Storage solutions: aminster85
Posted by Huw,
Adam, aka aminster85, shows us his LEGO rooms:
To start, I should say that I have a very patient and understanding wife who, in hindsight, probably didn't know what she was getting in to! Thankfully, she has now fully accepted the hobby, and has even built her own sets that she displays. I didn’t have to persuade her to have some room for display and storage, and have agreed to keep the Lego to two designated areas.
I have been allotted one bedroom that doubles as an office, and the basement of our house that I finished shortly after moving into in 2011. The office room is primarily for display, mostly of built sets but does have a Batcave MOC I built for a local comic convention.
The sets that are on display are larger sets like the modular buildings, and various vehicles from Marvel, Star Wars, and Technic. The displayed sets will sometimes cycle out and be parted for use in MOCs, that depends on how fond of them I am.
The shelving used for display is a collection of bookcases and even an old TV stand I have gathered or built throughout the years of collecting. I have hung some planes and Star Wars ships from the ceiling using cup hooks and fishing line.
My storage and building takes place in my basement at a building table I built myself. It’s a horseshoe shape with storage for parts all around the seat. I’ve primarily used the Akro-Mills storage bins and Sterilite parts bins, but also use Hefty totes and Rubbermaid shoebox size plastic bins with an attached lid.
The pull-out bins are mounted to the wall and a stand that I built to elevate them, and each parts bin has a shelf they sit on. The pieces are sorted by part, and very few are sorted by color. The larger pieces, (BURPs, LURPs, and panels) or larger quantities are in the Hefty totes and plastic bins.
I even have my minifigures separated in three plastic bins one each for head, torso, and legs; I’ve had a friend comment how interesting it is to see a bin full of Lego heads, but it’s easier to find what I’m looking for that way. The side of the table that faces away from my chair has shelving for MOCs I’ve done of starships, and a couple of sets.
I have made display shelves for each of the CMF series, as well as display boards for the Star Wars, Marvel, and DC minifigures. These displays surround the building table, and over the years have grown quite a bit.
With all the sets I have I’ve also accumulated a lot of instructions. After years of different storage solutions from boxes to sorting in hanging file folders I’m currently using a large lateral filing cabinet I purchased used from a local university. The instructions are stacked on the drawers and fit nicely. I wouldn’t call it perfect, but it’s the best I’ve come up with so far, and they’re not reused much, and can lie flat for storage.
As well as having sets displayed in my office I have the rest of the basement to use for display, and have the Architecture, UCS sets, and local buildings I’ve made displayed there. Keeping all these displays clean is not the easiest, and requires occasional dusting, and to combat this I use a combination of caned air, and makeup brushes. The makeup brushes are soft enough not to scratch, but rigid enough to get around all the studs and various shapes of sets.
I have only had time for light sorting, and some evening building with my wife during this pandemic. Our lives have not been interrupted much as we live in a fairly rural state and are both essential workers. We haven’t been going out as much recently and have been spending more time at home when not at work, which has been nice.
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Killer setup here! Really dig those minifig walls, and that Slave 1 display is great :)
Lol, my eagle eyes spotted another full scale stormtrooper helmet (last pic corner shelf) ... (saw one a few storage posts earlier). That always triggers me to look closer. cannot ID the variant though since the frown is hidden from the shelf corner support (frown color and shape are unique per episode)
That SR-71 looks neat as well!
Fantastic collection! Love the mini figs. Mine are dispersed throughout my china cabinet, sitting on cups and saucers etc.
Thank you for sharing all the photos of your long time collecting, as it's not often that you see all the pirate boats over the last 30 years together on one shelf above your monitor. In particular the 10210 Imperial Flagship looks very impressive. It's also interesting to compare the different variations of Star Wars Slave over time as well. It would be great to display all your Star Wars, from Slave, AT-ATs to Millennium Falcon in one place to appreciate the full extent of your collection, but I can see the difficultly as you forget how much space each of the larger models takes up. Is your Bat cave that you did for the convention on the shelf above the safe and just below the Technic vehicles?
The individual sets in your collection are still fairly easy to spot dispite the large amount of sets on display. That is impressive. So is having the ability to build your own storage solutions! Glad to hear that you and your wife are able to relax at home together after going out to work each day. Thanks for participating in this series and for keeping the world moving forward!
