How do you display your models?

[DB7 pilot]

Have you any pictures of your showcases, shelves, mountings, plinths or the whatever method you display your models?

Reason I ask is I'm a museum cabinetmaker and after visiting Retromobile in Paris and seeing the limited options available, I got to wondering how you guys who are serious about your models show them off. I hasten to add I'm not fishing for work or commissions, I have enough work.

I'm more interested in the one off cabinets you've made or had built, any images would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Mark.

[RDMcG]

I collect old tinplate toys and had a cabinet built in the basement...glass doors....(open here)

[DB7 pilot]

RDMcG said:

I collect old tinplate toys and had a cabinet built in the basement...glass doors....(open here)

Exactly the feedback I was looking for. Thanks.

Could you tell me if it's illuminated from above? I think I can just make out the bezel of a small dichroic spotlight on the right, if so, does the heat build up from these cause any concern for the models on the shelf nearest them?

[dr_gn]

I built these myself for my Dinky aircraft collection:



I put hinges at the top. Not fantastic quality and no illumination, but they didn't cost much and they keep the dust off!

[DB7 pilot]

dr_gn said:

I built these myself for my Dinky aircraft collection:



I put hinges at the top. Not fantastic quality and no illumination, but they didn't cost much and they keep the dust off!

I tell you what chap, you have an eye for detail and your spacings of models and cases would stand close scrutiny in some museums.

[dr_gn]

DB7 pilot said:

dr_gn said:

I built these myself for my Dinky aircraft collection:



I put hinges at the top. Not fantastic quality and no illumination, but they didn't cost much and they keep the dust off!

... your spacings of models and cases would stand close scrutiny in some museums.

Thanks!

You ought to see the horizontal overhead jig contraption I made to enable me to tie all the aircraft to the boards in exactly the right positions while laying on my back.

No, really I did.

[Composite Guru]

I have one of the upright Ikea displays which does a good job. Ok I didnt make it but I don't think I could of for the price.

[DB7 pilot]

I couldn't make them for those prices either, doubt I'd cover material costs for what they charge, but that's their market, high volume etc.

What I was looking for was the environment when the lights are on, which this shows well, Harsh light at the top, but the lower shelves all suffer once the first model's positioned on the top shelf.

I use different light methods which have been expensive until the advent of these little LED lights. I may try a small case for my few models and see if they're any better, once I have a little time. Thanks for a useful post.

[Red Firecracker]

The only ones I've kept are displayed in oak box frames with representations of original sales art;

[Skii]

I don't - they go straight into cardboard boxes when finished, dust is evil!

[RDMcG]

DB7 pilot said:

Exactly the feedback I was looking for. Thanks.

Could you tell me if it's illuminated from above? I think I can just make out the bezel of a small dichroic spotlight on the right, if so, does the heat build up from these cause any concern for the models on the shelf nearest them?

There are small LED lights along the top built in, but no other illumination. I thought of some kind of shelf edge lighting but it was too complicated.

[dr_gn]

DB7 pilot said:

Have you any pictures of your showcases, shelves, mountings, plinths or the whatever method you display your models?

Reason I ask is I'm a museum cabinetmaker and after visiting Retromobile in Paris and seeing the limited options available, I got to wondering how you guys who are serious about your models show them off. I hasten to add I'm not fishing for work or commissions, I have enough work.

I'm more interested in the one off cabinets you've made or had built, any images would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Mark.

It might be worth you going to a toy collector's fair or scale model / model railway show. There are usually quite a few display case manufacturers there. I recently bought 4 perspex display cases for my F1 collection, and the best of my recent plastic models:

http://www.just-bases.co.uk/

These were built to my own custom sizes, and are placed on a plain MDF board (fine for me - it's just to keep dust and small fingers off them!). Not what I'd call a bragin price, but far better than I could do.

I noticed an approx. A2 sized 'picture frame' type glass fronted cabinet for model trains at the Doncaster model railway show, and that was marked at £90.

[rhinochopig]

Doesn't anyone send them off to valhalla in a firery ball of melted polystyrene, liquid poly, and enamel on Bonfire night these days? For shame.

RIP badly built spitfire (1981-1982)

[cardigankid]

This is one of the big questions. Its ok to have hundreds of models on shelves round your bedroom when you're 15 and loads more hanging from the ceiling by threads, but it doesn't really work whe you are older, and my biggest bugbear is dust. I have been thinking about this. I honestly think that the answer is some kind of fitted glass fronted wall, like a library, but displaying models. I wouldn't want lights in the case for heat build up reasons.

[dr_gn]

cardigankid said:

This is one of the big questions. Its ok to have hundreds of models on shelves round your bedroom when you're 15 and loads more hanging from the ceiling by threads, but it doesn't really work whe you are older, and my biggest bugbear is dust. I have been thinking about this. I honestly think that the answer is some kind of fitted glass fronted wall, like a library, but displaying models. I wouldn't want lights in the case for heat build up reasons.

LED's would be fine for illumination, the brightness of some is amazing, so if you had a diffuser you'd be sorted. You could even stick LED's above each shelf in a self-adhesive strip if you wanted.

[DB7 pilot]

dr_gn said:

cardigankid said:

This is one of the big questions.... I honestly think that the answer is some kind of fitted glass fronted wall, like a library, but displaying models. I wouldn't want lights in the case for heat build up reasons.

LED's would be fine for illumination, the brightness of some is amazing, so if you had a diffuser you'd be sorted. You could even stick LED's above each shelf in a self-adhesive strip if you wanted.

I have to make museum cases for the British Museum amongst others and as you'd imagine their specifications are quite strict. Obviously their specs are overkill for something like our models, however I do think some of the fundamentals would transfer quite well.

Cardigankid, The two most common glass fronted wall types are framed glazed doors in metal or timber, hinged and lockable if required, but the break up of the viewable expanse is a compromise. The favoured option is a series of sliding glass panels with an appropriate brush seal up to the glass from the internal showcase liners, because as Skii rightly points out, dust is evil. The proper brush seals will have a polythene vein through the middle of the brush to maintain a good long term seal up to the glass.

I'd normally recommend a sliding glass panel no wider than 900mm to 1M. (For a standard domestic wall of say 10' it'd mean 3 sliding panels including wall fittings and scribe fillets).

The lighting issue is the thing I want to look at. I've been using fibre optics on my professional cases, but they're incredibly expensive for a domestic job. (say £1500-£2k for the above mentioned 10' long showcase), but for some of the smaller regional museums who want one off cases and have tight budgets, they have been specifying LED lights. Stick on strips as dr-gn points out, or more recently, the ten and twenty tailed pool and outdoor decking type of LED lights. The individual tails with relatively low heat output at the lens meet conservation requirements and the transformer is remote from the case interior, so no heat build up there, they also plug into a standard switch socket outlet. From my point of view the small..ish diameter of the individual heads makes a more elaborate design of the showcase possible.

RDMcG, I'm trying to arrive at something easy and cheap for myself using these LED's, but hopefully I can help others if I show some of the planning and making of my case as I get through it on here.

Sorry if I got bogged down a little in specs, but I've wanted this conversation with some serious model collectors for some time, thanks for your input so far.

Mark.