Keeping model kits in garage, good idea/bad idea?

[dropshipbob]

I have to find a new place to store my kits. My wife hates that they take up so much room, and I already have one room for my collection, but it keeps branching out. So the one place with alot of room that she doesn't mind me using...the garage. Thing is, it gets pretty dam hot around here in the summer, 90-100 degrees at the worst, and pretty cold in the winter, freezing/below freezing. But my garage stays closed most of the time. What will this do to resin and/or styrene model kits?

 

[Seymour Butz]

I don't think it would do anything to the kits themselves, but humidity/moisture may affect the instructions and decals.

 

[WarpedScale]

If it gets too hot and there is any pressure on the actual kit parts there is a slight possibility of warping. Nothing that shouldn't be easily fixed with a hair dryer and a little bending.

Ryu

 

[rayra]

if the garage, keep them as low as possible, avoid the killing heat / warpage.

 

[Spellbinder99]

If you must go to storage there, I would recommend actually taking all the decal sheets and instructions out of the boxes and storing them in a folder inside.

Resin kits are the most at risk from heat warping, so I would recommend keeing them inside if possible while the styrene kits stay in the garage. If you have multiples of any kits, investigate whether the bagged contents of two or more will fit in the one box.
The PL Enterprise is a classic example as fitting two in the one box is so easy.

If your garage is "seldom" opened, investigate insulating it to reduce the extremes of heat and cold.

Oh, and if any kit has "rubber" parts, make sure they are seperately bagged from the styrene parts. I have heard that some imitation rubber tyres on some kits have been known to degrade over time and discolour or even destroy plastic they are in contact with.

Cheers

Tony

 

[Chris Martin]

It's extremely unlikely that the plastic kits will heat warp unless you leave them in something like a hot car which will obviously be uncomfortably hot. Humidity change is more of a problem with decals as the backing paper swells and shrinks with changes in air moisture and this is what leads to old decals falling to pieces because they've cracked. Putting them in those little resealable plastic bags usually solves the problem. Excessive moisture around autumn time is destructive to the boxes because they soften and distort and mildew just loves soggy conditions and damp cardboard.

 

[dropshipbob]

Thanks all for the comments. My garage is pretty well insulated as is, but it's not closed all the time. We open it as needed to take out vehicles and such. A closed garage around here can equal the heat a closed car experiences. I don't know that I want to take this chance or not. I need to think on it more.

 

[clonesix]

Just insulate the garage and add air conditioning. That ought to solve it.