26 replies to this topic

[KateB]

Since learning of the release of the new Lego storage drawer unit on the US Lego Shop I've been lusting after it with avengeance as it's exactly what I've been after:

http://shop.lego.com...ge-Unit-5000248

After many emails to Lego and their affiliated partners Iris who make the storage units, along with a couple of other ones, it seems that they have no plans to release them in Europe as Iris is a US company.

Totally gutted    I contacted Iris directly who were very nice but the minimum postage cost to send to me in the UK came out at £65 - yikes!  Not likely on an item which costs about £25 in total.

Borderlinx also came in at about £65 postage which included import duties.

Anyone had this kind of experience before where the thing you really want is only available in the US - what did you do?

[ACWWgal2011]

Does Sterilite(product) sell items where you live? If you need a 3 drawer storage unit, you could try a price check on 3 drawer units. I'm seeing ones online that look pretty close in size to the lego one for about $15.

[Slick Willie]

Looks like the exact same storage units they sell at Home Depot, or Lowe's, for $8.  Except the Lego Unit has base plates stuck on them.

[KateB]

It's more the fact that it has a building station on top really, that's what I'm after.  The fact that the baseplate is removable is great too because as I'm a set collector, once I build something I generally put it on display for a few weeks before taking it down.  So with this I can move it off the top to display elsewhere.

We are currently re-doing our bedroom, where I originally built on top of a chest of drawers and that was my designated Lego area, so now I don't really have anywhere in my house where I can build and leave it in a half built condition without it getting in the way.  The chest of drawers are going!  Having a toddler in the house it has to be out of her reach and I only get to build for 30 minutes or an hour at a time.  I figured I can keep the set pieces in the drawers and then build on top, very convenient and compact and can be cleared away quickly.

As usual the UK doesn't have anything that fits the bill.  I've spent half my life sourcing everything from haircare products to Department 56 Halloween collection pieces from the US because the choice and variety of pretty much anything in the UK is rubbish!  All the best stuff comes from the US!  What's more annoying in this case is that Lego is European in the first place!!

[dr_spock]

It is also available in Canada for $10 more.  Do you have any family or friends in the US or Canada?  Lego 8258 Crane Truck was not available in Canada and I asked my sister in the US to get it for me.

[Tragic Banjo]

KateB, on 09 March 2012 - 02:42 PM, said:

Anyone had this kind of experience before where the thing you really want is only available in the US - what did you do?

Well, I live in the US, but I did recently find a set I really wanted that was only available in the Netherlands. I ended up getting it from a US-based Bricklink seller - they charged more than twice what the set was actually worth, but with shipping charges factored in, it was still cheaper than trying to get it from overseas. So that may be your best bet: wait until someone in your country has one for sale, and buy it for a most-likely-inflated price as a compromise for lower shipping charges. Or just wait until you or a friend happens to take a trip to the US.

[Lyichir]

Even though I already have a system for sorting LEGO, I like one feature of this: the baseplate on the front of each drawer. It's annoying to relabel drawers every time you get enough of a part to necessitate reorganization, but with this you could ostensibly stick an example of each brick in the drawer right there on the front.

[Pingles]

Really impressed by Amazon's prices on these.  The 6-drawer is US$62.  Ordered.

[KateB]

Unfortunately I'm not fortunate enough to know anyone in the US/Canada so that's not an option.  Probably a good thing as they would get sick of me asking to buy stuff on my behalf!

I did happen upon a website called www.useusa.co.uk which appears to import US products for sale in the UK.  The Iris 6 case storage unit was on there but it came to a total of £82.00 including shipping which is pretty ridiculous for a plastic storage tower.

Oh well, back to the drawing board  

Edited by KateB, 14 March 2012 - 05:24 PM.

[mostlytechnic]

Pingles, on 11 March 2012 - 02:12 AM, said:

Really impressed by Amazon's prices on these.  The 6-drawer is US$62.  Ordered.

Note that the 6-drawer one is different.There's no dividers and no small plates on the front of the drawers. Each "drawer" is actually a box that closes. We got my son this for Christmas and he loves it, but there's no organizational ability beyond the 6 drawers. So what he's doing is putting each set into a baggie and then storing the bags in the drawers.

[_JDB]

mostlytechnic, on 15 March 2012 - 01:43 PM, said:

Note that the 6-drawer one is different.There's no dividers and no small plates on the front of the drawers. Each "drawer" is actually a box that closes. We got my son this for Christmas and he loves it, but there's no organizational ability beyond the 6 drawers. So what he's doing is putting each set into a baggie and then storing the bags in the drawers.

Thanks for pointing that out.  I saw the post and decided to check it out for myself, but didn't notice that the compartments were missing from the six draw one.

I guess I'm going to have to wait until I get more VIP points before I order that three drawer one.

[LEGOGIRLFOREVER]

Do you really, really, really, really, really, really need and/or want the three drawer Lego storage unit???

