Carcassonne Central

As I spent the last weeks crafting stuff to store my Carcassonne-collection, I thought it'd be a good idea for everybody to post some pictures of how YOU put your meeples to sleep(les).

Here's my way:

(http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/3641/carc1gw9.jpg)
I got myself a decorative chest, big enough to house at least three of my planned tile-boxes (http://www.carcassonnecentral.com/forum/index.php?topic=651.msg7798#msg7798) and still have enough room for the rest.

(http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/6417/carc2ne2.jpg)
To take advantage of the curved lid, I've attached an elastic band along the inner crest of the lid to hold my "Spielbox Almanach", my score-boards and the instruction-books (each game neatly packed into an envelope... awwww ;D).

(http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/2154/carc3my1.jpg)
As only one of my tile-boxes is finished right now (with the help of my Dad, thanks Dad!), both "Hunters & Gatherers" and "The Castle" are still in their own boxes, but that'll change as soon as the other tile-boxes are done. The tiles and wooden-parts from "The City" are kept in the game's linen-bag, whereas the black satin bag (thanks Mum!) houses further smaller bags for each player's meeples. The blue "Carcassonne"-bag contains more wooden-parts that can be used for custom expansions.

(http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/2991/carc4ow9.jpg)
Getting rid of the cardboard-boxes is still my highest priority, so I hope I manage to finish the other tile-boxes in the not so distant future. I'm still planning on getting "The New World" and "The Discovery", so I definitely need more space in that chest.

(http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/3621/carc5rw2.jpg)
The envelopes are printed by me... unfortunately the big "Carcassonne"-envelope turned out to be too big for my printer (and for the chest's lid as well... damn), so I printed the artwork on a transparent label which I stuck onto the envelope.

(http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/1476/carc6yx2.jpg)
The tile-box turned out better than I thought... a little crummy in places, but a good start. It's housing two base games, two "Inns & Cathedrals", "Traders & Builders", "The River", "The River II", "King & Robber", "The Cathars", "Shrines", "The Count", "Mayors", "Abbey", "The Princess & the Dragon", "The Tower", "The GQ11 Expansion", "Cult" and "Siege". The envelope-idea for the boards will be modified a bit, as I'm going to craft a blue leather-folder (artificial leather, but still... and it will fit into the lid!), which holds the smaller envelopes and all the other score boards.

So, this is how my Carcassonne-stuff is stored. Now I'm eager to see what you people are using!

But what about your planned box?

http://www.carcassonnecentral.com/forum/index.php?topic=651.msg7798#msg7798 (http://www.carcassonnecentral.com/forum/index.php?topic=651.msg7798#msg7798)

Uhm... I've made one... it's right there... see? Next to the Tower! Did you think a tile-box is enough to store all my Carcassonne-stuff ;)

It's too late, I got up at 4.30 am to get to Nürnberg, I think I will go to bed now...  ;)

Yeah, you should... and I should stop editing my post to make it sound even more sarcastic :-P

Are you making tile boxes for sale? :)  That box looks good.

All my stuff is still stored in the original boxes, all lined up on a shelf above my desk. I'd like to repackage them into a nice wooden box for better portability. I like the treasure chest idea; very cool.

Thanks, but no... it took us a few hours finishing just that single one, so no one would pay me enough for that ;-) It's not too complex to build, but time consuming. I think you can simply hand some carpenter the plans and he'd build a box for you... and a better one than mine.

looks like a treasure chest!

This is my Carcassonne box. I made the decorations outside and the racks and overlay inside.

Closed box
(http://img.index.hu/imgfrm/7/1/1/3/BIG_0009707113.jpg)

(http://img.index.hu/imgfrm/7/1/1/9/BIG_0009707119.jpg)

opened box
(http://img.index.hu/imgfrm/7/1/2/3/BIG_0009707123.jpg)

bag, rules and scoreboard taken out
(http://img.index.hu/imgfrm/7/1/2/7/BIG_0009707127.jpg)

some closeups loaded
(http://img.index.hu/imgfrm/7/1/4/6/BIG_0009707146.jpg)

(http://img.index.hu/imgfrm/7/1/4/7/BIG_0009707147.jpg)

(http://img.index.hu/imgfrm/7/1/4/8/BIG_0009707148.jpg)

empty
(http://img.index.hu/imgfrm/7/1/4/9/BIG_0009707149.jpg)

(http://img.index.hu/imgfrm/7/1/5/0/BIG_0009707150.jpg)

My set consists of base game, River1, River2, I&C, A&M and T&B.

