Topic: How I store and display my loose collection...

[Darth More]

Found this source for base plates and display stands via a post on Facebook!
Special thanks to John Miko. I'm sure I'd never found this source without his hint.

Welcome to Collecting Warehouse:

https://www.collectingwarehouse.com/Action-Figure-Stands

[Darth More]

For my custom fodder and all light-sensitive figures like Clone and Stormtroopers I was looking for a black plastic box. Thanks again to jkno for the hint! Got some more inspiration at my local building supplies store today:








For more resources & references click here.

[Tamer]

Nice looking different size storage there.

[Darth More]

This is just a test





Recently I got 6 of these cabinets. It was actually the very first time I paid attention to an ad. These cabinets were advertised by a German furniture store on instagram. Despite the long delivery time of 7 weeks I pulled the trigger at 27€ each instead of 32€ or the shown MRSP of 39,99€. These are also sold on and from Amazon and they show a regular retail price of 79,90€.
Sometimes I got the impression that old retail prices are risen artificially to make the current offer look even better.
Anyways I had to be patient, wasn't notified when they were coming exactly, but in the 8th week I finally received the shipping notification. But the adventure isn't over, yet.

So far I built 3 of 6 and all 3 had issues such as error parts or damages. That's a 100% reason to not recommend this product. Pretty embarrassing for this retailer especially because they're known for quality furniture. But I guess at that low price, one can only expect lower quality. Fortunately no parts missing so far.
Anyhow...I should refine my statement: If you're lucky, this cabinet can be quite good.

But here comes the problem and the reason why I have to customize all of them: The top and the bottom level have less than 4" of space, so I cannot display regular Star Wars figures on there. I could put some smaller stuff like Astromechs or Speeder Bikes on there.

Here's a test run. I started with my Clone Wars figures to honor the dedication that went into them by the brand team, but also to finally label them.
Now, the craziest thing is that I never actively collected the Clone Wars line because the animated style wasn't appealing to me. Looking back and seeing how the quality and quantity of figures decreased after 2012, I took a closer look at the figures I got with several lots I bought over the years. I needed two full cabinets with 5 floors each to display all TCW figures I got as "bycatch" so to say. More pictures will follow soon.

Measurements:

32x24x3.8 inches
or
80x60x9.5 cm



I put the most complete versions of each figure I got on display. For example I got 8 R2-D2s, but only one of them is complete. On the third floor are almost all 27 figures of the first series in blue-white card design. The second and first floor are filled with figures of the red-white packaging.
It truly amazes me how much detail, articulation and accessories these figures come with.
Well done Hasbro!














List of errors:

First cabinet: One floor came with a teared veneer. But I just put it at the bottom so it's not visible.
Second cabinet: The white veneer was applied on the back side of the top part of the frame instead of being applied to the front.
Third cabinet: Came with two left parts for the frame, but I could still build it. Only had to drill two extra holes if I wanted to mount it to a wall.


Linkin Park - Forgotten

[Tamer]

Very interesting. They sure do look good in your images. Sorry they are a pain to put together. It would bug me I didn't have to same height dimensions the whole way through. That doesn't seem very smart.

Off to share on the front pages.

[Darth More]

Indeed, especially considering the fact that I was most worried about broken glass. They are designed well, the choice and quality of materials is good as well, but the production went with some errors that shouldn't happen. Makes me wonder how the conditions are in the factory and how companies treat their suppliers.

The reason why I went to the DIY store is that I asked them to cut the floors in half. But after an accident that happened in the wood department, they don't cut pieces shorter than 4" anymore.
So what I need are floors that are 6-8 mm thick instead of 12 mm. They recommended me to - well - do it myself at home with a circular saw - which I don't have.

I need to reduce the thickness of the 4 floors to gain extra space for the 3 3/4" figures to fit in. I expect them to bend down under the weight of up to 39 figures, so for that reason I'm going to support them with L-profiles. Got some strong glue that should make for a sufficient bound.
In case I cannot cut the existing floors of pressed cardboard with veneers, I'm going to use acrylic glass (which will be much more expensive as well):

[Tamer]

The acyrlic looks good. Such a shame you have to do all that extra work and add money to your cost with these though.

[Darth More]

Agreed. Well, I tried to figure it out, but the construction markets around me won't cut the boards because they're too thin. And I was told by pros that I should rather buy new boards instead of cutting them myself with a circular saw...



Meanwhile I re-organized my loose Black Series figures and made the cabinet a TBS only one:






I might sell all my 6" figures though. Want to stick to 1/18 scale.

[Tamer]

Yeah, I can sure understand sticking to one scale, especially if you collect more than one line.

Bummer about your shelves. I have never heard of refusing to cut boards because they are too thin.

[Darth More]

They have industrial saws with a minimum cutting measure, but I'm pretty sure they could cut .4 inches in half. But it's still a fair point that they say it's too dangerous and I don't want to be responsible if they cut off their fingers or worse. So I'll probably spend that extra money for new boards...

As to the Black Series figures, it puzzles me that people only bid 5 to 13 bucks for them on eBay - even sealed! TVC figures always reach higher prices, so it's actually cheaper to collect 6" here in Germany at the moment. Even SmythsToys sell some of them cheaper than the TVC Asst.!
But they take too much space. As nice as they are, they're too tall for me. I go with the heritage scale, but it's nice to see what Hasbro can do in the 20s of the 21st century...
All figures you see in the pictures are bought loose on eBay by the way and the cheapest lot I got was 7.56€ for each figure. TBS collectors are apparently not willing to pay as much as TVC collectors do when it comes to their hobby.
BUT WE MUST NEVER FORGET THAT THE BLACK SERIES IS THE BREAD AND BUTTER LINE FOR HASBRO SINCE 2013!

[Tamer]

LOL. Yeah the six inch line is definitely their focus.

Wonder why they can't keep the TVC stuff in stock and it keeps selling out?

[Darth More]

This might be an option if you want to avoid plastic bags, but is probably only affordable if you have 100 action figures or so...

[Tamer]

Nice, looks like a good way to store an army too.

What kind of container is it? Any links?

[Darth More]

Tamer: Sorry for my late reply. I found some similar options by looking for "divider organizer box".
I used our links, please make them affiliate:

ebay: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=divider+organizer+box+&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_odkw=divider+organizer+box+black&_osacat=0

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=divider+orgabizer+box&ref=nb_sb_noss

However Amazon seems to know better than ebay what I'm looking for:

https://www.amazon.com/WorkVanEquipment-Hardware-Removable-Compartment-Organizer/dp/B01LYVWCZP/ref=pd_sbs_4/146-5655514-5924837?pd_rd_w=5hxWF&pf_rd_p=3676f086-9496-4fd7-8490-77cf7f43f846&pf_rd_r=H43X4VM8QZHHRVHC1KS9&pd_rd_r=6b25c70c-3d28-47f6-b42b-e44c9a332632&pd_rd_wg=5wCz4&pd_rd_i=B01LYVWCZP&psc=1

[Tamer]

Hey thanks for the links. Time to go get these on the front pages.