Display Cabinets

[Toxichobbit]

I'm not sure if this belongs here or in Amicus Aedes. It's painting related in that it's about displaying painted models and it is most certainly a question, so i'll put it here and the mods can always move it if needed.

I've been wanting a display cabinet for a while, but have been holding off while I get the mess in my flat organised. Now that i've got the space, i'm seriously thinking about which one I want. After having a look around i've found that most people go for cabinets from Ikea, either the Klingsbo or more commonly the Detolf. Now both of these cabinets are decent and will work, however, i've had a couple of Detolf's before when I ran an LGS and they did the job, but I never really used the lights (didn't do much more than light up the top shelf and got quite hot) and even worse, they're designed for regular display items, vases, china and so forth, so you can't actually fit a lot in one. Each shelf is tall enough to fit a 40k Warhound, but only wide/deep enough to fit 750ish points comfortably.

I guess that's plenty for a lot of people, but i'm looking to display about 2k of Marines, 2k of Tau, 100pts of Circle Orboros and 100pts of Protectorate of Menoth, at a minimum. I also have a small Chaos force i'd like to get painted up, a sizeable amount of Trollbloods that will one day be painted and in the future, i'll eventually be looking at getting a WFB army, simply because I want to paint one and they look really nice all ranked up with the big beasties at the back.

So, as you can see, one Detolf wouldn't be enough. I'd need two, maybe even three. The Klingsbo (these names sound like something from Star Wars , guess they probably mean something in Swedish) has an extra shelf over the Detolf and a metal shelf at the bottom that could be used for storage (no good for minis because of the metalwork grill), but the actual shelves are a bit smaller.

So i've done some research, through google and searching various forums and seen a few cabinets that are really good, but they've mostly been custom built to the level that I wouldn't want to attempt. However, when browsing the PP forums I did come across an idea that I quite liked. The idea was originally put forward by Matt DiPietro (one of their studio painters, so generally a reliable source for this kind of thing). It consists of:

Besta shelf extension.

Inreda mirror/glass shelf insert.

Besta Tombo Glass door.

For lighting he suggested:

Inreda LED lighting strip.

Ansulta power cord.

He was speaking from personal experience of having a cabinet made up of these component and given that he's a professional painter, i'm inclined to trust his judgement of a good lighting source.

This cabinet would be really good for going on a desk or shelf, but what I really want is a free-standing cabinet, about 5-6' tall. So I was thinking of going with his idea, but using this Besta shelf unit as the frame instead of the smaller version. I'd need to get multiple packs of mirror/shelves to fill it up and I would have the odd characteristic of having three separate doors (unless I find a glass door of the right size somewhere else). It would be an expensive cabinet, but I could do it in stages - buying the base, a set of shelves and the lighting first, then adding more shelves and the door(s) later. I think in the end it would be worth it.

The advantage of this over all of the other cabinets i've seen is that it doesn't have glass sides (tougher, less to clean), has plenty of shelf space (six 56x35 full shelves and three half shelves) and has nice lighting and a mirror to display the models well. The downside is the weird triple door it would end up with and the mirror won't fill the cabinet completely - it'll leave a small gap, probably at the bottom. I think I could live with these issues if it gets me a cabinet that has plenty of shelves and less wasted space.

What do you guys think? Any other suggestions? I live in the UK, so any suggestions for stuff in other countries won't really help, but if it's an international store (like Ikea) then i'm sure I can find it in the UK stores.

Thanks in advance .

[Mahoo]

When I lived with my grampa I had cabinets similar to the Detlof (but with 1 or 2 extra shelves) To use up the room in it more efficently, my grampa cust some waste glass he had lying around. They were cut to half the depth of the exisiting shelves and they just sat on top of thin strips of glass glued onto the cabinet side. It let me fill up the lower shelves with "basic troops" have my HQ and other importants up top, while leaving me the option to leave out the extra half shelf for bigger units lower down.

 

Obviously not everyone had spare glass lying around, or the little glass cutter tool (cutting the glass looked like a massive annoyance to be honest) but something like that is an option you could explore.

[Jofus]

There is a good guide on DakkaDakka about modifying a detlof for minis and adding lighting on every other level. I followed it and liked the results. Once I get home I will look up the URL and post a link. Also on a side note I think adding lights on both side insteads of alternating would give even better lighting.

[Toxichobbit]

There is a good guide on DakkaDakka about modifying a detlof for minis and adding lighting on every other level. I followed it and liked the results. Once I get home I will look up the URL and post a link. Also on a side note I think adding lights on both side insteads of alternating would give even better lighting.

 

This one? I had a search after reading your post and that's the first one I found involving the Detlof. It's way too late now for my wee brain to take in a relatively complex tutorial like that, but i've bookmarked it and will have a proper look tomorrow. I might have some follow up questions for you, if you don't mind :).

[DarkMark]

Don't forget you can also buy clear plastic perspex steps to help display your models on shelves. Handily it also uses the dead space better too!

[Disruptor_fe404]

That DakkaDakka tutorial looks like it makes a badass cabinet.

 

I was originally going to fork out $600 or so and get a custom-built one from a glass company, but that tutorial looks like it produces the result I want on a much smaller budget.

[Aqui]

I was a bit reluctant to post in this topic for fear of promoting IKEA, as I work at one (to any Mods or Admin - to reiterate, my intention is to help Toxichobbit and nothing else), but if there is anything I can help with I will do.

 

It's a pity that IKEA doesn't sell Billy doors in full glass (to fit the 40 or 80x28x202cm versions) anymore as it could have been another viable solution, but they only come in "half and half", as in the bottom is a wooden panel with glass on the top section.  I've been mulling over Detolf myself, but as you said, there would be significant gaps between shelves.

 

Besta seems to be the best bet, but I'm waiting until I actually have a significant amount of finished minis to display first! :lol:

 

Any help you or anyone else needs, I'd be more than willing to help ^_^

[Disruptor_fe404]

Could you help me get Ikea to open a store in New Zealand? :lol:

 

Because that's actually the primary reason I was considering a custom job in the first place.

[Aqui]

Could you help me get Ikea to open a store in New Zealand?

Because that's actually the primary reason I was considering a custom job in the first place.

IKEA have tried to open at least one in NZ, but understandably the government doesn't want a stream of blue and yellow boxes ruining the landscape! :lol:

Just checked something, and I'm wrong about Billy doors - there are doors that are glass from top to bottom (how I forgot that I don't know :blink: )

Cheapest combination would be this Single, tall unit (40x28x202cm) plus a full length door - £55 (£20 for unit, £35 for door), plus additional shelves £5 each (you can get glass ones instead - £4 each). That way you could make far better use of the space inside it. I figure that you probably don't want white, but the white versions of most IKEA stuff is significantly cheaper than the same in other colours.

Hope that helps.

[Disruptor_fe404]

IKEA have tried to open at least one in NZ, but understandably the government doesn't want a stream of blue and yellow boxes ruining the landscape!

I knew it! We could totally do with an Ikea these days though.

Or at least, Detolfs that don't cost us NZ$260. That's US$220... for a product that goes for US$80. I blame resellers with a cornered market.

[Jofus]

Yeah that's the Dakka article. Also forgot to say I could not find the spiral tubing in my area so just left it out.

[winterdyne]

You can fit extra shelves in the Detolf. You need 6mm inside diameter carriage bolts. Four of those, set level. Then put your shelf on top of that. Oh, and use LED lights in the case if you want to light each level.

[appiah4]

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10119206/

 

I use and recommend this.