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Question. Do you keep the kit box once you've build the kit. And what do you do with the extra parts? Do you log them into your computer for fast retrieval? Or are they all in a bin but separated by wheels in one. Engine blocks in another. Inquiring mind want's to know. 

I have a ton of extra parts. But when I read someone is looking for something. It takes me forever to see if I have it. Of course a picture of the part would help. :)

Edited by ewetwo
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I tend to see part of my collection as a vast junkyard to pull parts from, and I routinely buy built-ups, gluebombs, and partial kits for the parts.

Lets take Revell Anglia kits for an example. I'll segregate all the Anglia-specific parts (body shells, hoods, frames, etc.) into an Anglia box with the picture on the end, additionally labeled as parts, and sort everything else into specific categories like engines (sub-categorized as to make and type in snack baggies: Olds gen1 OHV V8, Buick nailhead, etc.), wheels, tires, ladder bars, springs, axles, etc.

I'll usually try to keep one relatively unmolested kit as a reference for the "spares" boxes (though I'm also pretty bad about pirating bits any old time if I need something that's not in the "spares" boxes) so I can figure out what parts came from what kit.

This is helpful to me, as I rarely if ever build anything "out of the box", and most of my projects are conglomerations of lotsa stuff.

I'll also use random leftover kit boxes to house ongoing projects that have stalled for one reason or another. I have over 60 of those at any given time too.

No way in jello I'd take the time to put any of this stuff on the computer though...and I seem to have a remarkable memory for what bit came from what kit anyway.

Edited by Ace-Garageguy
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I for one understand that if you don't have the part, you can't take a photo of it. Sometimes it is hard to Google up a reference photo too.

I have boxes and bags full of parts that I have no idea what kit they came from. I probably have some really cool stuff, if I could only find the time to organize it. I know there are many folks on this board with the uncanny ability of determining what a part is and what kit(s) it can be found in.

I do keep some of the older/rarer boxes to display in my room.

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I don’t generally keep my boxes. One thing I like about built up kits is that they take less space. I consolidate any kit leftovers into a storage bag and put it in another box with a description and any relevant instructions. I’ll have to change this at some point, but it’s working for now. 

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I keep the really cool old AMT , Revell and Monogram boxes with nice artwork but for all the rest, I cut them down and store them in plastic sleeves in lever arch files.  Takes very little time or space to organise and it can be great fun to go back and revisit old kits from your youth.

Now, at the risk of sounding like a reformed alcoholic, here is how I store my parts.  I have passed this idea on to many of my model making friends and it has been working for me for over forty years - I have found no need to change it!  And in case you are wondering, I am not a neat freak - quite the opposite.  The difference between me and a complete slob is that while I am good at making a mess, I recognise the need to clean up from time to time and my system has worked for me for a long time.

Surrounding my model bench I have two sets of pigeon holes holding approximately 180 small flat boxes that used to hold photographic paper - I used to teach photography in a former life.  At the back of my bench are five of those plastic nut and bolt tray cabinets that you get at a hardware store.  You need to find some form of container that you can obtain lots of, in a consistent size and cheaply.  Avoid round containers (jars, cans etc) like the plaque - they waste space obscenely!

So, you start your modelling hobby and you take one of these boxes and you write on it "tyres" (OK, tires for you guys!).  When that box fills up as it surely will, you get a second box and label it "Racing Tyres" . The first box gets relabelled "Street tyres" and you then sort your tyre stash into the two boxes accordingly.

Some time later your Racing Tyre box fills.  So you get a third box and call it "Drag Racing tyres" and the other becomes "Circuit racing tyres"'.  Split the contents of the Racing tyre box into the two new boxes.  When the Drag racing tyre box fills up, split it into Goodyear slicks and M&H slicks.  You get the idea.  There is one overwhelmingly simple, fundamental rule to all of this:

"Never duplicate, always split!"

The benefits of this system?  Well, when I am looking to start a new model, or maybe restore an old one, there is no need to sort through thousands of parts - you just go directly to the box describing the part you are looking for. 

