discussion Box of Bits

[Guest]

Oh, yeah, decals and instructions I’ve got two old (very) ice-cream tubs with decals in, one for military vehicles and the other for everything else (mainly aircraft), and an old magazine rack type of thing that holds at least one copy of the instructions of every kit I’ve ever built, plus some other paper stuff. Unfortunately it’s almost overflowing by now … I’m not quite sure why I keep the instructions, but they have come in handy sometimes.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Never kept instructions, but if I was minded to, I would probably scan and keep them electronically these days.....otherwise I have boxes with the various spares in, same as the rest. Also have one with metal scrap, one with plastic scrap and one with wood and cardboard......

 

[Guest]

Spare parts not a problem - it is when you start collecting spare kits....

 

[Allen Dewire]

And an idea how to store the spare parts could be something like this Gary,


They come in different sizes with more or less drawers. The clear plastic drawers come with dividers if you need them. They don't cost the world either. The one above was from Lidl here in Germany and sold for €7,99. I'm sure you could find a good one for about the same price in Pounds...…...Food for thought…….

Prost
Allen

 

[Guest]

Never kept instructions, but if I was minded to, I would probably scan and keep them electronically these days.....

It’s not the same … and I hate throwing away things that are irreplaceable for practical purposes, like instructions for kits that haven’t been produced for 35 years

Also have one with metal scrap, one with plastic scrap and one with wood and cardboard......

I’ve got one empty margarine tub with metal wire and some other metal bits, another with resin offcuts and underneath the two, empty (or nearly so) photoetched frets.

 

[AlanG]

It’s not the same … and I hate throwing away things that are irreplaceable for practical purposes, like instructions for kits that haven’t been produced for 35 years :smiling3:

Scan them and upload them onto Scalemates. That way they are available to you and everyone else

 

[Guest]

I would. if it wasn’t such an incredible amount of work to scan almost 40 years’ worth of instruction sheets

 

[stillp]

He didn't say to scan them all at once Jakko!
Pete

 

[AlanG]

There are a lot of instruction sheets already available. But i suspect a lot of the old and rare ones are 'missing'

 

[Guest]

He didn't say to scan them all at once Jakko!

If I do something, I tend to try and do it thoroughly, which generally means making a start, expanding the scope several times and plodding all the way through to nearly the end and then finding something more interesting to do

There are a lot of instruction sheets already available. But i suspect a lot of the old and rare ones are 'missing'

That’s a good point. I may have to find a way to tidy up my collection in the near future anyway because they’re almost overflowing the thing I keep them in, which may be a good time to go through them and check Scalemates to see if those I have, are actually on there. That would just leave the tedious tasks of scanning them one page at a time and cleaning up the scans

 

[topgazza]

i like the way people from everywhere share stuff like that. At this early stage I'll be using ice cream or margarine tubs to store bits although Ikea do some, small, quite nice clear storage boxes for a few pence. if I was anywhere else but my study I probably would use wall mounted metal storage trays. I have a few in my garage.

 

[Guest]

Old kit boxes are very good for keeping parts in, especially if you have enough of a certain type of vehicle that you can fill a box with them. For example, I keep my Sherman spares in an old box from a Sherman kit, those from M26–M60-series tanks in the box of an M60 and the ones from 1:72 aircraft in an aircraft kit box, making them easier to find in the stack of spares boxes (Then again, my M113 spares are in the box of an M26 and those for 1:72 military vehicles in a Warhammer 40K box, so this is not exactly perfect in my case …)

 

[Gern]

I use the plastic tubs you get your chinese takeaway in (only those with lids 'cos they're stackable and any parts sorted into containers without lids quickly become unsorted when you drop the box or something falls on it!). Mainly for my 50+ kg of Lego spares, but they're ideal for any small bits and dirt cheap!

PS Forgot to mention you should only use warm water to clean them out before use. Hot water will cause them to partially melt and shrink out of shape.

 

[AlanG]

PS Forgot to mention you should only use warm water to clean them out before use. Hot water will cause them to partially melt and shrink out of shape.

Define warm. My better half has hands like asbestos. Her warm is my scalding lol

 

[topgazza]

I like the smell of Chou Mein on my parts.....