Storage solutions: AddictedToStyrene

Posted by ,

Ed, aka AddictedToStyrene, shows us round his LEGO room:

Hi everyone at Brickset! Here's our Lego room. It's half of the playroom in the house we built in Brisbane, Australia. (The other half is various toys and dress-ups, plus my beloved has set up a home office for the duration.)

We build and play on cheap, old tables from Ikea, but we added timber strips on three sides to stop pieces and builds rolling off. It's pretty effective and I recommend it.

I sort pieces by type, storing most of them in boxed stationery drawers. These are a good because they are wide enough to let me rummage through to find the colour I need. If I can, I connect pieces of the same colour which takes up less space. I have also tried to group the drawers by broad categories: bricks, plates, slopes, transport, Technic etc.

If I have more of something than will fit in a drawer it goes in a storage tub in the cupboards. I also keep unopened sets there. Very large pieces like boat hulls and railway track go in larger drawers under the desk. And tiny pieces and minifigs are in compartment trays in a row on top of the drawers. Stacking them that way makes it easier to pull one or two out without lifting others.

Instructions are in a filing cabinet but I have a big backlog of unsorted instructions in another tub. I also have LEGO books in a narrow bookcase for inspiration and ideas.

My favourite sets and MOCs are in the glass cabinets to keep dust (and small hands) off. Our kids play on the tables, or floor, or anywhere around the house. I tell them they will lose pieces, but they say I can just buy more on Bricklink. I have taught them too well.

Over almost twenty years as an AFOL I have amassed a ridiculous number of pieces but I have realised the two limits on Lego building are money and space. So I plan to sell a lot more sets, buy less and limit myself to play and MOC building.

Lockdown meant exhibitions were cancelled and my LUG has started virtual meetings - shout-out to BrisBricks. It was a good opportunity for sorting but there's always more to do.

100 likes

20 comments on this article

Gravatar
By in New Zealand,

That stormtrooper artwork done with minifigs is awesome!

Gravatar
By in Australia,

The glass cabinet that has Ninjago City and others in it- where can I get one?! That is exactly what I'm looking for to store my own Ninjago City and other larger sets.

Gravatar
By in Greece,

Love your stormtrooper made of mini figures

Gravatar
By in Australia,

@Starik20X7 said:
"The glass cabinet that has Ninjago City and others in it- where can I get one?! That is exactly what I'm looking for to store my own Ninjago City and other larger sets."

The two cabinets are from Fantastic Furniture, built without their middle shelves. Not cheap but a good size for Modulars and other large Lego sets

Gravatar
By in Australia,

@gunther_schnitzel said:
"Is that a pink and white BB-8?"

Yes. She is BB-K8; inspired by the famous R2-KT (and QT-KT). Behind her are 2BB-2 and BB-4, more or less movie-accurate. All of them are recolours of set 75187 with some modification for head shape and parts availability

Gravatar
By in Australia,

@AddictedToStyrene said:
“The two cabinets are from Fantastic Furniture, built without their middle shelves. Not cheap but a good size for Modulars and other large Lego sets"

Thank you so much! It’s perfect!

Gravatar
By in United Kingdom,

Are you working on a bridge with AT-AT legs at the moment in your cabinet? Do you have any mocs from exhibitions, BrisBricks or photo websites that you could share?

Gravatar
By in Australia,

@ambr said:
"Are you working on a bridge with AT-AT legs at the moment in your cabinet? Do you have any mocs from exhibitions, BrisBricks or photo websites that you could share?"

The walker is a Crane Walker inspired by Vincent Jenkins' concept art of the Corellian docks scene from the movie Solo (and there's a tiny one on the box of the UCS Star Destroyer). I am @addictedtostyrene on Instagram if you would like to see more

Gravatar
By in United States,

Add another like for that minifig mosaic!

Gravatar
By in United States,

Addictedtostyrene; are you able to provide the element number for the respirator masks on the imperial dock workers working on the AT-AT?

Gravatar
By in United States,

His stormtrooper mosaic happens to be his avatar as well!

Gravatar
By in Australia,

wow what a great set-up Ikea is great for lego storage and display

Gravatar
By in Australia,

Thanks for the show and tell Mr Ed. (& for getting me deep into CMF collecting) Brisbricks also shout out back to implore you to do a Skype show and tell at our next virtual meeting. Please? Presidential request.

Gravatar
By in Australia,

@Nikafol said:
"Thanks for the show and tell Mr Ed. (& for getting me deep into CMF collecting) Brisbricks also shout out back to implore you to do a Skype show and tell at our next virtual meeting. Please? Presidential request."

Maybe I will, Nik, maybe I will...

Return to home page »