Geoff M Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 Nothing new here as kits more detailed but I just opened up the Z-M F-4E to start and counted 15 sprues! How do you deal with all those sprues? Many times the parts you need for a particular area of the build (cockpit for example) are spread out over different sprues which requires sorting through multiple sprues to find all the parts. I am not complaining about the amount of parts at all, I think the added detail is great. What I want to know is has somebody got a good idea of organizing these sprues so they are easy to sort through but not spread out all over the workshop? Last kit I worked on was the Tamiya F-4B and I had to just spread them out on the floor which is hardly efficient or practical. Any suggestions? Geoff M Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonwinn Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 I go to each sprue and cut part with sprue on it if I can, meaning I cut all the cockpit parts and leave as much sprue as possible, do that assembly then do the same for the next step. What I try to do is paint on the "mini sprued" parts without totally removing them so I have something for the alligator clip to grab. There is a method to my madness but someone else probably has a more efficient way. Hope this helps but doesn't confuse you either, I have "odd ways" to cure "odd problems". Quote Link to post Share on other sites
F-16 Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 (edited) 15 tree/sprues? Is that all? The AMK 1/48 Tomcat kit has over 56 sprue trees. I just re-counted them. And 3 decal sheets. Scott CNJC-IPMS Edited October 27, 2022 by F-16 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
viper730 Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 Desktop sprue organizer works for me. I bought this https://www.hobbyzone.biz/shop.shtml#!/HobbyZone-OM13-Sprue-Module/p/102650226/category=17925293 It has 15 slots but b/c of various parts shapes it usually holds fewer parts trees. HTH Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 Wait, you can take the sprues out of the box??? /s Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElectroSoldier Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 7 hours ago, habu2 said: Wait, you can take the sprues out of the box??? /s I think youre getting more and more cynical as the years drag by you know Habu2 ))) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Geoff M Posted October 28, 2022 Author Share Posted October 28, 2022 8 hours ago, viper730 said: Desktop sprue organizer works for me. I bought this https://www.hobbyzone.biz/shop.shtml#!/HobbyZone-OM13-Sprue-Module/p/102650226/category=17925293 It has 15 slots but b/c of various parts shapes it usually holds fewer parts trees. HTH That might work for holding some sprues for when you are working on a particular area of the kit. Might have to give it a try. Geoff M Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gwen Phoenix Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 Oh dear; I once got a terrible rebuke from my husband for having taken all of the sprues out from his Kinetic 1/48 Su-33 kit and have been unable to put them back together inside the box so that the lid would fit. Not even a Tetris expert would have succedeed. Cheers, Gwen Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Geoff M Posted October 28, 2022 Author Share Posted October 28, 2022 Found this item that is similar at Staples Only 10 bucks. Geoff M Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElectroSoldier Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 4 hours ago, Gwen Phoenix said: Oh dear; I once got a terrible rebuke from my husband for having taken all of the sprues out from his Kinetic 1/48 Su-33 kit and have been unable to put them back together inside the box so that the lid would fit. Not even a Tetris expert would have succedeed. Cheers, Gwen Takom seems to be very good as making boxes that fit once. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott Smith Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 (edited) I bought a tool chest from Harbor Freight to sit beside/behind me as I build. The top 4 drawers are for sprues of the kit or kits I’m working on. The rest of the drawers hold all the small tools that use to clutter up my bench all the time. Between builds my bench is cleaned off 100% of everything, all tools put away and everything wiped down. Of course I’m only on my 3rd build with this new system. Let’s see how long it lasts. LOL! Another tip is to ”Flag” the sprue with tape and write the sprue number on it with a marker. Edited October 29, 2022 by Scott Smith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Geoff M Posted October 30, 2022 Author Share Posted October 30, 2022 That is very impressive Geoff M Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vonjhn68 Posted November 11, 2022 Share Posted November 11, 2022 Agree Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted November 11, 2022 Share Posted November 11, 2022 On 10/28/2022 at 10:56 AM, Gwen Phoenix said: taken all of the sprues out from his Kinetic 1/48 Su-33 kit and have been unable to put them back together inside the box so that the lid would fit That proves my suspicion that with the rise of GPS the roadmap factory map folders got new jobs at plastic model companies. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott Smith Posted November 11, 2022 Share Posted November 11, 2022 2 hours ago, southwestforests said: That proves my suspicion that with the rise of GPS the roadmap factory map folders got new jobs at plastic model companies. Now that’s funny! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gwen Phoenix Posted November 11, 2022 Share Posted November 11, 2022 6 hours ago, southwestforests said: That proves my suspicion that with the rise of GPS the roadmap factory map folders got new jobs at plastic model companies. Indeed... I was told that the AMK Kitty kit box is in the same league as the Kinetic Sea Flanker? Cheers, Gwen Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElectroSoldier Posted November 12, 2022 Share Posted November 12, 2022 On 10/27/2022 at 8:26 PM, Geoff M said: Nothing new here as kits more detailed but I just opened up the Z-M F-4E to start and counted 15 sprues! How do you deal with all those sprues? Many times the parts you need for a particular area of the build (cockpit for example) are spread out over different sprues which requires sorting through multiple sprues to find all the parts. I am not complaining about the amount of parts at all, I think the added detail is great. What I want to know is has somebody got a good idea of organizing these sprues so they are easy to sort through but not spread out all over the workshop? Last kit I worked on was the Tamiya F-4B and I had to just spread them out on the floor which is hardly efficient or practical. Any suggestions? Geoff M Most kits these days give each sprue a letter and then number the parts on those. I just arrange the sprues alphabetically on a rack and pick out the parts required. When they dont have a letter then I just look up the parts diagram in the instructions. When the kit is really old they generally dont have that many sprues to search through and you just go looking over the sprues to get the part you need. Keep it simple. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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