what do you guys use for your spare and extra parts bin? right now i am just using an old model box, but the inside is filled with little plastic baggies of extra parts from left over kits, with the tank/manufacturer name on it. how do you guys do it, as my “old” leftover box is getting pretty cramped and full. also do you save old instruction sheets?
I use an old Sherman box for WW2 Allied armor, an old Abrams box for modern armor, an old Jeep box for softskins and an old Hunting Tiger box for WW2 German parts.
I place my old instructions in document protectors stored in 3-ring binders. I have one for armor, aircraft, sci-fi and miscellaneous (cars, boats, figures, etc.). I have a similar binder for decals. Each genre is stored in a large envelope or ziplock back and placed into a document protector.
For smaller parts, I use an organizer box with drawers designed for screws and such. It is similar to a tackle box, but the drawers side in and out. It has small and large drawers. For larger pieces, it is still the good old shoe box. I also have various model boxes for specific subjects; Abrams stuff all in an Abrams box, Bradley stuff in a Brad box, M113 stuff in a … etc…
An old Tamiya box for smaller parts; increasingly filled with labeled baggies for model-specific parts. For larger parts I use the cardboard boxes that arrive regularly from Squadron. [swg] I’ve got several boxed models too that just serve as “organ donors” for spare parts and conversion parts…Oh, and I DO keep my old instruction sheets, if only to refer back to when doing a similar kit, or to remind myself what I did when filling out a contest sheet.
my modeling room…just kidding…sort of
I use several spares bins - I have to, because I never throw anything away.
I use an old AFV Club box for tracks (I save all my rubber-band tracks, for some reason). For figures, I have one of those nuts & bolts organizers with the drawers, like HeavyArty mentioned. I also use some jewelers’ cases for figure parts.
I use small tackle boxes for spares that came from vehicle kits (other than the tracks). Easier to keep organized that way. And a larger tackle box for accessories, like jerry cans etc.
Mmmmm…kinda interesting. I usually don’t keep the extra parts. I’ve never have really seen the need to.
Jesse
Jesse, spare parts are great for having “back-up” parts in case you lose or ruin one. Being that many German tanks and TD’S were built on th same chassis’, many parts are interchangeable on several type of tanks.
You can also use the left-over parts to build conversions of kits that haven’t been made before. For instance, I found a photo of a StuG IIIC–which always came with a short-barrelled 7.5 cm StuK 37 gun–with a field-modified long-barrelled 7.5 cm L/48 gun in it–plus it had a “saukopf” (rounded) mantlet as well! This was a rare treat to find, and as no kit of it exists, I simply took a left-over L/48 gun and an extra saukopf mantlet and built this unique kit. A one-of-a-kind!
Spare parts can really open your options up for other kits; for instance, there is sometimes quite a difference in the quality of the moldings of the same pieces from different manufacturers, and many times, a quick perusal of the ol’ spare parts box can locate a hidden treasure that will replace an ugly hunk of plastic!
One question: if you’re not gonna save your spare parts, can ya send 'em to me? I can think of a hundred things to do with 'em! [(-D]
I have two old hospital meds carts with 12 drawers and about 60 large bins on each side. Each large bin breaks down into four different sections. For old instuctions I use binders, and the same for decals. The carts are great as they are on wheels and they lock, so kids can’t get inside.
for small parts I use a couple of clear plastic Plano fishing boxes that have the adjustable compartments. They’re flat and stack up real nice on the floor next to my desk. For big stuff I use a shoe box or model box. I don’t mark much of anything cause I’m sort of weird and have a knack for remembering what I have and where it is.
Hmmm, why didn’t I think of that? For me , up until now, I threw all my spare parts into two or three old model box’s. Looking for something took a while! All of my older builds get thrown into a cardboard “junkyard” box.
Just an old 1/32 Tamiya F-14 box from around 1984…decals are kept in plastic bags,old sprues from various kits are bagged in seperate bags,also photo etch is seperated,but nothing elaborate in fact the old box is starting to get cramped
I have an old desk I just started using for building models and its got two huge, deep drawrs in it, I keep all my spares on sprues, put them in the plasic bags they came in, put a lable on top and ‘file’ the sprues by alfabet so if I need parts for a sd.kfz 251 I open the drawr and in seconds I find both sprues leftover from the old tamiya kit and a sprue I have from an AFV Club kit…as soon as I tackle the dragon kit i’m sure they’ll be a few more sprues to add…only real problem I found with this method is space is begining to run out so I’m taking tools, jerry cans, barrels, and other nonspecific items off sprues and bagging them in a smaller drawr
I use my workbench[:-^]
I’ve been back into this for such a short time I haven’t even begun to organize my spare parts box! I think I’ll invest in a medium-sized tackle box, one of those that fold open with little shelves and compartments.
Now I keep my tools and paints in a big old cardboard box, and assorted other stuff in a .30-caliber ammo box I got at a surplus store years ago.
I just bought a four drawer organizer. Now I need to organize. I was storing the parts in an AFV M35 duce box. Also only back now for awhile so now the parts are beginning to build up.
Like the binder idea for old directions. Currently using a cardboard magazine holder. Not the best!!
I use the newer style tackle box system with the four storage boxes that fit into a bag. Each is organized into genre, IDF, WWII, Figures… For paints and dio stuff I keep it in a four drawer tupper ware thing with wheels and four large bins.
I use a plastic organizer that was designed for holding different screws, nuts, bolts, etc. I organize parts based on size, type, etc. For large parts, I just use a shoebox.
I use cigar boxes partitioned off for some parts and commercially available fishing tackle trays for “in progress” parts and sub assemblies.
Darwin, O.F. [alien]
I went to Lowe’s and got a medium-sized hardware organizer with the clear plastic pull-out drawers. When a build is done, all of the sprues get cut down to just the remaining parts and “filed” together in their respective drawer. For larger left-over parts, these go into a plastic storage box in recycled model box bottoms.
Doog’s right, you never know when your spares bin will save you or yield a special part for adding to another kit (or better yet, help out a fellow modeller in need!).
Hardware organiser for me, which is now full and needs an upgrade. the rest of the parts are in two A3 photocopy paper boxes awaiting sorting. As I am an aircraft modeller primarily, I have a goodly assortment of props, missiles and bombs 
I was given a heap of 1:35 armour odds and ends plus heaps of WH40K stuff, so that needs sorting as well.
cheers
Mike