The Bitz Box, a Hobbyist's Best Friend

What do you do with all the left over plastic bits and bobs that you're left with once you're done assembling whatever kit you are currently working on? I mean, you don't use everything do you?

Would you believe that when I first got back into the hobby, I threw them away sometimes? Yup, that's right. I didn't really know any better at the time, and until I needed one little part for something that I was sure I had, then realized that I had thrown it away. It was then that I decided that come hell or high water, I'd never throw another unused bit away again. Unfortunately this left me with another conundrum... What do I put them all in?


At the suggestion of the local shop manager back then, I was directed towards the storage aisle of the hardware store. I found quite a few options available to me... Drawer units of various sizes, single sided organizers, and cases that have more in common with fishing tackle boxes than anything else I could imagine. (Though don't knock tackle boxes for a Bitz Box, if it works for you, awesome).

What I ended up choosing was the Stanley Double-Sided Parts Organizer.

I chose this one for a few reasons:
1. The latches on the sides were solid. They didn't lock, but they were secure in their fastenings and kept the contents in place without spilling.
2. The sides had removable dividers in some areas, allowing for customizable storage spaces for different sized bits, including bikes, war walkers and even land speeders.
3. It has vertical, stationary drawers that even though the sides flipped up to secure in place, these did not and would keep paint pots vertical if stored in them.
4. The dual sided nature of this case won out over the single sided versions just for sheer storage capacity.
5. The portable nature of this case worked better for me than the more stationary drawer units as I work in a few different areas of the house at times depending on the situation.

In the end, pick one that will work for you and your needs. I personally outgrew my first and have since purchased a second... And may work towards my third by the end of the year. Why am I such an advocate of an organized Bitz Box? It makes modeling and converting honestly just that much easier, and saves me time from hunting though bags or tupperware for specific parts. Throw in the fact that today's plastic kits have more bits than we need or sometimes know what to do with, a Bitz Box is darn near a necessity.
What do you store your spare bolters, mutated arms and power weapons in?

- Tim