Storage solutions: moggy001
Posted by Huw,
Like me, Martin, aka moggy001, is a Really Useful Box fan:
I was an avid Lego builder as a kid, but entered my dark age around the age of 16, at which time I sold every bit of Lego i had, sadly for not very much money at all.
When Robotics Invention System was released some years later I was quite taken with it and I purchased both version 1 and then version 2 when it came out. I got a Lego catalogue with that and flipping through the pages sparked my interest in sets other than Mindstorms. Interest alone wasn't quite enough so it was really my children's "coming of Lego age" a few years later that offered an excuse to buy some sets.
I found myself enjoying building again and especially so with my little ones. I separated from my ex at a time when both my children were always excited by new Lego, my son was into City and trains, and my daughter wanted every Friends set, so having my own place and nobody to answer to meant that Lego purchases became a regular occurrence. It was impossible to not also buy a couple of sets for myself and I started with Mindstorms NXT and some technic sets as they gave me more parts to use in my robotic creations.
It wasn't long before I then also found myself buying more system sets, mainly various Creator sets to complement the City and Friends sets and to build more of our own creations. Those were followed by an increasing number of sets from all themes as they took my fancy and so our collection expanded. We always build every set we buy, and some sets were kept intact for the kids to play with, but many were dismantled so that we could increase our parts inventory to allow for more interesting and elaborate custom-builds.
As is the norm, I found that a growing number of parts required developing a storage system. A couple of big tubs simply wouldn't cut it. I quickly built up a collection of Really Useful Boxes with compartment trays in them to hold our parts, but it became a hassle to lay these out each time we wanted to build and then stack them again once finished.
I decided to try find some shelving to accommodate all those boxes such that I wouldn't need to lay them out on the floor but rather use them a like drawers. It turned out that would be an impractical solution as I would need loads of shelf space.
During that search I found that Really Useful Boxes actually produce a "storage tower" system that included 7 litre or 12 litre drawers but are designed to alternatively hold many of my boxes (4 litre and 9 litre) in place of those drawers. The storage tower system is not cheap but it's also not prohibitively expensive and I think it was a worthwhile investment for my Lego habit. About a year ago, my lodger moved out and I decided to convert that spare room into a Lego room.
This provided space for more RUB storage tower modules as well as some display shelf area, a good corner for some low level box shelves with a top for a big diorama MOC (we always have one that we are working on, although the current one is now being pulled down to make space for the next one), and finally a set of tables for the Lego city that I have always wanted to build.
The RUB storage tower modules fit pretty much perfectly floor to ceiling in my room and make for very quick and easy access to all my parts whether for a MOC or for my city finishes. The boxes with blue handles in the storage tower each have 7 or 14 sorting compartments and I tend to keep similar types of parts together in the same box where possible.
The drawers hold parts that take up more space, like bricks and slopes and larger plates and doors and windows. Underneath my city table I also have RUB "scrapping" drawers which sell as modules too, so that you can stack as many as needed; these drawers are shallower and wider 3 litre capacity and great for parts like 1x1 round plates or 1x1 tiles or cheese slopes or 2x2 plates, all of which I don't tend to need to sort by colour.
Very large parts like boat hull, vehicle chassis, 16x16 plates, and all base plates are stored in the low level box shelves beneath the large diorama MOC base. As you can see from my pictures, a good number of sets are on display; many of them in the Lego room, but as I live on my own, most display sets are in my living room where I can enjoy them all the time. I also have some of my favourite minifigs mounted in homemade frames in my living room.
Finally, although there is often a need to mix some technic with system to achieve certain things in my builds, I decided to keep my technic parts in my study as they would require a fifth and sixth tower in the Lego room, so they are all stored in 11 litre Really Useful Boxes with compartmentalised inserts, and those boxes are stored on IKEA Besta shelves for easy access.
Our Lego trains are the only items that are not always out on display; they are stored in a couple of 64 litre Really Useful Boxes underneath the city table and taken out periodically to set up a track layout running through the house.
This division of system and technic works well for me as I tend to work on technic builds at my desk (which is opposite to my technic shelves) where I can focus and tinker, while our system builds are more free-flowing and we move around a lot while doing them.
