Things I Learned Moving My Minis

I’ve just moved my whole mini collection for the first time and I learned a number of valuable things in the process. Maybe some of my learnings can help you get ahead of a move in the future.

1. You have more minis than you realize 

I already had a good amount of mini storage and I even made some home made transport. I glue magnets to the bases of my minis and use a Table War case to transport armies to games. However I have to switch the armies out so I got some low profile plastic tubs, some 28 gauge galvanized steel sheet, and had myself some great homemade mini transport. 

Even with all this I ended up buying a Citadel Crusader case for all the random extra minis I had. Then I realized a bunch of my flying vehicles couldn’t be magnetized so I bought another Game Plus bag and foam (I already had 1), then that still wasn’t enough so I bought another. 

In all, from almost exactly 5 years back in the hobby, I required the following to transport my built (and mostly painted) minis:

• 1 Table War case with 4 trays.
• 2 plastic tubs lined with steel sheet. 20” x 12” magnetic capacity each.
• 1 Citadel Crusader case
• 3 Game Plus bags

That represented 3 armies (about 7k points of Space Wolves, 3k Drukhari, and 4k Necrons), a few blood bowl teams, Necromunda, Blackstone Fortress, Speed Freaks, and a few other bits and pieces.

On top of that I had a large plastic tub filled with unbuilt stuff.

Learning: Plan ahead and make sure you have transport for your whole collection if you know you’re not in a long term permanent housing situation. It’s fine to have your preferred transport going to a game, but you need to be able to pack everything you have and when you realize you don’t have enough storage, your options can become limited. Fedlherr and Battle Foam delivery times are measured in weeks.

2.  Tools and Paints need transport too

Some point who are hobbling on the road have a variety of project boxes that can transport at least some of them hobbying stuff. Maybe all of it if they’re super focused on a single faction or do a lot of paint mixing. However for most of us, over many years we acquire quite vast collections of paints and tools. These often sit arrayed on desks, wall racks, or other easy to access storage. However this storage typically isn’t suitable to transport said paint and tools.

This is something I’ve been looking for for a long time. I’ve found some carts that have trays suitable for Citadel paints, but slightly too short for any of the many other brands that come in dropped bottles. The minipainting hobby is crying out for a good paint storage and transport solution that can fit both citadel and dropper bottle paints and lets you carry in the order of 200-300 paints in a single large case, along with some space to carry paintbrushes without damaging them, and a collection of other tools (X-Acto knives, clippers, files, tweezers, etc...). If anyone knows of such a box, let me know in the comments.

In this instance, I used a 10 drawer hobby cart from Michaels that was able to carry everything except my dropper bottles, which went into a separate plastic tub.

Learning: Make sure you know how you’ll be transporting all your paints and hobby tools. When I knew the move was coming up I transferred everything into the 10 drawer cart and started working out of it. I’m still working on the organization of everything in the drawers but it’s turned out to be a good solution. Come moving day, I simply wrapped the whole thing in cling film and stood it upright in the back of our minivan.

3.  Acknowledge hobbying may have to take a break

I delayed packing some of my models and hobbying stuff for weeks because I kept telling myself I was going to paint another model or two before they really needed to be packed. That resulted in my last minis and hobby supplies finally getting packed at the last minute. Moving is already stressful and while you don’t have to pack up your minis first, have a plan and stick to it. Leaving it to the last minute resulted in some very sketchy transport options for thing like Ragnar Blackmane’s head, which I’m not yet ready to glue onto his body.

In lieu of your normal hobbying schedule, there are other ways to practice many of the same skills with extremely simple tools. Sketching for example is a great way to practice freehand skills and if the pencil and paper don’t make it through the move, that’s not a big deal.

Learning: You’re going to be busy packing up your life and that’s stressful enough. Take a breath and tell yourself it’s OK to pack away your hobbying stuff and minis early to make sure everything is accounted for and properly protected.

In Conclusion

Moving is stressful even without a beloved mini collection and rows of paints. Plan well in advance. Plan as a contingency in case you have to move unexpectedly at short notice. Give yourself the peace of mind to know you have suitable storage and transport for all your minis simultaneously.