Storage - What do you do?

[Thanatos]

This comes up as I realise "Wow, I'm running out of space... time for a bit of storage advice!"

I have got most of the Movie Line, a bunch of G1/G2/Beast Wars from my childhood, most of Cybertron and Animated/Classics so far. Now, I only have one shelf I can dedicate to the TF fandom, so I need to make sacrifices!

I've bagged every toy I don't wish to display at the moment in zip lock bags, but I'm wondering what I should do next. Boxes? How do I keep them from being destroyed against eachother.

Any suggestions will be taken into account :).

[GoktimusPrime]

I currently have 1180 Transformers and I display them all. The joys of having a dedicated room for my TF collection (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxko8ZMpxV0). :) (the video is 11 months old but you get the idea :))

[Thanatos]

I live with my family in true poor uni student fashion. Probably got about 180 figs, and 1 shelf.

Would love a TF room but! :P

[Paulbot]

You were asking about storage right? Well, I have multiple stackable plastic storage boxes, about 10, holding my TFs, and I'm still forever running out of room whenever I buy a new TF. There would be some rubbing of figures if the boxes were shaken but sitting around they are alright. I keep meaning to go through and take batteries out of some of the recent toys that are sitting there unused (something else to consider with storage of the toys).

[loophole]

baggies, boxes and cupbaoards thats the way to go ;)

[Thanatos]

Yeah I didn't think of batteries. Most of my electronic based toys are on display, but I had better check through, thanks Paulbot.

Sounds like what I had in mind (boxes and baggies) is the way to go. oh how i dream of more tf room.

[Gutsman Heavy]

My parents are gonna get me some shelves for my birthday next month, so until then the TFs are clogging up my entertainment room.

[liegeprime]

Um I dont "store" my TFs as I too have a dedicated room for them. But I can suggest that since youve got them ziplocked individually ( good way to keep the dust off as well) try to get some stackable plastic boxes. these are available in various sizes ( depending on how many liters you like) as these wont get squished when stacked together and offer better protection for your TFs while in storage than Cardboard boxes will ever give. They come in various shapes as well - flat ( for under the bed storage) slim for sides of cabinets, or just plain bulky for whatever but at least they're stackable saves space, durable and offers good protection. if you wanna keep your Tfs from tumbling around in the boxes just buy some bubble wrap and "layer" it like a lasagna. TFs bubble wrap, TFs, bubble wrap til theyre snug and secure. Hope this helps as this is what I did when I had to transport my TFs to the new house when I moved out of my aunts place. These are usually abvailable in any Reject Shops, Dollar shops

Edit and Addit: I had about 400+ TFs when I had to transport them. They all fit snugly ( in vehicle/alt mode) in 3, 94liter plastic boxes. stacked on top of each other. NOw I use these to store my unused Lego bricks.

[Pulse]

Um... This is where most of my less-expensive figures currently reside... :o

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn204/Pulse_Warrior/Collection%20Pics/UhTemporaryStorageFacility.jpg

By the way, That pic is probably 1 year old... :o

[iceburn]

you can play stacko like me with plastic containers and boxes in the living room.... :P

[To Punish & Enslave]

Um... This is where most of my less-expensive figures currently reside... :o

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn204/Pulse_Warrior/Collection%20Pics/UhTemporaryStorageFacility.jpg

By the way, That pic is probably 1 year old... :o

Love it Pulse. I think that picy just help Thanatos solve his storage problem lol.

[Pulse]

Love it Pulse. I think that picy just help Thanatos solve his storage problem lol.

Yeah Thanatos - don't do what I do! :D :o

You can tell I take care to stack 'em carefully to make sure they don't all fall out when I open the doors... :D

[Thanatos]

That cupboard fills me with sadness. Those poor TFs! :(

[Eruntalon]

To solve Transformer rubbing problems that can't be solved simply by storing them individually in zip-lock bags I employ a technique I use to store my vintage Star Wars loose figure collection: bubble wrap.

By simply measuring the amount needed to adequately cover the length and width of the toy you can cut it to size and then tape over the loose end with masking tape. I use Tamiya hobby masking tape since it doesn't leave sticky residue as the tape gets older, and it can also be re stuck multiple times without loosing its strength.

You can then stack individual toys in boxes/containers with your mind at ease knowing that there isn't going to be any paint rub.

