Custom Display Cabinets

[Boba Debt]

I mentioned in another thread that I build custom display cabinets and someone asked for a link to some of my work

Rather then pull that thread off topic I figured I would post a separate thread and give him the link.

I want to say that I only do this for friends and when I have time. I ‘m not for hire, not that it would even be practical, so this thread is not an attempt to solicit business.






Most of my work is boring but once in a while I take on an awesome custom job

I built this Star Trek Inspired Entertainment Center for a friend from another forum

Here is his concept art:




Some of my progress pics:












At this point I delivered it to him in Virginia which was about a 4 hour drive for me and he installed the electronics package

 

[Boba Debt]

Here is a huge example of what I do:

My original Star Wars display room

When we first built our house we included an 11 x 14 display room for our Star wars Collection.

But things changed and we had to move down stairs so the Star Wars Room and the dining room became a monster den

The original room:
















Became this:



To make this:









I prefer an open display so in our original room we used grid wall which is an inexpensive but sturdy way to display a variety of collectables.

When we converted the Star Wars Room and dining room into the mega den we used 8 panels, 2 in each corner

 

[ShapeShifter]

Wow really great work! Love the Star Wars display!

 

[V8_Club]

WOW

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

 

[Collectorcol]

Is that why you've been dissing Ikea?

Not everyone has the skill or time to build something like that.

 

[Boba Debt]

Is that why you've been dissing Ikea?

Not everyone has the skill or time to build something like that.

Skill I learned, I am self taught. Time I have very little of, I'm an aircraft mechanic and I work 6-7 days a week



BUT I see I hit a nerve with you.

I am not the type of person that provides a white lie to a person when they ask how something looks and posting your collection on line is leaveing you open to the opinions of others.

When I see a 4 unit Detolf with 40 - 60 figures crammed into it I ask myself, why didn't that person spend a fraction of that money on a different way to display their collection.

There are tons of display cabinet available on line and a lot have free shipping

Or you could add some molding to a couple Detolfs and it would look incredible.

The options are limitless.



I guess what I am saying is that there is an incredible lack of originality in this hobby. You all pretty much buy the same figures so the only way to make your collection stand out it to display them in an original way.

Since I have been a member here I was impressed by 2 displays, one with the Avengers posed around a fallen alien for IM3 (aint gonna try to spell that one) and an IM display that had Tony's Work Shop in front of a HOA.

I was also impressed with the conversion of the IKEA table into a display case, in fact I was very impressed.

I guess as some collections mature, the collectors will improve their display environment.


When I build display systems for others, I always try to develop a unique system that fits their style.

I don’t photograph much of the work I do for others due to privacy concerns but here is an in progress pic of my wife’s “prettys” cabinets that create the entrance to our mega den, don’t make fun of the displayed items, these are things I bought for her from around the world when I was deployed





Here is a shot of the display shelves I made for my wife’s Nao Figurine collection




Both of these concepts could be used for Hot Toys and the materials required to build these was less then $200

Could you imagine the den entrance full of 22 Hot Toys???

 

[Boba Debt]

Wow really great work! Love the Star Wars display!

WOW

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the kind words.




The more I look, the more I get the feeling that a lot of people think more is better. I saw one Detolf shelf with at least 8 figures of the same character on it. I really don’t understand that at all.

I collect meteorites and when I first got into that hobby I looked at the collections of others but was not impressed. Most had cluttered glass cabinets full of rocks with huge cards explaining what they were and 90% of the collections looked the same, even the multi-million dollar ones. Some even had their collection stored in hermetically sealed bags in a safe and never looked at them (kind of like people that collect figures in sealed boxes).

Here is an example of what I am talking about:




Here is my humble collection of 50mm meteorite spheres:



Since I took this picture I added a 19th sphere and I just bought the material to make my 20th, which took 4 years to find.

Most of my fellow collectors are very impressed with this collection even though it is only worth a fraction of theirs.

If you want to see more of my collection you can click this:

https://home.roadrunner.com/~bobadebt/

 

[stranger x]

For some reason your 'pretties' collection reminds me of the 'Its a small world' ride at Disney.

 

[Figurefreaks]

Thanks for the link BD, and for the nice comment on my IKEA table conversion.

Wow! …you got some nice learned talent, and I can tell you have a very good eye for design too.
I love the displays for the Nao Figurine collection. Looks nice, and blend in perfect with the rest of the environment.


That Meteorite Spheres looks so cool …I never knew that was something you can actually buy/collect …very impressive.


See U.

