Heroclix Figure Storage

Where to put all my crap.

Superheroes, Jedis, anti-terrorist soldiers with overly specific code names…doesn’t matter what you’re into, if you — like me — lack impulse control, cool displays quickly morph into an episode of Hoarders.

That’s how it got with my HeroClix collection, and here’s how I slew that combat-dialed dragon:

Big honkin’ storage containers.

A trip to Target delivered what I was looking for: Tubs. To fit all my figures, I needed four tubs, two for for Marvel guys, two for the DC dudes. To avoid opening and closing each container to find what figures were in what box, I bought two purple tubs…

… and two blues ones. Marvel was blue, DC was purple. Why was Marvel blue? I have no idea, don’t read into it.

To further help identify what was in each box, I busted out a Sharpie…

…and tagged one of each color tub with a ‘V.

‘ V…for “VICTORY!”

Actually, no, I just love that old ’80s V TV show. The ‘V’ on the tub indicated which tub had the villains, and which had the heroes.

So let’s go inside one of these…

Before buying the big tubs, I measured the small boxes used to hold my individual ‘Clix figures (more on those smaller boxes in a minute). The larger tubs can hold four stacks of the smaller boxes side-by-side, with extra room on the side for a couple boxes stacked vertically.

In addition to the smaller figures, if you have one of those unwieldy big figs, like, say, this guy…

…whoop, looks like Galactus just got his hair did.

Storing a big fig in its own container felt unwieldy, so by bubble-wrapping any delicate parts (like Galactus’ Mardi Gras helmet), he can slip into the tub without fear of breakage.

Now, as far as the smaller containers…

These were found in a local craft store, and were labeled “sewing storage” (needles and thread and stuff). I immediately bought out their inventory. Like sixty of ’em. I get lots of weird questions when waiting on line at craft stores.

“You must really like sewing.”

“Nope, just need a place to keep my little plastic Taskmaster.”

[awkward silence]

Anyway, to quickly locate a figure, each box is labeled with its contents. Some boxes are alphabetical, but here’s where sh*t gets fancy…

When a character is part of a team, that team gets its own box. Wanna play the Masters of Evil…? No need to hunt around three dozen boxes for each member (I’m looking at you, Norbert Ebersol): just grab the MoE box.

And check it: if a character is a member of different teams, that info is cross referenced. I don’t wanna brag, but this is some Dewey Decimal-level sh*t. [pops collar]

So what happens when the second-best rogues gallery* doesn’t fit in its own box…?

Just break ’em up into sub-categories. Easy peasey lemon squeezy.

(*And sorry about that “second-best” crack, Spidey. You’re the best fictional character ever created, but Batman’s got you beat when it comes to baddies. But hey, you’ve got an arch enemy made of bees. No one can ever take that away from you.)

One more quick thing about the labels…

While I prefer to keep a ‘Clix game relegated to a single comic universe, my gaming group is comprised of anarchists. Flash Rogues mixed with evil mutants, Hellboy teaming with the Avengers…it’s like CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS and SECRET WARS had a baby. Plus Conan.

Anyway, as a quick way to differentiate all the universes, and the good guys from the bad, each category gets its own color. Pink for non-Marvel/DC, yellow for Marvel heroes, green for Marvel villains, orange for…why the f*ck am I typing all this? The picture up there spells it out.

Let’s pop open one of those small containers, and see what’s lurking inside…

That’s what I love about these boxes: the small compartments — everyone gets their own cubbyhole!

Different brands of containers have different setups: my favorites are those that feature customizable dividers. Got a tall figure like Giant Man, or those with larger bases like Mr. Whitman…? Pull out a divider, and sha-BOOM!, now they fit.

But what about those figures that are big through the hips, roomy…?

Sometimes a slot needs to be wider instead of longer, so out come the wire cutters. Some snipping, and now I gots me a double-wide.

But hey, this is comics: what about giant robot dragon guys with huge wingspans…?

SNIKT! Slice and dice until they fit.

And there you go: a blog post on how to replace your unsightly pile of ‘clix figures with an unsightly stack of storage containers.