Counter Creep in storage trays

Ray Woloszyn

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I have had problems with the 34 compartment Plano storage trays with counters moving on their own volition under the removable dividers. I found that a one inch straight needle inserted on one side holds the dividers down and tight preventing any movement of the dividers when fishing for counters. Glue will not do the trick since it never dries given the plastic nature of the tray. A little force and the needle and divider come right out.

I recommend not stealing the needles from the wife's sewing kit. Any extra needles you have purchased can be saved for you favorite voodoo doll.

I apologize for the waste of bandwidth if this solution has been offered in the past.
 

zgrose

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Look for the Loctite Plastics Bonder that comes with the Activator and Glue bottles. It should bind to the plano plastic.
IMG_2742.JPG
 

jrv

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If you have a solder iron you can melt the plastic to lock it in place. Just a quick poke at the top will do. That actually doesn't prevent all counter creep as counters climb over the top. I have foam shelf liner cut to size which I lay across the top. That still doesn't prevent all counter creep, so I have a taser for opponents who put away counters in the wrong place.

JR
 

zgrose

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I used the glue to make half-size slots for counters that couldn't justify a whole region.

IMG_7481.JPG
 

Justiciar

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.... I have a taser for opponents who put away counters in the wrong place.

JR
You can't put counters away in the wrong place in your storage system your system is just WRONG to begin with. :mad: :eek: JRV uses all the LMGs of any nationality go in the same sub-section...all 447 go together, etc.

<"The horror, the horror..." use the Col. Kurtz voice.>
 

Spencer Armstrong

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You can't put counters away in the wrong place in your storage system your system is just WRONG to begin with. :mad: :eek: JRV uses all the LMGs of any nationality go in the same sub-section...all 447 go together, etc.

<"The horror, the horror..." use the Col. Kurtz voice.>
That’s a great system for SWs and SMCs. It’s sheer lunacy for MMCs. :p
 

jrv

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You can't put counters away in the wrong place in your storage system your system is just WRONG to begin with. :mad: :eek: JRV uses all the LMGs of any nationality go in the same sub-section...all 447 go together, etc.
There are too many LMGs to go in one section. LMGs are split axis and allies. The system allows tighter packing of the counters in planos than others because, for instance, all DCs are in one tub. Pick out the one you need by color. The scheme has its detractors, but they are few and mostly mistaken.

JR
 

jrv

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That’s a great system for SWs and SMCs. It’s sheer lunacy for MMCs. :p
It's actually pretty good for MMCs. You don't have all squads in a single tub. I split them axis, allies & odd cases. The axis first line squad tub has Germans and Japanese. Allies has American, British & Allied Minor. Soviets and Italians go in a third container. Pull by color.

JR
 

Justiciar

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There are too many LMGs to go in one section. LMGs are split axis and allies. The system allows tighter packing of the counters in planos than others because, for instance, all DCs are in one tub. Pick out the one you need by color. The scheme has its detractors, but they are few and mostly mistaken.

JR
The detractors, in the open might be few, but we are the brave souls to rage against the madness that is the folly your only on grade above Bendis and his hefty storage system.
 

Justiciar

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That’s a great system for SWs and SMCs. It’s sheer lunacy for MMCs. :p
No it's not...b/c your Japanese 447 are now stored elsewhere, but you have to bring that SMC / LMG plano along too...whereas all my Japanese are in 1 3701 (men, SW and vehicles...and airplanes...).

No! soup for you. You should know better. JRV is just plain mad dog crazy...
 

zgrose

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It's a scheme that favors density over speed of random access.
 

jrv

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The detractors, in the open might be few, but we are the brave souls to rage against the madness that is the folly your only on grade above Bendis and his hefty storage system.
At the end of a long, grueling scenario you will greatly appreciate that your opponent chose the Bendis Storage System.

JR
 

jrv

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It's a scheme that favors density over speed of random access.
It was designed to enhance density, but random access is fairly good. You pick by color. If you have your DC, FTs & ATRs in one bin, you have to flip through the counters to find the one you want. Me, pick by color. Done. There are some places where there are issues: if a given nationality has multiple items of the same type, for example Soviet .50 cal MGs, you do actually have to look.

Every so often I will run into a player who is color-blind in a way that makes it hard for him to pull the right counters. That's a serious downside, for which I have no good answer. Hmm, I wonder if a TV camera could translate the colors into colors the color-blind person could see.

