I'm curious. How do you store the left over parts from your builds? I started by using plastic fishing tackle containers but they are quickly filling up.
Do you sort the parts by type of tank, nationality, part type, etc?
I'd love to see other people's ideas.
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How does everyone store their spare parts?
LTMike4208
Joined: May 23, 2011
KitMaker: 39 posts
Armorama: 28 posts
Posted: Thursday, February 18, 2016 - 06:47 PM UTC
HeavyArty
Joined: May 16, 2002
KitMaker: 17,694 posts
Armorama: 13,742 posts
Posted: Thursday, February 18, 2016 - 06:57 PM UTC
I have a couple ways. For various parts like weapons, arms, torsos, water cans, etc. I have a multi-drawer organizer on my desktop; the type used for screws, nails, bolts, etc. You can see the drawer organizer on the left side of the shelves on my desktop.
For vehicle-specific parts, I save a box for that vehicle and put all the extra parts in there. I build mainly modern US subjects, so I have a box for Abrams parts, Bradley parts, M113 parts, etc.
For vehicle-specific parts, I save a box for that vehicle and put all the extra parts in there. I build mainly modern US subjects, so I have a box for Abrams parts, Bradley parts, M113 parts, etc.
Tojo72
Joined: June 06, 2006
KitMaker: 4,691 posts
Armorama: 3,509 posts
Posted: Thursday, February 18, 2016 - 06:58 PM UTC
I just toss them willy-nilly in a big box,and then tear thru the whole box searching for something when I need it. 
alewar
Joined: December 27, 2006
KitMaker: 773 posts
Armorama: 765 posts
Posted: Thursday, February 18, 2016 - 07:05 PM UTC
Hi I just keep the model box i.e. Panzer III and put inside all the parts left over, of the same chassis type from other kits.
Also, Its better to keep some "old know" boxes to pass "house customs" in the future...heheheh
Regards from the south
Alvaro
Also, Its better to keep some "old know" boxes to pass "house customs" in the future...heheheh
Regards from the south
Alvaro
bbailey_33
Joined: May 10, 2005
KitMaker: 108 posts
Armorama: 56 posts
Posted: Thursday, February 18, 2016 - 07:12 PM UTC
Quoted Text
I just toss them willy-nilly in a big box,and then tear thru the whole box searching for something when I need it.
like this too, have quite a few boxes
Is there a market for this stuff? I'd love to sell some of it
HeavyArty
Joined: May 16, 2002
KitMaker: 17,694 posts
Armorama: 13,742 posts
Posted: Thursday, February 18, 2016 - 07:22 PM UTC
Quoted Text
Is there a market for this stuff? I'd love to sell some of it
From time to time you will see people looking to buy parts on the Buy, Sell, Trade Forum. I have sold some there. I have also sold what I call "Builder's Lots" where I have cobbled together parts to build a certain version of vehicle from left-over parts and sold them as a lot. I have done this quite a few times, so some people are looking to buy them.
rfbaer
Joined: June 12, 2007
KitMaker: 1,866 posts
Armorama: 1,696 posts
Posted: Thursday, February 18, 2016 - 10:05 PM UTC
I'm an absolute pack-rat when it comes to spare parts, and find it easiest to keep similar parts in a box that corresponds to the contents. I have some generic boxes, usually well-labeled, for particular types of AM stuff too.
I actually have so much in the way of spare parts, I've constructed several whole models from spares only.
I'm also a sucker for builder's lots, just bought a box-full of goodies from Gino. I'm also a sucker for stuff like one-piece tracks, DS and the like, that other modelers replace.
I actually have so much in the way of spare parts, I've constructed several whole models from spares only.
I'm also a sucker for builder's lots, just bought a box-full of goodies from Gino. I'm also a sucker for stuff like one-piece tracks, DS and the like, that other modelers replace.
