Have you ever gotten to a stage in your hobby journey where, you have forgotten what models you have? What about where they are located? How much do you have painted vs new in box? What about the giant pile of grey plastic you are too afraid to look at closely?
January 2023 I realized that I have hit the peak of my problem. Models were in my shed spread out in boxes, thrown together and were resulting in getting damaged, shattered and broken miniatures. Something had to change. I have always dreamed of a good way to organize and catalog my model collection but only had only a few failed spreadsheets to show for it. I needed something more robust than a spreadsheet.
Since I’ve started 3D printing and especially since I’ve started collecting models for Age of Sigmar I realized that I had no idea what was truly in my collection. I decided to figure out what I truly own and am working on.
When you cannot remember everything you own to be able to play with things without accidently buying or 3D printing more then there is a problem.
How my collection was stored in Janurary 2023
What I needed
I came up with a list of things I needed or desired in my database collection of my models. I also realized that I most likely would have to find something to fit my needs and not build my own. My time was limited.
My Needs:
- A consistent catalogging system
- Something that will display an image of the model
- Filter searching
- Capability to set my own catalog parameters
- Cross platform compatability
- Sharable with friends and family
- If a product such as an app, have ongoing development and not a project that is half finished.
Searching for apps, I tried several different things with the closest to what I was looking for is Figure Case, Hobby Progress. However it did not appear robust enough to sustain all the data I was looking for. It could be an opportunity for some if they want something more straight forward.
The Long story short…. my Winner
Overview:
iCollect Everything is an app on Apple, Mac, Android and PC products as a way to catalog and collect all your collectibles. While there is capabilities for barcode scanning and pre-generated collections such as Legos, Wine, Movies, Games, Puzzles, Shoes, Model Trains, etc. There is not a category yet for Miniature Figures in tabletop gaming.
However the real power and utility in this app is in its custom collections section. I have begun using this app for over a year now and have had the time to really consider the pros and cons of the system, I believe that this is a tool that could make a major difference for other miniature hobbyists out there and is currently flying under the radar. This is providing so much utility and tools that other companies have attempted at but lets you cross until multiple brands, platforms, and more.
The Setup
Before I go into more of the pros and cons of this app and how I have made it work for my immediate needs let me give you a glimpse of what it looks like.
Example Entry: Kruelboyz Killbow (Android perspective)
The Full Breakdown
Overall I am really happy with the app but understand that there are definitely growing pains associated to this app. With a very limited development team progress is slow. However credit must be given to the designers as it is extremely obvious of their commitment to their endeavor.
Lets start with the first obvious question. How much does it cost?
Con: iCollect everything does have a higher barrier to entry for the full app than almost any other app in its category I could find. Although advertised as free. It is extremely easy to fill up your “free entries” resulting in needing to fully purchase the app. From last glance I believe the pricing is as follows but is subject to change as the app further develops. I believe when I started using the app it was a one time purchase of $10 or so, for transparency.
1 collection fully unlocked: $30, Completely Unlocked App: $60
- Note: I did have to purchase for each platform Android & PC as PC was not released when I started using iCollect. I do not know if this is still the case
Pro: Using the custom collection I can set my collection anyway I want. Any order I want and with any field I want. There are limited rules such as only allowing one quantity field and value. I’ll do a full breakdown of my collection setup at the end.
Con: To input all your data it is a massive time commitment. There is no bulk editing, no bulk copying and uploading from your own csv is currently not functional for custom collections. This was probably the largest reason why it took me a year to input all my data so far. I have found it significantly easier to input from a computer than a mobile phone. My data entry skyrocketed once desktop on PC was released. Also a major pain point is that every data field required a value even if I didn’t have any data associated to that field.
For example there are several fields in my collection to mention if the model was 3D printed and data associated to that such as material volume and print cost. If the model was purchased from a manufacturer I am required to input any value and $0.00 was not allowed. Almost all fields with 0.01 are desired blank fields for my collection.
Pro: With embedded images associated to each entry on my collection it is incredibly satisfying to see the images associated to each thing. Currently most of my images are product renders or photographs but one day I hope to replace all with images of my personal stuff. You can currently associate up to 4 images per entry.
Pro/Con While iCollect Everything will let you export your collection to .csv, it currently does not let you import your spreadsheet to iCollect for custom collections. Even though there is no statement in the app that this functionality does not work for custom collections. I only found out by attempting to import collections and was told via email that the functionality is not supported.
To Summarize:
| Pros | Cons |
| * Complete Customizable Catalog * Visualization of your collection for easy scrolling * Filtered Search on Every Category * Can export collection to .csv | * High Cost * Large Time Commitment for entry * Require Data for every field * No multi tagging system * No Import functionality for custom collections * Limited sharing visibility for custom collections * Have to buy Android and PC separately |
My Wishlist:
1) Of my largest desires the capability to add multiple searchable tags to each entry in the same data would be by far the largest one. Being able to search for models in the collection by potential D&D class, weapon, race, etc. And with multiple parameters would be an incredible boon to help me dynamically pull models out of the collection for player characters and things like Dungeons and Dragons.
2) Improved sharing visibility for custom collections. On the Android app you are capable of generating a URL of your collection to share with others but I have never been able to have it work for me with custom collections. I am hoping that this utility would be improved in the future.
Summary
All in all I’d rate this app a 4 out of 5 stars.
While there are a good number of cons I cannot overlook and could turn off others and/or be current growing pains in regards to the app being in active development. I do not think that this app can be overlooked in its power and capability to help catalog and organize your miniature collection. While there are smaller features and sites to help track your model journey being able to have such robust capability to give an incredible perspective into my collection. Check out my 2023 summary below! All data was pulled from my custom collection.
Do you catalog your models? If so how do to catalog your models? What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.
I also will write up all the fields and data types I use in my custom collection if you’d like an idea of where to start if you decide to use iCollect Everything.
My Custom Collection Parameters
Here is the settings and parameters i’ve used to setup my custom collection.
| Field Name | Data Field Type | Description |
| Title | Title | name of the model |
| Category | Text List | Miniature, Bust Terrain, Scatter |
| Model Count | Quantity | The quantity of how many of that model I have. Can only Have 1 |
| Model Number | Text Field | used for personal library reference |
| Damaged Count | Text Field | log if that model needs repairing |
| Status | Text List | Model progress; New, In Progress, Painted etc |
| Army, Team, Category | Text List | subcategorization such as army name |
| Game System | Text List | What game the model is used for |
| Total Value | Value | Estimated Value |
| Digital Location | Text Field | file path of STL location for 3D printing |
| Storage Location | Text Field | location of model in physical storage |
| Magnetized | Toggle | True/False |
| Date Added/Created | Date Picker | Date of model purchased or 3D printed |
| Date Finished | Date Picker | Date of when model was finished (or 2030 as a palceholder) |
| Manufacturer | Text List | Name of producer of the model |
| Sculptor | Text List | Name of who sculpted the model if known |
| Source URL | Text Field | URL of where to find reference to the model |
| Material | Text List | What is the model made out of |
| Amount Material Used | Text Field | If printed how much material was used |
| Model Cost | Text Field | If STL how much did the digital file cost |
| Print Cost | Text Field | How much the print cost (based on material used) |
| Notes | Long Text | add misc. notes |
| Hours Invested | Text Field | estimate of hours invested in model |