Best display option

[wpugh2424]

I have tons of vintage tmnt items and I initially choose to display in cube storage. I have 5 sixteen cube display shelves which are full with more to display. With all the NECA and Super 7 turtle items coming out, I am curious what the opinions of the masses would be on how to display. I am thinking I want larger shelves to display them together without having to break them up in so many cubes. Any ideas would be appreciated.

[mikey0]

5 sixteen inch cube displays?

I would go with the larger ones for the loose NECA and S7 figures. The vintage 5 inch figures do not have as much pose-ability as the modern ones do. You can display 15 turtle variants in one cube, have a few mutant allies in another cube, foot clan members in a different cube, and etc. etc.

[wpugh2424]

C7FE7AD2-0B47-4A91-8D44-95CC51951F67.jpg

This is for reference as to what I have

[IMJ]

I love display convo.

Originally Posted by wpugh2424

Attachment 12964

This is for reference as to what I have

When I click your link the Technodrome forums repeatedly asks me to login. Can you post the images to IMGUR and put them in the thread?

Originally Posted by wpugh2424

With all the NECA and Super 7 turtle items coming out, I am curious what the opinions of the masses would be on how to display. I am thinking I want larger shelves to display them together without having to break them up in so many cubes. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Over the years I have had quite a few setups that can hold 6 to 7" scale stuff.....

This case was from IKEA. It worked out really well as an "Armory", and eventually just to cram Iron Men in.


But then my display evolved and I wanted less clutter and more organization. That case became very useful for Starships....


Then I decided to give up building displays around what I was buying. The problem there was that you keep adding cabinets in those situations. So instead I've gone to modular. What I mean by that is I've setup more "universal" display systems and I rotate things in and out.

So, for example, I picked up a Blazon display cabinet that I wall mounted for 6" figures. Right now I've got the S.H. Figuarts Iron Man line in it, but pretty soon my NECA Fred Wolf Collection will go in there.



The key thing here though is that everything is behind glass or plexi. I wanted to get away from "stuff on top of stuff". So create rules for yourself - if it doesn't fit, don't display it or rotate it in rather than cramming "stuff on top of stuff".

I do this now with my 3 3/4" collections too. I store them in acid free bags (which I sell by the way, shameless plug, sorry). I keep them in a filed drawer system and I rotate them by theme, in and out of a display that I built which also mounts on the wall.



So action figures generally go in a sealed case on a wall. Other stuff like statues go in a Detolf.....



Although on rare occasions I'll put figures in a Detolf, but only if I can create a classy, thematic display. I'm sure you guys can pick out the theme concept here:



Also, lighting is key. You can buy LED string lights or light panels everywhere now. Just find clever ways to use them and it truly enhances a collection. It takes it from "toys" to "collection" immediately....



And so I'm far, far from the "Marie Kondo" of collecting displays but the point is that I have a thesis (be modular, don't cram stuff in), a theme (display by theme and rotate themes in and out) and museum quality (don't pack $#!( on top of $#!( - let your space be what it is and use it effectively).

I hope that all helps man. I've got a lot more displays set up that I haven't touched on, but take this post as something to extract ideas from.

[wpugh2424]

https://imgur.com/Jabsm3S

here this should be the link

thanks for the great post, was really in depth. I appreciate that.
I am now debating on custom shelving to make sure that all my neca and super 7 stuff "communicate"

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by wpugh2424

https://imgur.com/Jabsm3S

here this should be the link

thanks for the great post, was really in depth. I appreciate that.
I am now debating on custom shelving to make sure that all my neca and super 7 stuff "communicate"

Okay I see your image now. And it's cool as hell!
For the purpose of your thread, let's say for a moment that you don't want to dramatically alter it or buy new cabinets. In that case:

01. Make sure everyone is on figure stands so no one falls over after you....
02. Run some solid encasement LED lights to the top of each cube "roof". You can buy some quarter round trim and mount that there too so that the LED lights reside at an angle going towards the collection rather than directly over it where it will create shadows
03. Buy a plexi sheet. Screw it down over the whole front face of the Kallax unit there. That way everything is encased and it's now a "display" (great for parties) instead of "shelves of actions figures" (not so great for life goals). Additionally, you can buy four hinges and two sheets so that you can create plexi glass doors over the Kallax instead. That way if you don't do step one and a figure falls it's an easy fix.