Secondly, when I am cleaning up my benchtop, I can do it in less than an hour - no wasted time thinking "Where will I put this?"  You just put it in the fenders skirts box or the fuel injection box or whatever it may be.  Obviously this works mostly for the smaller parts - I still have old kit boxes with old bodies, chassis and interior tubs.

Finally, this system is inflation proof.  As your collection grows, there is no need to start over - you just keeping splitting boxes. OK, I have filled more than one box with those horrible AMT Goodyear Rally GTs but that probably is just telling me it's time to get rid of some!

Here's some photos to explain what I am on about.  I might be sounding a bit evangelical right now but it works well for me!

IMG_3131.JPG

IMG_3132.JPG

IMG_3133.JPG

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Nice Alan. I've sort of done that using a fishing box with compartments. I don't have as much loose stuff as you. I did sort the hub caps. Paired them up and put them in small baggies.  The stragglers are in one bin. my interior tubs are in freezer bags. So I've sort of done what you did. But the boxes. Just flatten the lids to save them? And I have about 70 of more freezer bags with chrome parts still on the sprue. Don't know what they got to but I felt it better to leave the connected. I'm going to post photos t see if I can get help identifying the. They are useless  now as I don't know what they go to. So hence photos of wanted things.

Bill. I wish I had the memory but I don't. 

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I keep the box lids and flatten them out and put them in a box dedicated to lids.  This way I keep the box art without taking up a lot of space.

5bb372a395157_KitLids_1065sm.jpg.89b4c08f48b21ef7cc7234e3729a8ce6.jpg

I keep and sort my small parts into these as soon as I finish a kit and have left over pieces.  Egg cartons are a great way to keep hubcaps organized.

Parts_1063sm.jpg.3774cab6524d72100d0b721101f8c458.jpg

Larger parts and pieces I put into these boxes.  Decals go into sleeve protectors in binders.

5bb372a512204_PartsBoxes_1064sm.jpg.e9dd4a99e00b4360968194c99969d274.jpg

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9 hours ago, alan barton said:

I keep the really cool old AMT , Revell and Monogram boxes with nice artwork but for all the rest, I cut them down and store them in plastic sleeves in lever arch files.  Takes very little time or space to organise and it can be great fun to go back and revisit old kits from your youth.

Now, at the risk of sounding like a reformed alcoholic, here is how I store my parts.  I have passed this idea on to many of my model making friends and it has been working for me for over forty years - I have found no need to change it!  And in case you are wondering, I am not a neat freak - quite the opposite.  The difference between me and a complete slob is that while I am good at making a mess, I recognise the need to clean up from time to time and my system has worked for me for a long time.

Surrounding my model bench I have two sets of pigeon holes holding approximately 180 small flat boxes that used to hold photographic paper - I used to teach photography in a former life.  At the back of my bench are five of those plastic nut and bolt tray cabinets that you get at a hardware store.  You need to find some form of container that you can obtain lots of, in a consistent size and cheaply.  Avoid round containers (jars, cans etc) like the plaque - they waste space obscenely!

So, you start your modelling hobby and you take one of these boxes and you write on it "tyres" (OK, tires for you guys!).  When that box fills up as it surely will, you get a second box and label it "Racing Tyres" . The first box gets relabelled "Street tyres" and you then sort your tyre stash into the two boxes accordingly.

Some time later your Racing Tyre box fills.  So you get a third box and call it "Drag Racing tyres" and the other becomes "Circuit racing tyres"'.  Split the contents of the Racing tyre box into the two new boxes.  When the Drag racing tyre box fills up, split it into Goodyear slicks and M&H slicks.  You get the idea.  There is one overwhelmingly simple, fundamental rule to all of this:

"Never duplicate, always split!"

The benefits of this system?  Well, when I am looking to start a new model, or maybe restore an old one, there is no need to sort through thousands of parts - you just go directly to the box describing the part you are looking for. 

Secondly, when I am cleaning up my benchtop, I can do it in less than an hour - no wasted time thinking "Where will I put this?"  You just put it in the fenders skirts box or the fuel injection box or whatever it may be.  Obviously this works mostly for the smaller parts - I still have old kit boxes with old bodies, chassis and interior tubs.