Great collection!
Now where's my shovel..... I need a basement!
I am loving all these storage articles. Some of the ways Lego is being displayed, stored, and built is extremely creative and inspiring!
I already have an IKEA order coming next month on the back of some of the products mentioned, Ad it has given me some longer term ideas for when (if!?) I can finally claim my entire downstairs office as my own.
On the back of this, one thing I would LOVE is a similar series on how people keep their Lego clean / dust free. Is it simply a good dusting regime, closed doors, vacuum attachments, a good blow, or custom solutions. I would love to know!!
Cheers for now Brickset.
I like the playmobil set hiding in the cabinets XD
That’s pretty sweet! Nice build area, too.
Great basement. And the bat-pod - I’m envious!
SO envious !!
I could have made such a charming basement unless I lived in Japan... Here every house are basically very small.
By the way, where are the empty boxes gone after those sets were built ? That is another interesting matter as for me.
Awesome basement! Needs more Packers signs! Do you save all the boxes somewhere offsite?
I used to hold on to instructions but they took up too much space
Wow, now that’s dedication. Great job!
Love the black wall background, makes the sets pop out. The ceiling hangers are great as well.
That plexy shelving for the speed champions are nice! Is that home built?
Awesome slave1 setup!
So what’s in the safe? Mr. Gold? :)
Ps. A playmobil got lost in the shuffle
Haha, nice to know that someone else also uses makeup brushes to dust there LEGO too. Epic LEGO set collection though.
I want to jump in that couch and never ever get up
Great collection! That building desk is amazing, I love the trim with the burnt wood finish. Did you do that yourself?
Great collection, I love the desk set-up! So much Lego...
I definitely enjoy seeing and reading about other people's sorting and display. Please keep this series going!
Go Pack Go!
Echo the sentiment of others, you've got a great set up. I'm also pretty sure most of these reviews should start with the same acknowledgment of a highly tolerant and understanding spouse who didn't really understand what they signed up for with the Lego lifestyle. I know that's how I'd need to start if I wrote one of these.
That is awesome! thank you for sharing!
That is a very nice setup indeed.
Ah yes, the horseshoe desk. I have an intention to build something similar when I have a more permanent residence. It will be called the Building Throne
Great setup! I Love how many sets you managed to get out for display without looking cluttered at all. Well done all around
@EarthGirl83 said:
"Great collection! That building desk is amazing, I love the trim with the burnt wood finish. Did you do that yourself?"
I did build it myself, and it’s modular so I could get it down the stairs!
@Ken_Akahane said:
"SO envious !!
I could have made such a charming basement unless I lived in Japan... Here every house are basically very small.
By the way, where are the empty boxes gone after those sets were built ? That is another interesting matter as for me. "
I only keep some of the boxes, large, exclusive, or ones I find unique. They’re mostly broken down and stored next to the cabinet with the instructions, but a few are still whole. I’ve actually filled the Millennium Falcon box with flattened Architecture boxes.
When I think about a house with a garage or a basement, I immediately think of bricks and displays. I don't know why...
I'm really interested to know more about how you hang the planes @aminster85 !
I would love to hang up some of mine, but I would be very nervous about them either falling and breaking, or about the line causing damage to the plastic.
@belindaj said:
"Fantastic collection! Love the mini figs. Mine are dispersed throughout my china cabinet, sitting on cups and saucers etc."
please post a pic of that! I might need to hide a few "lost" dudes in there myself!!
great idea!
@aminster85 said:
" @Ken_Akahane said:
"SO envious !!
I could have made such a charming basement unless I lived in Japan... Here every house are basically very small.
By the way, where are the empty boxes gone after those sets were built ? That is another interesting matter as for me. "
I only keep some of the boxes, large, exclusive, or ones I find unique. They’re mostly broken down and stored next to the cabinet with the instructions, but a few are still whole. I’ve actually filled the Millennium Falcon box with flattened Architecture boxes.
"
Thanks !! @aminster85-san !!
Many tiny little boxes in a huge one ... yes I do, too. It might be a basic storing way. Even so, the outer box of LEGO sets wouldn't get smaller yet while LEGO company have announced that way before.
Anyway let's keep on enjoying LEGO building together even if far away , west or east !!