My brain is usually trying to figure out the best or most efficient method to complete tasks. This has also found its way into my hobbies.
One of my most frequent complaints about complete miniature houses is the fact that there is so much cutting and time spent finding components to complete certain steps. How can I cut this down or make it more efficient?
I think the traditional method of working your way thru a miniature build is probably the one that most people gravitate towards when first starting it out. Its definitely the one that I’ve done most frequently. As I’ve become more comfortable to confident in my work with miniatures, I have started to ponder if there is a better way.
First and foremost, my mind goes to separating the materials for each step ahead of time. My tool of choice in this would probably be the snack size ziploc baggies. They are small enough to not be extra bulky and yet big enough to hold most of the items. I will definitely be trying out this method on my next miniature build. (P.S.: I’ll be streaming this on Twitch and will provide the links and schedule soon!)
Now, this method is not without it’s drawbacks. Namely, the use of the baggies. It could be argued that this is wasteful. And if I were to discard the baggies after the fact, you would be correct. I would definitely keep a little stockpile of these baggies for future projects though!
The other drawback is the potential that an entire baggie with all the pieces for that step could be lost or misplaced. Some extra steps in planning could assist with correcting this issue.
The next method is centered around the idea of cutting out ALL of the pieces ahead of time and then doing marathon sessions of gluing everything together.
While this approach is appealing because it gets the monotonous cutting out of the way ahead of time, it definitely comes with its own challenges.
How would I keep track of which piece is which? There are usually part numbers printed near the individual pieces. They would lose this identification number if they were cut out ahead of time.
How would I make sure I don’t lose the pieces? As with the first strategy, this is definitely a concern but could be fixed with a few extra steps.
I will definitely be testing these techniques out in future miniature builds. Check out my upcoming Twitch streams to see these in action.
In the meantime, let me know if you have any techniques that you use for keeping track of the pieces of your miniature builds!