ElevenCharlie20
Joined: February 19, 2016
KitMaker: 10 posts
Armorama: 10 posts
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2016 - 12:08 AM UTC
I have a vet friend in CO that works with some vets at Ft Carson, one of whom does massive kit bashes. If anyone near there wants to send some odds and ends, reach out to me and I will give you his address. It is a great thing if you can help. I am at [email protected]
Chapman
Joined: November 20, 2012
KitMaker: 203 posts
Armorama: 198 posts
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2016 - 12:41 AM UTC
Great thread and I've wondered what others do as well. As a kid I just tossed everything off the sprue and into a shoe box, mostly 1/72 stuff. Since I've gotten back into the hobby recently I just have a bigger shoe box since I'm working in 1/35.
I'm thinking I should better organize it tho and separate out PE and AM stuff from extras from actual kits. Does everyone typically keep the sprues or take the parts off? I don't want to store a bunch of boxes with mostly unused sprues, but I do want to be able to keep extra bits around for scratch building and dio accessories. Interested in hearing others approaches on this.
I'm thinking I should better organize it tho and separate out PE and AM stuff from extras from actual kits. Does everyone typically keep the sprues or take the parts off? I don't want to store a bunch of boxes with mostly unused sprues, but I do want to be able to keep extra bits around for scratch building and dio accessories. Interested in hearing others approaches on this.
j76ljr
Joined: July 11, 2011
KitMaker: 150 posts
Armorama: 148 posts
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2016 - 12:44 AM UTC
I stole one of my wife's tubberware storage boxes . I toss them in there !
jasegreene
Joined: October 21, 2013
KitMaker: 751 posts
Armorama: 751 posts
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2016 - 12:55 AM UTC
I put them in zip lock bags and then label them.When I have new parts for that bag,I just pull it out of my box and put them in it in there.
duttons
Joined: June 16, 2007
KitMaker: 193 posts
Armorama: 184 posts
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2016 - 02:06 AM UTC
Zip lock bag then into a box for armour or aircraft, only exception being weapons and stowage. Aircraft weapons go together in a couple of zip locks dependant on country, red or blue typically, and separately for air to air and air o ground. Stowage and crew weapons in pull out drawers.
tatbaqui
News Writer
#040
Joined: May 06, 2007
KitMaker: 2,713 posts
Armorama: 2,451 posts
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2016 - 03:41 AM UTC
Great thread here -- I was just mulling over what to do about the excess stuff the other day. What I've been doing was just to keep the sprues in their boxes, and everytime I look around, the stash mound is the same as ever -- no room for new stuff! Will try some of these ideas out. Cheers
Will try some of these ideas out. Cheers
Charlie-66
#186
Joined: May 24, 2006
KitMaker: 771 posts
Armorama: 750 posts
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2016 - 03:47 AM UTC
I use hobby boxes that I believe were for storing cross stitching floss. They are cheap, have compartments, and work really well for me.
I started with one box per vehicle type, but as I got more and more parts I broke it down into 4 boxes per vehicle type. Running gear, lower hull, upper hull, and turret. I label them on all four sides and the top. I also use these to store resin figures and a lot of upgrade sets until I use them. they take up far less space than the store bought packaging.
I can't tell you often I've gone to these boxes after the carpet monster ate a part!
I started with one box per vehicle type, but as I got more and more parts I broke it down into 4 boxes per vehicle type. Running gear, lower hull, upper hull, and turret. I label them on all four sides and the top. I also use these to store resin figures and a lot of upgrade sets until I use them. they take up far less space than the store bought packaging.
I can't tell you often I've gone to these boxes after the carpet monster ate a part! 
KurtLaughlin
Joined: January 18, 2003
KitMaker: 2,402 posts
Armorama: 2,377 posts
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2016 - 04:28 AM UTC
Quoted Text
I'm curious. How do you store the left over parts from your builds? I started by using plastic fishing tackle containers but they are quickly filling up.
Do you sort the parts by type of tank, nationality, part type, etc?
I store them by function, in a box.
I used to have a number of boxes of salvaged parts from old kits but I have thrown most of them out. They are essentially worthless unless you are make a starship photography model for some space yarn. Even newer, unused, parts are nearly worthless because the quality of molding and detail(not to mention sizes) varies so much.
