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(I think this is the correct board for this... )

I'm moving back to the UK from Korea at the start of next month, and have acquired a fair few bits and pieces of hobby nonsense. My minis are, mercifully, secured now, and almost ready to be sent off on their way, emperor willing.
A fair chunk of that is still on sprues, though (thanks admech!) would it be better to clip everything out (oh god my poor hands) and like put it in a padded(?) box, or keep everything on its sprue and put a bit of padding in between?

I'm currently exploring my options vis-a-vis boats or airplanes as the vehicle for the great transit (I'm gonna get some filthy tourist-ing done while I'm out here, so speed isn't really an object) if anyone's curious about context and the kind of circumstances these brave little pieces of plastic.

Thanks for yer help!

If space conservation is an issue i'd definitely be going clipped bits. Put them in something that seals tightly like a glass/high quality plastic lunch container and wrap that in bubble wrap.

If space isn't so much of an issue then leaving them on the sprue in theory means you're less likely to lose individual bits. (I guess? )


How many bits do you have to shift?

Zip-lock bags, with a bit of air sealed in for cushioning.
Pack the bags in boxes, a few in each. Plastic takeaway tubs do for me.
I'd say pack them clipped and sorted by size and shape.

Since GW sells boxes of sprues all packed in together, that is the 'best' way to do it, though.

My method

Ziploc baggy with a piece of paper noting what type of piece is in there. For example, my Space Marines

Heads
New style Power Armour torsos, legs, backpacks
Terminator bits
Old style torsos
Shoulder Pads
Accessories and scrap
Melee weapons and stand-alone arms
Guns + arms
Specific pieces (stuff that is purposefully designed to be together and incompatible with other pieces, such as 2 handed weapons needing a specific set of arms, or a missile launcher)
Characters - for pieces you have already picked out and paired up together for a specific build. Mine happens to be character models but could be anything

Put them in a plastic tupaware for protection. Done

Fishing tackle boxes is another good option to store your clipped off bits. They have plenty of space and room for labelling and are fairly sturdy and light weight.

Snrub wrote:How many bits do you have to shift?

Space isn't too much of an issue, probably about half a shoebox of sprues/loose bits. (excluding the dark eldar mentioned below)

Deadshot wrote:Put them in a plastic tupaware for protection. Done

I was pretty much going to do this. Nice to know my instincts aren't too far from what's decent.

buzzedaldrin wrote:Fishing tackle boxes is another good option to store your clipped off bits.

God, about the only shops we have in my town are fishing stores - this shouldn't be too hard a fix.

Skinnereal wrote:Since GW sells boxes of sprues all packed in together, that is the 'best' way to do it, though.

cool, I've got one or two still-intact sprues (Chinese gangs of comorragh. It's a long story.), so I might keep them as is.

If anyone has done anything like this in the past, any wisdom or things you noticed would be super appreciated! Thanks thus far, fellas.

When I moved out here from England I just bundled all of my sprues together, wrapped the bundles in bubble wrap and put them in a cardboard box then filled the box up with airpockets so there was zero movement. Clipping stuff off seems a waste of time and effort as the price difference for a large move will be pretty negligible.
They went via sea and there was no damage what so ever, also worth noting that shipping via sea is much, much cheaper than shipping by air and if you are planning on gadding about a bit then it is the best option.

Interesting, thanks very much!
Yeah, was thinking that via sea would be a fair bit cheaper. I'll have to do a bit of investigating on the naval front.
I've actually been toying with (this is probably daft, but) getting one of those vacuum sack thingies for my clothes, and sticking my sprues in between t shirts or something.

That would work, just make sure to wrap the sprue in something first or any pointy bits will get bound in your clothing and that will not end happily.

Sprues aren't going to get damaged unless they get crushed. Just dump them in a sturdy cardboard box and throw in some filler so that they don't move too much. I've moved repeatedly with multiple LARGE boxes of sprue (we're talking hundreds of sprues) and they have been fine.

