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How do you guys do it? So far, after I clip the bitz and put them in my bitz box, I've left the sprues intact and try to keep them in a plastic drawer but this has become impractical. Do any of you cut them into smaller portions, if so, how? Do you keep all of your sprues or just a few for conversions and terrain?

How much empty sprue do you need? Are you foreseeing a project where you need vast quantities off it?

If not just pitch it. I typically use a little here and there for bricks or rubble, but I tend to have plenty of models still on sprue and awaiting assembly that If I need I can slip some from there,

If you're looking to store some quantity pieces you can always clip them down and toss them in an empty butter container, pringle can, or tupperware bowel. Anything with a bottom and a lid works.

Yeah, work out what bits of sprue you'll actually use (e.g. I find long straight bits are good as reinforcing 'girders' in scratchbuilt terrain) and clip it off, then biff the rest.

Haha, I do have a couple large terrain pieces needing ladders and such. I suppose I don't need to keep ALL of it.

I only ever keep a few sprues to blutack models to when spraying them (lets me spray all sides without moving them).

Mostly I just throw them out. Model aircraft have nice round sprues rather than the trapezoidal ones GW use, so I tend to hold on to those, but still it's not really a problem, once everything is cut out of them I just throw them in a box., when the box is full I just throw out new sprues coz I obviously have enough already

Recycling.
All of them.

Straight into the bin, to be recycled with the rest of the plastics. If they can take margarine and yoghurt tubs, then they can take the polystyrene sprues (because here, these things are ALL made from the same material.).

Zip lock bags EVERYWERE MUAHAHAH no but seriously I have a 200 pack of these things I put everything in them so much more organised.

I've just finished cutting mine up into iddy bitty bits for use at some latter point in time. Took me hours and a few nasty hand cramps. Keep em all in my battleforce box which i never pitched for some reason...

X2 on the zip lock bags. If I have enough stuff from a certain kit, I break them down into arms / weapons / ect and store them all in a bigger bag.

1BadZ wrote:
X2 on the zip lock bags. If I have enough stuff from a certain kit, I break them down into arms / weapons / ect and store them all in a bigger bag.

I see there is more than 1 super awesome person in the world :3

kronicpsycho wrote:

1BadZ wrote:
X2 on the zip lock bags. If I have enough stuff from a certain kit, I break them down into arms / weapons / ect and store them all in a bigger bag.

I see there is more than 1 super awesome person in the world :3

Same here for the bits, but I think the OP is asking about the actual frame of the sprue. I chuck GW sprues, or turn them into improvised walkways. I try to keep round sprues as I keep telling myself it will be useful for a terrain project...

Yeah, I mean the empty sprues. I intend to use them for ladders, pipes, etc for terrain. As well as rubble, dragon's teeth, and things too. I just threw out the last bit of sprue from a model P-51 I've been tinkering with for the last few months. Now I wish I'd kept it! I've so far kept every GW sprue, which isn't a ton yet, but I still think I've let my inner packrat get out of control. Cutting them up and putting them in baggies sounds like a good option.

I have my big box of the imperial bastion box I just throw them in, and then every so often I walk it out to the dumpster and trash dump them.

It fills up my trash can in the room too fast other wise. And I am lazy enough as it is to empty it more often.

I have one sprue-sized box, about 3" tall. I also have long compartment in one of my many parts containers. I also have a small, round tupperware container. Long, straight section that could work as girders get clipped and added until that container is full. Offcuts get clipped/ground into rubble until that container is full. Full, flat sprues get stored until that container is full. The rest goes, so that I don't have even more of a storage issue than I already do. I have yet to want for sprue.

If you're hell bent on keeping them leave them in the garden, back of the garage, loft or on the roof in a dustbin or some rubble sacks? They're not that fragile or stealable so they should be fine there.
Otherwise throw them out aaaand on the week that you are going to make some terrain have and ask around some mates, clubs or even your friendly gamingstore or GW for their spares?

 chromedog wrote:
Straight into the bin, to be recycled with the rest of the plastics. If they can take margarine and yoghurt tubs, then they can take the polystyrene sprues (because here, these things are ALL made from the same material.).

Fine in principle, but does sprue plastic actually have an equivalent recycling number?


Even if it does, as sprues aren't labelled with one, I'm suspicious that many recycling places just won't know how to classify it and so would biff it. :(