JR
 

Spencer Armstrong

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It's actually pretty good for MMCs. You don't have all squads in a single tub. I split them axis, allies & odd cases. The axis first line squad tub has Germans and Japanese. Allies has American, British & Allied Minor. Soviets and Italians go in a third container. Pull by color.

JR
I admit to having overlapped crews here and there. It works. My short version is a have a SMC/SW tray for Allies and one for Axis. You need that and whatever nationality tray of MMCs you’re using.

And vehicles are bagged and labeled. Naturally. :)
 

jrv

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And vehicles are bagged and labeled. Naturally. :)
I have the vehicles in two plano 3701s (axis & allies) plus some overflow, arranged by vehicle note number. Most are one vehicle note number to a bucket; some nationalities (the British but others too) have two notes per bucket. I have a sheet labeling the buckets because while it is possible to find by inspection, it is time consuming. Recently I have modified my label sheet to have color backgrounds so that it's easier to concentrate on the nationality you need.

JR
 

Justiciar

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At the end of a long, grueling scenario you will greatly appreciate that your opponent chose the Bendis Storage System.

JR
At the end of such a scenario I don't care about what the storage system is...I only care if Bendis' beer supply has run out or not! Now picking out counters from Bendis' D & D oriented magic pouch would set me on edge. I had this at WO in 2004 vs. a player that was a "Diplomat" in the US system...read "Spook" by the way he deflected general question from me on his 'job'.... and used a merged system like this. I told him, "Stand down; I will get my kit." MajorDad witnessed this event.
 

Spencer Armstrong

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I have the vehicles in two plano 3701s (axis & allies) plus some overflow, arranged by vehicle note number. Most are one vehicle note number to a bucket; some nationalities (the British but others too) have two notes per bucket. I have a sheet labeling the buckets because while it is possible to find by inspection, it is time consuming. Recently I have modified my label sheet to have color backgrounds so that it's easier to concentrate on the nationality you need.

JR
That's roughly how mine are, but individual baggies within the Plano makes it easy to find what you need.
 

von Marwitz

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There are too many LMGs to go in one section. LMGs are split axis and allies. The system allows tighter packing of the counters in planos than others because, for instance, all DCs are in one tub. Pick out the one you need by color. The scheme has its detractors, but they are few and mostly mistaken.

JR
The ASLer with a true heart does not ask how much tight packing is required by his storage system but how much space he can give to his ASL counters. :bow:

von Marwitz
 

Kijug

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I used the glue to make half-size slots for counters that couldn't justify a whole region.

View attachment 3150
What kind of organization is this? I see the Good Order Hero 1-4-9 counters are mixed with the Wounded Hero 1-3-8 counters. Just adds time trying to sift through the counters to find the now you need. ;)
 

von Marwitz

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I have foam shelf liner cut to size which I lay across the top. That still doesn't prevent all counter creep, so I have a taser for opponents who put away counters in the wrong place.
Dang! I am still missing the taser in my kit! :mad:

As for the foam shelf liner to lay across the top, looky here:
(I use these for RAACO but looking at what JR says they seem to work for PLANO, too. RAACO does only 'know' counter-creep across the top and not through the bottom. Maybe these foam liners might also help vs. 'bottom-creep' by applying a bit of pressure on top of the dividers with the lid closed. But this would need to be verified by PLANO-guys testing it.)

_002 Counter Creep Cover 2b.jpg

These are foam mats of 2mm strength that fit perfectly flush on top of the 2 tiers of A75/A78 inserts in an Assorter. The material is comparable to what you find on the bottom side of a mouse pad. The mats can be easily cut to size. If the lid of the Assorter is now closed, counter creep is all but impossible. The mats come in a 30 by 40cm size, which means that you will need one per Assorter and have quite some excess. This is not too bad as each one does cost something between 1 and 1.5 Euros.

The article is called 'Crepla Platte schwarz, Article-# 3395001, 30x40x0.2cm', the producing company can be found here:
www.rayher-hobby.de

Here are links as to the specific mats as of 29. Jan. 2017:
https://rayher-hobby-shop.de/Bastelmaterial-1/Materialien/Moosgummi-Crepla/Crepla-Platte.html

https://www.amazon.de/Rayher-3395001-Crepla-30x40x0-schwarz/dp/B004P1M7TW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1485722033&sr=8-5&keywords=Crepla+Platte+schwarz

An alternative to these mats could be a piece of felt mat or simple cardboard. But we do want the 'ultimate' storage solution, now, don't we?
 
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