Empty boxes - to keep or not to keep

[Fast289back]

As a young lad I cut out just the cars from the box tops to the FW07, 312T3 and the 1/12 Wolf and had them taped on the wall in the basement of my parents house. Helped to liven up the blank concrete wall.

So keep the box tops with artwork that appeals to you and recycle the rest. Allows for more room for new kits.

[PeteJ]

I am lucky and have a single car garage(the house came with 3) that is my work shop. I do wood working and model building in the space.

So, what has that to do with boxes? Well, when I finish a model, I cut the top off. Date it and put it up on the wall. The different sizes and subject add a lot of interest to the walls. Other than that, I see no reason to keep the boxes. You are not going to use them for anything. If you like the art work and don't want to post them on your wall, then get a three ring binder and some sheet protectors and keep the top that way. Much more space efficient and you can thumb through it at any time and relive the joy of building.

That my two cents.

[Jeff]

nice topic, and some nice ideas on how to save the boxtops

It made me think - Although not necessarily unattractive, much of the box-art for F1, Moto & sportscar kits seems quite static, and hardly evokes any sense of speed or excitement That's probably why I'm not that attached to most of the box-art.

As a youngster I started out building airplane models, and have lately been re-collecting some of the old kits I built. Their box-art tends to be more evocative and dynamic (even without planes crashing in flames, or guns & rockets blazing), and as a kid it played a big role in making a kit attractive to me to buy (or not).

See Tamiya's RB-6 box-art (attractive, but static) compared to a more dynamic depiction. I would be more inclined to save the box-arts if they were like that. The ones I do plan to save are more to do with the fact that they remind me of a certain era/time in life. Or which are particularly good, like the Tamiya cut-away's (Mercedes C9, Ferrari 641/2 Porsche 935, etc)


contrast between airplane & F1 box-art. The Lotus 25 has its tyre treads in sharp focus, making it look like it is standing still even though the driver is leaning into a corner

[sky1911]

So far I've kept all the box. While doing some work on the wooden ceiling above me to cover it in OSB and clean out the mess, I found the box of the 1/8 Rosso WRX Ferrari 643. I must have bought and built that in the early 90s. The box is complete with everything, all the sprues, plastic bags, what have you. And I kind of keep it like that. The only box I could not find anymore is the one of the 1/8 Pocher F40 (POS with pathetic fit) that I've built around the time I did the. I remember the box being more of a cube shape compared to everything else that just seems like a flat rectangular box.

Jeff, I agree on the box art of plane kits. They are compelling and eye catching with their action scenes of other planes being shot down or dogfights or what have you, whereas car kits, for the most part, are just the car in a studio setting. But even those drawings are awesome 9/10 times.

[wixy500]

I keep the part of the box with the artwork - usually slice down the 4 corners so they can be stored flat. I also keep the instructions (don't know why...), left over decals and parts go into the Spares box and the rest of the packaging and sprues go in the recycling bin.

[gp-models]

Usually i keep a few boxes ( about 30) to put in my ongoing 43 projects, helpfull to keep dust away, but normaly i don`t care about them.

[eyckles]

I cut out the box art and put it together with the instructions and spare parts in a ziplock bag. Everything else goes into the bin

[Badi]

I only keep the boxes until the model is done. Once the kit is done, the box goes to the bin.

I have a bunch of boxes to store sandpapers, spare parts, parts that were not used with the kits. This is the only case I store a few of them. Sometimes, I change old kits boxes for new ones from the last building that are in better condition. After handle those old boxes for a while they dont stay in a good condition for so long and It is necessary to change them for new ones. So, it is recycling...

In the past, I didnt have enough space for some kits, so I used to stock 2 kits inside just one box. I cut them from the trees and stores 2 kits in the same box. In this case, I used to keep the main pictures of the boxes until I have finished the kit, but nowadays I dont have this anymore, only 2 kits that are not in the original boxes and I still have the pictures of original boxes. (Ferrari 312T3 and Renault RE30)

I store the manuals in a bookcase with plastics, just one manual per kit in case I have built more than one of the same kit and store the decals not used after finished. But after some years, I know you can easily find the maunals in the internet. So, it is a matter of costume, because I really dont need them. When I started to do this was more difficult to find the manuals on that time, but on the other hand, it doesnt use space for it, so it is ok.

So, for me it is just garbage...I recicle boxes, it goes from the old ones for new ones, but in the end, all of them goes to the bin sooner or later.

[Dede]

I keep the part of the box with the artwork - usually slice down the 4 corners so they can be stored flat. I also keep the instructions (don't know why...), left over decals and parts go into the Spares box and the rest of the packaging and sprues go in the recycling bin.

Same way i keep the box tops, easily stored, never thought of making a framed picture of some of the artwork, good idea!
As for keeping the Instructions, I find these useful for future reference in that:
On the top of each instructions when I start a model I write the date, when i finish the model, I write the date also
I also put notes throughout the instructions of paints used (particular primers, paints and clears, some paint mixes for parts, my own choices for parts colours etc)
After 23 years and 139 kits built it has at times been really helpful further down the line when I needed to look back at something I painted or did or chose to do/change, also answers the question of "now, When did I build that kit again???, I like that..

[bestbalsakits]

I always loved tamiya's box art drawings. My dad would cut out the illustration for me using a very fine coping saw, and i would glue it on black drawing paper for better contrast and then store all in map.

Don't do that anymore, but still hate it when there is tape or some other markings on the box. Ok so for 2nd hand - you know what you buy - but it is always a big dissapointment if some hobby shop put their sticker on top of a brand new item, or even on 1 of the sides. So I don't, ever.

My tamiya importer used to wrap their boxes in shrink wrap till 2 years ago. He now seals the boxes with several transparant roundels on the sides. Recently, i asked them to shrink wrap my boxes again. As far as i know, shrink wrap is best way to protect both box & contents so it will reach customers unharmed. And i no longer have to worry about stickers on 'my' boxes anymore.

Wim