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First let me say I was not sure were to post this, so if it belongs somewhere else feel free to move it.

Alright well I have always collected/hoarded bits and I am pretty compulsive about having them organized. Right now I have them organized in about 8 different bead cases and small tackle box. Now, not only do I want to try to find something to put all the bits I have in one container, but I am starting up an ambitious project and buying up lots of power armor bits, so I need something to hold what I have and have room to expand while still fulfilling my compulsive tendencies.

So any suggestions based on what you use or have seen are greatly needed. Pics more than welcome.

I use Plano brand utility boxes, they come in a variety of sizes, and are similar to the bead boxes. I never throw any bits out, and when I run out of room I just buy a new one (they're pretty inexpensive, like $7.00 for a 14" x 9" one). For ease of finding what I need quickly I use a label maker and put a label on the side that faces out on the shelf.

I use a a big fishing lure tackle box. lots of trays and their relatively inexpensive.

12 tackle boxes sorted by army, plus gripseal bags for larger stuff.

I use bead cases. The standard size bead case fits right inside a standard letter size file tote. That tote holds all my bits boxes except for my vehicle bits which are in a rollykit.

Here's an example of the bead cases in the file tote. It's the same thing except that the bead cases in this tote have figures in them.



Here's a rolykit

+1 for fishing tackle box. Cheap, durable, tons of compartments.

I have 2 of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Plano-Molding-974-StowAway-Organizer/dp/B000CRHD6K/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_img_b

Stack or mount on wall. Not the cheapest thing in the world but they are nice.

Eilif wrote:I use bead cases. The standard size bead case fits right inside a standard letter size file tote. That tote holds all my bits boxes except for my vehicle bits which are in a rollykit.

Here's an example of the bead cases in the file tote. It's the same thing except that the bead cases in this tote have figures in them.



Here's a rolykit

Aye, this is me as well. I ghave the very same thing this guy does, but it is missing a little something, so for a cherry on top, I picked up a few of those bins with the plastic covers seen here. smaller, but larger for the added sprues.

One tip I have is to leave stuff on sprue until you need it. Just lable your containers, so you know where stuff is.

I to use the bead box, holds my models safely and helps keep my bitz organized

Thanks everyone for the replies! It sounds like I was in the majority of what everyone was doing.

Eilif - what I had in mind was more like what you had in the background there. How would something like that do for bits that I could always have on my desk?

I just use empty pasta sauce jars

I use the boxes you can buy from hardware/DIY shops for storing screws and nails. Definitely worth doing. You can't guess which bitz you might need in future.

In addition, you can usually buy larger containers for storing several of the smaller boxes, and they often come with tabs to vary the size of the sections.

I recently turned a set of black orcs into mean Goff Nobz using leftover bits - means the Nobz mob looks different to the mob leaders, which helps.

crossbonesx11 wrote:
Eilif - what I had in mind was more like what you had in the background there. How would something like that do for bits that I could always have on my desk?

The organizers in the background would probably be great for storing your bits. I used to use them for all my terrain bits, but now that I move my bits in and out of storage I use portable methods like the one pictured. I still use 9 large and 3 medium organizers for LEGO parts.

The background organizers were gotten from Menards for about 15 bucks each sold under a store brand that has "tool" in the name. Possiby "Tool Shop". Other places have similar versions and Target carries the AKRO Mills brand for about 20 bucks as seen here
http://www.akro-mils.com/home_office/coupon_display.asp?id=112
Most brands offer the large size pictured with 64 small drawers or 18 large drawers or half and half. There are also smaller versions that offer about 60% of the capacity in various configurations.

They are quite affordable considering the amount of space you get, removable drawers are handy, and having them at the ready on your desk is quite nice. However, a few possible downsides to consider.
-It's not as easy to see the whole of the contents as easily or quickly
-Opening a ton of drawers to find the bit you need gets tiring. Make sure you have a good system for organizing your drawers.
-Even when divided up, the compartments are larger than thread cases, so you may have to do a bit of digging depending on how you organize your bits.

Whatever you decide, it's defintiely the right decision to organize your bits. Having them easily locatable makes for much easier converting and kitbashing. Best of luck.

Yup, those organizers in the background of Eilif's pic work great for bits. They're fairly cheap and you can find them with all kinds of drawer sizes and configurations to fit pretty much anything.

I used to keep most of my stuff on sprues, but that gets pretty crowded real quick. Now I've got all my bits and even most of my unassembled kits in those organizers. I just keep all like bits together and made little labels for the front of each drawer so I know exactly where everything is at a glance.

I started IG about the time when my bro got marneus calgar and his honour guard about a month ago ( no it's still not painted he's leaning on me to paint it) I used the container that the metal peices came in

I 2nd the shop organizers from Manards/Lowes/Home Depot.