Display cases?

  Build it, you're a builder!

Exactly!

      All my stuff is dioramas, don't have anything just sittin' there...  I just screw brackets to the wall and hang shelves on them... Got a couple bookcase types as well..  I don't have the room for or the inclination to buy any enclosed cases... Frankly, you can't see anything in a curio-type cabinet, my wife has one in the living room and noone who visits ever comments on the stuff she has in there (quite a lot of cool stuff, if ya ask me)... But my dios always get noticed and commented on (I manage an apartment building and tennants are always coming over for one thing or another, so I get a pretty good cross-section of folks.)...  

     They get dusty, but I make a regular ritual out dusting them once a week or so.  Models with pastel weathering get a little screwed up, but five minutes with the pastel brush fixes it fast... I also keep a can of compressed air and a keyboard vac handy..

Only a select few of my dios last any significant amount of time... After six-twelve months, they get torn down and the models get sent to the "salvage yard" if I haven't sod them or put them on display somewhere else...  I get sick of looking at them, ya know?  Now that I've finally gone digital, it's better for me to photograph them and then I don't need to worry about storing/displaying them...  Some also simply get boxed up and placed under my back bench in the War Room.. There they remain until they're salvaged or rebuilt as a new one...

   The dioramas that I'll keep on disply indefinately are my (all are WIPs right now, but the space is available) 1/48th B-29, B-17, and B-24 dioramas, along with my Mauldin and shadow-box dios. 

If I still had my Ex-House (3rd Ex got it) it'd be a different story... There, after I finished it and built my War Room down there,  I had the basement walls shelved from floor to ceiling with 18" deep lighted shelves that ran the whole 22 feet of South wall and 16 feet of the East one...  Had room for dozens of average-size dioramas... Even had power to each shelf run for individual lighting... *Sniff*

Maybe after I win the Powerball this weekend I'll build a house AROUND my War Room...

anthony2779

Looks fantastic Fermis,nice collection,but doesn,t the dust drive you crazy on those open shelves?

Nuts, absolutely nuts. On the bright side though, 4/5 times a year I get to play......... dust em all off!!!

Looks fantastic Fermis,nice collection,but doesn,t the dust drive you crazy on those open shelves?

Cool ideas!

Thanks to all for your help!

I'm with Wabash, build it, take all the money you will save by doing it yourself and buy some kits to fill it. One tip for building it though. Build it WAY bigger than you think you'll need.....you WILL need it!!!

I built mine in when I finished off the basement, cabinets underneath to store the stash "out of sight", very important!!!!!

that is FANTASTIC

Build it, you're a builder!  I built a cool custom case in one of the gables when I claimed the attic as living space in our 1884 Victorian.  I laid out what I wanted, and started cutting.  The local glass shop cut and ground the shelves.  They also cut the panels.  There was no great talent required, just persistence.  Rick

I have two curios from a local discount place,since out of business,and two from www.gemodisplays.com very nice but pretty expensive.i have a finished half of the basement where I can dispay stuff,The house would be pretty unacceptable to my wife,but the finished basement works out well for me.

Cutting plexi (lexan) is easy with the right tool. Most full service hardware and glass shops will cut it to size for you for free with purchase. It is a score and snap process. If I had a dime for every piece I cut while I was a manager of the hardware store I worked at.

Glass is usually cheaper than plexi, but you'll want tempered glass not just plate as it shatters into splinters. The tempered glass breaks into small pieces like a windshield of a car does. You pay a little more but it is worth it in the long run.

Stereo cabinets with glass doors make decent cabinets for models too. The are deep and adding lights is an easy enough task. These are usually on sale at most electronics retailers as well as furniture stores.

How to display has definitely been a dilemma of mine for several years.

I have a 4ft x 8ft  bookcase that I converted to a display case by attaching a large sheet of plexiglass across the front. ( didnt realize plexiglass was so expensive). Access is through two "doors" on the back.

I also have about 10 assorted sizes of the small individual plastic cases that I buy at Hobby Lobby with the 40% coupon.

I had visions of buying a large sheet of plexiglass or glass and making my own small cases but the experience with the 4ft x 8ft bookcase conversion convinced me that aint gonna happen. Cutting glass and plexiglass is much easier said than done.

I checked used display cases(auctions, Craigslist, newspaper)  but evidently lots of people want those to display dolls, coins, guns, sports, and other sorts of collectables. The cheapest I found was one for $300. The glass was all intact but the case itself needed a complete makeover.

I use a glass cabinet from Ikea that I modified to have extra shelves. A few other guys have done the same thing. You can see photos and discussion in this thread as well as some other ideas for displays:

/forums/t/124820.aspx

George

HawkeyeHobbies

Take a look at their curio cabinets.

Most of the curio's I have seen are much too small for modeling needs...I had two large ones cstom-built a while back and they hold 75% of my collection...

Visit the furniture stores in your area, even those antique places. Take a look at their curio cabinets. I like the ones that are deep and wide for my models. Most cabinets are too shallow. You can snap a cell phone pic to use as a reference for a cabinet maker. Many stores have literature you can use too.

A display cabinet is nothing more than a bookshelf with doors. Instead of wooden shelves you sub glass.

Much of the commercial display "cabinets" fixtures used in stores have come down in price. You might look online for suppliers or look for stores going out of business liquidating their fixtures. If you see something you like in a store, as the clerk or owner for information where they sourced it. I found a nice large one that I liked with was a fraction of the price I saw for something similar in a furniture store.

You best bet is to have cash in hand and a means to transport it if you find something you like.

Electric Blues

So after you build them, where do you display them? Little cases for each or a big floor standing or wall hanging case?

Do any of you have plans for building one? I have a few good carpenters in the area but would need a set of plans or at least a sketch I could draw up with measurements.

Thanks!

I think you'll find that it can vary, but generally, if you have a larger collection, you'll need more space to display them, which probably means display cases or bookcases of some kind.

Before you commission a cabinetmaker, you might want to look at some of the box stores' websites.  Ikea has some good cabinets in its catalog.

Also, look for stores that are remodeling or going out of business.  You might find some display cases that can be used and/or modified relatively simply.

Hope that helps!

Brad