This might be the wrong thread for this since mine is not web-based, but sharing... Figured a good place to start would be to know what I have since items are sort of scattered about in storage. Didn't want to just make a list so decided to create an Access database. Then came the question of fields to include, and that proved interesting. Data entry is slower than I expected. I found it helped to include a picture of each item, so that took a bit of time. Ascertaining current value is a real pain (lots of Ebay searches to find minimum). Anyway, work in progress. The querries are proving quite helpful, can get immedate information in all kinds of ways. Screen shot of the data entry form below which shows how I approached this effort in case anyone's interested in this kind of thing. Curious if others have found creating a database helpful.
By the way, that loco depicted above was made in Macau. That is unique in my collection (plenty of China, US, Taiwan, Italy Slovenia). Anyone know the background on model manufacturing in Macau?
I began with the spreadsheet idea, but switched to a database so that querries could be performed more easily. All a database is, in truth, is a big spreadsheet with built-in querry and reporting functions. As an example, I created a query based on era assigned to each piece (used my own definitions for that). Here's an example query that brought up pieces for what I call the "modern" era. Other queries are based on size (e.g., length, height), type of engine such as steam, diesel, etc., which consist a piece works with, etc. Kind of fun to do them.
