Sunday, 2 April 2023

Storage or Display

Do you display your painted armies, or do you store them away? I respond to another subscriber question this week and discuss some of the options open to wargamers after they have painted their miniatures. I have a range of storage options available in the Operations Room, from cheap modular plastic storage units to expensive custom metal cabinets. However, there is always a cheaper option and I also have units that I got for free, and can often be found very cheaply on auction sites like eBay. 

13 comments:

  1. Interesting piece, Lee. Always useful to see how others do things.

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    1. Trust me to take the expensive option!

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  2. Good discussion. You're very like me (though I better painter). I have a garret room for my "study": two walls are lined with Ikea "Billy" bookshelves and I've put glass shelves and doors on a few for display ... now running out of space so my WWII 20mm is now in a 2nd hand Bisley. Terrain is partly on bookshelves and partly on IKEA units in the middle of the room - kitchen cabinets (without doors) that I put casters on and act as my gaming table too. My daughters and wife are not too surprised (one daughter a gamer), and certain of wife's friends are fascinated by the collection of little soldiers.

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    1. We have to use whatever space we have available. I'm just glad I have a a games room now, its transformed my hobby in the last few years.

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  3. Ah ha! Interesting topic. Your cabinets look the business.
    This subject occupied me for years. I mainly game with 6mm and 10mm figures. They take up less space obviously than larger scales, but what exercised me was how to store them so there wasn't any wasted vertical space. I eventually came up with.......Fererro Rocher boxes. Square ones about 21 x 21 x 3.5cm (internal dimension). The internal part being the operative word, since this tied in with bases sizes typically in multiples of 3cm.
    I don't currently have these stored on shelves. They're all piled on the floor. Ideally I want shelving with gaps sufficient for about 3 or 4 of these boxes stacked (roughly an army's worth of figures).
    Here's a blog post with some pics I did a few years ago.
    https://horseandmusketgaming.blogspot.com/2019/05/boxing-and-basing-or-ambassador-you-are.html

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    1. I like those Fererro Rocher boxes!

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    2. I like the idea that you have had to eat your way through a hundredweight of chocolate to store your minis 🤣.

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    3. Yeah, how can anyone disagree with Chris’ storage method?

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  4. I really don't have the space to display my miniatures. I try to store my miniatures in the lowest height boxes so they don't take up much room. Most boxes I'm using are called "Premium Box Glossy White" gift boxes. Sturdy and cheap.

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  5. The growth in the minis painted is inversely correlated to the sapce for display... storage, there's no other solution

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    1. I guess all gamer's could do with some Tardis tech to fit our collections in the available space (and, while we are at it, find the time to paint it all!).

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  6. I store them. My collection is now so large displaying them is simply not really an option, except for a few chosen pieces.
    I have a large set of drawers under my gaming table, not only for figures, but also for smaller scenery items etc. Some photos here (although the lay-out has changed since then: https://snv-ttm.blogspot.com/2015/05/storage-and-transport-of-wargaming.html)

    The bigger concern is storage vs transport (if needed).

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  7. I think I should have bought shares in Really useful boxes . I have loads. The various MDF tray inserts make really good use of all the space . My challenge is the 28mm terrain stuff - it takes up loads of space - good job I have loft space!

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