KL
Belt_Fed
Joined: February 02, 2008
KitMaker: 1,388 posts
Armorama: 1,325 posts
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2016 - 04:35 AM UTC
I just throw everything in a giant plastic container and rummage through it when I need something. It's quite a chore, but I'm too lazy to do something new. Quite frequently I toss sprues I don't see a need for in the recycling bin.
JPTRR
Managing Editor#051
Joined: December 21, 2002
KitMaker: 7,772 posts
Armorama: 2,447 posts
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2016 - 05:07 AM UTC
I too use a multi-drawer organizers. I have 8 of various sizes.
I group them via "military", i.e., tanks and infantry and cannon, "aircraft", "naval", and railroad. Then I have a drawer for, say, engines, fittings, cockpit (or vehicle interiors), running gear, ordnance, diorama (sandbags, tarps...), etc. Infantry are divided between Allied and Axis.
That system has expanded and morphed over the past 4 decades and some things kinda blur. Now I have bins for P/E and resin, electronics, etc.
In Nov. 2007 I had to move cross-country; I bought zip-loc baggies to pour each bin into and told the movers not to touch the organizers; later I caught the foreman taping them up and I stopped him; he showed me how tight he wrapped them and that no bin would move, and I Okayed it - the watched in horror as he up-ended it to place it upside-down into a box!!!
All those open topped bins rained their contents into a big mass of plastic. 
I group them via "military", i.e., tanks and infantry and cannon, "aircraft", "naval", and railroad. Then I have a drawer for, say, engines, fittings, cockpit (or vehicle interiors), running gear, ordnance, diorama (sandbags, tarps...), etc. Infantry are divided between Allied and Axis.
That system has expanded and morphed over the past 4 decades and some things kinda blur. Now I have bins for P/E and resin, electronics, etc.
In Nov. 2007 I had to move cross-country; I bought zip-loc baggies to pour each bin into and told the movers not to touch the organizers; later I caught the foreman taping them up and I stopped him; he showed me how tight he wrapped them and that no bin would move, and I Okayed it - the watched in horror as he up-ended it to place it upside-down into a box!!!
All those open topped bins rained their contents into a big mass of plastic. 
LTMike4208
Joined: May 23, 2011
KitMaker: 39 posts
Armorama: 28 posts
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2016 - 06:23 AM UTC
Great replies. Thanks for all the ideas.
This is similar to what I'm doing now.
Quoted Text
I use hobby boxes that I believe were for storing cross stitching floss. They are cheap, have compartments, and work really well for me.
This is similar to what I'm doing now.
dhines
Joined: November 17, 2015
KitMaker: 407 posts
Armorama: 373 posts
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2016 - 06:35 AM UTC
Great subject , I usually store mine in ziplock bags with the description written on it. I do the same for leftover etch sets, lord knows I never seem to use all the parts in them.
WilliamDeCicco
#161
Joined: May 03, 2010
KitMaker: 392 posts
Armorama: 373 posts
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2016 - 09:00 AM UTC
Plastic zip lock bags an I put them alphabetically by era, then country all in a filling cabinet.
wedgetail53
Joined: October 02, 2008
KitMaker: 658 posts
Armorama: 629 posts
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2016 - 12:13 PM UTC
Quoted Text
I just toss them willy-nilly in a big box,and then tear thru the whole box searching for something when I need it.
Must be one hell of a big box!
wedgetail53
Joined: October 02, 2008
KitMaker: 658 posts
Armorama: 629 posts
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2016 - 12:25 PM UTC
G'day guys
Me again. I too use the plastic drawer method. My drawers are of four types:
Orange set, which contains various bits for vehicles and figures, all of the etched brass and dry transfers. Conveniently, the drawers are the right size for the etched brass and dry transfers. 39 of these.
Yellow set, which contains figure sets broken down and stored usually one or two sets to a drawer. 76 of these.
Blue set, which contains spare parts, usually by vehicle type, landscaping materials, tools which I don't use every day, and the figure sets which don't fit in the yellow set. 160 of these.
Drawers about 300mm (12") x 200mm (8") x 80mm (3.5") which contain the larger bits and some more figures. 18 of these.
I did a cleanup recently just to try and consolidate the collection a bit - after all, how many Sherman cast transmission covers do I really need? It was amazing how much I managed to thin things down. I think after I was finished I had reduced it by 20 of the larger drawer units.
