Subject:
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Re: Pile Proponents
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.storage
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Date:
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Fri, 10 Jan 2003 19:19:55 GMT
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Viewed:
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5791 times
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On Fri, 10 Jan 2003 17:14:59 GMT, "Phil Painter"
<mealy_mouthed@hotmail.com> wrote:
> I've noticed both storage and sorting are popular here—and with some
> collections upwards 100k, I can understand. Sorting seems almost a sub-hobby
> of a hobby.
>
> But I have to ask, is there anyone who does not sort? Even a larger collection?
>
> I have a rapidly growing 21k inventoried (and another 5k or so
> uninventoried)—nothing to scoff at, but still a fraction of many adult
> collections. And I keep it loosely sorted for several reasons:
>
> I don't have the space.
> I don't have the time.
> I don't have the will.
>
> The foremost reason is that too much organization makes it difficult for me
> to build. It stifles my creativity. When I started my collection back up, I
> tried storing parts in their own bins and smaller parts in plano boxes and
> ziplock bags. But I wasn't building. I couldn't build.
>
> As a kid I developed the habit of searching through a mound of bricks,
> sometimes for what seemed like hours, for a single part or the "other one of
> these" I was certain I had. While scouring the pile for that one piece, I
> found other parts that generated creativity, which were set aside. I was
> happening upon pieces I had forgotten about or otherwise wouldn't have
> thought to use.
>
> It wasn't until I bought several of these:
> http://www.sterilite.com/Products/Catalog/1995_LG.jpg (Sterilite #1995) that
> I actually started building with the size collection I always wished I had.
> All the parts were present and I was handling all of them. Not to mention
> the pacific sound of LEGO against LEGO. (It must be like nails on a
> chalkboard to some of you to think of all the scratches in my windows and
> cockpits.)
>
> This isn't to say I don't sort. But as loosely possible: 1 bin for plates, 1
> bin for bricks, 1 bin for slopes, and 1 bin for everything that doesn't go
> in the other three. It works great, because all the little 1x2 plates fall
> to the bottom and are suprisingly easy to locate amidst the larger plates
> and wings.
>
> : .
>
> Building > Sorting.
There is some wisdom to this. I can see it. I too used to derive quite
a bit of inspiration from "random finds" while sifting through piles
of pieces in search of something else. I find though, that larger
projects, and particularly robots, often require specific pieces -
creativity becomes secondary. It goes something like this:
Your building a large building (my current one is a massive roundhouse
(4ft diameter). Now creativity is geat to a point and part of my
problem, admittedly, is that I don't have a creative bone in my body,
but I find that to a certain extent creativity kicks in, but only
breifly. Something along the lines of: "I think I'll add some windows
along the back wall at minifig height and many more much higher up for
natural interior lighting". At that point creativity is done and the
task is no about finding 30 to 50 appropriate windows. Creativity
might rear it's ugly head briefly again to decide on different types
or colours of windows in different areas, but generally you're now
looking for specific parts to meet a goal. This is where sorting saves
your butt. Once all the windows are in, you can go back to being
creative.
On the robotic front, most designs (mine anyway) are based on
functionality. I need to move an arm with a gripper on it, for
example. I don't care how many different windshields I have, or how
many styles of doors. Sifting through them won't help me. I have a
specific purpose and I need specific pieces. Again sorting saves your
butt.
I've been playing with Lego for 34 years now, but I only sorted my
collection this fall (well, last fall now). One of the few perks of
being unemployed :-)
It took close to two months to do it once and I had to limit myself to
sorting only those parts I use most often while the rest go into bins
in the closet. I have to honestly say though, it's the best thing I've
ever done.
As an aside, it also helps with the kids. If my son wants to build
something and he can't find the part in his unsorted bin (his Lego), I
can quickly replace it with something out of the sorted collection (my
Lego). This is helpful because, at three years old, his attention span
is still fairly short and he'll lose interest if I don't keep his
project moving in good time. At this age, children need to see results
fairly quickly. I've discovered via the Adventurer's sets (and the
highway contruction set) what juniorization is truely all about. I
finally *get* it! The quick fix that small kids need can be addressed
with a well sorted set. Not that you'd expect the kids to sort and
maintain it though.
After all, when you have a large collection like many people here do,
you have to do everything in your power to make *sure* the kids learn
to love it!
Matthias Jetleb
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Pile Proponents
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| I've noticed both storage and sorting are popular here—and with some collections upwards 100k, I can understand. Sorting seems almost a sub-hobby of a hobby. But I have to ask, is there anyone who does not sort? Even a larger collection? I have a (...) (22 years ago, 10-Jan-03, to lugnet.storage)
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