The thread on Joe Customs got me interested to show some of my storage and organization methods for my figures over the years. Up above is one of the earlier items I used for storing figures. As the collection grew, this became accessory storage.I also kept figures in vehicles off and on, as well. I wouldn't doubt I stored figures in the Killer WHALE's bottom compartment for some time, too.
After my tin up above filled up with figures, they started to migrate to boxes. The box below might have started out as all my figures, but as I obtained more figures, only Cobra claimed ownership of this cardboard box. I even labeled it, which was very forward-thinking of me, as it helps me to remember how things evolved over the years.
This particular box got use in about 1991 originally.
The box above became "Cobra's box," and I suspect that the box underneath the APC below is the box that the GIJOE's were issued at that time:
In the picture below, the little plano storage drawer box is seen getting its first "try out." In this photo, it shows the time that I was considering using these little drawers as my main method. I don't think I liked it a lot, as I didn't stick with it. This is about 1994, as you can figure out by the dates on the photos.
What's cool, is I can see my old shoe boxes that I was using for the figures just before that time (somewhere between 1991 and 1994). I think ALL the figures may have been in the Red Wing's box at one point, but I also see the slimmer brown flip-top box, so I can't remember exactly how it all played out. The box with Deep Six to the upper right may be the box of my "unused" figures. (Deep Six ('84) was "unused" as I had the 1989 Deep Six that was a lot more fun for me.)
Above, using the date on the photo, I must have decided to use the pair of slim boxes, one for each team. As you can see all the figures laid out in front of each box. Or, I didn't have enough money to buy more of the drawer units.
Just above, and just below, are the very same things I was using for storage for Joes. Today, I have some H.O. Train items in the shoe boxes, and as you can see below, the plano organizer is somewhat used for accessory storage. So, since I have these still after all these years, shows I'm a pack rat?
IN about 2005 I was trying to get my Joes out of the "box" when I bought eight of these:
Prior to this, I think I had everything organized into the little baggies, in a box of some sort. I wanted to have a quicker, easier way to access everything. With eight of these, I was able to separate every little faction and environmental-oriented group. (one drawer was Iron grenadiers, while another drawer was Arctic, for example.) I still wasn't happy with it, nor was I getting my figures out for set up after I got these filled. Plus, I still didn't have enough of the three-unit drawers to fit the "new-sculpt" Joes that I accumulated. Now these are scattered all over the place, each holding different household items of paperwork, or something.
Add on that I lost my "joe room" at that time, all the Joes went back into baggies. Back into baggies and into my Rubbermaid storage totes:
And that is a brief showing of my "shoe boxes."
I'm sure I forgot about other boxes I used and I'll probably see them in some odd photo at some point in the future, but I feel like I got most of what I used shown here.