Storing LEGOs seems like it would be pretty straightforward. Organizational draws and/or containers are great for organizing the variety of different bricks and other parts you might have. Small boxes or plastic bins can also be utilized. What about LEGO sets and models that are built though? What do you do with them? Should they be dissembled?

Don’t worry, you don’t need to take your LEGO sets apart in order store them; however, that doesn’t mean storing them will be easy. There are some unique challenges that come with storing LEGO sets that are built. I will try to cover everything you will need to consider in this article.

What Will You Use to Store Your Built LEGO Sets In?

First off, you’re going to need something to store your LEGO sets in. Carboard boxes or plastic tubs/bins are going to be your best options. Personally, I see plastic bins as a much better option. Sure, you may have some spare boxes around your home that can be repurposed for LEGO set storage; however, these might not be easily stacked like stackable plastic storage bins.

Plastic storage bins come in a variety of shapes and sizes. You’re going to want to pick something that best suits your needs. If you have a lot of large sets, then you’re going to want to go with larger tubs, or else you will be using one tub to store only a few sets.

• Black Storage Bins – Various Size Options (IRIS USA)
• Clear Storage Bin-Various Size Options (7.5 Quart – 112 Quart) (HOMZ)
• Roughneck Storage Container-3 Gallon – 50 Gallon (Rubbermaid)
• ActionPacker️ Lockable Storage Bin (8 – 48 Gal) (Rubbermaid)

Wrap Them in Bubble Wrap

Plastic bins are great for storing your built LEGO sets, but you don’t want to just stack your sets all on top of each other inside the bin. There are all kinds of problems that can result from doing that. For example, if pieces fall off of multiple sets and start to accumulate at the bottom of the storage bin, you’re going to lose track of what part goes where.

Instead, carefully wrap each set in bubble wrap. For some sets you may need to wrap them in many layers in order to keep them safe and secure. Sets such as Technic or Bionicle may not need as much padding since they tend to stay together pretty well; however, sets built out of more traditional LEGO bricks will need lots of padding, so be prepared to have a lot of bubble wrap on hand.

• Bubble Wrap – 175 ft x 12 ft

Once your sets are wrapped appropriately, you can start to stack them in the tub. Be sure not to force anything to fit, or you’ll risk your sets coming apart.

Take Off Parts That Stick Out

Okay, so some LEGO sets are going to have parts that will come off very easily when wrapping them. For these sets, consider removing problematic parts (or groups of parts, like the wings on a jet) before wrapping them. You can choose to wrap these parts separately, with the rest of the set, or you can store them in a tackle container if they are small enough (tackle container options will be listed shortly).

Downsize the Large Sets

Much like the case with parts that stick out, if you are trying to store very large models/sets, you may want to remove parts. Obviously, you’re not disassembling the whole set, but if you can downsize the set in some ways, that would be ideal so you don’t have to go out and purchase more storage bins.

Take off pieces that can be easily reattached later. The whole point of storing built sets is so that you don’t have to take them apart and put them back together again one day, so don’t take off too many parts–just the parts that making storing them problematic. Make it so that you can easily assemble it when the time comes to display it once again.

Storing Mini Figures

For Mini figures you can store them with the set if you want. If the set is a vehicle, like a jet of some kind, then you can store the mini figure in the cockpit of the jet. If you have sets that come with multiple minifigures, this might not work. In these cases, consider using a tackle container.

• KastKing Tackle Boxes – Various Sizes
• DUOFIRE Plastic Organizer Container—Various Sizes
• Ehhyson Organizer Box – 10.8 x 7 x 1.7 (inches)
• SGHUO 3-Tier Stackable Storage Container Box with 30 Compartments – 10.23 x 6.69 x 7.48 (inches)
• RUNCL Fishing Tackle Box – 10.65 x 7.1 x 1.89 (inches)

Creating an Inventory of Your Stored LEGO Sets

As I mentioned earlier, there is a good chance that if you’re storing many LEGO sets, you’re going to need quite a few tubs (or boxes—whatever you choose to use). It can be easy to lose track of what you have and where it is. Let’s say you like to display different sets at different times. For this reason, organization is important, so it would be a good idea to keep track of what you have.

