The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Mana Minori on July 28, 2018, 07:02:06 AM
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I have been in the process of packing up my ponies for months, and I grab these pretty big and sturdy plastic containers from the dollar store. They hold a good amount of my collection. But is the plastic safe for them for idefininite amounts of time?
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Many people with G3s are reporting stickiness on them that may be caused due to the offgassing of the plastic containers. If you are worried about that, you may want to try another method. However, I know many people use plastic containers and do fine with those.
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I have stored mine in plastic containters and I have always wrapped paper around them so nothing gets more damaged and I have never felt any sticky ponies yet.
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Yep, throw some silica packets in there just in case, make sure the ponies aren't stacked on top of each other and that the lid doesn't crush any ears.
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I personally don't believe it's good for long term storage because the box can't breathe. (I'm probably in the minority for this, but I think it's an incubator for deterioration).
You also should be wrapping them in some archival tissue so they don't rub colors against each other.
And as @lovesbabysquirmy said, you need to toss silica packets in there for humidity.
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I would recommend wrapping them in paper or a similar packing material to reduce the risk of scuffs/paint rubs.
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99.9% of plastics are not considered safe long term storage.
Plexiglass and mylar are archival / museum conservationist approved. Everything else? Nope.
That said, the ponies themselves are probably more volatile than most plastic bins and are more likely to harm each other via colour transfer, rubs, crushing, etc.
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I store mine in the same brand of containers, but what I do is use old, well-washed pale colored cotton sheets. Just find some at the thrift store and cut it big enough to keep ponies touching the sides and each other (just weaving a strip where they mainly touch is sufficient). I also store them standing upright to prevent crushing.
I also rotate out my collection every 3 months, so no ponies are in the box for more than 9 months at a time.
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I wouldn't put them in there for 9 months+. I kept my Twilight and Applejack (g1) in a plastic container together for around that period of time when we were getting ready to move. After I finally got my ponies back, Twilight had this red mark on her cheek from where something, I'm guessing Applejack's apples, rubbed against her.
It also happened with some MH dolls too.
But I think it's good for short term, idk how it affects g4 ponies though...
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Yes, short term storage only. But it's definitely better than throwing them into a cardboard box and throwing them into the garage... :D
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Yes, short term storage only. But it's definitely better than throwing them into a cardboard box and throwing them into the garage... :D
trailers don't have garages...
Post Merge: July 28, 2018, 09:59:27 PM
I have stored mine in plastic containters and I have always wrapped paper around them so nothing gets more damaged and I have never felt any sticky ponies yet.
what kind of paper would you suggest?
Post Merge: July 28, 2018, 10:04:56 PM
Yep, throw some silica packets in there just in case, make sure the ponies aren't stacked on top of each other and that the lid doesn't crush any ears.
I had no idea such precision went into storing ponies. I threw them all of top of each other, trying to save space
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no! I have stored ponies before for years in cardboard boxes and never had a problem, I have had them stored in all types of environmental conditions. 2 years ago when we moved again I thought I would use plastic tubs cause my husband was moving stuff around alot and I didn't want him to crush my ponies (so I didn't want him to put heavy stuff on a box that would crush). When I went thought the ponies about a year later I found many have gone sticky, I am devastated about this. All my ponies that are stored are back in cardboard boxes. I wouldn't recommend plastic tubs to anyone due to my experience. To many ponies went sticky for me to but it down to chance, I think it was the plastic tubs, it doesn't let air flow properly
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I've got my ponies in plastic boxes with holes for ventilation. They are pilled on each other, been a year and nothin' happened :blush:
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Maybe it depends on how perfect you want them to come back out?
It doesn't matter what you store - if you want something to come back out in the same packed away condition you have to take some measures to ensure that is the case.
Plastic is not the best option - unless you ventilate the box and store the ponies in acid free tissue paper. But then again, if its all you have, then you just have to make it as ideal as possible for your situation. The amount of time they will be stored, the atmosphere conditions of where you live are also large part of what you actually have to put in place.
As Baby Sugarberry says, you may encounter more issues with ponies causing issues with others stored in the same place than the plastic box itself.
If you want them to come back out as perfect as possible - wrap them in acid free tissue paper, ensure to wrap hair around legs and protect each by having tissue paper between hair/body. Ventilate the box and line it. Store the box in a place which is not subject to great differences in humidity/temperature and ensure to check on them (rotate them) regularly.
