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Okies, so if all goes well, I should be moving to a new house in a couple of months. This is the first time I've had to move since starting my 40k collection, and most of the models are taken care of, packed away in foam, protected by cases, and packed in cardboard boxes.

However, some of my minis are of extremely questionable delicateness, and I believe that putting them in foam like the others would completely destroy them. The worst examples are WHFB Witch Elves/Sisters of Slaughter crudely-modified into a mix of Death-Cult Assassins and Arco-Flagellants. The Arco-Flagellants have their flails made from the Sister of Slaughter whips precariously glued on to a dagger hand with Imperial-themed blunt instruments from a wide variety of kits attached to the ends of the whips. All the connections are made by a small dollop of plastic glue, and presently they're resting in a display case.

The obvious solution for moving them was to affix magnets to their bases and keep them in a metal toolkit. Are there any other solutions or things I should consider?

Also, I recently have a niece, who will grow up into a curious child and likely mistake the grown-up army woman toys for kid-friendly army woman toys. WH40k minis are a choking hazard, and I also have some minis with significant sentimental value, some of which are irreplaceable because some of the parts used to make them are out of production. The new house will have a room that I've been permitted to dedicate exclusively to Warhammer 40k, and obviously I'll be investing in a lock for that room if it doesn't have one already. However, locked doors have not always stopped children. My brother, for example, when he was six years old, used a stick to open the locked front door in the wee hours of the morning, and proceeded to streak down the neighbours lawns until caught and retrieved by one of our parents.

What are some safety measures I should look into to ensure that my niece is not harmed by my hobby and that she in turn does not harm my hobby?

Height. Small children are precisely that. Small. Remove things out of reach of them and allow no shelves to be used that a child could climb up. My lowest shelf in my "Collectibles" room it about 4 and a half feet off the ground.

 Xerics wrote:
Height. Small children are precisely that. Small. Remove things out of reach of them and allow no shelves to be used that a child could climb up. My lowest shelf in my "Collectibles" room it about 4 and a half feet off the ground.

Good thinking. I'll need to make adjustments to my shelving unit for that. Though frankly it's not stable enough for a human being to climb without the whole thing tipping over... which I just realized would be even worse.

I use a rubbermaid track system. It is a unistrut bar that you hang shelves from. I am currently in a foreign country and wont be home for a while so I cant take a picture for you but here is a link to the items I am referencing.

http://www.rubbermaid.com/en-US/fast-track%C2%AE-garage-organization-system

 Xerics wrote:
I use a rubbermaid track system. It is a unistrut bar that you hang shelves from. I am currently in a foreign country and wont be home for a while so I cant take a picture for you but here is a link to the items I am referencing.

http://www.rubbermaid.com/en-US/fast-track%C2%AE-garage-organization-system

The one I have is more for home construction hardware than models, but once we get moved in I should be able to set up something more spiffy and permanent like that.

The magnets will work but remember to avoid shock load. Place the toolbox onto something soft during transit and don't bump it or drop it. If models do get dislodge then they tend to be attracted to other models and that's when you get damage.

Personally, I'd use soft foam trays (KR, not BF) with cells large enough to fully contain the model.


Re kid proofing - do not assume that out of reach is safe. It really isn't.... A good lock (something with a key that you wear, not just a bolt or latch) is what you need.

 Scott-S6 wrote:
The magnets will work but remember to avoid shock load. Place the toolbox onto something soft during transit and don't bump it or drop it. If models do get dislodge then they tend to be attracted to other models and that's when you get damage.

Personally, I'd use soft foam trays (KR, not BF) with cells large enough to fully contain the model.


Re kid proofing - do not assume that out of reach is safe. It really isn't.... A good lock (something with a key that you wear, not just a bolt or latch) is what you need.

Yeah, two of them getting pulled together by rare earth magnets is a very unpleasant thought. Can't guarantee no bumps or drops, as it's pothole season and space will be at a premium since it'd probably be coming in the car with me. Hmm... Depending on their ship times, KR might not get here in time. Been a long time since I last got some of their stuff. I'd better look into it soon.

Thanks for the tip on kid proofing. The gaming room will probably also be the hobby room, and so there will be things like plastic clippers and hobby knives and superglue and paint around. Probably best to seal off the whole room. Luckily that's also where the models will be stored. : D

Now I'm wondering if she'll grow up wondering exactly what sorts of horrible things are locked away in that room, hidden from her eyes.

I have seen a 3 and 5 year old build a tower out of toy prams, cots, etc. (for dolls) big enough to reach a key hanging above a door. There really is no such thing as out of reach.

 Pouncey wrote:

Now I'm wondering if she'll grow up wondering exactly what sorts of horrible things are locked away in that room, hidden from her eyes.

Let her in there to look at things and ask about them anytime she wants (while you supervise).

Don't make it mysterious or you're guaranteeing that she'll find a way in!

There is no child proof, only child resistant.

One of the perk of having my space in the basement was being able to seal off the whole floor. So in the 10 years I’ve had The Boy, he’s not broken any of my 40k stuff.


One option for transports that offers a little more lateral protection is to drill 1” holes (or whatever your base size is) into a board. Then just set your minis in there. A sharp bump might flip them out, but they wouldn’t slide. And it only works if they aren’t hanging over the edge.

It might be worth using some sort of glue and just tacking them down to something. Hot glue, or superglue might work. When you get where you need to be, just carefully peel/pop them off.