Perhaps safest just to pack away any which might be 'dust traps' (such as very textured fur) which might be difficult to clean when you get back.

I have a very old lion which is covered in dust. I can't seem to get it all off. Does anyone have any ideas?

Emma wrote:

I have a very old lion which is covered in dust. I can't seem to get it all off. Does anyone have any ideas?

What you mean by "very old"? As I see you're 18 years old, and I'm 62, I suspect we may have different ideas about what constitutes "very old".

If your lion was made since about 1975 the paints used were probably plastic based to bond permanently with the plastic of the figure, so it should be possible to wash it in the kitchen sink with warm water, washing up liquid and an old toothbrush (the older and more frazzled the bristles are the better for this job) to GENTLY remove dust from the textured surfaces of your lion.

Older figures, with older type paints more likely to flake off, have to be treated more gently. Warm water again, but very gently go over it with cotton wool buds to remove as much dust/dirt as you can, and then allow to dry naturally - don't attempt to dry it with a kitchen towel or anything as you'll probably rub paint off.

A cleaning product  (in the UK, don't know if available elsewhere, or if equivalent products in other countries) I find very useful  is 'Silver Care' made by a company called Hagerty. It is a tub of cream/paste intended for cleaning antique silver, pewter, etc., where collectors only want to remove grime, and don't want to remove the patina of many decades as it spoils the antique look. A  tub will last ages, and should be available (or equivalent product in other countries) in shops selling new or antique silver, sports trophies, etc. As just said for simple washing, apply this product with either old toothbrush or cotton wool bud according to how delicate (likely to be rubbed off) the paint on the dirty figure is. I use this product for cleaning plastic, lead or aluminium figures.

Obviously, do not attempt to wash or clean composition (such as Elastolin) figures in any way - they'll just disintegrate/dissolve!!!!!!!  

What I mean by old is that it is worn and in bad condition It has nothing to do with age!

Emma wrote:

What I mean by old is that it is worn and in bad condition It has nothing to do with age!

As you saw in my post, age has a lot to do with how figures can be safely cleaned however.

As it is now clear you meant a worn and bad condition item, but not that old (as far as vintage brand plastics and paints are concerned) then it should be OK to use a worn out (not age specific!) toothbrush to clean it. Proceed with caution to ensure no more paint is coming off than has worn off already.

I wonder if it's really dust or the white stuff that we've seen appear on some models? Do you have a photo?

Hey LeeAnn, yes I do
He is a ghost lion

Hmm, that does look like the white we've seen from plastic degradation. I'm not sure if anyone has had success getting it off - Jonas did get most off a Safari, perhaps you can ask him what he did?

LeeAnn wrote:

Hmm, that does look like the white we've seen from plastic degradation. I'm not sure if anyone has had success getting it off - Jonas did get most off a Safari, perhaps you can ask him what he did?

It surely is !
And that is ( almost?) impossible to get off

I heard it would go off with heat, but it does not work for me