Maybe also consider getting the MIB figs and the carded figs out of the Kallax. That way you can use risers in every square rather than only a few. It will create more uniformity for you.

Everything I posted here is meant to work with what you've got rather than trying to tell you to trash it and do something new. Your setup is cool! Just clean it up with "finishing work".

[Powder]

A good 'ole Ikea Detolf case (or several) with some acrylic risers would do the trick.

[Leo656]

Man, the biggest thing I hate about living upstairs in an otherwise-great house is that most of our walls meet our ceiling at around the 4-foot mark. It's an old converted farmhouse (we have a small barn out back ) and I think a long time ago this was attic space that was converted into regular rooms at some point. Finding "regular" furniture that fits against the walls is a bitch and there just isn't room to properly display anything. I get super jealous looking at everyone else's Cool Sh*t.

Which sucks, because my wife and I have literally thousands of awesome action figures but most of them are in totes until "Eventually". And the stuff I have on "display" is just sort of set up anywhere there's room. It's complete ass but I at least need to have stuff in my line of sight or I get depressed. For the longest time I stopped collecting since I couldn't do a "proper" display, but again, that led to severe depression. So now I just buy stuff and figure it'll have a good spot One Day.

But yeah, one day... ONE DAY, when we eventually move, I'm gonna get like 8 of those IKEA cabinets and there's gonna be some Epic Sh*t going on.

[Y2Josh]

Originally Posted by Powder

A good 'ole Ikea Detolf case (or several) with some acrylic risers would do the trick.

What do you use as a risers for the Detolfs? I'd looked at some custom-built ones, but they're more expensive than the cabinets themselves.

I've also seen people use the Bestas, but their specs don't suggest they should be able to support the weight of one empty Detolf, never mind two.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Man, the biggest thing I hate about living upstairs in an otherwise-great house is that most of our walls meet our ceiling at around the 4-foot mark.

Bro. Come to me with these problems.

You can solve this issue by using baseball bat display cases from Michael's.....

Originally Posted by Y2Josh

What do you use as a risers for the Detolfs? I'd looked at some custom-built ones, but they're more expensive than the cabinets themselves.

I've also seen people use the Bestas, but their specs don't suggest they should be able to support the weight of one empty Detolf, never mind two.

Dedicated acrylic "risers" are priced as boutique items. It's ridiculous. Instead, you can buy acryllic makeup compartments and turn them upside down to stand figures on.

You can also use spice racks. There are stepped spice racks everywhere and the one in the photo below is modular, meant to expand into any shelf space. I used it for an armory.



Also the build quality of the Detolf is often in question and they rattle. I solved that problem by installing rubber bumpers on mine at the points where the shelves wouldn't contact the outer glass. It stabilized everything.

[Y2Josh]

Originally Posted by IMJ

Dedicated acrylic "risers" are priced as boutique items. It's ridiculous. Instead, you can buy acryllic makeup compartments and turn them upside down to stand figures on.

You can also use spice racks. There are stepped spice racks everywhere and the one in the photo below is modular, meant to expand into any shelf space. I used it for an armory.

https://i.imgur.com/fczaaDkl.jpg

Also the build quality of the Detolf is often in question and they rattle. I solved that problem by installing rubber bumpers on mine at the points where the shelves wouldn't contact the outer glass. It stabilized everything.

Only after I posted this did I realize he was probably talking about risers for the figures themselves (I use cupcake risers), rather than a riser for the cabinet. I'm looking for an inexpensive way to get the cabinets off the ground, which a lot of people suggest using the Bestas for, but I'm not sure they're ideal for supporting the weight of the Detolf.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by IMJ

Bro. Come to me with these problems.

