I'm such a loser...

Eric-I've done the same. I'm starting to keep parts in tupperware since I remove them all from the sprue and clean them up before assembly (any left or right hand parts are taped to cardboard and labeled). I also keep a tool tray. My only real problem is when I work on my patio-I have a metal weave table-read as sieve, and if I'm not careful to stay on the work mat, it's down on all fours looking for parts. My neighbours love that.

Never be afraid of change!
What do I mean by this? well look, you carry on like this for say a year or two, give yourself plenty of time to drop lots of parts.
Then, you move the workshop about, eh voila! 100 lost parts are instantly found! Now these parts are all from different scales and models of course, but the possibility to create a trully one of a kind creation from them, well, it's uplifting!
So come on guys, look for the silver line around the lost parts cloud.

BTW Eric-losing a part doesn't make you a loser (well I guess it kinda does). David-bet that Victory has lots of teensy block and tackles to 'misplace'.

QUOTE: Originally posted by trowlfazz BTW Eric-losing a part doesn't make you a loser (well I guess it kinda does). David-bet that Victory has lots of teensy block and tackles to 'misplace'.

hundreds of the damm things

Something I learned from the FSM mag for finding lost parts on a smooth floor is putting a flashlight down on the floor and shining the beam parallel to the floor. Anything on the floor will be sillouetted. I have found many parts this way.Good luck in the future.
Eddie

Don't worry, you're not alone in this. I've maintained for years there is a fifth or sixth dimension that parts have a 50% to 75% chance of falling into when they are launched or dropped off of your workbench - the entrance is somewhere between the top of the bench and the floor. (probably the same place that the single sock out of a pair goes when it's in the dryer)
And the really irritating thing about it is that after you've spent 3 hrs looking for the part, 5 hrs of fabricating a new one and installing it, the missing part reappears in the center of your work area. The scary thing is that it gets worse as you get older.

Quincy - that's scary... that happens to me a lot... lose a part, scratch a new one after the obligatory 2 hours looking then once every 30 min letting it get the best of you and dropping to all fours again in a vain search... only to have it reappear somewhere in my direct line of vision after the scratched part has finally cured.

Maybe it's the model gnomes and they are increasing my scratch building skills this way... stealing the parts then returning them..

Loser?
I don't think so.
I often spend 10 minutes looking for a particular paint brush or a file or a small part - and it drives me nuts - I'll look and look and get frustrated as can be (and probably say a few rude things to boot).......and there it is......right in plain view dead centre in the middle of the "search zone"........
Happens alla time...........my brain hurts.

I'm so bad at losing things in plain view, that I developed methods to try and avoid the problem.

1. I have a block of wood drilled to hold my knives. It also stops them from rolling off the table. This, of course, only works when I actually use it, which appears to be about 25% of the time.
2. I use the bottoms of model boxes to hold parts I'm not working on, the tops to hold parts I have painted or glued, and a lid off a shoe box for the parts I am working on. I've yet to lose any small parts, and I'm not too worried about the large ones. Yet. Since I was using the kitchen table for building, I got into the habit of using ziploc bags to put the parts into for storage until next time.
3. I tend to paint small parts on the sprue. Yes, I have to touch up the paint later, but I figure it's better to paint the part twice, then paint it once and never see it again!

Hey Quincy, the sock/time warp analogy has passed through my thoughts while I'm down on hands and knees with my nose inches from the floor.

I spent about 20 min. looking for my tweezers the other day. I found them in the 1968 el-camino box along with 4 or 5 brushes.

i have the same problem ihave even found the item on the other side of the house
but i have a legitimate excuse i AM losing my mind