Experimental storage solutions

 I've been collecting miniatures for a long time.  30+ years or so.  In that time I've painted thousands of miniatures.  I've also stored and transported thousands of miniatures and I've never found a satisfactory solution.  Just as many of my miniatures get broken and chipped up while they are being stored or transported as the ones that get damaged in play.  In fact I think more have been damaged while not in use than while in play so I'm constantly trying new solutions.  I've got everything from fishing lure and hobby compartmentalized boxes with foam inserts I cut by hand to soft sided cases to purpose built miniature storage and transport cases and I've had trouble with all of them. I've had miniatures get broken in all of them and I've had paint rubbed off by all of them as well.  Even when I store miniatures on shelves they get knocked off by pets and children and they also get really dusty.  I've even had curio cabinets fall off the wall and wreck dozens of paint jobs so nothing has worked.   

 Recently I was browsing through the jewelry crafting section of a local department store when I had an inspiring thought.  There were several sizes of zip-lock baggies that were really cheap and I thought that might provide a solution.  The baggies are smooth so they won't rub paint off like every type of open cell foam I have tried and the extra space the baggie takes up actually acts as padding. 

 The baggies come in different sizes so I picked up a couple of varieties to fit my different needs.  I found you don't want to go with a baggie that just barely fits the miniature because the mini could get stuck in the bag.  It's not that big a deal because the bag can be ripped or cut open but it's kind of wasteful so it's bet to get a slightly over sized bag than one that just barely fits. 

I experimented with a bunch of Battletech Battlemechs and at first I put them in this fishing lure case and that worked pretty well.  I think it would work really well for most 28mm human sized figures but I felt it was a little tight. 

I then decided to put the small baggies into sandwich bags then put them into this plastic shoe box.  That worked even better.  I could group the minis together and the sandwich bags provided another layer of padding and protection. 

The one down side I found was that it's takes a little time to pack and unpack the bags but not all that much compared with some of my other storage methods.  I think for long term storage this will be a cheap and effective solution.  I will probably work well for protecting unfinished paint jobs as I am working on them or if I have to set a project aside for a while for one that has a higher priority.