Finally, this system is inflation proof.  As your collection grows, there is no need to start over - you just keeping splitting boxes. OK, I have filled more than one box with those horrible AMT Goodyear Rally GTs but that probably is just telling me it's time to get rid of some!

Here's some photos to explain what I am on about.  I might be sounding a bit evangelical right now but it works well for me!

IMG_3131.JPG

IMG_3132.JPG

IMG_3133.JPG

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh!!  Cool!

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Good thread. I've always wondered if I was the only one who cut out the box art and had a stash of it. Some day I'll figure out what to do with it beyond storing it in the closet. I haven't accumulated enough parts to fill more than an old Advil bottle yet. Hopefully I can keep it that way.

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2 hours ago, Gramps46 said:

5bb372a395157_KitLids_1065sm.jpg.89b4c08f48b21ef7cc7234e3729a8ce6.jpg

Parts_1063sm.jpg.3774cab6524d72100d0b721101f8c458.jpg

Wow guys, I thought I had a lot of parts!

I used to store my parts into bins like these, it worked for me. When I went into a modelling hiatus, I put the parts into Ziploc bags to keep them separated and then put the baggies in a larger box to store. Now that I'm back, they're still in that large box, not as convenient as the bins, but at least I still have them sorted.

Call me OCD, but I enjoy sorting through new parts boxes and separating ALL the pieces into the bins. To me, it's therapeutic and I like knowing what parts I have. I also enjoy finding parts for rare or desirable kits. Makes me feel like I'm that much closer to OWNING one of those hard to find gems.

I too, simply fold the lids to boxes and store them away. They take up less space than open boxes and I can save the box art.

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11 hours ago, alan barton said:

..."Never duplicate, always split!"

The benefits of this system?  Well, when I am looking to start a new model, or maybe restore an old one, there is no need to sort through thousands of parts - you just go directly to the box describing the part you are looking for. 

Secondly, when I am cleaning up my benchtop, I can do it in less than an hour - no wasted time thinking "Where will I put this?"  You just put it in the fenders skirts box or the fuel injection box or whatever it may be.  Obviously this works mostly for the smaller parts - I still have old kit boxes with old bodies, chassis and interior tubs.

Finally, this system is inflation proof.  As your collection grows, there is no need to start over - you just keeping splitting boxes. OK, I have filled more than one box with those horrible AMT Goodyear Rally GTs but that probably is just telling me it's time to get rid of some...

IMG_3131.JPG

 

:D Impressive degree of organization there, sir. Same basic ideas I operate on, but you've taken it to the next level, for sure.  :D

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With regard to long term storage. Vinyl can have an adverse chemical reaction both with itself and polystyrene plastic if left together for too long. Found out the hard way a number of years ago when I rummaged through my spares boxes to find a number of ruined tyres and parts that were laid against one another! Some of my vinyl tyres had even reacted against the insides of my little plastic drawer units. I now use plain white tissue paper wrapped around parts to separate them to act as a barrier against this reaction problem happening. If you have stuff stored away, best check it out! Polystyrene to polystyrene seems to be ok but it is the vinyl to vinyl and vinyl to polystyrene that caused the problem.

Edited by Bugatti Fan
typo
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22 minutes ago, Bugatti Fan said:

With regard to long term storage. Vinyl can have an adverse chemical reaction both with itself and polystyrene plastic if left together for too long. Found out the hard way a number of years ago when I rummaged through my spares boxes to find a number of ruined tyres and parts that were laid against one another! Some of my vinyl tyres had even reacted against the insides of my little plastic drawer units...

Excellent points.

Has anyone to date had any adverse reactions between vinyl tires and baggies?

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48 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Excellent points.

Has anyone to date had any adverse reactions between vinyl tires and baggies?

I never have, and I've been bagging my tires in bags for 30 years. I've probably saved my plastic parts because of it, though. 

I think the baggies are a different type of plastic. 

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I have started (Slowly) writing things down, they will be put on index cards.  No need to worry about updates and crashes. LOL  Just get a good old recipe box to hold them. Anything important will be put down with a place to find it or a storage box number for kits.  Now this  is not for the average parts just rare things that I found out what it was on here or other places. 

After my Dad had his stroke last year I see the importance of labels now. 

 

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