Hi ya fellow modelers …
Just a question … as I ponder the piles of unbuilt kits and wonder just how many there is … does anyone use computer software to keep track of their kit collection … if so, what type, brand, etc. do you use?
I quess what I am really asking is … how do you keep track of your model kit collection … if it numbers more than a few dozen ??? [8)]
Steve,
If you want a pretty low-cost tracking list, try using Wordpad, as it comes with Windows. If you want something a little more robust, Excel would work great, plus you could set up tabs, and it’s easier to search through and keep tidy. I personally don’t keep track of anything on software. With only 40 or so models on my shelf, I guess I’m just lucky enough to have a pretty good memory of what I’ve got and what I want to pick up in the future. I f I do need a tracking program though, I’d use Excel.
Scott
I wish I knew what I had. If you keep your eyes peeled on ebay someone is selling just such a program. I keep thinking I’d like to get a copy but I haven’t yet. I have two bed rooms, a storage room, bathroom, and a common room upstairs. Most of that space is taken up by my collection. If I knew what I had up there it wouldn’t be as fun to root around, or so I keep telling my self![:p]
I just wish I had a computer all the years (25+) I’ve been stockpiling kits. I’m now trying to get a handle on my collection (about 2,000 kits) and I’ve discovered that I have six of “Kit-X” when I only ever needed/wanted two. The problem for me is that I rarely had access to my collection (I was always away, being in the military) and like the squirrel with acorns, I forgot I had “Kit-X” and go buy another… Anyway, back to the point, I’m now using Microsoft Excel to inventory my kit collection. It’s slow going and I’m close to halfway done. No more buying duplicate kits!
Either Microsoft Access or Excel would be useful in keeping track of your model collection. A friend uses Access to keep track of his extensive N scale trains and accessories and is helping me to set up Access to keep track of my reference books and magazines.
my method was much simpler i had a note book and listed all the kits under manufacturer headings and underlined them when i built them. this worked fine for me as i only have about 350-400 unbuilt kits and normaly i can remember if i have got a particular kit if i see it BUT i would never be able to sit and list them all from memory. Notice i said WORKED in the “past tense” when i moved house about 8 years ago a box of unbuilt kits went missing, it had the note book in it.!!! i will do a stock check one day but only if i am feeling sane (and that’ll never happen) …Gregers
I’ve been keeping a list of my unbuilt kits the easy way, manually in a loose leaf binder. Each page(s) starts with the nationality of the subject, U.S. aircraft, German aircraft, etc. I use columns as follows: subject, kit mfg., scale, comments, and carton or box number stored in. I also have one separate box for keeping all of the after-market items. As I build or use each item, I just cross it out with a single line.
Give each carton or box it’s own number and mark all sides. This is a quick and easy system to maintain. I thought about putting this into a computer system, but since I’ve been doing it this way since the 1980s, why should I have to go through all of that data entry?
Do it the way that is best for you, but do it!, otherwise you will go crazy trying to find that one kit you remember from way back when.
Pete
To keep track of it, stack your boxes in nice neat piles. Stuff these piles in a closet or shelf, single-file. When you want to find something(or just marvel at your great collection!) Open the closet and gaze!
Keeping more models than you can build in a lifetime is a sickness, I know, because I have it bad! At the rate I build, maybe 6-8 models/year, my collection of 347 will last me 43.4 years. Go figure, I’m 55 years old now. Good grief! The funny thing is that I bought every one of them with the “I’m gonna build this one” idea in my head. Anyway, back to the subject at hand. Microsoft Works (which most people get when the buy their computer) has a very good and easy to use spreadsheet. Thats what I use to keep track of my growing treasure of plastic.
Tom
A computer is great for listing those kits ’ pending ’ i use microsoft - word - on windows 98’ and is a simple list rather than a speadsheet but this gives me details of each kit including condition, age, make, any problems, missing parts or decals ect and value - all things i’d forget over time, one on the list will be tagged - being built - no suprise more go in one end than get built at the other …still, long may it continue…[;)]
My recommendation would be Microsoft Access. I haven’t used it to catagorize model kits but have for many other items. The nice thing about Access is that it’s fairly easy to use and you can customize it to your tastes. Not only could it be used to record what kit it is, who manufactured it, & what it’s number is, but it could also be used to record which bed, in which room, you’ve got it stashed in.
I have chosen ultra low tech on this.
I have three locations that I keep my kits
#1) The work bebench,(their’s always one or two kits their).
#2)In the top shelf of a closet,(where I keep those rare and expensive kits).
#3)The garage,(back burner area).
This is where I keep the bulk of the collection.
I label the outside of each box detailing whats inside.
So when I am looking for that next project all I have to do is check the closet or garage and I can see what I have got .
Hope this helps…
hrm… i have um… 3 in storage, half built… i need more. do you need cash for models? im here… quake36@hotmail.com