In case anyone is wondering, I did look at getting a number of those Akro-Mils style storage units that seem to be popular with many Lego builders, and I purchased a couple to try out, but I didn't get on with them as I found it fiddly having to pull out a separate drawer for each and every part type; I prefer having all similar parts together in a single 7 compartment tray like I do so that I can try out colours or slightly different parts to see what looks and feels right on my build.
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17 comments on this article
Funny to see so many similar hobby's people can have.
Ofcourse Lego, but here i noticed a guitar and the latest Zelda game as well. During my youth, i really was an outsider due to the things i liked, but as of recently i find more and more kindred spirits. How i would have loved to have such a network during my childhood.
All these storage reviews have given me plenty of ideas to help sort out my collection, which has now taken over 2 bedrooms. I have noticed that a common set in all these reviews has been the lego camper van, which started me off collecting again after a 42 year gap.
That Zelda game on the TV is the best one ever! Enjoy playing Breath of the Wild!
Those MOCs are really nice and you have an impressive/inspiring collection and system. Thanks for sharing!
Great collection and great set up. What more can man ask for?
Great to see some other users of really useful boxes.
That poor 42082 crane in the lowermost shelf is crying man. Let it out of there and let it’s mast up, it’ll be so much more beautiful.
Your "interesting and elaborate custom-builds" are very interesting and elaborate. Thanks for the peek at your beach front scene! Those "Reefscape" fish are eyecatching, too. Quite striking. It's fun to be able to have your collection where ever you want it to be. Thanks for sharing it with us!
Very impressive vertical stowage and Lego seems to have take over the house. The beach plaza hotel looks like a fun place to stay, and party away the night at the beach bar which are both very original and well designed.
That's an impressive collection! Thanks for sharing!
Also, where do you get those RUB trays with the dividers in them? I've been looking for something like that for ages.
Great to see Really Useful Boxes, they are indeed, really useful! Although normally quite expensive deals can often be found on Amazon.
@Studio_Brickton said:
"That's an impressive collection! Thanks for sharing!
Also, where do you get those RUB trays with the dividers in them? I've been looking for something like that for ages."
Really Useful Boxes have a huge range, most of which don't appear in stores. Try emailing them direct, they were very helpful.
@Studio_Brickton said:
"That's an impressive collection! Thanks for sharing!
Also, where do you get those RUB trays with the dividers in them? I've been looking for something like that for ages."
I buy them direct from RUB as I can then order precisely what I need. They do sell and ship in the States.
@namekuji said:
"That poor 42082 crane in the lowermost shelf is crying man. Let it out of there and let it’s mast up, it’ll be so much more beautiful."
I agree but I just don't have much more space for it; there are other parts of my home already hosting bigger sets than the crane; they just aren't included in the pics. lol
The crane does get an occasional stretch when my son plays with it. :-)
@moggy001 said:
" @namekuji said:
"That poor 42082 crane in the lowermost shelf is crying man. Let it out of there and let it’s mast up, it’ll be so much more beautiful."
I agree but I just don't have much more space for it; there are other parts of my home already hosting bigger sets than the crane; they just aren't included in the pics. lol
The crane does get an occasional stretch when my son plays with it. :-)"
Ah that explains why it is parked where it is. Technic should always be accessible to be played with. You are absolutely correct in its location.
@mfg3000 said:
"Your "interesting and elaborate custom-builds" are very interesting and elaborate. Thanks for the peek at your beach front scene! Those "Reefscape" fish are eyecatching, too. Quite striking. It's fun to be able to have your collection where ever you want it to be. Thanks for sharing it with us!"
Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of the fully completed beach hotel; i started taking it apart before I realised I hadn't taken final pics. Next big moc is an island ship port.
@ambr said:
"Very impressive vertical stowage and Lego seems to have take over the house. The beach plaza hotel looks like a fun place to stay, and party away the night at the beach bar which are both very original and well designed."
Thanks for the compliments on our beach hotel; most of the ideas and designs are those of my kids; i add the engineering experience. :-)
My girlfriend would agree that lego has taken over my house. lol
Neatly organized! Well done!
I should throw away my really unuseful boxes and switch to really useful ones myself!