by iKarith » Saturday April 3rd, 2021 8:30am
The organizer in my top pic looks to be made of foamcore. Pretty sure if that stays dry, it'll last quite a long time, but foamcore has low flexibility so it has to be used carefully. Craft foam (Foamies, Funky Foam, etc) is EVA … it'll probably hold up pretty well too. Its just that if it gets crushed or seriously creased, you're not likely to get it flat again. You can add rigidity to it the same way you can styrofoam with PVA, varnish, or Mod Podge which is effectively both—but I think I want to keep any box insert fairly plain PVA because I want something spongy and with low abrasion.
The kind of foam you're talking about disintegrating is polyurethane. Particularly when blown into a loose open cell foam (of the kind used to pack your minis), It's got fairly long chemical molecule chains which break down over time when exposed to moisture and humidity. Which means the foam will begin to break down into dust. Not ideal. (Some other plastics used for e.g. weatherstripping become a goo that just won't wash off for anything!)
This second HQ set has a box that's in rough shape. The paper's bubbling in a couple of spots and it's got some damage near the corners and edges. The top of the box is pretty badly caved in and torn free from the sides in one corner. There was some plastic tape on the box that peeled away easily without leaving resudule or damaging the paper artwork further, but fixing this box might be beyond my craft.
Still, if I can fix the box (and for my other box even if I can't), I'll build a box-within-a-box that has a lip around the edge so the top fits more snugly. I'm not opposed to using foamcore as they did, but I want to mostly use EVA around the minis to better protect them if they get painted.
The big question is going to be whether or not I can restore the box and other cardboard components. Some of them are in rough shape. Most I should be able to take care of though. The box is the big question mark.
<InSpectreRetro> All hail Zargon!!! Morcar only has 1BP.