You can solve this issue by using baseball bat display cases from Michael's.....

https://i.imgur.com/4pLHutel.jpg

In Theory.

Cheap-ass sheetrock up here, though, and minimal, oddly-placed studs. Can't hang anything of weight, stuff pulls right out. I would not feel safe about it in this specific circumstance. They're my babies!

As I said, this upstairs was almost certainly not designed as living space, and whoever converted it did a rather half-assed job. It's functional, and at an outward glance it looks perfectly normal, albeit "cozy", but there's a lot of little problems just below the surface. Like we recently discovered that our "floorboards" up here under the carpeting are super-thin plywood, after I cracked a hole in the floor by literally walking too hard. What a mess. The main house downstairs is great, but whoever converted the upstairs some 40-odd years ago definitely went for "quick and dirty". They probably only meant to use it for storage. The upside being, lots of closet space and I only pay a couple'a hundred bucks a month. So, y'know, Ups and Downs.

That's a great idea for the future, though, because I will certainly need some stuff like that for the "in-between" spaces and smaller figures. Thanks! As-is, though, even if I felt "safe" hanging anything on the walls, that space is already completely lined with furniture so there's literally zero free space anyways. BUT. It's still a great idea and I'm gonna hang onto that one. Kudos! You're good at this.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by Y2Josh

Only after I posted this did I realize he was probably talking about risers for the figures themselves (I use cupcake risers), rather than a riser for the cabinet. I'm looking for an inexpensive way to get the cabinets off the ground, which a lot of people suggest using the Bestas for, but I'm not sure they're ideal for supporting the weight of the Detolf.

Oh yeah the detolf look much better off the ground. And so with that said,
If you have a single detolf then use a one cube kallax or cube "xyz" or whatever from Wal-Mart as a Detolf riser. You can put a door on it as well.
If you have an array of detolfs, then pick up a 1x4 (or whatever count) Kallax and place it horizontally on the floor with the Detolfs on top, one detolf per cube section.

-edit- I see now why you said "Besta". I always call those cube things "Kallax" by habit.

If you are concerned about the wobbly nature of the Kallax, you can buy cheap angle iron at the hardware store. Place the angle iron with fasteners into each 90 degree interior corner of the kallax cubes.

Originally Posted by Leo656

That's a great idea for the future, though, because I will certainly need some stuff like that for the "in-between" spaces and smaller figures. Thanks! As-is, though, even if I felt "safe" hanging anything on the walls, that space is already completely lined with furniture so there's literally zero free space anyways. BUT. It's still a great idea and I'm gonna hang onto that one. Kudos! You're good at this.

thumb's up and thanks!

[tmntman]

Interesting timing for this thread. I've been wanting to get some display cases for ages to be able to display my TMNT statues at my office. I've been haunting Craig's List, Facebook, and more looking for glass display cases. But finding ones deep enough for some of the large statues like the PCS statues and the Prime Studios ones is tough.

I finally found two used retail cases that are 4 feet wide and just over 6 feet tall. And at 18 inches deep, they should fit just about any statue I have. I spent the weekend purchasing them and hauling them to my office. Today I had time to replace the old 80's fabric backdrop with something more interesting and appropriate for the Turtles.



I managed to get both showcases set up. I still need to clean them up a bit. But I can't wait to start moving stuff in.

[IMJ]

I can't wait to see the finished product, man!

[Leo656]

That's rad.

One of my concerns is definitely how I'm one day going to have space in a "proper" display for some of my larger pieces. Specifically, with regard to my wrestling figures, I have several toy rings of various sizes but the two main ones I like to display my figures in are simply too large for most likely anything but a custom-made case. There's the WWF LJN/Jakks ring - also known as the "Monster Ring" due to its size - which is ideal for the big 8-inch scale LJN figures but at almost 19 inches on each side is a real pain to find space for within any kind of shelving unit or display case. But those figures are just plain too big to fit properly in any other ring, as it was made for them specifically. At the moment, I have that ring and the figures set up on top of an old TV cabinet, as it's the only thing deep enough for it to stand on... and the ring STILL hangs over the edge by about a half-inch. What's more is that my flea market buddies are holding ANOTHER one of those rings for me, along with the Steel Cage accessory, so pretty soon I'm gonna need to find space for THAT one, too!