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There is no "saving space" when you want to properly archive a collection. It's a LOT of careful packing and consideration.
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Maybe it depends on how perfect you want them to come back out?
It doesn't matter what you store - if you want something to come back out in the same packed away condition you have to take some measures to ensure that is the case.
Plastic is not the best option - unless you ventilate the box and store the ponies in acid free tissue paper. But then again, if its all you have, then you just have to make it as ideal as possible for your situation. The amount of time they will be stored, the atmosphere conditions of where you live are also large part of what you actually have to put in place.
As Baby Sugarberry says, you may encounter more issues with ponies causing issues with others stored in the same place than the plastic box itself.
If you want them to come back out as perfect as possible - wrap them in acid free tissue paper, ensure to wrap hair around legs and protect each by having tissue paper between hair/body. Ventilate the box and line it. Store the box in a place which is not subject to great differences in humidity/temperature and ensure to check on them (rotate them) regularly.
could I get the tissue at a craft store, like Michael's? And I need to tissue the hair separately from the pony? Or the whole thing in like one big tissue pony packet? So I seal off the tissue with something once the pony is inside, or let it breathe? Would poking holes in the plastic container work for ventilation? (dunno how that'll work, with no tools)
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What if the ponies are put in ziploc bags before being placed inside the box? That is what I am currently doing anyway.
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What if the ponies are put in ziploc bags before being placed inside the box? That is what I am currently doing anyway.
Don't close them if you do. No air flow is going to accelerate deterioration (like stickiness of plastic break down. )
It's still better to use a acid free tissue paper...
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I ordered some acid free tissue paper on eBay and cut it up into pieces, wrspping each pony with mane and tail in place. Not worth scrimping on this imo.
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Okay, so the main issues with storing ponies in plastic are two-fold; two unstable materials (plastics) in contact with each other, and the creation of micro-climates.
Let's start with plastic.
Plastic is not a single homogeneous substance. It's literally hundreds of thousands of different materials, many with wildly different properties. Two plastic bins that look the same may very well be made from different types of plastic and won't behave identically even under similar conditions. Thus it's a toss-up whenever you get a plastic bin how it's going to react (or not) to other materials and the environment you put it in. Plastic isn't a stable material. It changes as it ages, just like our vinyl ponies. Lots of things are added to plastics to make them more flexible, a certain colour, fire-retardant, more stable, easier to fabricate, etc. That mix separates and/or degrades over time, and we end up with yellowing, brittleness, spots, stickiness, shrinkage, etc. This is entropy, and it's unavoidable. All you can do is slow it down. The more fluctuations and adverse environmental factors you expose a material to, the faster it happens. Which brings us to...
Microclimates.
A micro-climate is a localized condition in storage that has a different environment than the surrounding area. Think a tupperware container in your fridge as an example. Unless created deliberately, they're usually bad. Ponies and other plastics in small, sealed areas create adverse microclimates as they break down. Sometimes the thing you store them in or touching can also contribute negative factors to their environment. When the macro-environment a sealed container is in fluctuates in humidity or temperature, this can create adverse conditions in the smaller container. Humidity is relative. The relative part relates to temperature and how much water air can hold. A sealed micro-climate can't equilibrate its humidity as the temperature around it changes, and there's nowhere for any volatiles to go.
What does this mean for storing collectibles?
Don't seal your toys in bins or bags. If you must put them in an airtight container, ensure they're cycled or opened regularly. Minimize contact between types of plastics. Store away from light, water, extremes in temperature.
could I get the tissue at a craft store, like Michael's? And I need to tissue the hair separately from the pony? Or the whole thing in like one big tissue pony packet? So I seal off the tissue with something once the pony is inside, or let it breathe? Would poking holes in the plastic container work for ventilation? (dunno how that'll work, with no tools)
The reason separating hair with tissue paper is sometimes recommended is because certain nylon colours, particularly neons, can bleed into vinyl, especially when pressed against each other long term as often happens in storage. I haven't seen this with colours other than the neons personally.
Any acid-free tissue paper in white is fine.
There's no need to seal the tissue paper, it's just a physical barrier against transfer.
Regularly opening your bins and checking on the contents will be more effective than attempting to poke holes in them. The other alternative is leaving the lids off if storage space allows.
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Oh yeah, and also make sure your pony's hair is styled the way you want it to. I've had too many ponies end up having a split in their mohawk because of poor packing...
It's a minor detail, but important for future displaying! ;)