Is there a point to bookshelf cases?

[Mudkip Orange]

Somethin' that keeps buggin' me.

 

If I have a case from Kato, or MA, or GM, it has foam in the bottom, and it has foam that surrounds your train, but there's no foam attached to the front cover. This wouldn't matter if you stacked cases like plates, but obviously the idea behind a "bookshelf" case is that you will stand it up on its end on a shelf. It might even lean forwards, since books on shelves tend to lean slightly one way or the other.

 

Over time, won't this result in chipped paint/etc, since there's no cushioning? The Kato cases at least have a soft vinyl covering, but the Greenmax cases are brittle gray plastic.

 

I'm wondering if I shouldn't put, say, weatherstripping on the inside of the front covers.

[Densha]

My MA cases came with some plastic foil but indeed it could have been better.

Edited October 4, 2013 by Densha

[JR 500系]

Hhhmmm good question. Thought about that too.. Perhaps because of that, Kato cases come with a default strip of bubble wrap for this purpose? The bubble wrap is below the plastic sheet, so perhaps it's used to 'cushion' the train models while the case is standing right up... 

 

I cut pieces of bubble-wrap for ALL my bookcase models, so that there is 'cushion' for them to lay on while standing upright. 

[katoftw]

Unless the locos are moving around inside the case, I doubt you'll have any issues.

[John k]

Actually, i like the bookshelf case concept.  When you consider how many different size boxes we have to accommodate with our US N-scale equipment (from the small jewel boxes from MT and early N-scale to the large boxes that Athearn uses for their Challenger and Big Boy steamers that are like 80% foam and 20% locomotive....logival storage can be difficult 

 

The bookshelf boxes used by Kato, Tomix and Microace are a perfect way to store trainsets...and will be better once i can get some dedicated bookshelves just for them alone!

[Mudkip Orange]

Hhhmmm good question. Thought about that too.. Perhaps because of that, Kato cases come with a default strip of bubble wrap for this purpose? The bubble wrap is below the plastic sheet, so perhaps it's used to 'cushion' the train models while the case is standing right up... 

 

I cut pieces of bubble-wrap for ALL my bookcase models, so that there is 'cushion' for them to lay on while standing upright. 

 

Yes, I have indeed noticed the bubble wrap that comes inside the Kato cases. Greenmax ready-to-roll arrive like this as well. I've generally been keeping it in there when i close the case back up.

 

Do you fasten the bubble wrap to the inside of the front cover?

[KenS]

The bubble wrap is usually fairly small, so if the case were bumped, one end or the other of a car could still contact the front.

 

I hadn't though of this before, but it's a really good point.  Some kind of thin foam padding to go inside the case cover would be very handy.

[Sohan24]

Been trying to find out if stacking the Kato bookshelf cases on their side will damage the trainsets.

Like Mudkip said, there's no cushioning attached to the cover other than the pointless tiny strip of bubble wrap, so would the weight of a few cases slowly squeeze/crack the carbodies over time?

I've been storing my cases on their side for a few years (wirerack closet shelves - if placed upright they would fall through). 

Are there any precautions one should take to store them safely? 

 

[railsquid]

Personally I'd be worried about any pressure damaging the paint job, but unless you're stacking them 20 or 30 high I don't imagine there'll be a problem

 

However I've handled many book cases etc. over the last few years, even had one or two sent through the post with not much more than a layer of bubble wrap round them, never seen any particular problems. Apart from some MicroAce ones where the foam insert is so tight the car ends get damaged when pushing them in.

[kvp]

Most of the sets arrive with the documentation in a foil covering the whole front. I just put this cover back every time. The foil is a similar soft material used in the jewel cases to keep the cars safe. Some of my bookcases, the casco ones i bought empty do have a thin top foam cover. Horizontal stacking height in ikea storage/transport boxes is usually 10 boxes for me (20 bookcases in one box), but the weight is on the stiff edges as all boxes are the same size.