But aside from THAT, the even bigger dilemma (literally) comes from the truly quite amazing Jakks WWE "Real Scale" WrestleMania ring, which isn't anywhere near as tall as the "Monster Ring" but is quite a bit larger end-to-end, at a whopping 22 inches per side (not to mention the corner steps which add another 4 inches or so to one side). I need new ropes for it, as the ones that came with it are sagging very badly now, but altogether with all its authentic details like fabric ring skirts and foam-padded turnbuckles it's really quite breathtaking and I'd never NOT want it on display. Especially since I can fit about 50+ 6-inch figures in there! But sadly, this thing fits almost nowhere. It's currently taking up more than 2/3s of a coffee table, because that's just plain the only place I can put it.

I don't see any way I'll ever have these things in a "proper" display case without getting something very costly and/or custom built. But at the same time, I'd never NOT have them out. I guess they're destined to be tabletop-only kinda pieces. Which is ultimately "fine", but it's admittedly not the best "look". At least most of my other rings are around 14x14 at most, so they'll never be a problem. It's only my nicest ones that are giving me any grief.

Y'know who I feel bad for, are the folks who got the new Super7 Snake Mountain. THAT thing is a goddamn beast, and while I'd absolutely love to have one (as well as the Mattel MOTU Classics Grayskull) I'm forever seeing people on FB struggling to find space to display it. There's so much cool stuff out there now but it's like damn, finding a way to set it out is like a freakin' job.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by Leo656

That's rad.

One of my concerns is definitely how I'm one day going to have space in a "proper" display for some of my larger pieces. Specifically, with regard to my wrestling figures, I have several toy rings of various sizes but the two main ones I like to display my figures in are simply too large for most likely anything but a custom-made case. There's the WWF LJN/Jakks ring - also known as the "Monster Ring" due to its size - which is ideal for the big 8-inch scale LJN figures but at almost 19 inches on each side is a real pain to find space for within any kind of shelving unit or display case. But those figures are just plain too big to fit properly in any other ring, as it was made for them specifically. At the moment, I have that ring and the figures set up on top of an old TV cabinet, as it's the only thing deep enough for it to stand on... and the ring STILL hangs over the edge by about a half-inch. What's more is that my flea market buddies are holding ANOTHER one of those rings for me, along with the Steel Cage accessory, so pretty soon I'm gonna need to find space for THAT one, too!

But aside from THAT, the even bigger dilemma (literally) comes from the truly quite amazing Jakks WWE "Real Scale" WrestleMania ring, which isn't anywhere near as tall as the "Monster Ring" but is quite a bit larger end-to-end, at a whopping 22 inches per side (not to mention the corner steps which add another 4 inches or so to one side). I need new ropes for it, as the ones that came with it are sagging very badly now, but altogether with all its authentic details like fabric ring skirts and foam-padded turnbuckles it's really quite breathtaking and I'd never NOT want it on display. Especially since I can fit about 50+ 6-inch figures in there! But sadly, this thing fits almost nowhere. It's currently taking up more than 2/3s of a coffee table, because that's just plain the only place I can put it.

I don't see any way I'll ever have these things in a "proper" display case without getting something very costly and/or custom built. But at the same time, I'd never NOT have them out. I guess they're destined to be tabletop-only kinda pieces. Which is ultimately "fine", but it's admittedly not the best "look". At least most of my other rings are around 14x14 at most, so they'll never be a problem. It's only my nicest ones that are giving me any grief.

Y'know who I feel bad for, are the folks who got the new Super7 Snake Mountain. THAT thing is a goddamn beast, and while I'd absolutely love to have one (as well as the Mattel MOTU Classics Grayskull) I'm forever seeing people on FB struggling to find space to display it. There's so much cool stuff out there now but it's like damn, finding a way to set it out is like a freakin' job.