I would never clip all the bits off the sprues unless you absolutely have to for space/weight reasons. It's one of those things that seems like a good idea at the time but, trust me, you'll regret it later. It's horrible trying to find specific bits for conversions with everything loose, and a lot of newer kits (e.g. AdMech skitarii) only fit together in certain ways even if they look like they ought to be interchangeable. Keeping bits on the sprues means they always have their part numbers, so you can always match up the bits that only work together.

 Duskweaver wrote:
I would never clip all the bits off the sprues unless you absolutely have to for space/weight reasons. It's one of those things that seems like a good idea at the time but, trust me, you'll regret it later. It's horrible trying to find specific bits for conversions with everything loose, and a lot of newer kits (e.g. AdMech skitarii) only fit together in certain ways even if they look like they ought to be interchangeable. Keeping bits on the sprues means they always have their part numbers, so you can always match up the bits that only work together.

This is where my idea comes in. I move around a lot due to university. I'm moved from Northern Ireland, to Scotland, back to NI, back to Scotland, back to NI, back to a new address in Scotland, then to a new address, and to another new address very soon. All since September 2015.

Sort each bit into like groups. For Slace Marines, for example, have older style torso pieces where the pins are in the from and the holes in the back. In newer style, the bumps in the back and the divets in the front, making the two styles usually incompatible. Sort these different parts into different piles and label them. This means you have all compatible Old Style Torsos in one section, be it a baggie, box or otherwise, ready to mix and match. Then all the new pieces are together ready to do the same.

Put all parts that go together in their own sections. For example, missile launchers and Grey Knight Halberds require a specific set of arms to work. Put each Halberd (or sword, hammer, etc)in its own section and then you can also add missile launchers. Even if you had say, 3 identical missile launchers, it doesnt matter as they are all the same. Just as long as you dont put confusing Halberd arms in the same container you are fine.


Finally - LABELS. Label everything as you go.

If you are going to clip them, I learned recently to build like-pieces where you can. If a set of legs goes with a certain torso, glue it when you clip it. This has been for Harlequins, Necromunda gangs, and a couple more recently. Arm-sets are a pain like this too, for Tempestus Scions, Ogryns and Necromunda. Bag them as groups, as Deadshot said.
But, if you have more torso-backs than torso-fronts for instance, which are you not going to use? 2-spue set has a single boss-torso? Are you using them as 1 or 2 squads? Glue as appropriate.

Cool, this has been useful so far!
Anyone got any strong thoughts on resin: on the key vs off the key?

 Deadshot wrote:
Sort each bit into like groups.

Yes, I've tried this in the past. It was a lot of work, and in the end I found it was much easier to find what I was looking for with the parts still on the sprues. Maybe it's just the way my brain works, but I have a nearly eidetic memory for which kit a specific part came from and where on that kit's sprue it should be. I need a Mk V torso? I know I have one left over on a Devastator Squad sprue. I can find it in literally seconds. If I had to look through a pile of all the SM torso fronts I possess, it would take ages. I have a lot of bits.

I am struggling with storage space and I prefer to clip parts from the sprues whenever it's feasible. I never split a kit into more than one container, nor do I mix two kits into same container unless I have a good reason to do so. I have a plastic boxes labeled "Tactical Squad" and "Terminators" and zip-lock bags labeled "Sternguard" and "Deathwatch Veterans" for example.

Like said above by previous posters, some kits such as Skitarii or Genestealer Cult Acolytes are designed to go together in specific way. In this case, it's better to keep parts on the sprue or at least leave one intact sprue for reference and clip the others if you have multiple duplicate kits.

I have recently improved my storage system by using different coloured plastic containers. I have transparent blue containers for Primaris Space Marines bits, green for Death Guard kits and red for Mechanicus. I also bought a handheld label maker. It is really useful for multiple board games as well.