Ok gang, what do you do with the box once you’ve completed the kit inside? That is assuming you DO complete a kit!! I have boxes from kits that are done from 1986 till now. Been thinking about tossing the bottom tray and flattening out the top, or just flattening out the end-opening type.
Don’t want to destroy anything that might be valuable, but my wife and I have recently moved and we are in the decluttering mood.
She also saw the whole stash in one room–it was in several places at our other house–and her comment was, “you better get building these, there’s no more room!” I love her!
I just keep the top of the lid and recycle the rest. I’m starting to frame them and plan to hang them on the walls when I get around to fixing the room up and repainting it.
Most box art today is not worth saving… into the garbage bin they go. Now once upon a time many model companies employed some great artists to produce their box art. I cut out more than a few of those and hung them on my wall back then.
Not totally in agreement on this, but I respect yours. I think some of the newer companies are quite good, and Tamiya and Dragon still release good artwork.
Recycle them or to the trash bin. Gathering and holding onto many empty kit boxes is a recipe for a fire hazard. Ask me how I know. I had the hard work of tossing years of magazines my mother saved since the 70’s. Yeah, it was that bad. Toss them! Don’t leave it to your wife and kids to toss them for you after you die.
Thats why I said “most”, not all [;)] Tamiya’s box art is good. However the plain white background of nearly all their armor is rather plain. But occasionally something like their Ardennes King Tiger comes along with a proper full scene. Dragon’s armor box art runs from yikes to pretty good. But I think their ship artists are better. A couple of their 1/350 Destroyer kits come to mind of stuff that would look good on a wall properly presented. But in my mind, the stuff like Revell’s or Hasegawa’s original 1/32 aircraft box art, or some of Revell’s ships box art really set a high bar standard that is not matched today. Perhaps it’s a generational thing. Think of advertising for many products with painted faces rather than actual human faces photographed in later advertising. Rosie the Riveter vs. The Marlborough Man. Many of today’s kits use a CGI background with a photo of the model which, while giving a much better look at what’s in the box, just does not inspire the mind so vividly. At least not mine.
I’ve saved the box tops. 137 kits would make a pile about 6 inches high by the size of your biggest box top. One guy in the club saves the sides as well, not any higher but more shelf space. I keep mine in a dresser draw, out of the way.
I used to keep all the boxes. Didn’t take long to run out of room. Then I’d just cut out the top/art and display it with the model. After hundreds of models…it’s just too much and now I don’t give a second thought about throwing them out…unless something is really, REALLY cool.
I cut the one end of the box top off, and keep that. I toss the rest. Unless it’s a C-130 kit, then I keep the whole box. I have all the spare sprue/decals, and instruction booklets stored in them, so they aren’t just taking up space.
What Don said the ones that are thin enough I run through my shreader the rest I just tear them up, then recycle them, keep instructions I’ve got instruction sheets back to 2010. [2cnts]ACESES5
If the art is good, I will cut it out and store it in a file cabinet.
Some boxes are good for storage. 1/700 ship boxes, because of the size and all are uniform in shape, are great for storing my stock sheets of wood and styrene.
Instruction sheets? Oh I have all of mine since the late 70’s or so… and quite a few from before then… just not all of them. They can be useful on occasion.
I have been throwing them away. I have been giving all the left over parts away to modeling budds. I used to keep everything, but the stacks got way too large. I don’t keep the old directions as I have plenty of duplicates of the kits. I now just build kits OTB. I don’t do conversions or scratch build anymore, You should see the stash. LOL.
Good ideas all around. Think for now I will toss the tray and flatten the top (keeping the sides) and store them on a shelf. Some will eventually be huge like the 1/48 B-1 and B-58 and the other Mongram bombers, but I may not get to them in this lifetime.
Just cant see having an empty box stash when the full ones are in the hundreds.