Custom made wooden storage boxes - and other ways to store ASL gear

[Dr Zaius]

I saw a post from Mark Pitcavage on the ASLML about this website. They offer custom made wooden storage boxes for ASL. You can see more about it on the webpage:

http://www.baracraft.com/custom_box.html

This may be of some interest to those looking for a new storage system.

[Priest]

Those are a little too rich for my blood, think that I'll stick with Plano.

[Dr Zaius]

Do you use a specific type, or just a large box? What does everyone else use?

[Priest]

I like the Plano 1234-04 tackle box, they have them at Kmart for around $30.00. The feature that I like is the removeable stowaway trays, some of which have 24 compartments. These stowaway trays are around $2.00 a piece, which means that you can store your counters in the stowaway trays and then put the ones that you need into the tackle box. Hopefully this will cut down on the number of tacle boxes that you need to buy. It would seem that between counter storage trays and Plano boxes, the most popular amoung the ASL crowd is Plano.

[Dr Zaius]

Hmmm, I had my old ASL gear in the little plastic storage trays like you find at wargame stores, but I may look into this plano idea. Is there a webpage where I can see them?

[Priest]

Go to http://www.planomolding.com Go to tackle systems then hard system. Hard system has the tackle box (1234-04) that I was speaking about, but, you might want to look everything over.

[da priest]

Hmmm, I had my old ASL gear in the little plastic storage trays like you find at wargame stores, but I may look into this plano idea. Is there a webpage where I can see them?

One place for "types" of storage is:

http://www.desperationmorale.com/museum/aslmuseum-counters.html

But he leaves out the fly-keeper/hobby parts clear plastic storage bins...

I use large ones for the main combatants, with smaller ones for AFVs and common utility markers---that way you only need the large ones and two small ones for any scenario after set-up....

[Dr Zaius]

Here is another possibility:

http://www.planomolding.com/hardwareshelving/html/932.htm

[Priest]

I think that most of us started out with those plastic storage trays that you find in hobby shops or that come with the game. They are ok as far as they go, but, somehow they are lacking in something. The thing that I like about the tackle boxes is that they have handles to carry them with.

[da priest]

From the ASLML:

"Plano 3701 all the way


Thin so you waste no space vertically
Up to 24 compartments max to separate our PzKfw IV models A trough J
As few as 5 compartments if instead of 24 you are a "throw all the AFV's
together type of person"


I started out with a mix of plano's, now I am all the 3701's. Maybe a few
more than some would like, but I am color blind so need to make sure I have the right counter"

If you go Plano, I think this is the most used model, and somewhere on the net is a set of labels already made up...

[Dr Zaius]

Here is the one that Les was talking about:

http://www.charkbait.com/cs/tacklePlano.htm

You can see several other plano models in the link as well.

Here are some more that may be of interest:

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/wfp/shimtacbagw6.html
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/wfp/plansofsid331.html
http://www.basspro-shops.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=15912&hvarSearchValue2=435&hvarSearchValue3=217&hvarSearchValue4=00&hvarTarget=search
http://www.basspro-shops.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=44692&hvarSearchValue2=421&hvarSearchValue3=167&hvarSearchValue4=00&hvarTarget=search
http://www.basspro-shops.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=36754&hvarSearchValue2=820&hvarSearchValue3=251&hvarSearchValue4=02&hvarTarget=search
http://www.basspro-shops.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=36757&hvarSearchValue2=820&hvarSearchValue3=243&hvarSearchValue4=00&hvarTarget=search

Has anyone tried any of these carrying cases? If so, what do you think of them? I used to use the regular flimsy plastic stoage trays that you find in wargaming stores, but they are hard to transport and store. Plus they are nearly as expensive as these plano cases.

[da priest]

Here's my style of box, I use the 18 compartment one for the basic nationality stuff. They are expensive...

http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml;$sessionid$WJVKG3AAABQCFQFIAIKCFFGAV ABBIIV0?CATID=230&PRODID=60128&FEEDCNT=3

[Chris Milne]

Being a primitive, I still keep mine in little baggies. Sealable ones, of course. Works quite well, but it can be a pain sorting through the info counters to put them all back...

[Dr Zaius]

Here's my style of box, I use the 18 compartment one for the basic nationality stuff. They are expensive...


How do you organize them? Do you have one of these fancy carry cases or some type of storage bin that they fit into? How many of these does it take to organize one nationality?

Les, how many of the Plano 3701s do you use? How do you organize and store them?

[VW]

This is a link to a webpage with files for organizing ASL gear. They also have sniper cards and art for binders.

http://www.godsavethesouth.com/asl

[da priest]

Being a primitive, I still keep mine in little baggies. Sealable ones, of course. Works quite well, but it can be a pain sorting through the info counters to put them all back...

Used to do this in my primitive days, but need for immediate accessability and the pick-up time changed my view of baggies.... :devious:

[da priest]

Do you have one of these fancy carry cases or some type of storage bin that they fit into?


