Kit storage

[John]

I'm running out of room for all my kits and accessories and was thinking of putting the kits in the loft, but in summer it's hot winter it's cold, will the kits be ok?

[Guest]

Worst thing that will happen is that the glue may deteriorate in the changing extremes. Welded plastic should not suffer but other glues, super glue, pva even Gator glue may. I doubt that it would get hot enough to warp a made up kit, if it did I would be concerned about any plastic pipes or cable insulation if it did.

Possibly the most effected could be varnish finishes which may possibly crack under expansion and contraction of the plastic and Decals may silver or fade. However, I think this would need real extremes which just don't happen in Gods own County of Yorkshire.

Well packaged to keep anything out the boxes and placed in boxes sturdy enough to take the odd knock and all should be well. I am sure there are may models stored in similar conditions that don't suffer too badly. It is a serious problem storing stuff though, I went for a display cabinet on Saturday and it will be full after a few more kits assuming that I don't put any more on bases. Where I am going to store my GB diorama, I have no idea.

One thing that has struck me though is that while visiting some of the smaller museums of late, there are quite a few models on display, not all of them of above average quality. If you have something similar nearby, maybe they would appreciate a donation of a few built kits for their collections. Certainly something I will consider.

[Guest]

Ummmm tough one this John. Ive known some people store many kits in the loft with NO problems...however these lofts have been very large and well ventilated. On the other hand ive known others store kits in the loft that are tiny and not well ventilated and they have suffered problems with things such as mildue, damp condensation etc etc.

The other thing ive known people to do is this...if storing in the loft then before doing so take the instructions and decals out of the kit and store these seperately, making sure you put these in individual plastic sleeves (available dead cheap from WH Smiths). Then if the kit box gets some damage at least the kit itself and the instructions and decals will still be fine.

Hope this helps, regards Martin :-)

[Guest]

John, i take it you mean un-made kits as opposed to made up one's ?????

[AlanG]

Sorry to link from another forum but i seen this a while ago and remembered it. Dancho's post is good

- The Airfix Tribute Forum - :: Model Storage Temperatures

[John]

Yes they are unmade kits, and I won't be keeping anything else up there like glue etc but I take on board the decals could be a problem, it well ventilated and we have photos and all sorts of other stuff up there for years and have never had any problems, I think I will give it a try and review it on a regular basis if there seems to be any problems I can always bring them back down.

[Guest]

Sorry John, I thought you meant ones built, whoops.... anyway, there is your answer, build them lol

[Guest]

I9 would say they should be fine taking into regard the other stuff you have in there John...as you say just review on a reg basis :-)

[Guest]

No, no, no, good god no........

Don't do it, really and seriously, don't do it.

(OK maybe going OTT a little but), If your loft space gets as hot as the last house we had then no, it will get hot enough to warp and destroy any kits, it'll make any paints useless and most other liquids too I should think.

The temperature in summer was horrendous, the roof space, (which was huge i'll add), soaked up the heat from the day and was like an oven.

To give you an idea of the damage that can occur, my wife recently bought a wired alarm system from an ebay seller who'd had it stored unused in his loft for a year, upon opening the box the plastic alarm box which sits on the outer wall was so badly warped it could have been designed as an action man rocking hammock. That was incredibly thick plastic too.

Ideally you need somewhere cool and dark (and dry naturally), if you are using a spare room you could get some slot together shelving racks, and store the kits on those side on like a bookshelf?

[yak face]

Hi john , i keep mine in the garage , dry but with all the extremes of hot and cold and they seem to be fine,although like some others have said , i take out the decals and store them in a plastic pocket folder in the house ,if you leave them in the kit they get mouldy and unusable. I suppose the loft should be ok although as mike has warned sometimes lofts can get really warm,especially if they were stored very near to the underside of the tiles/slates, so maybe keep them near the middle? Cheers tony

[John]

Thank everyone, I think the common theme is remove the decals, so I will do that and store them elsewhere.