Storage solutions: Jadblz
Posted by Huw,
After a run of practical solutions for small spaces in our series of storage articles, we're back in dream LEGO room territory today as Joel, aka Jadblz, shows us around his collection:
Growing up in the 80's has afforded me what is essentially 40+ years of collecting LEGO, while I did have a small dark age, I have been very steady at collecting seriously for over 20 years now.
Having never parted with any of my childhood sets as well as collecting as much as I can every year, I've run out of space many times now. I went from coveting and saving boxes to tossing them without much of a thought to get my current state of organisation.
I collect LEGO for the sets themselves, while I do MOC a bit, my main collection is based on keeping the sets in their entirety. Extra copies of a set or any collections I'd buy would go to my "spare parts" bins which are housed in multiple sizes of what were Sterilite carts from 15 years ago.
Having removed the wheels, the carts allowed for very easy reconfiguration of the drawers, allowing me a custom setup to fit my space. I also use several variations of Akro Mills drawers for smaller, more frequently used parts. I tend to group my smaller parts by colour family. It started out of necessity because the drawers wouldn't hold all the parts, but it's since become just another way to keep things sorted for me.
I've long outgrown the drawers, so I do have an "overflow" section. But I prefer seeing all the types of parts I can vs. having some not represented at a quick glance. I separate each brick by type and colour, so 1X__ are all housed in a large drawer, and 2X__ are housed separately. Same goes for the plates of each colour.
When it comes to other types of parts, I bag each part type separately and group them within the drawers, such as Arches or Plants and even Windows and Doors. I've found grouping by common use to help greatly when looking for something as well.
The other part of storage for me is how I store sets, either built or brand new. As you can see from my room I like to display as much as humanly possible. Sadly even with the size of my room I can't have everything I want out for the eye to see.
Rotating displays has been something I do to not only keep the dust at bay, but to give some other sets the chance to shine. I like trying to showcase a small sampling of different themes. While keeping particular favourite sets out as long as I can. I try to bring out themes from different eras too, so that it doesn't all feel too contemporary. I have one large table display that is currently classic pirates (influenced by the Ideas set no doubt), I know it's crowded but I couldn't help myself.
Storing sets that were built is as simple as taking them apart, and bagging them. I bag all the stickered parts, clear windows, and minifigures separately. Each set is bagged and placed in one of many bins by theme. Most of my new sets (if not built right away) meet a similar fate. I open the box, bag the LEGO bags and sort them by theme waiting to be built someday.
I've resorted to cutting part of the box off to easily identify the set contained. All of my bagged sets, built or brand new reside in 18 gallon Rubbermaid bins. Each bin has an inventory done on it and that set log is kept in a database, so I can easily access any set quickly. Keeping my sets stored efficiently is as important to me as keeping my parts sorted and this method has worked well for me for years now.
I also collect any other LEGO merchandise I can get my hands on. Whether it's clocks or dinner plates, if it says LEGO it's fair game for my collection. In order to show and store these types of goods I rely on Detolf glass cabinets from IKEA. They help to keep dust down, and let me really pack them full of odds and ends.
The only piece of furniture in my room that's not IKEA is the official LEGO building table that my Daughter sometimes uses. Of course, it was purchased well before her actual existence, because it was on sale and came with a LEGO set.
I've been lucky to have an understanding wife who has gracefully embraced my growing collection over the years. Moving from place to place has been a chore, but during our last move we actually looked for a house that had what would be a good "LEGO Room". So I've got more space than ever, but it will never be enough! This room does double as my Transformers collection room as well (in case you saw any), even if LEGO occupies most of it.
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46 comments on this article
What a treat to see your collection first thing in the day! All those beautiful ships on display are almost breathtaking. It's also fun to see that Friends boat up by the Treehouse:) You have an amazing collection of gear, too. Thanks for participating in the series!
Wow, that is a Nice collection, what's your current ranking of sets you Own in the Brickste database?
Your LEGO room is bigger than my house!
Okay, maybe not my WHOLE house, but still, that’s a pretty big place you’ve got there.
Amazing collection, reminds me of a 'willy wonka' toy shop or the nursery my kids would have love to go to. Glad that you have the vertical space to display all the models from the same theme together on one shelf, rather than everything in stowage. I noted 18 expert builder buildings, including some rarer ones that weren't available for very long, e.g. fire station and town hall. Do you ever put them together to form a cityscape as that would make a great photograph and trying out the various combinations?
Holy. Crap.
Love that decor along the door in the last picture. How did you secure it? Glue?
Love your exhibition cabinets. It's like a museum for lego lovers.
Thanks Huw for the opportunity to share here on Brickset.
I truly appreciate the kind words here!
@iefdb Looks like I'm at 20 ATM, I haven't looked at that in a while
@ambr I have had all the modular buildings lined up once or twice, but not recently. I hope to again someday, but my display table can't hold them all end to end. So I'll have to find another way.
@Jacopyright I actually used 1 piece of double sided foam tape at the top to hold it. It's hard to see but I did build the base board molding from bricks as well so it's all LEGO from the ground up. That helped greatly in giving it a much firmer footing.
Thanks for asking!
Wow!.......just wow
Amazing collection, must be pain to dust off!
Is your beautiful Lego shop open for visits? ;)
You must have a lot of fun in there. How wonderful!
Now thats how i would like my lego sets to be displayed :D
Nice collection of Modular Buildings. Just ALL OF THEM! :D
Great collection!