[i_amtrunks]

I store grouped weapons, planet keys and other accesories in zip lock bags (ie: Armada Autobots, Cybertron Speed Planet etc) and then have them stored away in a sealable container (I use the Energon tin that came with lollies in it from Kmart) and store them with the Instructions, art and cards in one plastic tub.

The rest of my figures that I cannot display (due to restricted display space) are stored in 52 litre plastic tubs that you can buy from Big W, Kmart, Reject Shop etc. Again I try to group series into their own tubs, and separate each layer of figures from one another with an old shirt or towel or something to try and reduce damage. I also only fill them to about an inch from the top of the tub as I have to stack the containers on top of one another.

[GoktimusPrime]

Use bookcases and put your books into boxes (that's what I did when I was living at home :)).

[Rampage]

Use bookcases and put your books into boxes (that's what I did when I was living at home :)).

+1

i put my books in one of these
http://www.bellbrush.com/images/bin065.jpg

[Pipesqueak]

I've read on American forums that long-term storage in plastic bags eventually causes paint damage to tfs. Dunno if it's true or not. Makes me wary of going the ziplock route though. Anybody here had any problems?

[GoktimusPrime]

These are things I don't worry about as I don't keep my TFs in storage! Of course, UV radiation and dust are my enemies now. :/ I have blinds fitted on my window which are always drawn shut whenever I'm not in there and being in a isolated room really, really helps to reduce dust!

Rampage: don't forget to recycle! :D
http://www.caloundra.qld.gov.au/website/waste/images/recyclebin.jpg
^this is where most of my Hasbro TF packaging goes. :)

[SilverDragon]

I have eleven, which I keep on top of my bookshelf. There's just enough room for all of them in vehicle mode, so there might be more if they were in vehicle mode. But I don't want to make them more prone to falling over.

I take them off when I want to play with them, and then usually put them on my desk. They make nice ornaments. :)

Of the packaging, I keep the cards for deluxes and scouts, and throw away the rest. For anything bigger, I chuck the whole box out.

[Omega Supreme]

Do what I did, choose what lines of figures you really like, sell the rest to the nice people on here, use that money to invest in every figure you have always wanted plus a shelving unit big enough to put them on. Then sit back and Marvel at the greatness :)

[Zippo]

I'm fust running out of display room in my small room. Looking at trying to get a glass display case, but they don't seem to be easy to get in my part of the world. It would also help with my dust issues.

As for the bulk of my collection, I had to hire a storage shed.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Well here is what it looks like when you start to sort through 1600+ figures so you can store them in a fashion that allows you to actually find specific toys :p;):


http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/b615/BigAngryTrev/P1020866_zps75023f24.jpg (http://s1294.photobucket.com/user/BigAngryTrev/media/P1020866_zps75023f24.jpg.html)



Right now I'm sorting them into different sized crates (from 50L to 140L) under the following catagories:

*Optimus Prime/Orion Paxes
*Megatron/Galvatrons
*Bumblebee/Goldbugfires
*Starscream and all Seeker variants
*Soundwave and Minions
*Ultra Magnus/Jetfire/HotRodimus/Prowl/Jazz's
*G1, G2 & BW Autobots
*G1, G2 & BW/BM Decepticons
*RID/Unicron Wars/Animated/Aligned Autobots
*RID/Unicron Wars/Animated/Aligned Decepticons
*Crossovers
*Decepticon Combiner Groups
*CHUG/Alternity/Alternators/Masterpiece Autobots
*CHUG/Alternators Decepticons
*Kreons
*Kre-O Sets
*Huge Buggers (Metro, Trypt etc)
*MISC


And I ever get that done I'll make a start on all the other TF merchandise I have ;)

[Bidoofdude]

Remind me to get a garage when I eventually buy a house. :p

[Jinto]

I just have a couple of big plastic tubs in the wardrobe. :p

[G1Optimal]

In plastice storage boxes and space bags

[SMHFConvoy]

I have 2 display cabinets but I'm thinning the herd and the figures that I keep are going into under bed storage containers that I can stack and see what I've got at a glance!

[SuspectimusPrime]

50L boxes. Mainly because they're only for storing my collection that's out of their boxes - and when they're piled on top of another it gets pretty heavy. They're bubble wrapped or glad-bagged, without Leige's lasagne-layering homemade recipe, and I haven't opened 3/5 tubs since they've gone in there. Accessories are mostly stored in a separate tupperware box. Dreading an eventual stocktake that may uncover a broken wing or snapped nosecones.