Any clever storage solutions?

[mmcv]

Yeah some of the tool/DIY storage options are looking good. Going to do a bit of measuring over lunch and see what'll fit where.

[steve_holmes_11]

I bought a 20 pack of 16" pizza boxes from Amazon, then a stack of .8mm 39cm square mild steel plates to line their bottoms.

Each box holds plenty of figures.
Boxes are about 40mm deep and stack 6 high without problems.

Easy transport, I keep bin-bags handy for waterproofing.

[Westmarcher]

For the smaller bits and pieces, flock etc, I have this:



It's about 55cm high by 30cm wide. No idea where I got it from - possibly a hand-me-down from Dad.

Currently on the floor in my office, I don't have a permanent set-up (yet)

All of the above.

What?      Even the fake pearl necklace?   

[mmcv]

I'm pretty happy with my figure storage:



The labels were just quick sticky ones I made when sorting through stuff, will add more permanent ones soon.

The top two sections are mostly in progress or just starting stuff. The bottom two sections are finished figures and various odds and ends I won't be needing in the near future.

[Kiwidave]

What?      Even the fake pearl necklace?   

You never know when you're going to need a pre-made sphere. Stuff like this usually ends up as part of any sci-fi scenery I get around to making.

And I like looking fabulous, darling 

[mmcv]

You know what would be nice...if the sellers actually listed the internal drawer size on their products rather than the overall size and having to guestimate based on that...

Think I may go for a stack of drawers for the big stuff then something like this to organise flocks etc:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008DHZXRC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

Though may be a bit small still, as a buyer listed as 3.5 cm tall 5 wide 13 deep. Might be okay for a bag of flock and lollypop sticks and the like though.

And I like looking fabulous, darling 

So you should, luvee! 

[mmcv]

Ended up ordering a set of plastic drawers for under the desk and a small compartment storage for the top of the desk.  So of course took that to mean I should stop tidying up until they arrive and get on with some proper hobbying 

[Last Hussar]

Easy pack away paint station.

IMAG0178 by Last Hussar, on Flickr

IMAG0176 by Last Hussar, on Flickr

[mmcv]

That's pretty handy LH, nice and portable too. I've managed to set up in a way that I can have a permanent paint station and workstation at the same desk. The downside is it's using the fold up catering table I tended to use for gaming on, so I'll be confined to dining table sized games for a while, though I've been working on minimising some projects to work like this for a while anyway as its easier to set up a quick game that way rather than hauling fold up tables down from the roofspace and clearing enough space in the kitchen to set them up, set up the game, play the game, pack it all away again anytime I want to game (meaning I don't get to game very often!).

[Ithoriel]

Easy pack away paint station.





by Last Hussar on Flickr

Could only see one corner of the image. Seemed a pity to miss out on the whole set up. Hope you don't mind the resize.

[mmcv]

Ithoriel, Resizer Champion of the Small Screened and Downscaled 

[fred.]

A handy setup - a couple of questions:
How do you manage to use so few paints? I have a painting station, that has space for 20 or so paints in two rows at the back, but the work area in the front always has at least as many bottles of paint on it again.

Secondly, how do you hold figures when painting them? I have mine attached to lolly sticks to make painting easier - I get about 8-10 figs on one strip, held in place with double-sided tape.

[Last Hussar]

I'm not good enough to use more shades.

[chrishanley]

Many years ago. early in my pursuit of 10mm nirvana I found that every commercial storage box I looked at was just too deep for most 10mm figures and so you stored more empty space than figures.
I realised the only solution was to make my own and came up with a multi-drawer box. Most drawers are 18mm deep for infantry and small vehicles. Larger vehicles go into drawers which are 24mm deep and cavalry fit nicely into those which are 30mm deep.
Most are built from 6mm plywood and for the first one I took great care in assembling it with fine nails and glue. For the boxes that came after, I just carefully clamped and glued the pieces together until the joint had hardened.

 

[mmcv]

Very clever Chris, lightweight but sturdy.

[fred.]

Nicely done Chris, good woodworking skills. And a good solution to the 'box is too tall' problem that often occurs with 10mm figures.

For the rest of us with less skills, there are a few options that I have used

1) Add a tray to a standard box file. This can either be a piece of MDF, or a quite like to use Foamcore, add a couple of support strips along the boxfile, I've used small strips of wood, or foam core. This can let you get two layers of troops in one box. With these I sometimes cut the shelf to be 2/3rds of the length of the box so any tall figures have the full height available to them.

2) Drawers like the Bisley ones for storing documents, these drawers are pretty shallow, so you get a lot in a single unit

3) MDF trays to go into Really Useful Boxes, there are a couple of manufacturers (at least) making these and they can really increase the volume of figures you can get in a RUB. Available in multiple heights to allow you to tailor the heights for different types of troops.