| Figure Display Case Ideas Needed -
Posted on 09-01-2008 15:36 |
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Darknight
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I recently got a Mattel Clayface figure off of Ebay. I had it shipped to my office so I would know that it wasn't left out in the elements and would be taken right to me. The guy in the cubicle next to me noticed that I had gotten an new figure and we talked a while about toys. I told him that I had about 13 figures sitting in their packages at home because I really didn't have a place to display them well, and I figured that the packaging would protect the figure well.
This got me thinking about how to solve my problem. I have a large collection of figures and vehicles going back the the mid 80s Super Powers Collection (I have all but Brainiac form the first wave). The majority are in boxes in my garage and closets.
FlaBat did a great review of magnetic stands here, which are a good start in the concept of what I want, but not quite there.
I would like something that sits flush to the wall instead of the stadium seating because the square footage of my rooms is small. the big thing that I would like is to be able to pull it off of the wall and store it away (vertically or horizontally) without any of the figures falling out of place.
This way I would be able to have a rotating display and be able eo store the figures in a way that I don't have to worry about dust or paint rubbing off.
What I've been think about are plastic cases about 1.5' wide and 2' tall with a powdercoated metal back panel. Then build stands that are magnetic that have foot pegs and some kind of "belt" for the figures.
I have a feeling that finding materials is going to be really time consuming and expensive, but if I pace myself on this, I might be able to do it and not break my bank account.
I greatly appreciate any suggestsions or thoughts.
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| RE: Just use these... -
Posted on 09-01-2008 16:28 |
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inzo
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I picked these up at garage sales and the thirft stores...
I hope to find two more this year...
Just stack them up ontop of each other like I did...
Use your shelves for Batmobiles...
Edited by inzo on 09-01-2008 16:34 |
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| RE: Figure Display Case Ideas Needed -
Posted on 09-01-2008 17:23 |
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kpangilinan
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You're just TRYING to make us jealous, aren't you? LOL
I think even DVD shelves would be sufficient enough to display your figures. |
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| RE: Figure Display Case Ideas Needed -
Posted on 09-01-2008 18:59 |
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real-dark-knight
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Darknight wrote:
I have a feeling that finding materials is going to be really time consuming and expensive, but if I pace myself on this, I might be able to do it and not break my bank account.
If it's possible to make them Darknight, if you've got the time and DIY ability - then it's much much cheaper. Having said that, the details you've given, what you're looking for (if you did decide to build) sounds ambitious!
I was moaning to my dad about cost of shelves and he asked me what I was looking for; next thing I knew - he made me 3 of these, and another, triple sized version! I've no doubt that doing it that way, it came in at about 25% of the ready-made shelf built cost. As daft as it sounds, the hardest most annoying bit, was actually finding a can of matt paint in that colour blue (which is specific to the range).
Your stuff looks awesome Inzo.
Edited by real-dark-knight on 09-01-2008 19:08 |
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| RE: Figure Display Case Ideas Needed -
Posted on 09-01-2008 21:06 |
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FlaBat
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Wow, that sounds like quite the project. Here are my thoughts.
Figures In The Round:
Using a “Lazy Susan” approach you would build floor to ceiling Spindles with large round metal discs spaced 10” to 12” apart. The whole thing could be turned to view the figures on the discs.
The core Spindle could be separate threaded Plumbing Pipe sections, they could be metal or PVC depending upon price, from Home Depot. Use a Nut and Washer near the top of the Pipe sections to hold the large round metal discs in place. The large round metal discs will have holes in the middle, so use a Coupler to put the Pipe sections together.
The large round metal discs could come from round Serving Trays, say 10” or 12” from Wal-Mart or Target or something like that. You will probably need a Drill Press and fashion a wood frame to hold them in place so you can drill the hole in the same place on each one.
Seven Discs, Pipe Sections, Nuts, Washers and Couplers will make a seven foot (84”) tall Spindle at 12” spacing. If you go 10” spacing you can add an extra section to go 80” tall. Both will fit nicely in a standard 8 foot (96”) tall room.
Then use the Heavy Duty Mini Mag Stands I used to stand the figures up. They will be stood up in a circle and because the large round metal discs can rotate around the spindle you can see the fronts and backs of the figures. The Heavy Duty Mini Mag Stands will hold the figures in place, I moved the whole stand of Total Justice figures pictured from inside the book case to the outside top of the bookcase without any falling off, so gentle spinning should do no harm.
Paint or Powder Coat every thing whatever color you like, but use the same colors as the Mini Mag Stands if you can.
The Spindles could be then spaced in open Bookcases with holes drilled at the top and bottom for the Spindle to fit in. You could probably build bases using shelving material from Home Depot and then mount the top to the walls with brackets like shelving.
If you really want to get fancy see if you can find Gears all the same size and mount them to the Spindle hidden under the base, then use Chains and a small Fan Motor to drive them and make them spin slowly. If you’ve ever been to a Dave and Busters look at the ceiling fans all being driven from the same belt.
So how does that sound?
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| RE: Figure Display Case Ideas Needed -
Posted on 09-01-2008 22:11 |
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spencer1984
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I like using DVD/CD shelves for my figures. They are shallow enough that you don't lose the back figures and they take up relatively little floor space, but are deep enough to hold a good number of figures:
They also work great for oddly-shaped 1/24 cars:
The complete history of the Batmobile: BatmobileHistory.com
Scale models of Batmobiles & more: spencer1984.com |
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| RE: Figure Display Case Ideas Needed -
Posted on 10-01-2008 10:00 |
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Darknight
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Thanks a lot for the ideas. I am an engineer who designs custom car components for public safety and fleet vehicles. Most of the work is with metal, but plastic can work the same way. I plan to do this myself, especially after seeing what simple shelves can cost at retail.
Flabat's idea would be really cool, but I don't want to have everything on display at once. I want a sturdy display and storage system. My main goal is to be able to pull these off of the wall and put them in a padded box for storage. The rotating shelves would be an awesome setup. I may do that someday.
The cases will be pretty shallow because I pretty much plan on having everything on display in the year book photo neutral pose. That should be easiest at least for the first version.
I'll keep you guys updated with cad drawings and photos as I make progress.
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| RE: Look at all those Batmobiles... -
Posted on 10-01-2008 13:35 |
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inzo
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I drool at that collection photo
that Spencer puts up...
A tier system whould work good, if
it was high and wide...
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