From: "Thomas A. Stockton" <tomstockton@iquest.net>
Subject: Counter Storage for Great War at Sea

Alan,

I would like to submit this for inclusion on the Web Grognards page.

Thanks for your consideration!

Tom Stockton
tomstockton@iquest.net

* * * * * * * * * * *

Counter Storage for GREAT WAR AT SEA

I must admit I found the inspiration for this on an ASL website, but
thought it might be worth passing along...

I have all five of the games in the GWAS series, and have downloaded,
printed, mounted, and cut out the "alternate counters" drawn by Tom
Burns, available from WebGrognards site on-line, giving me 1"
replacement counters for all of the 1/2" GWAS counters.  That’s a lot of
counters! (well over 1,500, if my count is correct...)  Which begs the
question:

What do you do with all of those wonderfully done GWAS counters, once
you’ve cut them away from their countersheets?  Put them in baggies?
Leave them loose in the box?

What I’ve done is purchased four Plano #3620 boxes, from my local
Wal-Mart.  They can be found in the Sporting Goods section with the
fishing tackle boxes.  I got mine for less than $3 apiece.  The boxes,
made of a clear plastic, are approx. 10-3/4" long, 7" wide, and 1-1/2"
deep.  This is a "decent" size, but will still fit nicely on a
bookshelf.  (I considered getting larger boxes, and fewer of them -- but
the ability to fit on the shelf with binders, etc. seemed to be the way
to go.  To each his own...)  Each box has dividers to sub-divide the
four rows inside into six separate compartments.  I’ve seen two
"variants" on the dividers -- be sure that you get the ones that have
three "ridges" on them, as they snap nicely into place and stay without
gluing.

As you look into the front of the box, you will see four rows; the back
three are evenly dividable (giving you six bins, each about 1-5/8"
wide), but the first one is not.  You will get a bin on each end about
2-1/4" long, and two in the center about 3/4" wide.  I did not find that
to be a problem...

Now, the fun part is sorting the counters out -- what goes where?  This
is how I’ve sorted mine...  going row-by-row,  back-to-front (or
top-to-bottom, depending on your viewpoint), and left-to-right, bins
1-6:

Box 1 - Britain, Canada, Australia and Sweden (all counters Britain
unless noted)

Back Row:
  1.  B 01-20
  2.  B 21-40
  3.  BB 01-20
  4.  BB 21-35
  5.  BC
  6.  CV, CVS, BCV

Next Row:
  1.  CA 01-16
  2.  CA 17-32
  3.  CL 01-17
  4.  CL 18-35
  5.  CL 36-53
  6.  DML, ML, MS, TB

Next Row:
  1.  DD 01-20
  2.  DD 21-40
  3.  DD 41-60
  4.  DD 61-79
  5.  DL
  6.  Aircraft, Airships, AMC

Front Row:
  1.  Dice (15 x white)  (2-1/4" bin)
  2.  Australia and Canada
  3.  Allied Fleet Counters (3/4" bin)
  4.  Central Powers Fleet Counters (3/4" bin)
  5.  Sweden
  6.  Dice (16 x colors (2 x 8 different colors)) (2-1/4" bin)


Box 2 - Germany, Austria-Hungary, Greece, Rumania and Turkey

Back Row:
  1.  Germany - B 01-22
  2.  Germany - BB 01-15
  3.  Germany - BB 16-30
  4.  Germany - BC
  5.  Germany - CA
  6.  Germany - AMC, DL, GB

Next Row:
  1.  Germany - CL 01-17
  2.  Germany - CL 18-35
  3.  Germany - CL 36-51
  4.  Germany - DD 01-20
  5.  Germany - DD 21-40
  6.  Germany - TB

Next Row:
  1.  Germany - CV, CVS, Aircraft
  2.  Germany - Airships and Misc.
  3.  A.H. - B, CA
  4.  A.H. - BB, BC
  5.  A.H. - CD, CL, Airships
  6.  A.H. - DD, TB

Front Row:
  1.  Dice (15 x white)  (2-1/4" bin)
  2.  Greece, Rumania and Turkey
  3.  Allied Fleet Counters (3/4" bin)
  4.  Central Powers Fleet Counters (3/4" bin)
  5.  Germany - ML, MS
  6.  Dice (16 x colors (2 x 8 different colors)) (2-1/4" bin)


Box 3 - France, Italy, United States, Netherlands, Cent. and South
America, Merchantmen

Back Row:
  1.  Italy - B, BB
  2.  Italy - CA, CD, CL
  3.  Italy - DL, TB, Airships
  4.  U.S. - CV, Aircraft
  5.  U.S. - AMC, B, Airships
  6.  U.S. - CA, CL

Next Row:
  1.  Italy - DD 01-22
  2.  Italy - DD 23-43
  3.  U.S. - Auxiliaries, ML, MS
  4.  U.S. - DD 01-22
  5.  U.S. - DD 23-43
  6.  U.S. - CG, DL, GB

Next Row:
  1.  France - CA, CL
  2.  France - DD 01-25
  3.  Merchant Ships - Slow
  4.  Merchant Ships - Slow
  5.  Merchant Ships - Fast
  6.  Merchant Ships - Fast

Front Row:
  1.  France - B, BB  (2-1/4" bin)
  2.  France - DD 26-49
  3.  Allied Fleet Counters (3/4" bin)
  4.  Central Powers Fleet Counters (3/4" bin)
  5.  Netherlands, Central and South American countries
  6.  U.S. - BB, CC (2-1/4" bin)


Box 4 - Japan, Russia and Miscellaneous counters

Back Row:
  1.  Japan - AC, B
  2.  Japan - BB, BC
  3.  Japan - CL
  4.  Russia - B 01-20
  5.  Russia - B 21-27, AC, CD
  6.  Russia - BB, BC

Next Row:
  1.  Japan - DD 01-20
  2.  Japan - DD 21-38
  3.  Japan - C
  4.  Russia - DD 01-20
  5.  Russia - DD 21-40
  6.  Russia - DD 21-52

Next Row:
  1.  Japan - AMC, Auxiliaries
  2.  Japan - CV, CVS, Aircraft
  3.  Japan - CD, ML, MS
  4.  Russia - TB
  5.  Russia - CA, CL
  6.  Russian - AMC, Auxiliaries

Front Row:
  1.  Submarines and miscellaneous counters  (2-1/4" bin)
  2.  Japan - GB, TB
  3.  Allied Fleet Counters (3/4" bin)
  4.  Central Powers Fleet Counters (3/4" bin)
  5.  Russia - C, GB
  6.  Russia - CVS, BS, LS, ML, MS, Aircraft (2-1/4" bin)

For now, this seems to work well for me.  Of course, when "1898" is
released, I’ll probably have to re-do the U.S. box, add the Spanish
counters, etc.  Might have to splurge and buy another Plano box!  Guess
I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it...

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for wading through all of this!  Hope
you’ll find it of some use.

Tom Stockton
tomstockton@iquest.net