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I know I am far from the most active user here, but I dropped out of 40k around 2012 to pick up some other games. Sorry if this is in the wrong place.

My house is being foreclosed on by the bank right now, and my family and I are preparing to leave as soon as possible.
Most of our stuff is ready to pack/donate as soon as we are formally kicked out, except for my collection of minis.

I'm guessing I've accumulated over 500 40k models as well as a bunch for other games.
In total, I would estimate that I have around 400 regular minis (I had IG and some 'nids, what can I say?), 120 'large' models (terminators, Orgyns, etc), and about 35 larger vehicles/walkers.
Luckily, no superheavies/titans, but several terrain pieces (all smaller than 12" x 12").
To add to that, I have about enough bits and unclipped sprues to fill an 18 gallon bin (to a low density), as well as ~40 battletech 'mechs (about the size of a space marine) and maybe 8 20mm tanks (think about twice the size of flames of war)

Right now, I have enough space for ~200 of the regular minis and most of the vehicles. Do you guys have any suggestions for what I can do to safely store/transport everything else?

I don't know exactly how much time my family has (a bit over 1 month according to the bank), but once we're out, we have no way to get anything back.
Obviously, I'm not able to place some big order with Sabol/Battlefoam/etc. because of my current situation, so it's already out of the question.
I'm looking at hot gluing some foam to a storage bin right now, but it seems awfully fragile.

For the smaller models get plenty of show boxes and paper towels. you lay in the paper towels for the first layer and then load in the minis in rows. When that layer is covered up ad in another layer of paper towels and repeat till the show box is full. These might also work with the bulky models. With the vehicles, look into storage bins that are low but have a large area to put in a many vehicles or larger models/terrain. And finally for the sprues another storage bin might be in order.

I hope this will help a fellow hobbyist.

Wish you had enough time to order those mini storage boxes Neal sells through the warstore. Holds 66 models and then you have leftover foam that you could use to juryrig another case or pad a box for bigger minis.

Any chance you could find a large section of that egg carton like foam and make some ghetto foam to hold you until you can find a better solution?

I'm really sorry to hear about your current situation. I can only imagine how horrible it is.

I would look at what Danno said. You can also use egg crates in a pinch. Or bubble wrap in a box. You can also try to talk to the FLGS and see if they would be willing to hold onto them for you for a while.

Good luck man, I hope it all works out.

Sorry to hear about your situation.

I find most of the stuff fits in box files or similar easily enough, and layered with foam/towels/bubble wrap should hold fairly well. I wouldn't go for much deeper boxes to avoid issues with the weight, but 2/3 layers of models should be fine.

Depending on how attached you are to them, it might be a good opportunity to thin down the collection a bit since 40K stuff has a pretty high resale value. If you've got a game store locally they might let you trade in against foam cases for the stuff you prize most.

Sorry to read about your circumstances. I'm on my mobile at the moment but if you do a search on my threads I have developed a case and this should be more than enough for you and extremely convenient as it's in one case.

Pm me if you're interested and I will do a cheap deal for you and should be there next week.

Edit: here you go http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/591968.page

Go to stores you know, and ask for boxes and packing peanuts. That will hold your behicles and terrain.

Infantry can get wrapped up in rows in bubble wrap.

In the past I've used a simple cardboard box and packing foam (packing peanuts/foam shapes etc...). I also strongly advice the use of layers of paper between each "layer" of models. That acts like a rough base and stops models on top squashing down on models underneath; be generous but not extreme with the packing foam and you should be fine.

So long as you're careful when you take them out again (spiky bits will get stuck on foam - but its light and shouldn't cause any damage unless you're pulling them out the box rough).

It's likely the cheapest approach and you can get a lot of it for free - boxes from most retailers - packing foam is the only thing you might have to hunt around for; but ask at stores to see if they have any spare and you might get lucky. Gardencentres might also know of some supplies (its sometimes used for helping provide a more free draining mix in potting up plants). Heck last time I did it I was using packing foam that I'd saved up and simply stored from things I'd ordered online (although these days the cheaper "air bags" are more popular for many goods)

A large rubbermaid style tub or two with alternating layers of either bubblewrap, or eggshell foam and miniatures will transport all your miniatures with minimal breakage. Just put the heavy/large stuff at the bottom. I knew a guy with a tyranid horde army that used this as his standard mode of transport.

You can buy a foam mattress pad from your local big-box store to get eggshell cheap. Something like this:
http://www.healthykin.com/showproduct.aspx?ProductID=159&SEName=eggcrate-foam-mattress-pad&gclid=CPmng6Org74CFe87MgodsysAfQ

However, for the amount of stuff you need to move, a roll of bubble wrap may be the option.

Best of luck whatever you decide. Sorry about the circumstances that made this necessary.

Paper towels and random boxes should be a quick, cheep fix. Not the best, so be careful when moving, but can be done on short notice with minimal funds. Just roll, wrap, crinkle and stuff to make sure everything is secure.

You might want to take this time to clip bits off of sprues. Sandwich/snack sized ziplock bags to keep things separate. Or invest in a plastic tray system with slots, like a tackle box or bead sorter from a craft store. But by snipping, you go from low to high density, which helps packing immensely.

Hope things work out for you.

 Nevelon wrote:

You might want to take this time to clip bits off of sprues. Sandwich/snack sized ziplock bags to keep things separate. .

I've started doing this myself only recently with my bits box and models under construction - It's amazing the space you save! Worthwhile to cut down the amount of material you have to store and the ziplock plastic bags keep everything neat and together. Bits are not normally going to come to much harm so they can pack down a lot more (just don't squash them into the box and they should be fine).

Go to a place like U-Haul and buy a box. Should be about $3 or so.

Then do as Donna suggested. Layer of minis, layer of paper towels, layer of minis, .. repeat until full.

A box is perfect as it can be put pretty much anywhere with no worries. I just wouldn't throw it around, but it will work for transporting and long term storage.

This could also be a good opportunity to decrease your collection, especially considering the situation.....

I just got rid of a bunch of stuff that I no longer use. It has been both therapeutic and profitable.

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

I'm probably going to start wrapping everything in bubble wrap, and then pad out the vehicles and larger pieces with whatever foam I can find.
As for bits, I suppose it's time to start cutting and bagging them.

I'm a little uneasy about the paper towel layering idea, but I think it'll work for the models that don't have delicate pointy bits.

I'm not a huge fan of paper towel, but bubble wrap works well. Also, if you head to your local resale shop you can probably find some sheets and such. Not any more protective than paper towel, but almost as cheap and less chance of it ripping if you're putting it down in layers.

Paper towels, scotch tape, and regular boxes. When I moved up from Houston, that's what I did for my models that didn't fit in my normal carrying cases. Only had a few banners and guns break, and they were easy to fix.

For my Titan, I used pillows, a box, and packing peanuts. It traveled in the car with me. feth the movers!

Home depot sells stacks of packing paper. No ink, so it wont stain your modles like news paper, and cheaper then bubble wrap.

Other wise best of luck, sorry to here what happened.