3 bankers boxes for the counters, boards(regular and Deluxe), and Scenarios. Plus a Sample case for the ASLRB(2 D-ring binders), Chapter H binder, overlays binder, advil, aspirin, rubber cement for overlays, fishing line for LOS and Dice Tower.

All lugged around on a man-size "rollie". :cheeky:

As for your other questions--i'll get back to you when i can string an hour together... :eek:

[Dr Zaius]

3 bankers boxes for the counters, boards(regular and Deluxe), and Scenarios. Plus a Sample case for the ASLRB(2 D-ring binders), Chapter H binder, overlays binder, advil, aspirin, rubber cement for overlays, fishing line for LOS and Dice Tower.



Okay, you'll have to excuse my ignorance on this one. What exactly is a 'bankers box' or a 'sample case?'

I'm leaning towards the plano right now. I'm just trying to figure out how much and which kind are the best for the task. I also want some type of storage system or one of those nice bags to fit it all into. It looks like there are plenty of different syles to choose from. The thin plano boxes seem to be the best to me. There is no need to have 3" thick plastic boxes because most of that would just be wasted space anyway.

[Priest]

Used to do this in my primitive days, but need for immediate accessability and the pick-up time changed my view of baggies.... :devious:

Man you want to talk about primitive days, I remember back in my Stalingrad and Afrika Korps days when all of the pieces went in the bottom of the box. Along around PB/PL came the baggies, the counter storage trays came in during SL and the finally the Plano tackle boxes came in during the early 90's. Don on his web page Tom Repetti says it takes about 8 of the Plano's that da priest mentioned to handle his ASL stuff. My ASL stuff is organized by nationality then squads, AFV's, general vehicles, support weapons (MMG's, ATG's, mortors, etc...) game control pieces get thier own box.

[Dr Zaius]

My ASL stuff is organized by nationality then squads, AFV's, general vehicles, support weapons (MMG's, ATG's, mortors, etc...) game control pieces get thier own box.

That's what I intend to do as well. I don't want the Russians mixed in with the Germans, cats and dogs living together, that sort of thing. I guess it would take at least one container for each nationality, plus the regular ASL counters.

Of course, then we have mapboards, rulebooks, and scenario binders... :crosseye:

[Aries]

Ok who exactly is this "other" Les hehe :)

And for the record, this Les uses the cheap vacum formed counter trays made to fit inside a bookcase size game box, because, hmm, I have all kinds of game boxes to put them in hehe.

Thankfully I bought all the trays back in the 80's before stores started charging insane prces for them.
I mean a dollar is ok for a stupid piece of vacum formed plastic, but 5 bucks is robbery.

Although for vehicles, I have my entire inventory carefully arranged and sorted into the stacked sliding compartmented drawers type cabinets. After all, I am not even interested in carrying around every vehicle the game possesses.
It's called Squad Leader for a reason :) Vehicles are just an add on. If I am playing a scenario out of home, I find the actual vehicles I need, and take only them with me.

[Priest]

It's your evil doppleganger twin Les, just in fron the 8th dimension.

[da priest]

Okay, you'll have to excuse my ignorance on this one. What exactly is a 'bankers box' or a 'sample case?'


Well a bankers box is a box that is about the size of a moving box for books, maybe a tad larger, has a removable lid. Built for long term storage of paper/reports etc...holds six ASL bookcase boxes on side easily, the bottom can just fit a deluxe box lying flat.

Sample case is a very large briefcase, 3-4 times wider than a regular briefcase. Sometimes when you go to a Docs office, you see a cute chick with one, full of "sample" drugs for the Doc to push on his patients.

[da priest]

How do you organize them? ...

I try for consistancy. :cheeky:

Picture an extruded plastic box with three rows of 6 bins:

Generic Nationality:

Top row is for the Infantry:

Start in Upper left corner: Elite Squads and HS bin 1, 1st stringer S/HS bin 2, 2nd stringers S/HS bin 3, conscripts S/HS bin 4, bin 5 would be ART counters, bin 6 ATG counters...

Center row of bins are for MTRS, and then AFVs sorted "ALPHA/Numerically"...

Lower row:

Infantry SMCs(including heroes/Snipers, etc), then crews/armr ldrs, then in next three bins SWs sorted to reflect the nationality, last bin is always "?s".

Simple, eh? :confused:


How many of these does it take to organize one nationality?

I have two sizes of 18 holers..for black ger SS, Chinese and Italians one smaller one each holds all their stuff.

The larger 18 holer handles just the infantry stuff and ART/AT/MTR for nationalities like US and German...vehicles get own boxes(two small 12 holers for German vehicles).

Note all my counters are clipped and I do use forceps to retrieve counters from the "deeper" bins.. :nuts:

[Chris Milne]

All counters should be clipped :)
But in particular, those from WoA 1ed, which were truly horrendous to punch. Even with a knife, I had to mutilate mine to make them stack properly :(

[Priest]

Good point Chris, hopefully the counters in FKAC won't be as bad.

[Chris Milne]

Recent counter quality in MMP games appears much improved! I think they've learnt things from The Gamers :)