Model display feedback

I agree with you on keeping them protected from dust. I have two nice wood wall mounted display cases, 45 inches long with sliding glass doors, each with 4 shelves. This supports most of my white metal cars. Remaining ones are in another glass case with my wife’s collectibles or stored in original boxes. New purchases are generally displayed with older ones rotated back to storage. I thought about buying a nice glass storage cabinet, but chose to just rotate models from display to storage.

I like your very organized stacks of

perplex cases!  We all have the issue (or maybe most of is) of how to display everything effectively.  I think everyone does it a bit differently so your method is perfect!! Can you get those spice racks (from Walmart) that someone just showed?  Then put the first row closer to the front? 

I have all mine displayed without boxes.  And they are a bit of a mess!  I plan to rotate in new ones but never seem to find the time to do that! 

I find my  3 Carneyplastics ( http://carneyplastics.com/home   ) display cases keep off the dust, are easily cleaned, and provide organizational flexibility. (About 150 models)  I too have run out of space and have to selectively remove some of the redundant and/or lower quality models.  

Thanks for your reply’s. I’ve created my own problems by having several other collections, ie wooden ships and O Gauge trains. I guess all of us could use more space.

@cfcooper 

I understand your problem. I could never focus on one thing. I have S scale trains, 1/72 and 1/48 scale airplanes, and some 1/72 scale military vehicles. They all have their own display vs storage issues.

I have built several displays for my models.  This type is my favorite for 1/43 models.  They are lit with tape lights installed in a grove in the bottom of each shelf.

@mike, great idea. The models look like they're in a showroom!

One of the more interesting displays I have seen was on Facebook a couple years ago. Each shelf was gray with parking spaces marked, like you would see in a parking garage. Strips of LED lights were hidden behind fake building girders. The back was decorated with elevator and stairway doors, and various signage. Very ingenious.

The biggest problem I have displaying 1/43 models in their individual cases is the lack of uniformity in the size of the cases. My white metal models are all displayed in Carney acrylic cases.

I believe there are as many approaches to this as there are collectors. No best way, no bad way. Do what suits you.

I lean in the direction of placing my models into a realistic setting.

Posted by: @mike

I have built several displays for my models.  This type is my favorite for 1/43 models.  They are lit with tape lights installed in a grove in the bottom of each shelf.

 

I really like the effect these tape lights give.   The problem is I would need about 40 strips 24 inches long to effectively do my shelves even skipping the glass shelves since the light from above would shine through.   (Yes,  the collection is pretty big).   Where can you buy these tape lights?  I assume they are 110 volt powered from a wall plug.

It's great to see multiple approaches to the storage and display dilemma.

My current garage / hobby area has a wide, counter-height shelf along one entire wall, providing a surface for me to place the models.

I like buying the large Carney plastic cases for the long 1/18-scale cars, which allow me to display my 1/43-scale cars in groupings of four cars.  While the back row cars are a little more difficult to see, I can still view them all, and can see immediately where a particular car is, in the event that I wish to extract it for a closer look.  

I am able to stack the cases two or three high, in order to maximize storage space.

The photos illustrate this method of displaying and storing my cars.

The larger room photo shows the cases for the 1/43-scale cars placed on the shelf, flat against the wall at the rear of the counter.  Other displays, like a case with large Japanese tin toy cars, are interspersed with the 1/43-scale cars.

@john-quilter I get them from Amazon.  They have a transformer which cuts the voltage to 12V. I cut them in lengths equal to the shelve width and gang them together on the back  of the unit.

By the way, also bought these connectors to hook all the short sections of tape lights up.