Signed: ~LEGOGIRLFOREVER~

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[PaulBaldowski]

I'm really liking the look of those internal storage trays. Finding somewhere to adequately sort and manage Lego can be a real tough one. We have something similar to this, but just in terms of the drawers, not the trays. They'd certainly make a real difference.

[mrklaw]

Lyichir, on 09 March 2012 - 07:32 PM, said:

Even though I already have a system for sorting LEGO, I like one feature of this: the baseplate on the front of each drawer. It's annoying to relabel drawers every time you get enough of a part to necessitate reorganization, but with this you could ostensibly stick an example of each brick in the drawer right there on the front.

could just glue a baseplate onto the front of some normal drawers?

[Lyichir]

mrklaw, on 02 April 2012 - 01:25 PM, said:

could just glue a baseplate onto the front of some normal drawers?

I suppose, but then I'd have to cut the baseplates to fit, and it wouldn't come out looking nearly as polished as these storage units do. Not to mention that there are flaws in such a system: for instance, what do you do with a piece like the long antenna that would stick far off the drawer and pop off easily? What about parts that only attach from underneath a brick, like airplane wheels, or parts that can't attach to standard bricks at all, like Technic axles?

In theory these storage units would be amazing, but in practice they're mainly suited to people whose collections consist largely of basic bricks.

[KateB]

LEGOGIRLFOREVER, on 02 April 2012 - 06:47 AM, said:

Do you really, really, really, really, really, really need and/or want the three drawer Lego storage unit???

Signed: ~LEGOGIRLFOREVER~

_(▒)(▒)_______███☼████___(░)(░)
(▒)(▓)(▒)__ ███__ ██████ (░)(▒)(░)
_(▒)(▒)___██____███▒████ (░)(░)
_________██____███▒▒▄▒
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___________██____ █▒▒▒♥__(░)(▒)
____________██_____▒▒___(▒)(█)(░)
____________ ██____▒▒_____(░)(▒)
_____________██__▓▓▒▓______█
________█✯ _██ ▓▓▓▒▒▒▓____█_█
_(░)(░)___███_ ▓▓_▓▓▓▓▓▓__ █▀
(░)(▒)(░)______▓▓_▓▓▓▓▓▓___█
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Are you trying to be funny?

[mrklaw]

nm

Edited by mrklaw, 03 April 2012 - 10:29 AM.

[Follows Closely]

Lyichir, on 02 April 2012 - 03:09 PM, said:

...that there are flaws in such a system: for instance, what do you do with a piece like the long antenna that would stick far off the drawer and pop off easily?

Lyichir, on 02 April 2012 - 03:09 PM, said:

What about parts that only attach from underneath a brick, like airplane wheels,

Lyichir, on 02 April 2012 - 03:09 PM, said:

or parts that can't attach to standard bricks at all, like Technic axles?

I am thinking of gluing plates on the front of my sterilite drawers.

[splatman]

Follows Closely, on 10 April 2012 - 04:51 PM, said:

I was gonna say the same

Quote

I am thinking of gluing plates on the front of my sterilite drawers.

Or stick then on with double-stick tape or poster putty.
Or stick the sample pieces directly to the drawers with poster putty.

[mrklaw]

Or just print put a picture with examples of the pieces on, and stick those on each drawer. I think I just used Peeron or similar and then pasted several pieces into one picture in photoshop.

[LegoDad]

Wow, now that is a nice Lego room.  Personally, for our small parts, we went to Wal-mart and got a box for fishing tackle for about $6.  It has all the little dividers and you can move them around if you need more or less space.  We also have the Sterilite bins for separating colors, and since we don't have a huge inventory, it doesn't take up too much space.

[Modulex Guy]

As much as i like these to have the plate on the front displaying the bricks in the drawer, for my collection, I would need like 40 of these or more.

[meyerc13]

For those in the US looking for these who don't live near a LEGO store, I spotted these at Target tonight.  They were in the storage section, not the LEGO section.  They also had the LEGO Storage baskets with wheels, the project cases, and the minifig storage cases.

[Legobrandon]

meyerc13, on 01 May 2012 - 04:30 AM, said:

For those in the US looking for these who don't live near a LEGO store, I spotted these at Target tonight.  They were in the storage section, not the LEGO section.  They also had the LEGO Storage baskets with wheels, the project cases, and the minifig storage cases.

Price?

[jkurleto]

Just to clarify, the IRIS 3-drawer storage case on Amazon (and I believe what's in Target as well) does not have dividers in the bins either, nor any LEGO plates on the front of the drawers. I just received mine and was disappointed to find that out, although if I had looked closely enough at the picture on Amazon, I would have noticed. I saw the type with plates on the drawers that the original poster was referring to in the local LEGO store a month or two back, but they are gone now and the link is dead too, so I wonder if they are done with them.

v Sorry for the misinformation, I may have to go check out my Target. Thanks!

Edited by jkurleto, 01 May 2012 - 07:14 PM.