So, I’m going off to college next fall, and I’m not bringing my entire collection of Bionicles to the dorm. I’ve got roughly seventy, and I need to start thinking of a way to store them safely (i.e., I don’t want pieces to mysteriously break) while they’re not under my ever-watchful eye. Unfortunately, don’t have REMOTELY the same number of canisters as sets, so cramming them into those and then a larger box isn’t a majority option. Ideas? Any of you had this problem before?
Before it’s asked: Why don’t I just leave them up in my room? People move. In fact, my parents are hoping to move soon after I’m away (a story for another time). If they’re packed up, my parents won’t have to ask me to come home over a weekend to deal with them. Plus, they’re not collecting dust if they’re packed up.
Some plastic wrap brands have fairly strong adhesives. I’d say just wrap’em in this
then put them in a cardboard box with some kind of filler (or just stack them like bricks)
just bare in mind that I haven’t tried this before…
I usually put each one in it’s own plastic bag, and then put them all in a big box. That way if they get a bit disassembled, all their pieces are still together in the bag.
Recently I moved, and this is how I stored my collection before the move:
I put all the canisters in one box lengthways (with the gap at the end being filled up with more canisters), and then putting similarly shaped ones (Toa mata/Nuva, Piraka) in first, then more squarish ones (Inika, Glatorian), then finally the 2008/9 matoran on top.
The cardboard boxes can be stored as they are, but if you insist on them being stored together, then put them in a large box and then seal it.
For loose figures, put them in another plastic container, and put the more fragile/complicated ones towards the bottom and the top, while the stronger/more frequent/similarly built ones go in the middle.
The original canisters and some plastic boxes have worked well for me.
I can just give you the advise to be careful how you store the longer, thinner pieces, like weapons, though. When I first stored my Bionicles in their cansisters, I often just put the whole assembled figure in there - years later, when I took them out again, some of their weapons were pretty bent.
So now I disassemble the figures entirely, before packing them and parts that could bend easily I put on top - or if the bottom of the container is flat and big enough, I put them there and everything else on top.
I think you’re on the safest way, if you disassemble them completely (except if they have '08 ball sockets, that aren’t already broken, maybe). That way you can also fit more into one box/canister.
For example I could put The Nui Jaga, Nui Rama, Boxor, Exo-Toa and both Bahrag fully disassembled into a 5l box. And there’s still room for three Matoran or so. And that box just takes up the space of perhaps 2 post '06 canisters
I’d say a combination of what @TheRed1s and @PekekoaOfJungle suggested would be the best. I personally have large plastic tubs holding my sets/pieces, but if I were moving, having each set in its own bag combined with packing peanuts or another moving material would seem like the best bet to keep them snug, complete, and unbroken.