Keeping an inventory of your stored LEGO sets is not difficult. Even a very simple system will do the trick.

First off, you’ll want to make sure any boxes/bins are labeled. You can do with a label maker, sticky notes, or just paper and some scotch tape. You can even write on the box itself with a Sharpie if you’re comfortable with that.

After doing that, you’re need a list of all the LEGO sets that you have. You can do this the old-fashioned way with pen and paper, or you can use software to create a spreadsheet. Microsoft Office Excel, Libre Office Calc, or Google Sheets will do.

You’ll have the name of the set in one column, and the number of the bin(s) in the column to the right of that. That’s all you need. You can stop there if you want, or include more information in the other columns, but really, all you need is the two columns to keep track of where everything is.

Where Will You Store Your Sets

The ABS plastic that LEGO bricks are made of is pretty hardy stuff, but that doesn’t mean that you should be careless about where you store them. Try to store them somewhere where the temperature can be easily regulated and doesn’t fluctuate that much, humidity can be regulated, and they are not exposed to sunlight. A closet is probably the best place to store them, or some other room in your home where temperature and humidity can be regulated and they won’t be exposed to sunlight.

As I said though, LEGOs are pretty resilient. If you need to store them in unsatisfactory conditions for a time, they may be okay, provided the temperature doesn’t get too high or low. Humidity really doesn’t affect ABS plastic that much. Exposure to direct sunlight can affect them though, as the sun will cause the color to fade.

Though ABS plastic is hardy, some of the other components to your LEGO sets are not. The stickers, metal springs, and rubber bands will definitely be affected by extreme temperatures and humidity and should be stored somewhere where these environmental factors can be regulated.

For tires, you may want to store them on the rims, since removing the tires from the rims frequently is wear and tear on the tires over time. Any rubber parts should be stored in polypropylene bags.

• AIRSUNNY 100PCS 5-1/2″ x 7-1/4″ Protective Polypropylene Storage Bags

For metal pieces and electronics, you may want to store them in an airtight container with a bag of desiccant.

• 100 Packets 2 Gram Silica Gel Desiccant Pack Moisture Absorber

Some Pieces May Fall Off

There are many things you’re going to need to take into account when storing your assembled LEGO sets and models. For one, you need to accept the fact that it is very likely that your sets will not stay assembled. There is a good chance that somewhere along the way, parts will fall off and they’ll become at least somewhat disassembled.

Any time you need to move things around, moving the storage bins where your sets are stored could very likely result in the sets getting partially disassembled.

Large Sets Will Take Up Space

Another factor that needs to be considered is space. When assembled, LEGO sets can be pretty large—we’re not storing Marvel Legends figures here, which tend to be all about the same size and will fit orderly inside a plastic tub. LEGO sets, when assembled, can be very large and awkward to store. If you have many sets that need stored, you are going to need space, it’s that plain and simple. Luckily, if you go the route of stackable plastic bins/tubs, you won’t need to utilize as much floor space. You’ll be able to stack them to your ceiling if you want.

If you’re storing many small sets, or constraction sets, then storing your built LEGO sets is going to be more akin to storing action figures. In other words, they won’t take up as much space or be as problematic to store, and, therefore, they’ll be much easier to work with.

Most Would Recommend Disassembling Your Sets

There is nothing wrong with choosing to store your built LEGO sets as they are. It will be somewhat of a difficult and annoying process, but it can be done. Just be aware that there is no guarantee that your sets/models will stay fully assembled. If the tubs/boxes you’re storing them in get moved around, there is a chance some pieces, or chunks of pieces, will fall off.

All that being said, most LEGO enthusiasts would likely recommend that you disassemble your sets and store the individual pieces in tackle containers or a drawer organizer of some kind; however, if you don’t want to disassemble them, then you will need to find a good way to store them assembled. I hope this article gave you some good ideas for how you’re going to do that.

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