The reason I ask is i’ve been building a freelanced S box electric motor I have no use for!! I do have a weakness for electric operations but i’m commited to SP steam in 1926. It occurs to me this model uses many parts who’s orgins are lost to time and of various scales. I do believe those Athearn switcher trucks, reguaged to S will do fine under that motor!!
Ok,who else is odd in this way, what do you do with those leftover parts that are too tempting not to put to good use?
Dave
I put them in my toolbox incase I need them later.(gears, shafts, motors, bearings, details, an Athearn GP40…[:D])
You never know when you’re going to need a part, so that’s why I keep them.[:D]
Joke from a long-ago Model Railroader, language updated:
How can you tell if a modeler is a newbie?
Ask him if he has a scrap box.
I have several, filled with odd trucks (on top of which I may someday build models of cars that aren’t available as kits or RTR,) motors, 57 different kinds of miniature lightbulbs, bits and pieces of dismembered structures and rolling stock, leftovers from kitbashing projects, et cetera, et al, ad nauseum.
Of course, the one thing I don’t have is an inventory!
I build “stuff”, I cram my MOW flatcars and work cars with spare parts , and add other parts to already constructed cars and coaches, and there is always room beside the repair shed for spare parts.
I save everything. I buy those clear plastic Rubbermaid looking organizers with compartments. You can buy them at Walmart and Homecenters in a variety of styles and sizes. They aren’t very expensive. I even buy them for storing kits under construction. Shop around and you will be surprised at what you find.
Speaking of spare parts, I need to replace a headlight missing from the pilot on a Riverossi 2-8-8-0 HO engine. Does anyone have one for sale?
Thanks -
I save them for spare parts or paint them rust and make junk piles out of them
I have on 60 drawer part cabinet full of stuff, no inventory, but organized by type of part, ie: loco parts , freight car parts, industrial parts. Also ten large boxes full of the same. Yep, when I need something off I go to the parts cabinet looking for just that one part.[B)]
organized bins…well a bucket labled sh[censored]
I’ve got four of those multi-compartment boxes full of various parts. You can find them in the fishing section at WalMart and other places. I use small tackle boxes as toolboxes, one has my electronic tools in it, the other modeling tools.
–Randy
I didnt think there was such a thing as a spare part… its just a part you dont need… YET.
Have fun & be safe,
Karl
If it is a “real” part, I save it in similar storage as mentioned by many already. If it is NOT a real part I save it in odd and end containers and small boxes. Broken parts make good gondola scrap. I use medicine bottles and film cans to store small parts. The best storage bins I’ve seen is the 3 drawer roll-a-way plastic storage shelves from Wal-Mart. I have about 12 of them. Six contain locos and rolling stock not on the layout. I have 3 drawers full of locos and rolling stock to be repaired or assembled.
I inherited a lot of parts, some of which I have no earthly idea what they are.
The parts from kits that arent used go to the correct holder as follows. I have 3- 60 drawer bins for small parts; Loco and car details: People and scenery bits. A Rubbermaid sweater box for those unused Building walls and roofs. Or just file 13 cabinet for the other stuff I dont want. Kevin
I use them to build “modern art sculptures” for the front lawns of the citizens of my town.
[:D]
Gordon
I have been saving for over 20 years now. I use the large StackOn containers for small parts, I have over 30 of them now and am starting to sell of allot of older out of production parts, some of them ar brand new. As far as engine shells, freight cars, and building parts, I won’t even go there, have way to much of that stuff.
That’s what I do…make some junk piles!
We’re pack rats. Of course we save spare parts. We know as soon as we throw something away, we will need it. A perfect case in point. Last week I was cleaning off the work bench. I saw a scrap piece of tubular styrene about 3/4 inch long. I looked at it and decided it was two small to be of any use so I pitched it. I am not kidding when I tell you that less than 10 minutes later I was putting the finishing touches on a small yard office I built from Walther’s modulars and decided the office would likely have a small stove to heat it and would need a stove pipe sticking up through the roof. That little piece of plastic I just pitched would have been perfect. I actually rummaged through the waste basket trying to find it but with no luck. Reluctantly, I clipped off a small piece from a full length tube I had. Why did this bother me. Because I know that sometime within the next year, I am going to need a longer piece of tubular styrene and the piece I have remaining is now going to be 3/4 inch too short for what I need and I’ll have to go buy another package of styrene. It’s Murphy’s Law.
Save them. You just might need them some rainy day
West Coast Shay: If you’re committed to SP steam in the 1920s, but love electrics, you could always model a Pacific Electric interchange–or Tidewater Southern, or Sacramento Northern, or Central California Traction, or Southern Pacific IER in the Bay Area…there are more possibilities, but the aforementioned are probably hassle enough!
Oh, my junk box…techincally my whole garage is a “junk box,” I have several of those multi-drawer tool/part holder thinguses as well as a few retread shoeboxes filled with junk-box type junk. Every kit has leftover parts, especially the way that I kitbash, and I save 'em all.
I hang onto any extra parts. I’ll need them sooner or later. As of now, I have at least 2 1/24 model car boxes filled with stuff. You name it, it’s probably in there–scrap passenger car bodies (just wall sections, left over from the PS124 kitbash), spare trucks, diesel shells, gears, bolts, and anything else that I just “can’t throw away.”