 

[Geil]

nice work indeed.... someday I will take a long vacation and send away the family just so I can tackle some of my projects lol. you must be very organized to find time to build even just these two projects
I totally agree with your perception of a lot of collections but then again you got to have space to show off your collection space-fully and that a lot don't have yet the addiction is there so you end up cramping your style with too much to show. it is after all an addiction for most of us

 

[Cocoboloboy]

Nice collection and nice display building skills! I'm of the same mind. I focus a lot on the display of my collection. In fact I've been like that with my toys since I was 6 years old. Always loved to display them in unique ways.

Those meteorite spheres are really cool. How does one acquire such a thing?

 

[Boba Debt]

For some reason your 'pretties' collection reminds me of the 'Its a small world' ride at Disney.

That would be my wife’s “prettys” collection. She loves anything I buy her. She has everything from Armani figurines to some kind of inexpensive dolls that originated in New Orleans. Price is never the reason I buy her something, I just think she would think it’s pretty so I get it for her. Eventually she stated calling it her “prettys” so the name stuck.

Since you mentioned Disney I feel obligated to post a picture of her Disney Cabinet, which is very difficult to photograph due to it’s location in the house



We love Disney World and vacation there when I can get time off

Thanks for the link BD, and for the nice comment on my IKEA table conversion.

Wow! …you got some nice learned talent, and I can tell you have a very good eye for design too. I love the displays for the Nao Figurine collection. Looks nice, and blend in perfect with the rest of the environment.

That Meteorite Spheres looks so cool …I never knew that was something you can actually buy/collect …very impressive.

I appreciate the kind words as well. I always tell people that growing up poor was the best thing that ever happened to me, I learned to be self reliant at a young age and it just carried over to my adult life. If something has to be done around our house I would rather do it myself.

It not only save you money but you appreciate the end result more.

nice work indeed.... someday I will take a long vacation and send away the family just so I can tackle some of my projects lol. you must be very organized to find time to build even just these two projects
I totally agree with your perception of a lot of collections but then again you got to have space to show off your collection space-fully and that a lot don't have yet the addiction is there so you end up cramping your style with too much to show. it is after all an addiction for most of us

I’m not that organized, I just hate sleeping.

A long time ago I stopped referring to the nature of collecting as “addictive”, instead I say that I’m “infected”

I move from hobby to hobby when the “fever” dissipates.

Currently I am infected with the need to work on my Iron Man Collection, the Hall of Armor started it but the die cast Hot Toys Figures fueled it.

I can understand people wanting to buy up everything but you have to have a balance of collection size to space. When I was in the Marine Corps I had to live in a barracks for a while so I maintained a small collection of very nice Star Wars items. When we built our house we had an 11 x 14 room that I had to flesh out which really diluted the overall feel. Now that we converted that area into a den I have 4 small corners to populate so I am choosy about what I display.

To me it’s not about volume, it’s more about aesthetics. And it doesn’t have to cost a lot, it just has to evoke some sort of memory such as my Star Bird. My dad was out of work the year I got one of those for Christmas but he shoveled side walks and cleaned bars so he could get me an my sisters something we asked for. I wore my original Star Bird out but luckily I found one years later on ebay.

Nice collection and nice display building skills! I'm of the same mind. I focus a lot on the display of my collection. In fact I've been like that with my toys since I was 6 years old. Always loved to display them in unique ways.

Those meteorite spheres are really cool. How does one acquire such a thing?

As for meteorites, one day I found out you could buy them so I started looking. I didn’t like the way most people displayed them, as I said the collections looked like a bunck of rocks on a shelf. Then I found that some sellers took the most abundant material and made them into spheres. I took that concept and ran with it and now I’m working on my 20th sphere


If you want to read more about my collection here is a link to my meteorite sphere collection web site: https://home.roadrunner.com/~bobadebt/

 

[stranger x]

Sorry for calling your 'prettys' pretties.

I just prefer to spell it correctly if that's ok with you.

 

[Boba Debt]

I don't think either version "prettys/pretties" is an actual word so I'll go with what she calls them.



Back to the intent of this thread.



I hope that this helps provide some perspective on what can be done with a little time, money and originality.

Like me, you guys seem to spend a lot of money on your collections and I'm sure you would like it to look unique, or different from everyone else's.

I tend to blend collectables such as props, pictures and in this case figures which helps set them off from other collectors that have the same thing.


I also find that if you display a concentration of a single type of collectible it can get lost in the similarity of the other items it is displayed with.

For instance

Instead of displaying 15 1:1 scale light sabers on a single shelf I would display the saber with a 1/12 scale figure, maybe a small scale ship and a picture of the character in the back ground.


I think the more you mix it up, the better it looks.

 

[GeneralZodLives]

Actually, "pretties" is a word--it's a noun and the plural of "pretty". "Prettys" is not a word--however, it is an incorrect spelling of the word "pretties". The good thing is that no one can tell that your wife is using the incorrectly spelled version because they are pronounced the same. Thank goodness people can't see vocalized words hanging in the air because that would be embarrassing.