That is a really nice box.  Well done for sure!  You should sell those.

Thanks!
Selling is not really possible I'm afraid. In one hand the quality is good for me but not good enough for selling, in the other hand I think no business case here in Hungary.

amazing... how do you do the felting?

That box looks very nice from where I'm sitting at least. The biggest problem I can see is lack of room to expand when you buy other expansions.

I am interested to make a box myself and have a couple questions. Jetpac has already asked, but I want to know too about the construction of the insert.

1. How did you attach the felt?
2. What material is underneath it?
3. What is the height of the insert?
4. Do you find the height of the insert is good for getting the tiles out, or would you change it if you were to do it again?
5. How did you do the artwork on the outside of the box?

There is a store named "Kreatív hobby" (I think the name is understandable for non hungarians as well) where I bought the original box
(http://195.70.38.94/images/cikkek/JUHASZ%20JOZSEF/FA1102.jpg)
and the felt. Its available 45 cm wide 1 mm thick rolls (like textile),  I got a 1 meter long piece, then just scissors and glue.

I think this set is more or less complete, I have everything what I need. Anyway you can see an unused bay in the middle which is enough for ~36 new tiles.

The answers (I'm not really good at english so ask again when something is not clear)
1. see my previous post
2-3. I used the original wooden separators (fortunatelly were not fixed). Some sawing was requiered of course. Reducing of depth I used polystyrene foam in case of tile bays (roughly 2 cm). When all the parts were ready just glued together.
4. The box is too deep for tiles (>5 cm) so the bays bottom stilted by foam. In this way getting out the tiles is very comfortable.
5. Printed the  mirrored graphics by a laser printer to photopaper then transfered to the woode surface using an iron. This is a well known technic in home made printed board circuit making. The Carcassonne logo originally found here in download section but the contrast of this picture is not enough so I had to draw a new one (GIMP, bezier curves, I,ve posted the link here in the forum). After the ironing I painted the whole logo manually using a metallic paint. The side graphics are just ironed.

Just some additional notes.
I used Google Sketchup8 for design. Its a free and very user friendly program for making 3D models. Preparing the sketchup model takes roughly 20 minutes. I can send it by email if somebody interested.

The original scoring board is too large for my box so I had to prepare a smaller or a foldable version. Foldable style was chosen because in that way my piece is larger (~A4) than the original. After scanning and some work in GIMP just printed out by a color laser printer to photopaper and glued to a 2 mm thick cardboard. Cutted in the middle and glued a piece of textil on the back side. To finish the new scoreboard I glued the scanned and printed backside graphics.

Thanks for the info. I started taking some measurements today. Having trouble deciding whether I want individually-sized compartments for each set of tiles, or go the easier/safer route and make 1.75" x 1.75" rows the full length of the box with spacers in between each expansion. I'm concerned about more expansions coming out and having to start all over again.

Do you have any info about new expansion sets coming out?
Ayhow the not fixed separator is a very good idea the question is the realization. When an expansion is taken out the spacer has to hold the remaining tiles against list (slant).

I got a scetch up project with my future box for carcassonne. I can share it but on this board I don't have rights to share such file. I belive that projects have some mismatch, but when building it I had to go and correct some things.

Anyone interested just pm me.

I will post some photos when I am done with it. Maybe in next week or week after... Don't know when I will have time to finish it...

But... Quite nice boxes. I hope that mine will be as good as yours.

We only know that more expansions are coming; nothing specific.

(http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x478/neosatan/Untitled.png)

This is my project for Carcassonne box. There area serveral piecess on img, so. The first one is the top part of box. On the bottom of this piece will be printed instruction, and similiar things liki scoreboard.
Next part piece is just storage for tiles it can hold something like 500 tiles each (I plan to do two of them, or three, cause I lie to do forests and firsherman fanexps and that is a lot of tiles.) Third part is the bottom of box. There will be sacks with wooden pieces, and resource counters, seasons and so on. That layout is pretty old, and I changed it that the spacers are in diffrent order, so I can put there cards from Btook.
Fourths piece is a thick top piece. This piece is just cause I don't know yet If I will have instruction in the box or not. Didn't decided yet. Maybe on this weekend I saw the pieces for this, and by the end of next week will have it finish. Still don't know if I will have the time.

The tile holders will have moveable spacers so I can separate diffrent exps. I think that they will be from bardboard, cause this thick woodboard are difficult to properly glue, and overall make a decent separator. Don't know yet. I have to look an materials I have in workshop...

