Storage solutions: KevinyWu
Posted by Huw,
Kevin Wu, aka KevinyWu, who lives in Georgia, USA, shows us his neat, tidy and colourful LEGO storage:
My collection is still relatively small compared to the other impressive storage solutions I’ve read about here, but hopefully this article is still of some interest. I received my first set on my third birthday, and my collection has undergone many changes since then, from storing my parts in the box of 8708 Cave Crusher to old cabinet drawers to one of those off-brand LEGO play tables. When I turned 16, I became more serious about MOCing and my collection grew rapidly. I got my first job to fund Bricklink orders and PAB runs, and have been enjoying the benefits of my LUG (shout out to InnovaLUG!).
With a growing collection came a need for more efficient storage. For smaller and specialised parts, I invested in the excellent Akro-Mils storage drawers, which cost about $30 each. For larger pieces, generally larger in volume than a 2x2 brick, I bought 24 Sterilite containers for about $2 each. And for parts I have large quantities of, namely plants and trans-clear studs, I use PAB cups.
Sorting is prioritised by colour and then type, with some exceptions, naturally. Drawers range from overflowing to containing just a few pieces, in the case of rarer colours. Admittedly, there is some wasted space. I wouldn’t say I’m a perfectionist, but when it comes to LEGO, I can be quite picky.
In each subsection, plates and plate-type parts occupy the left, and assorted bricks occupy the right. Larger parts are typically found near the bottom, smaller ones up top. Some parts have their own drawer, like 1x2 dark orange tiles, some are mixed in with other similar parts, like light bluish grey round plates, and the few outliers have their own miscellaneous drawer.
Specialised parts are grouped together near the build table; these include transparent parts of various colours, studs (earthy vs. everything else), printed and useful stickered parts, and parts with two pieces joined together, like hinges and turntables.
The section on the build table is my favourite. Here lie the plants, animals, food, shields, weapons, brick separators, tools – all the accessories. It also contains various bars, clips, wheels, doors, and windows.
In the large bins, colours are grouped together if they are few, like in the red bin. Other colours, like dark bluish grey, span three bins: one for bricks, one for plates, and one for everything else. There’s also a bin for Bionicle, a bin for technic, a bin for vehicle-related parts, and a bin for large miscellaneous specialised parts. Most of these large bins are predominantly air, as I tend to prioritise purchasing smaller parts. But that’s alright, since I rarely use large parts aside from forming the base or for structural support.
My minifigure collection spans two shelves. I try to keep all of them intact in their original form, only taking them apart temporarily for MOCs. They are grouped loosely by theme or genre.
While MOCing is my main priority, I keep a few of my favourite sets and MOCs on display. The Tower of Orthanc looms from the corner of my build table, and my top shelf houses some Ideas sets and 80102: Dragon Dance, which I was lucky enough to snag while visiting my relatives in China. Two or three old MOCs are also still intact (anyone recognise the bear?).
Other than the ones on display, I like to take apart and sort old creations and sets before I build, for the comfort of knowing I have all my parts at my disposal. The Chinese New Year’s set atop my storage drawers is soon to be parted out, after I do an alt-build for a LUG challenge. The two creations on my build table are very recent: the larger one will soon suffer the same fate as the New Year’s set, the smaller one is going to be shipped to the LEGO House for display!
I hope this has been a useful or interesting read to some degree. My LEGO collection occupies half of my bedroom, and while it could be bigger, I’m very fortunate with what I have. I’ll be heading to university in the fall, so the future of my collection is uncertain, but it works for now! Thanks for reading!
If anyone is interested, here’s my Flickr.
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25 comments on this article
Neat and clean, a starting point of any zen/ninjago philosophy!
Thanks for the article, and to think that you'll be heading to university this year just speaks how talented MOCer you are, well done!
Seeing all those built MOCs and official LEGO sets, I always wish that the next set of (these member centered) articles will be Display solutions!
Wow! Storage is perfect! So clear and tidy! But it's your MOCs that are wonderful! The venetian channel is really astonishing. Bravo!
Wow very cool, as well as you MOC's. Really like to do something like this, moving on from my current ziplocks-in-a-container system (which in itself was already quite an update on the fishing-tackle containers based system).
Also, always fun to recognise parts from the PaBwall, guess they are generally the same all over the world... (e.g. the 4x1x3 light yellow bows and the olive green (?) cheese wedges)
Thank you for sharing your creative place with us, as interesting to see the very organized setup behind the fantastic creations on your flicker site. These all look like paintings to me, e.g. day at the mill, as they are so realistic. Congratulations on the Monkey mission being shipped to the Lego house, I loved the story to go with it. I think all your builds should be displayed. My favourite is Eryos castle where I found more photos at https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/157151-eryos-castle/ Thanks for doing the interview at https://innovalug.com/post/247/meet-kevin-wu
I really really need a room for my lego
Many congratulations on your organization! It is honestly one of the best I've seen so far. Very good.