Also, your wife has a pretty pretties display.

 

[hockeyflow33]

You need to quit your regular job and just build displays! The shop in your garage looks awesome, not to mention all your builds!

 

[potato]

aren't you afraid that a cat (whom accidentally steps into your house) or some kid accidentally knocks all those porcelain statues off from that thin wall cabinets?

Skill I learned, I am self taught. Time I have very little of, I'm an aircraft mechanic and I work 6-7 days a week



BUT I see I hit a nerve with you.

I am not the type of person that provides a white lie to a person when they ask how something looks and posting your collection on line is leaveing you open to the opinions of others.

When I see a 4 unit Detolf with 40 - 60 figures crammed into it I ask myself, why didn't that person spend a fraction of that money on a different way to display their collection.

There are tons of display cabinet available on line and a lot have free shipping

Or you could add some molding to a couple Detolfs and it would look incredible.

The options are limitless.



I guess what I am saying is that there is an incredible lack of originality in this hobby. You all pretty much buy the same figures so the only way to make your collection stand out it to display them in an original way.

Since I have been a member here I was impressed by 2 displays, one with the Avengers posed around a fallen alien for IM3 (aint gonna try to spell that one) and an IM display that had Tony's Work Shop in front of a HOA.

I was also impressed with the conversion of the IKEA table into a display case, in fact I was very impressed.

I guess as some collections mature, the collectors will improve their display environment.


When I build display systems for others, I always try to develop a unique system that fits their style.

I don’t photograph much of the work I do for others due to privacy concerns but here is an in progress pic of my wife’s “prettys” cabinets that create the entrance to our mega den, don’t make fun of the displayed items, these are things I bought for her from around the world when I was deployed





Here is a shot of the display shelves I made for my wife’s Nao Figurine collection




Both of these concepts could be used for Hot Toys and the materials required to build these was less then $200

Could you imagine the den entrance full of 22 Hot Toys???

 

[Boba Debt]

You need to quit your regular job and just build displays! The shop in your garage looks awesome, not to mention all your builds!

I have been told that before but I love my job too much. I'm an aircraft mechanic and I work on the Marine Corps Vertical Lift inventory. Currently I'm with the CH-53 program but we just got F-35s.

When I was in the Marine Corps I built people cabinets and did renovations such as kitchens and decks as a side job and it got tedious. When you work with a friend you can be completely and brutally honest. Stangers tend to be sensitive when you try to explain the issues with what they want. And I never compromise my standards to save someone money, for instance, I can't go cheap on the framing of a deck to save money type of thing.


But I still help friends when they want to do something. Here is a link to a kitchen I recently did for my pastures wife. I had to convince her that a few of here choices were not going to work the way she thought they would and in the end she was extremely happy with my layout

https://s131.photobucket.com/user/BobaDebt/slideshow/Distinctive%20Displays/Mabels_Kitchen

 

[Scottpe]

The more I look the more I get the feeling that a lot of people think more is better. I saw one Detolf shelf with I think 8 figures of the same character on it. II really don’t understand that at all.

I completely agree with your sentiments that less is more and it's more about quality of the presentation than quantity. I look at some of the collections on here, and frankly, while impressive in their sheer size, are totally overwhelming to the point where my eyes don't even know where to look. And having multiple versions of the same character all stacked together, IMO, does nothing but dilute the display. What's the use of having tons and tons of items displayed if it all just turns to visual noise? It's a shame really, because clearly many of the items are very expensive pieces and deserve to be focal points, but aren't. Some of my favorite displays are the ones that have a few really nice items displayed with a little creativity and space between them where you can really focus on them individually and admire them.

Anyway, so this brings me to YOUR displays... you've got some really nice collections and overall have done a good job of presenting them in unique ways. I do have a question though: it seems that most of your collections are displayed in open air. How in the world do you manage to keep all of that stuff clean and dust free?

 

[Boba Debt]

................. you've got some really nice collections and overall have done a good job of presenting them in unique ways. I do have a question though: it seems that most of your collections are displayed in open air. How in the world do you manage to keep all of that stuff clean and dust free?

Thanks.


I am not as emotionally tied to my collection as I used to be. I got to a point where I realized this stuff is just trinkets and not priceless artifacts that must be stored under glass.


HOWEVER, I have nothing against people that choose to display their collections in that way, in fact I just looked at a Star Wars room the other night that was awesome and most of his stuff was under glass.


As for keeping my collection clean, I just dust regularly. I don't mind doing it, In fact I like to handle my stuff.

I also find that I really enjoy being able to touch and grab something off a shelf.

I use grid wall panels because they are very easy to re-configure. Just today I added some new stuff, got rid of some filler and moved a bunch of stuff around.

Doing this is part of what I enjoy about the hobby.