This is awesome neo! I like it!

Nice work, that looks really functional.  Merit point for you.

Wow! didn't suspect that someone will give me a merit point for that...

Well it need a little more touch, but it got one major pros: when You have more tiles that it hold You just do another piece :) pretty whole collection of Carcassonne it can hold. With spin-offs, exps and more.

Nice plan, I'm just waiting for pictures about manufacturing and the ready box. I think it will be as nice as the plan if you have a workshop. I made my one on the kitchen table...
(The text in the picture are polish. Are you polish? You know "Polak, Węgier, dwa bratanki....")

 Well, on this weekend no box will be made :( Got stuck with work. I had some greate plans with some wood and workbench...

@iszole
Yep! I'm from Poland.
"Polak, Węgier, dwa bratanki i do szabli i do szklanki" Well, kown in Poland. Specially after last elections... But I agree, I have even some family from my wifes side in Hungary, but realy don't know were :(
 Well done with kitchen table! I got the luxury of having workshop in my family house, so it's for me just to travel 70 Km to my home town. I wanted to do some other wooden thing for Carcassonne (additional meeples, tower pieces, nice scoreboard and so on) but don't have ready plans for it.

Funny story, I still use my Big Box 1 to store my complete Carc collection including every printed expansion. I don't store print-and-plays in there, but otherwise everything still fits. I'm almost out of room, though.

Well, for now I keep my collection in standard Carcassonne box, mostly there goes tiles (around 500 tiles) and similiar cardboard pieces. All wooden pieces got in the sack from traderss and builders, and btook I keep separatly. Unfinish fanexps still are in my work box, that is a large cardboard box where I keep most of the materials for Carcassonne. I think that my box will have to be done shortly cause I don't have place to keep all of that in one place. When I want to play megaCarc game I have to bring with me box, sack, deck of btook and some other pieces... That is pretty annoying when friends want to play and I have to move from my current home (too small for megaCarc game) elswere :/
Still want to buy Wheel of fortune and festival with core game and make fisherman, so I will have to arrange some more space.

I too keep everything in my Big Box. Base game, all official expansions and all fanspansions I have printed. It's big but convenient. I still have some room in it but it's getting full.

Thanks for posting that picture neosatan. I'm equally surprised to have not seen anything like that before, and mad at myself for not having thought of it. Stacking boxes is not a revolutionary concept, and it's the obvious solution to a game that seems to have no end to the number of expansions both official and unofficial. It would also be very easy to add some external latches on opposing sides to hold the layers together, or with some modification a retention mechanism which would automatically attach when stacked and detach at the push of two buttons.

Full-length tile-sized tracks seems to be the way to go rather than individually-sized compartments. I think it may be possible (with a lot of extra work) to make 1/8" spaced grooves for adjustable spacers. (1/16" would be nicer, but very difficult) I would be inclined to make the spacers wide enough that I can stick a label on them with the expansion name; the labels from my Dymo LetraTag are 1/2" (12mm) wide. If you make the box-length rails also removable, that would allow reconfiguration in case you change your mind about how to sort your expansions.

Regarding rules, I personally have a printed copy of the CAR (from several versions ago :( ) in a three-ring binder. If the overall interior size of a layer was designed large enough to accomodate a three-ring binder, you could have a layer dedicated for this purpose.

Just thought I'd share part of my collection...!  I also have a separate box containing the instruction booklets, meeples, larger tile pieces, the catapult, and my "By Order of the King" cards.

(http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy5/jputt927/IMG_0362.jpg)
(http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy5/jputt927/IMG_0363.jpg)
(http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy5/jputt927/IMG_0364.jpg)
(http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy5/jputt927/IMG_0366.jpg)
(http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy5/jputt927/IMG_0365.jpg)
(http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy5/jputt927/IMG_0367.jpg)

Top layer have space to hold a book that is around 4-5 cm in height. I seen some nice paper holders (kill me, but I even don't know how they are called in polish, so translation of name is for me impossible). I have to look for some but little bigger (I seen thouse like 2-3 cm in height). btw... top layer could be done in way that it will hold yours tree-ring binder CAR :) I have designet it so it can hold something like 300 pages book with scoreboard, a season scoreboard and little space... I want to do some wraps for this, or a sheet of some kind of material... don't know yet...

I was thinking about latches (I like the sound of opening latch :)), that project is little out dated. More accurate i have on paper cause I had to redesing some elements, so there is only an idea.