Your collection is modest but mighty, Kevin Wu! Your storage and organization look great and then you take those colourful parts and turn them into your gorgeous MOC's. You are a talented artist. Congratulations on your submission to the Lego House; any of your creations would fit in well there. It is very exciting to see a capable young person heading off to university. Best of luck with that experience! I think it is clear that we can expect great things from you, Mr. Wu. Thanks for participating in the series!
The small MOC, as well as the big one, looks marvelous. As for uncertainty of the future your Lego's, no worries... I'm 45, been to college, did some army duty, working 6 days a week and still building (like a 5 year old but who cares).
Is that the Kanye west bear from his first albums?
Hope you keep your collection intact or at the very least in storage when you get off to school. At some point in your life you may want to return to building if you feel/know you will not have time or space for LEGO in your life while in school.
All the best in the future. Looks like you build some pretty cool stuff and are very well organized.
@eMJee83 said:
"Wow very cool, as well as you MOC's. Really like to do something like this, moving on from my current ziplocks-in-a-container system (which in itself was already quite an update on the fishing-tackle containers based system).
Also, always fun to recognise parts from the PaBwall, guess they are generally the same all over the world... (e.g. the 4x1x3 light yellow bows and the olive green (?) cheese wedges)"
I was using ziplocks myself right before my current situation. They did a good job, but drawers are definitely an upgrade. More expensive, yes, but time is money and the drawers save a lot of time when building and sorting.
4x1x3 light yellow bows yes, although I have yet to find a use for them; I need more light yellow! Olive green wedges no. If they were, I would've gotten thousands of them. Cheese is the best!
@ambr said:
"Thank you for sharing your creative place with us, as interesting to see the very organized setup behind the fantastic creations on your flicker site. These all look like paintings to me, e.g. day at the mill, as they are so realistic. Congratulations on the Monkey mission being shipped to the Lego house, I loved the story to go with it. I think all your builds should be displayed. My favourite is Eryos castle where I found more photos at https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/157151-eryos-castle/ Thanks for doing the interview at https://innovalug.com/post/247/meet-kevin-wu
"
Thanks for promoting me :) And thank you for the kind words. Glad you like Eryos Caste. It was my first serious MOC and there are a lot of areas I would design differently today, but its cool to hear it still holds up!
@tallblocktoo said:
"Hope you keep your collection intact or at the very least in storage when you get off to school. At some point in your life you may want to return to building if you feel/know you will not have time or space for LEGO in your life while in school.
All the best in the future. Looks like you build some pretty cool stuff and are very well organized.
"
I'll most likely just keep it in my room, at least for the first two years since I'm required to live in an on-campus dorm. Plus, the breaks are when I'll have the most free time to build, and I'll be back home then. But I'm glad you're concerned about a dark ages in my future! You never know what's going to happen but I'd bet against it.
@neyoung8 said:
"Is that the Kanye west bear from his first albums?"
Bingo! He's one of my favorite artists, and his first three albums are classics in my book. The bear is specifically from the cover of his third album, Graduation, designed by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami
@darthmar said:
"I really really need a room for my lego"
Don't we all. ;)
This is a great room and organization! Thanks for sharing it with everyone. And congrats on your Brickworld award, definitely display that proudly.
I love the Venice MOC!
For some reason I find it hard to take apart my builds, even if they're not any good. I think I just need to put it on the kids' table and let nature take it's course.
@rab1234 said:
"For some reason I find it hard to take apart my builds, even if they're not any good. I think I just need to put it on the kids' table and let nature take it's course."
That would do the trick! I definitely find it hard to take them apart as well, but I see it as an unpleasant but necessary job. Reflecting on techniques I used while deconstructing is a plus, but if I could, I would keep everything together.
@graymattr said:
"This is a great room and organization! Thanks for sharing it with everyone. And congrats on your Brickworld award, definitely display that proudly. "
Thanks! It was just a nomination, not a win, but cool to receive nonetheless. It's too bad Brickworld was cancelled this year, I was planning on making the trip and meeting up with my LUGmates...
Yay a Georgia buddy!
I see a flamingo! :-) Where is that from?
@greenhorn said:
"I see a flamingo! :-) Where is that from?"
It's from the gardener in CMF series 19.
LOVE the Venetian Canal MOC, don't take it apart! It's so detailed and I can see a story forming already with the figs there. Bravo!
Congratulations on getting your MOC to the LEGO House; that’s got to be a great feeling. Your brick collection & organization look amazing. It’s so calming all the colours together (soothing to my OCD). All the best in Uni.