I have so many projects on my bench! F-84F, F-89J, F-105D, MiG-29. A Bearcat, I think, and a P-47N. Sometimes, I don’t know what to work on to get the model finished. Jeepers. Anyway, I had been waiting for a canopy mask for the Ki-84 build and it finally arrived the other day. So, now the build is ready for primer. I still plan to do some hairspray chipping on the model. I have some YouTube videos queued up that explain how that works. So, here’s the Ki-84 as it sits right now.
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Looking good, Frank! Which kit are you building?
I have a question. How in the world do you keep that many projects going at the same time and keep track of everything? 
I’ve got two builds going at once right now, and even that gets complicated for me. When I switch from one to the other, I’m constantly trying to figure out what needs to get put away, where all the loose parts and subassemblies go, what stays on the bench, etc.
With six or seven different projects in progress, I think I’d eventually find a Ki-84 landing gear leg in the wrong box and spend three days trying to figure out where it came from.
Do you put everything for one build back in its box and put it on the shelf when you switch to another one? Or do you have some other system for keeping all those projects organized?
Sam, I’ve been building like this for so long, it’s just habit. I began the hobby back in the mid-50’s. Today a build will reach a point where I need to wait for something like a paint color or a canopy mask. While I’m waiting, I’ll start tinkering with another kit. Or if I get bored with a build, or I deem the build to be too complicated, it goes back into the box to be attempted again later. Sometimes, it just seems like I’m distracted by something new and shiny. Oh yeah, every build I start, all the parts in the kit stay in it’s box until the build is done. That helps keep track of parts, etc.
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BTW: Sam, I live in Panama. Whenever I order something from the U.S., it may take a while for the purchase reached me. So, my small stash helps fill the gap while I wait.
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Okay, keeping all the loose parts in the original box makes sense.
But what do you do with the partially assembled models that won’t fit back in the box? I’ve only got two going right now, and my F-4 is temporarily sitting in the display cabinet without its landing gear while I work on the F-86.
Where do you put six or seven partially built models when you switch between them? I’m genuinely curious how you manage that without everything taking over the workbench.
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I do the same thing as Frank does. I put smaller cleaned up parts and assemblies in small containers and the model itself in the box bottom. Usually it sits there on a small piece of foam rubber or felt to prevent scratches.
I also have several going at a time. As one gets to a point where I need to wait, I will start on another and get IT to a stopping point and return to the first one. I have three going right now. A second build for the Japanese Group Build XV, a 1:72 scale, Fine Molds kit of a Kyoshu Q1W1, Lorna, a 1:72 scale Arma Hobby P-40C and the old Monogram kit of a Ford Tri-motor. There are others but they are not going to be fiddled with until I am ready to get back at them.
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My rule is never start another model until I finish the current one. If I didnt do that, I would have dozens of unfinished kits! I go thru a little ritual of cleaning and putting everything away when I am done with a kit. Maximizing that opening that next new box feeling.
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I admire your discipline. I have four kits going right now, plus three old 1/700 ships sitting on the side of the bench for when I want to learn my next lesson on how to add rigging.
As with all living things, each according to his gifts… (Capt. Spock, Start Trek II)
I have none of those gifts apparently…
Some folks have the discipline/organizational skill for this, but I’m not one of them. I have way to many simultaneous projects going on. My bench is a cluttered mess and I often can’t find parts or remember ‘what color I used’ for this or that when I do get back to any given project. Heck, just yesterday I lost my entire Tamiya Ki 61 I was going to finish for this GB. I opened the box and there was nothing inside except some empty plastic bags! Took me an hour of wasted bench time to figure out what I had done with it…
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Been there and done that myself. Did you find it? As far as organized, look at my bench when you get the chance. 
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I’ve lost plenty of little parts over the years, but I have to admit, I’ve never lost an entire model.
I’m trying to picture how that even happens. Everything I build is 1/48, so if I manage to misplace an entire airplane somewhere in the room, I think I may have bigger problems than keeping track of my builds.
You must be building smaller stuff than I am!
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Yes, this was the 1/72 Tamiya Ki-61 – pretty small. For some reason, I put the almost complete model and remaining parts in a plastic bin and stuck it in one of my very cluttered shelves 
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I just list stuff on paper myself…And, ALSO embarrassingly enough, I manage to lose what I wrote and then forgetting why…only to find it after I complete the model. Sux getting old!!
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CRISIS AVERTED!! Glad you found the model and now can get cracking at it!! I was thinking of building that same kit too. Since you’re on it, I’ll pick on a different Japanese subject. BTW, How do you like it so far?
“For some reason…”
Probably so you wouldn’t lose it. 