Organizing Your Spare Bits

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**TheNewBlood**

I am afraid that my personal hobby progress has taken a disturbing turn. Due to my strict "get it all painted before buying more" rule, I am currently left without any models to paint. My Biel-Tan Eldar have been build up to 2000 points according to the new codex, and I have special ordered the models I need to make a tournament-ready list and expand to a nice 3000 points.

However, with my Dark Eldar army fast approaching the point of initiation, I must do the unthinkable...I must...organize my spare bits!

To give some perspective, all my spare bits are currently sitting in a shoebox still on the sprues. My Finecast bits and extra models are in a small plastic bag wrapped in spare medical foam. I'm running out of room in the shoebox, especially with all the instruction manuals and transfer sheets lying around. To the end of getting organized, I have purchased a couple small plastic fishing tackle boxes for storing my bits, and plan to get them off the sprues and filed down this Saturday.

Does anyone have any tips about organizing bits? How do you keep track of your extra bits?

**kb_lock**

I have quite a few of these bad boys, they are modular on the inside and make it pretty easy to fit whatever you want;

Then I label each of the handles, like SM bits / DV Chaos / whatever. Makes it pretty easy to find stuff, except for the bloody internal land raider doors that I JUST CANT FIND

**Nevelon**

In addition to a tackle box, you might want to pick up some small ziplock bags. That way you can put bits that need to go together (like matched arms, or parts of a heavy weapon) in one bag.

**TheNewBlood**

Nevelon wrote:
In addition to a tackle box, you might want to pick up some small ziplock bags. That way you can put bits that need to go together (like matched arms, or parts of a heavy weapon) in one bag.

That's a really good idea! Thanks for the tip. Fortunately for me, most of my arms are already on my models. The ones I don't are mostly individual weapons.

**Alex Kolodotschko**

The Dark Eldar range really lends itself to a tackle box or two.
The majority of the range is interchangeable so try to buy as much as you can afford in one go.
Some legs/arms come in two parts so make up these sub assemblies as they come out of the sprue.
After that then just clip out all of the heads, arms, cc weapons, trophy racks etc and store in a tackle box and use as necessary.

**zbg97**

I use one of these:

It's $5 at Home Depot, and the dividers are adjustable. They're not huge, but I like modular and stackable. I could already use a 2nd, and I will likely need about 3 in the long run, but that's still only $10 or $15.

**ScootyPuffJunior**

I use this:

**oadie**

One more vote for the parts container. I tend to grab the cheap ones ($2 or so at the craft store, similar price and a bit sturdier if on sale at the hardware store), as I accumulate bits faster than I use them.

As for the organizational methodology, I group by setting/system, then faction, then bit type (decorative add-on gubbins in one compartment, spare legs in the next, etc.). I don't get too rigid with the system, though, to save space - if I have a few bits from a one-off figure, they aren't getting their own box; I just toss them in a free compartment in whatever box has room.

**zbg97**

ScootyPuffJunior, I will never in my life be that organized. Are those boxes from finished projects, or ones you have yet to start?

Also, I just run one faction (Space Wolves), so it's a bit easier to organize bitz... (PA arms, TDA arms, heads, PA melee weapons, TDA melee weapons, etc).

**ScootyPuffJunior**

zbg97 wrote:
ScootyPuffJunior, I will never in my life be that organized. Are those boxes from finished projects, or ones you have yet to start?

Also, I just run one faction (Space Wolves), so it's a bit easier to organize bitz... (PA arms, TDA arms, heads, PA melee weapons, TDA melee weapons, etc).

Those are boxes of things I had yet to start. Also, that was my old storage area... I've now moved everything to a coat closet:

**insaniak**

I used to have everything divided up in plastic takeaway containers. Took up a lot of space, though, so now I've gone the ziplock-bags-in-bigger-containers route.

**Tactical_Spam**

ScootyPuffJunior wrote:
I use this:

Get two of these

**Scorpionov**

wow that's pretty neat

**granander**

I am thinking I should stay out of this thread... but I cannot... I am a compulsory organizer. I MIGHT have just spend about €280 for a new sortingsolution for among other things bits...

**Zogg**

This is my workspace. I have two 60 drawer bins. One is for IG bits and the other is for Orks. I also have a number of plastic shoeboxes for larger bits and partially completed projects. I have entirely too many partially completed projects.

**Guildenstern**

shop around for best deal on organizers, sometimes places like Michael's runs sales for instance.

areas to look for them: hardware stores, for nuts/screws; sporting goods sections, for fishing etc.; craft stores, for beading, or also, embroidery, as people like to put their spindles of floss on cards, in organizers as well. Also, general home goods stores like WalMart, Target or what have you often carry 'storage solutions'

I mention all the above because I've found prices and sales vary wildly and there is little need to spend much more than $5 US or so on these kinds of containers

**ZergSmasher**

I've got a few of those plastic bead storage containers, but I haven't actually bothered to clip my extra bits off the sprues yet. The bits and sprues still sit in the boxes the models came in. One of these days...

**kb_lock**

I wonder what percentage of GW models out there are (not including stock);

A) painted
B) in progress
C) assembled (grey legion)
D) clipped off sprues
E) still on sprues/in boxes

Half in A+B you reckon?

**TheNewBlood**

kb_lock wrote:
I wonder what percentage of GW models out there are (not including stock);

A) painted
B) in progress
C) assembled (grey legion)
D) clipped off sprues
E) still on sprues/in boxes

Half in A+B you reckon?

Judging by many of the posts in this and other forums, I would reckon the majority are in states C,D, and E.

Bit of an update: it took me several hours, but all my bits are finally sorted! Everything is off sprue, assembled, placed into an appropriate plastic bag, and sorted inside the tackle box.

Apparently I have a bunch of leftover Eldar heavy weapons, as well as some giant axes and power swords from the Wraithguard kit. I have yet to decide on what I should do with them; they're too big to be used on regular models.

**kb_lock**

They become scenery

**Midget Gems**

Just thought I'd share my bits store.... I have far to much but still seem to keep adding to it. I needed to properly organize it when it got to a certain mass otherwise I'd never find any of the bits I actually wanted. Haven't finished building my man cave yet so they are just in the corner of a room, waiting. All the bigger parts for vehicles are in a large bag in a draw.

Theres a mix of Fantasy, 40k mostly Orks, SM and IG but have pretty much something from most races.

Spoiler:

**Talys**

kb_lock wrote:
I have quite a few of these bad boys, they are modular on the inside and make it pretty easy to fit whatever you want;

Spoiler:

Then I label each of the handles, like SM bits / DV Chaos / whatever. Makes it pretty easy to find stuff, except for the bloody internal land raider doors that I JUST CANT FIND

I have almost this identical model!

Mine is 4 tall, instead of 3. They have little cups inside, which are great, because they allow me to rearrange the bits -- unlike the bead sorter boxes, which force you to take everything out if you want to rearrange.

I have like... around 70 of those boxes, I think. it fills up two large closet walls, lol. Most of the boxes contain extra bits for 2 kits (like land raiders and storm ravens share one box; drop pods and razorbacks, etc.). A few of the boxes are set up so that there's space to store original sprues -- particularly for boxes that I haven't really painted, but raided for parts, like vanguard vets.

There are 3 sorter boxes of nothing but sorted space marine shoulder pads!