Raving Toy Maniac

- HERO DEPOT -

So, you've carefully bundled your entire collection and catalogued each item in the process... now, where do you put those bulky boxes? Fear not my plastic-packing-pupils, there are many creative ways to display a nice box collection!

Keep Your Eyes Peeled: To begin with, pick a dry spot away from any heating or cooling vents. Your goal is to: (a) Avoid extreme heat which will dry-out the box and cards inside making them brittle   (b) Avoid extreme humidity which will warp or dry-rot the cards.   (c) Still maintain a climate controlled atmosphere. Keep away from "high-traffic" areas also. Because no matter how well you pack your boxes, the shear weight of the contents is enough to bend the delicate cards if the box takes repeated dives from time to time. An unused closet is the best place to store your figures as these places are virtually free of the hazards stated above.

Streamline Stacks: As I've said before, I personally prefer U-Haul boxes to store my figures and accessories in. They're affordable, sturdy, come in many sizes and you can stack them in a uniform manner. Stack the boxes according to their sizes. By this I mean keeping a uniform dimention of the stacked column. Keep the heavier boxes at the bottom so each box you stack gets progressivly lighter.

Using this method will reduce the effects of gravity over time from crushing the bottom boxes. Be sure to stack each column flush along side the other for added support. When storing on shelves, pick the lighter boxes and make sure the shelf is as wide as the entire bottom of the box for support. Don't let the box extend off the shelf.

Words of Wisdom: On a final note, try to keep figures of the same assortment in the same boxes and LABEL THOSE BOXES!! Unless you have a photographic memory, they all tend to look the same to most of us. It will also save you from having to repeat this bothersome process (not to mention cleaning up a gargantuan mess) when you're seeking a particular figure!

Pristine Plastic | Keeping Track | Loose Figures | Display Cases & Shells Packing | Storage Back to the Beginner's Guide To Collecting Action Figures