Yes, Alvaro, I know exactly what you mean by "house customs" - I have one of those too.
Regards
Rob
Me again. I too use the plastic drawer method. My drawers are of four types:
Orange set, which contains various bits for vehicles and figures, all of the etched brass and dry transfers. Conveniently, the drawers are the right size for the etched brass and dry transfers. 39 of these.
Yellow set, which contains figure sets broken down and stored usually one or two sets to a drawer. 76 of these.
Blue set, which contains spare parts, usually by vehicle type, landscaping materials, tools which I don't use every day, and the figure sets which don't fit in the yellow set. 160 of these.
Drawers about 300mm (12") x 200mm (8") x 80mm (3.5") which contain the larger bits and some more figures. 18 of these.
I did a cleanup recently just to try and consolidate the collection a bit - after all, how many Sherman cast transmission covers do I really need? It was amazing how much I managed to thin things down. I think after I was finished I had reduced it by 20 of the larger drawer units.
Yes, Alvaro, I know exactly what you mean by "house customs" - I have one of those too.
Regards
Rob
M4A1Sherman
Joined: May 02, 2013
KitMaker: 4,403 posts
Armorama: 4,078 posts
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2016 - 02:08 PM UTC
Quoted Text
I just toss them willy-nilly in a big box,and then tear thru the whole box searching for something when I need it.
GREAT ANSWER! I'm way past the "big box", though- I've been throwing my extra parts in an old, un-cleaned steel 55 gallon waste-oil drum!!!
No, seriously- For smaller parts, I use the "Small Parts Storage Bins" with the clear-plastic Sliding Drawers that you can buy in any department or hardware store. For bigger parts, such as Hulls, Turrets, Wings, Fuselages, etc, I just use old model kit boxes (the entire box, top and bottom). EVERYTHING (bins and boxes) is labeled so that I don't have to spend 3 or 4 weeks rummaging around searching for what I need. I also separate by my storage receptacles by nationality and parts-types: Wheels with wheels, heads with heads, you get the idea.
I have 4 workbenches in my shop, with shelving for various bins and boxes, and my large paint station stocks my paints and thinners on shelves, with my hand brushes and airbrushes all in their separately-allocated areas. Then, there are my 2 paint booths that I've assembled into one unit. My compressors are out of my way below the work area.
Don't get the impression that I'm wealthy- All of this stuff took me DECADES to accumulate...
PS- I discard anything that I KNOW that I will never use. Multiples of the same models that I will never get to build, I've been selling off. I don't plan on living "forever", and the plastic will melt where I'm headed!!!
M4A1Sherman
Joined: May 02, 2013
KitMaker: 4,403 posts
Armorama: 4,078 posts
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2016 - 02:16 PM UTC
Quoted Text
I too use a multi-drawer organizers. I have 8 of various sizes.
I group them via "military", i.e., tanks and infantry and cannon, "aircraft", "naval", and railroad. Then I have a drawer for, say, engines, fittings, cockpit (or vehicle interiors), running gear, ordnance, diorama (sandbags, tarps...), etc. Infantry are divided between Allied and Axis.
That system has expanded and morphed over the past 4 decades and some things kinda blur. Now I have bins for P/E and resin, electronics, etc.
In Nov. 2007 I had to move cross-country; I bought zip-loc baggies to pour each bin into and told the movers not to touch the organizers; later I caught the foreman taping them up and I stopped him; he showed me how tight he wrapped them and that no bin would move, and I Okayed it - the watched in horror as he up-ended it to place it upside-down into a box!!!
Over the years, I've had to move more than just a few times- I learned the hard way that my model stuff was to be packed my way, by me, arranged in my car by me, moved to my new residence with me driving, and the reverse process was to be handled by me and me alone... (sigh)
easyco69
Joined: November 03, 2012
KitMaker: 2,275 posts
Armorama: 2,233 posts
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2016 - 03:06 PM UTC
just in model boxes, stacked on top of each other. ... in their own room. Kinda of fire hazard. The most important spares are in smaller containers.
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