Btw... I was personally suprised that people build suitcases, chests, and similiar, and when there is released new exp they have to begin from scratch... Layered approche seem to me natural. I want also on bottom of top layer or bottom layer do scoreboard, and mayby track for seasons, but I have to desing it. Since I don't know how many wooden pieces will be I don't want to have compartments for each color/type. And I want later to do separate layers for spin-off, so I can store whole collection of Carcassonne in one place.

Someone recommended Artbin Slim Super Satchel to me for storing Carc.  I bought one for about $15 and have been totally happy.  I have big box 3, 10th year anniversary, tower, count, king & scout, and river 2.  Plus there is a whole extra row for more expansions or custom tiles.

(http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/6794/dscf0001nc.jpg)

I like that I can throw it in a backpack, bike across town, and nothing is out of place.

Here's a link to it on Amazon http://amzn.to/zMxkyI

My initial reaction from looking at that picture is disappointment that the cardboard tower cannot fit in the box, but the more I stare at it I'm not sure that's such a big deal. I ask myself whether I would ever use the cardboard tower to draw tiles from, and I don't think so. I know that it's not capable of holding every tile I own. I also think about whether the catapult will fit in there; I don't think you own Catapult so you wouldn't be able to say, but the same question arises: when would I ever use the wooden catapult? There is no need to transport things that won't be used, so from a transportation standpoint this box appears to be very well suited. But there's still this small part of me deep down inside that can't bear to separate the tower and catapult from their tiles.

I'm guessing you're Khoshbakhti on Amazon? ;)

You're right, I don't have the catapult.  I saw someone else's picture of this box with the catapult wedged in there.  Myself I never use the tower.  It just sits in a box along with the various extra rule pages, product lists, and clear meeples from 10th anniversary that I can't bring myself to get rid of.

Yup, I'm khoshbakhti, means "lucky"

Having been inspired by what others have done to store their card collection, I decided to do the same myself. But having little money and no crafting skills I decided to simply store it all the base game box (sorry for the poor quality pics):

(http://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss294/meepleater/Pic_0219_262.jpg)

(http://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss294/meepleater/Pic_0219_264.jpg)

(http://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss294/meepleater/Pic_0219_265.jpg)

Naturally, not everything fits: the tower and the tile bag are excluded, (but by now they aren't too useful anyway) and as I don't like the catapult rules, the wooden catapult, ruler and tokens are also not included. There is, however, plenty of room for the school, phantom, corn circles plague & tunnels and the minis for when/if I get them...

just checked this thread out, its very nice to see how others handled this problem with all carc collections. I do like the treasure chest at the beginning. I went with paper and cardboard.

had trouble posting more than 1 pic per posting, but here goes.

my photos file sizes are too large, any suggestions on reducing file sizes please?

If you have windows open the images with paint, resize search, select a percentage to 50%, save and try to add in this way. Otherwise upload to a website for pictures, type imageshaks, there should be an option to resize them automatically.

I usually upload them on the facebook group page and reference them from there.

I currently store my collection in the big box 3 it all came in.

But i just saw that the original version of carcassonne: the city, came in a really nice looking wooden box.

Has anyone got one of these and would it be suitable for storing normal carc in?

If so i may try and track one down.

This morning I bought the dresser door screws. is perfect for carcassonne, 2 mm in height and width wider.
I want to build a plywood box and insert the drawers inside.
I paid about 16 €, $ 20.
When it is finished I put more pictures.

(http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/7076/carcassonne.jpg)
(http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/66/carcassonne2.jpg)

EDIT: I think tomorrow I'm going to buy another, not enough for me for 10 years of expansion cards, box-shaped meeple.

Too bad those drawers don't have internal dividers. I've seen something similar at the hardware store with internal dividers that is used to organize nails and screws, but I think the drawers on them are not deep enough. How easily can you carry that thing? Do the drawers stay put or tend to slide out?

At work I will create the special divisors, which will also help bring out the best cards.
I insert the drawers in a casing of wood, and with a door which when closed takes stops the drawers.
I bought this because each drawer is modular and can be mounted in all different forms.

 :) Work in progress.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_vz2YZHk2Y&feature=youtu.be

Wow, that's cool!  You might be a genious!  :D

Is the metal rod also bent on the other end to prevent it from being easily removed?

yes, even if it comes out just an inch, enough that it does not fall.
I used a stainless steel round, I do not want rust.