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Tracking your bits


Jakbal

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want to write something crude in response to this topic title....... must resist..

 

short answer - no. i have them relatviely well sorted though using DIY boxes like these http://www.robertdyas.co.uk/P~150447~Drape...ganiser-Box-Set (actually i think i bought mine main ones form asda but i know i have this too)

 

if you are looking to 'track you bits' (dammit) excel or the like would probably do to a degree though a database would be better for larger amounts of data

 

i would suggest the following columns:

army (chaos, dark angels, space marines etc)

boxset/blister (so you know where you got the bit)

bit name

quantity

 

you may also want

model type (infantry/vehicle etc)

part type (body/legs/tracks etc)

special

 

so you could have

army boxset bit name qty modeltype parttype special

SM tactical meltagun 2 infantry gun special weapon

SM landspeeder heavy bolter 1 vehicle gun heavy weapon

CSM possesed winged backpack 2 infantry backpack jump pack

 

you can use the filter options to easily sort on a given column eg parttype=gun. you can also use pivot tables for nice reports on whats in a given boxset say and see what you might have/need

 

take a look at a few bits sites to see how the navigation for certain components works and use each level as a category.

 

it'll be time consuming to maintain such a thing plus it will help to have a good storage system in place for the actual bits so you can find what you supposedly have otherwise it's useless anyway. a poper database may be a little harder to setup but will be easier to maintain as you can setup drop downs for the most of the fields (also makes it less prone to user error if you type something slightly wrong and it no longer shows up in the filter)

I partially agree with lhg003 - keeping (virtual) paperwork on your bits is not advisable, imho, due to the amount of time it'll consume. You're better off having different types of bits segregated into resealable bags or small boxes of their own and appropriately labelled (bolters, chainswords, shoulder pads, heads, etc, etc). This will be a lifesaver as your bits box collection grows from lunchbox size to something approaching the volume of a dishwasher (like my own) - segregated bits relieves you of most of the hassle of finding specific parts and is enough organisation for your needs, I think.

this is closer to the boxes i have (though still not the same/cant see how big it is)

http://www.maplin.co.uk/component-storage-box-12842

i've seen people trying to sell the above type on ebay at £10 a shot so be careful where you buy

 

these are also useful but i dont have room in my flat at the moment - previously had a 16 drawer one which did me well for a while until my collection outgrew it.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/44-drawer-organize...e-cabinet-29163

Yeah ... I had an excel speadsheet designed (with no data) with a similar set of columns as discussed by lhg033 ... but then when I took this past lunch break to actually fill it out I was beginning to feel pretty silly about the whole thing. I've got a few never-used tackle boxes around here somewhere that I'll probably make use of for this purpose.

 

In any event, thanks for the comments, guys!

Resealable, trading card-sized bags are what I use to keep all the bitz for a single model together. Anything else is either still on the sprue, or loose in one of those sectioned clear plastic boxes that GW used back in the day for their metal boxsets.
I use Ziploc baggies of various sizes. Some are nested; my big CSM bag contains smaller bages for arms, shoulder pads, weapons, icons, etc. I have been collecting, painting, trading and gathering stuff since 2nd Ed. Back then there were no extra bits in a box so I started of hording every little thing. The bits box has grown to become 4 drawers in a filing cabinet of loose bits; this does not count stuff in the box or on the sprue which are stacked on various shelves in the garage. The time it would take to catalog it all for a database is way more than I am willing to put in.
I use two of these to store my bitz and tools, with each small drawer dedicated to a category and labelled appropriately, and when I start a project I assemble all the parts I think I'll need and move them into one of the drawers in this, also labelled appropriately. It lets me know where everything is at a glance without the effort of proper "book keeping" as it were.

I've got about half a dozen of the Maplin plastic organizers, so BA, Chaos, Ork, Dwarfs etc, and then I picked up an old metal filing cabinet cheap as one of the drawers was missing - which makes it the ideal size for spray-cans :)

I drilled a hole in the top of it for a hook, and now the Dremel hangs ready for action.

Want to smarten it up a bit, so the plan is to decoupage a bunch of pages from old 2000AD comics all over it - that might be a job for the kids during Half-term.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v110/fatjazzer/storage.jpg

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