Modelling Withdrawal Begins:

[John Howling Mouse]

In preparation for our pending move, I've been packing up the stash of unbuilt kits.  A little more than halfway done now and already, I can sense the inaccessibility of all those little bits and pieces I just know I'll need for anything already in progress.

So, for the next couple of months, I think I'll be relegated to building only Out Of The Box subjects.  Biggest What If aspect might be limited to different paint schemes and markings than original (which is good since I can never get it authentic/correct, anyhow!).

What I noticed was just how antsy it made me feel to pack up unbuilt model kits: a sure sign of just how important this bizarre little hobby is in my bizarre little life.

When moving, many people have those last two or three "Do Not Bury" boxes for critical items that they'll need right up to the last minute before leaving home.  Mine will contain modelling tools, paint, and whatever OOB subjects I'll be working on up to the minute the movers ring our bell!

[cthulhu77]

Yeah, I am looking forward to moving with all of the enthusiasm of having another broken nose.
 Hope yours goes well...and I am sure your OOB's will be just as great as always.

[B777LR]

and we expect a photo of every single model as you unpack them all  ^_^  

[Daryl J.]

Oh do  I have to show Mrs. J. these pictures!   Most of Ye Olde Stash is boxed up too but there is not this much......


Daryl J.

[kitnut617]

I know that feeling, I've just been through it myself this last couple of months.  All my models and stash is in storage now.

How do you post photos here so that I can show you how I packed my built models?

Robert

[John Howling Mouse]

How do you post photos here so that I can show you how I packed my built models?

Robert

Go to www.photobucket.com and set up a free account for yourself.  For free, it's a pretty good archive size they allow.  You can upload any jpg regardless of filesize but you're best to keep your images to under 200KB (over a certain filesize the image gets automatically re-sized, anyhow).

When you want to post a pic on What If (or other websites), simply have both the Photobucket website and your target website open at the same time.  Single-click on the lowest code field under the image you want to copy and paste; it's called "IMG Code" on Photobucket.  

The image code is automatically copied (if this single-click feature doesn't work for you, simply highlight the image code and do the good old "Ctrl + C" command to copy it).

At your target site (for example, the What If site), when you're typing in your text, simply Ctrl+P to paste the selected image from Photobucket wherever you want it within your text description.  You can paste in multiple images on the same text entry, too.  Would suggest not going beyond about 200 KB per image, anyhow, as some people at What If are limited to dial-up and they get grumpy if the filesize of the image is too big.  I usually try to keep my own uploaded images to about 12 inches wide so they'll easily fit on most people's monitors, anyhow.

[philp]

John,
Good luck with the move.  From past experience, putting Fragile on a box guarantees it gets dropped or put under the China or something.  I have also had a few boxes of built kits disappear during a move.  You may want to number the boxes as a system check.

Pick up some of the Hobby Boss kits, that should give you a little fix. (wish I could find some around here).

[Brian da Basher]

Best of luck with the move, Mr Howling Mouse! I hope it all goes smoothly for you, Ms. Hitler, and The Spawn™.

Not only does your gigantic stash make mine look teensy, but I have a feeling your OOBs will out-class my best whiff surgery as well. Needless to say I can't wait until you're all settled and able to get back to building those amazing models!

Brian da Basher

[kitnut617]

How do you post photos here so that I can show you how I packed my built models?

Robert

Go to www.photobucket.com and set up a free account for yourself.  For free, it's a pretty good archive size they allow.  You can upload any jpg regardless of filesize but you're best to keep your images to under 200KB (over a certain filesize the image gets automatically re-sized, anyhow).

When you want to post a pic on What If (or other websites), simply have both the Photobucket website and your target website open at the same time.  Single-click on the lowest code field under the image you want to copy and paste; it's called "IMG Code" on Photobucket.  

The image code is automatically copied (if this single-click feature doesn't work for you, simply highlight the image code and do the good old "Ctrl + C" command to copy it).

At your target site (for example, the What If site), when you're typing in your text, simply Ctrl+P to paste the selected image from Photobucket wherever you want it within your text description.  You can paste in multiple images on the same text entry, too.  Would suggest not going beyond about 200 KB per image, anyhow, as some people at What If are limited to dial-up and they get grumpy if the filesize of the image is too big.  I usually try to keep my own uploaded images to about 12 inches wide so they'll easily fit on most people's monitors, anyhow.

Thanks JHM,

Hope you don't mind me posting a couple of pics on this thread (I'll start my own thread shortly on how I packed my models)

I had to pack mine carefully because I wasn't just moving them, they had to go into storage for a while.

Here's a box of about 40 models, mostly Spits, Mustangs, Tempests, Sea Furys, Typhoons:



I did it in a couple of layers:





The biggest problem was my big models, B-36, B-52 etc.  I had to do it a different way like this.



and made a few layers like this:



which went into a box like this:

[Brian da Basher]

Wow is that ever smart, kitnut! You must be some kind of hot-shot engineer to come up with that! My hat is off to you for your ingenuity. Rest assured, should I ever move, I'll be thinking of your packing methods.

Brian da Basher

[Radish]

Golly!!!  

[Damian2]

Holy soft brown smelly stuff that's alot of models!

[kitnut617]

Yes I had to pack about 250 built models, and my boxes of un-built models rivals JHM's.

The toughest ones to pack were the late jets as I have all the wing pylons loaded to the nuts, so I had to make a decision to deliberately break off the outer pylons so the wing tips would fit into the slots I made in the styrofoam.

But while packing them I noticed something that hadn't been very obvious to me, there's a lot of aircraft which have the same overall dimensions to them which made it easier to pack when you put them into similar groups and it didn't matter if it was prop planes or jets.

In total I have about ten boxes of built models, the big box is 30" x 31" x 29" high (I had to make sure I could get it out the door), I've three or four which are a regular moving box size of 18" x 18" x 18" and the rest are the size in the top photo here, 21" x 12" x 13H"

[BlackOps]

Kitnut, thank's for sharing the pics, great idea for packing (which I hope to never do again!)

Barry, have you already rented the armored cars to transport the stash?    

[dragon]

John.
    Have you ever thought of writing about model packing methods (and perhaps by the grace of the moderators, having it pinned)?  I do like the way you packed away your "Air Force". B)