Michael Morris
First Post
I'm looking for ideas on storing my minis in my living room in a display of some sort. Any ideas?
Storing D&D Minis when not in use
- Thread starter Michael Morris
- Start date
blargney the second
blargney the minute's son
How portable do you need your collection to be?
Varianor Abroad
Explorer
My good friend Siobharek has an old typesetter's case that he mounted on the wall to put miniatures in. I recently acquired one myself for a similar purpose. 
Wraith Form
Explorer
Depending on how many you have, a tackle box sometimes works.
My question is: (to derain the thread temporarily)
How do you get the WotC plastic minis to go back (or keep) their original shape? I have a lot of swords, wings and (in the case of Star Wars minis) lightsabers that are "droopy".
Suggestions?
My question is: (to derain the thread temporarily)
How do you get the WotC plastic minis to go back (or keep) their original shape? I have a lot of swords, wings and (in the case of Star Wars minis) lightsabers that are "droopy".
Suggestions?
JVisgaitis
Explorer
Wraith Form said:
Boil water and place the miniature in the water with a spoon or something else. The platic will be soft. Bend it back into shape.
Thunderfoot
Hero
Then immediately immerse in ice water...JVisgaitis said:
Back on track - While the obvious answer shelves was used (I assume you are displaying them) I would use a curio cabinet (a glass door style case) to keep them on display and DUST FREE! You can get them along any budgest and can get the wall mounted or the freestanding styles as modern or antique in style as you want (to match decor or compliment the minis). A little research in your local furniture shop, IKEA or antique store should fetch some pleasing results.
There are over 600 individual miniatures, and depending on the extent to which you have bought into this, I could easily see where you would have too many to display. So assuming you don't want to display them, but rather need a place to keep them where you can get to them quickly and transport a few favorites...
Go to AC Moore or Michaels, or some other craft store and buy those cheap little cases that crafters use for beads - should be like six bucks each. I like the kind that has configurable compartments so that you can create a big section for orcs or undead, and single compartments for your Blue Slaad or Iron Golem. I keep one of each type of mini in said cases (I have seven), roughly organized by creature type: Fighty Heroes; Casty Heroes; Specialist Heroes; Villanous looking humanoids; Goblinoids; Kobolds; Lizardmen/Trogs; Giants; Gnomes/Halflings; Green Miscellaneous; Purple Miscellaneous; Red Miscellaneous, Winged Miscellaneous, and so on.
For hordes of commons, I have plastic baggies in tackle box for extras that are good to pull out when you need a bunch of Dwarves or Drow or something and you don't care if they all look alike.
If they're too big to fit in the boxes, then stick 'em on a shelf, where you get to explain to your normal friends - "Why that, that is a detailed representation of an Aspect of Tiamat, Queen of all Evil Dragonkind, and no it would be far too expensive a toy for my son..."
Go to AC Moore or Michaels, or some other craft store and buy those cheap little cases that crafters use for beads - should be like six bucks each. I like the kind that has configurable compartments so that you can create a big section for orcs or undead, and single compartments for your Blue Slaad or Iron Golem. I keep one of each type of mini in said cases (I have seven), roughly organized by creature type: Fighty Heroes; Casty Heroes; Specialist Heroes; Villanous looking humanoids; Goblinoids; Kobolds; Lizardmen/Trogs; Giants; Gnomes/Halflings; Green Miscellaneous; Purple Miscellaneous; Red Miscellaneous, Winged Miscellaneous, and so on.
For hordes of commons, I have plastic baggies in tackle box for extras that are good to pull out when you need a bunch of Dwarves or Drow or something and you don't care if they all look alike.
If they're too big to fit in the boxes, then stick 'em on a shelf, where you get to explain to your normal friends - "Why that, that is a detailed representation of an Aspect of Tiamat, Queen of all Evil Dragonkind, and no it would be far too expensive a toy for my son..."
Plastic Shoe Boxes
I have tried tackle boxes and special mini holders and coffee cans. After much experimentation, I have found that the ideal container for plastic minis are transparent plastic shoe boxes. These are see-through, rectangular, tuperware-style containers that you can get from Walmart or any big discount store. They are cheap--around a buck or two per box. They are just the right size. They stack. And you can see what's inside.
The plastic minis are durable and don't need to be kept in separate boxes or shelves. Currently I just sort them into 5 boxes based on type:
1) People (I used to sort them into good guys and villains, but now I just dump them all into the same box)
2) Humanoids (orcs, hobgoblins, goblins, quaggoths, etc.)
3) Monstrous Humanoids (any bipedal monster)
4) Monsters & Beasts (quadrupeds, aberrations and other monsters)
5) Outsiders (celestials, fiends, elementals and other planar monsters)
Depending on how many minis you have, you may need fewer or more boxes. But they are cheap; use as many as you need.
I often plan adventures by sorting through the boxes and pulling out monsters that catch my imagination and thinking about what stories I could tell around each of them.
I have tried tackle boxes and special mini holders and coffee cans. After much experimentation, I have found that the ideal container for plastic minis are transparent plastic shoe boxes. These are see-through, rectangular, tuperware-style containers that you can get from Walmart or any big discount store. They are cheap--around a buck or two per box. They are just the right size. They stack. And you can see what's inside.
The plastic minis are durable and don't need to be kept in separate boxes or shelves. Currently I just sort them into 5 boxes based on type:
1) People (I used to sort them into good guys and villains, but now I just dump them all into the same box)
2) Humanoids (orcs, hobgoblins, goblins, quaggoths, etc.)
3) Monstrous Humanoids (any bipedal monster)
4) Monsters & Beasts (quadrupeds, aberrations and other monsters)
5) Outsiders (celestials, fiends, elementals and other planar monsters)
Depending on how many minis you have, you may need fewer or more boxes. But they are cheap; use as many as you need.
I often plan adventures by sorting through the boxes and pulling out monsters that catch my imagination and thinking about what stories I could tell around each of them.
Glyfair
Explorer
Having a large Mage Knight collection, as well as a D&D miniatures collection, I've experimented with a lot of things. Many suggestions here are very workable, but the cheapest and easiest method I've found is baseball card boxes. They are slotted, and you can usually find cheap dividers if you want to divide the slots into sections (often just sponges cut to the right size).
They are easy to write on or label. They come in a variety of sizes. They are acid-free, for any long-term storage concerns (especially if you use them for the cards). They are also pretty cheap, and reasonably available (sports card stores always have them, gaming stores with a large CCG base often have them).
They are easy to write on or label. They come in a variety of sizes. They are acid-free, for any long-term storage concerns (especially if you use them for the cards). They are also pretty cheap, and reasonably available (sports card stores always have them, gaming stores with a large CCG base often have them).
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