I really like how you have placed all the sets from one theme/wave together e.g. like City farm, jungle etc :)
Winner!
Now if I wasn't married, had loads of disposal cash, no other hobbies, hated being outside, that's how I would do it.... Lovely seeing all themes displayed together.
I didn't see any Transformers, but I did spot what looks like a brick-built football in the Detolf cabinets. Am I right - and if so, what set is it?
What an absolutely extraordinary collection! Everything is so neatly organized and the entire room is so aesthetically pleasing.
What's the lego set two levels below the rollercoaster, the one with the orange-rimmed circular gate, please?
@TerryWright The ball isn't brick built, it's actually a mini LEGO Ball from 3426 Adidas Team Transport.
You can see some of the Transformers here https://www.flickr.com/photos/156103299 @N02/49962855578/ as well as more LEGO Gear.
@TheHacker The orange gate is the front of 7709 Sentai Fortress from the Exo Force Theme
Thanks for asking!
@jadblz said:
" @TerryWright The ball isn't brick built, it's actually a mini LEGO Ball from 3426 Adidas Team Transport
Ta!
Wow, very impressive!! Where did you get that giant Boba!!
Wow.. very beatiful!!I have no words. the most beautiful lego collection I've ever seen, kept in the best way you can do. compliments.
That's just wonderful.. I would pay to have a look around. Just how do you go about fitting in a new set within an existing display :-D
Best in Show...... Its difficult to describe. Its part museum, part shop, part dream, part warehouse, part official Lego building. Its amazing. And organised. I have Lego all over the place, and It drives me crazy everytime I decide to build that set... which is...... around here somewhere..... I bought it with that one.... why is it not either with that one or with its co themed sets..... And as for storage. Bung it in a see through box with no label and shove it in the loft. I spent 2 hours looking for a Elves Dragon last week. Only found the dragon, not the rest of the set. I wish I could have seen this setup 10 years ago I may have been organised by now.
@TheHacker said:
"What's the lego set two levels below the rollercoaster, the one with the orange-rimmed circular gate, please?"
7709 ExoForce Sentai Fortress, I believe.
This is an impressive and inspiring room! I love the effort you have taken to curate the various lines. Kudos to you!
@Brent007 said:
"Wow, very impressive!! Where did you get that giant Boba!!"
It's actually a brick built figure I made back in the early 2000's based off the 3723 design.
Amazing.
Looks like a LEGO store.
What a collection! You could open your own store or exhibit in there hahaha.
Btw, in the 3rd to the last picture, what is the glass display cases that you used?
Soooo great and wonderful!
Are these IKEA shelves with modular buildings? Looks like BILLY but shorter...
Of all the "LEGO rooms" that I've seen being showcased here on Brickset, yours is the most that resembles a toy store. The table, shelving with LEGO placards/signs, and that carousel. Amazing. Beyond that and your sets, you have other LEGO items truly making the room feel like a store. And I applaud you, Joel.
Ye Gods !!!!!
Decepticons!......of course you won't see them. That's what they do....
Love this! Someday hopefully I too will have a Lego room but it probably won't be quite as big. My finished basement has two large built in closets that I would love to make use of for my collection but alas my Mom lives with me & has one completely full of junk she doesn't use but refuses to part with. I'm working on getting the other set up to house most of my unopened sets & my semi-sorted parts & other boxed up sets that are partially broken down.
@thatStructVector said:
"What a collection! You could open your own store or exhibit in there hahaha.
Btw, in the 3rd to the last picture, what is the glass display cases that you used? "
IGNORE my comment please haha. If anyone is wondering they are Detolf glass cabinets from Ikea!
I bet you could teach some LEGO retail stores a thing or two about how to sell this stuff. Wow. Just Wow.
Wow, this is just amazing... I think my collection is similar to yours (grew up in the 80s, made up for my dark age after getting a real job), but not as extensive and definitely not as much space as you! Thanks for sharing - now let me show this to my wife...
Awesome room! I also love how just about every one of these storage/ member articles mention that they have an understanding spouse. That is definitely a must!
I guess it's inevitable for most Lego collectors to cram all their collections into boxes or tightly organized shelves, instead of spreading them in a layout wehere they can enjoy playing with them. I can only set my town when family is on vacation once a year, for a month. Then back to boxes and drawers I'm afraid.
It is very nice to see all these storage solutions.
My complete studio apartment has 19 sq. mt. (~205 sq. ft.) - this includes bathroom, hallway, kitchen, dining room, living room, bedroom, office...
That's why I have a very limited LEGO collection.
Maybe some day...
@karrit said:
"...My finished basement has two large built in closets that I would love to make use of for my collection but alas my Mom lives with me & has one completely full of junk she doesn't use but refuses to part with...."
Sorry, I can't resist:
"Isn't it amazing how other people's stuff is junk and your junk is stuff?" - George Carlin
:)
WOW! Bowled over! I especially like the 3D models like Mandalorian and Spidey :)
PARABÉNS!!!! Linda coleção, a sua coleção está muito bem organizada e armazenada, um grandioso tesouro, enorme relíquia, pode montar um museu para visitantes.
Even the wall is cool!
Could you post somewhere more photos with the close ups? I would like to see all the details of your collection.
If this Storage Solutions article series was a competition, you'd defiantly win. It's amazing just looking at the photo's. I can't imagine what it'd feel like being there in person, gazing at your marvellous collection and setup!
It’s amazing, wow how Id love to open a museum/shop looking lego room xx Its so creative, I love it ?? x
Well done & enjoy ???? xx