Have you seen these for Detolfs? I thought this was awesome. It seems that the Wrestling guys take their displays seriously!

[Leo656]

Yeah, those are really spiffy. Wrestling and He-Man collectors come up with some truly amazing stuff for their displays. I'm constantly in awe.

Clicking around, I can find some custom-made display units that would fit around my larger rings, but each one would hold ONLY that with no shelving or anything, so these would still need to sit on top of a table or something. But I guess it's a way to go. I definitely know how I could make that work adjacent to some other stuff. Still, around $70+ for a unit to hold ONE thing in a display is... well, it's discouraging, but I get it. Them's the breaks, I guess. I mean there's other stuff like actual standing shelving units that can be made around 24x24 or larger, but now we're getting into like $400 per case territory and I frankly don't wanna get into that for two wrestling rings.

I'unno, I'll figure it out. Ain't like it's gonna be tomorrow, anyways.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Yeah, those are really spiffy. Wrestling and He-Man collectors come up with some truly amazing stuff for their displays. I'm constantly in awe.

Clicking around, I can find some custom-made display units that would fit around my larger rings, but each one would hold ONLY that with no shelving or anything, so these would still need to sit on top of a table or something. But I guess it's a way to go. I definitely know how I could make that work adjacent to some other stuff. Still, around $70+ for a unit to hold ONE thing in a display is... well, it's discouraging, but I get it. Them's the breaks, I guess. I mean there's other stuff like actual standing shelving units that can be made around 24x24 or larger, but now we're getting into like $400 per case territory and I frankly don't wanna get into that for two wrestling rings.

I'unno, I"ll figure it out. Ain't like it's gonna be tomorrow, anyways.

You could put the rings in shadow boxes and mount them on a wall. Then put your figures in a cabinet. It would have museum quality. The rings would probably look pretty awesome mounted on a wall so that it would be like looking at them top-down.

Then, keep your best ring and find a case only for that one as a diorama with figures in it. That would be a helluva room to hang out.

[Leo656]

Those are all pretty neat ideas. Definitely food for thought.

What's probably going to happen "One Day" (as in once we move elsewhere) is a room where each wall has a "theme" with its own cases. Like the Wrestling stuff would easily take up the most room, then the He-Man stuff, then the DC/Misc. Super-Hero stuff. I actually don't have a ton of TMNT figures or other toys, so all of that would easily fit in its own standing unit, probably adjacent to the super-hero stuff. All my Ghostbusters stuff can fit into just one case. And so on and so forth.

The wrestling stuff would definitely be the bulk of it, though. But that's pretty easy; as I said, I have a lot of "normal"-sized rings for all the various lines, so like most people do I'd probably have each different line on its own shelf in the case, with the ring in the center and whatever guys couldn't fit in it standing on risers on the sides. Most toy rings are about 14x14 or smaller and fit in a standard IKEA unit easily so 99% of that collection will be perfectly easy to display. It's just those Big Sum'Bitches that will require some outside-the-box thinking, but you've got some good ideas as far as that goes. In my head I can definitely see it all tying together quite nicely.

For the He-Man stuff, I'm certainly going to need some wider cases because I would absolutely want to display the playsets "open" rather than folded. But that's not a huge deal, people do that all the time. I think one "tall and wide" case would fit all my He-Man figures and playsets pretty easily, but I'unno.

DC stuff is all figures and no playsets, just a LOT of figures, so I think maybe two standard-sized cases would be good enough for all of it. Three, tops. And then my wife has her own stuff - Hercules, Xena, Street Fighter, G.I. Joe, etc. - but she doesn't collect anywhere near as much as I do o I can imagine all of that going into one unit with room to spare.

None of this is actually gonna come to pass for a couple years, but I'm always, always thinking ahead.

As I've said, at one point I stopped buying stuff because "I have no place to put it", but man... that was depressing. So now I buy stuff and figure I'll have a place for it One Day, and that's good enough. I'm broker, but happier.