After buying three of those little cases, you have spent more than I did for the entire Detolf case.
Yip, as I said it’s an expensive option, but guaranteed dust free, and can be placed wherever you fancy.
I have a detolf and struggled to get it sealed, thought I’d done a good job but after a long time of thinking it was dust free I noticed a thin film of very fine stuff.
So, for me, the best way to dust free display are these cases, but if you can get one of the big cases properly sealed then kudos to you, in that I failed!
I have used these display cases from Pioneer Plastics in the past: Display Cases Wholesale - Pioneer Plastics I use the 576C for my 1/25 scale semi trucks & the 094C for some 1/25 scale cars.
Back in February 2020, I purchased one of these for 1/25 scale cars instead of using the 094C cases:
Jim
I could finally light up the display. After buying a 12v transformer on aliexprees, it only lasted less tha 2 minutes before shortcircuit, so I have got a new one and solved.
Once I finish the A-10, I’ll buy a new shelf to put between the F-15 and the diorama, and light up thenew shelf too.
Here’s what I’ve been doing as of late (5"x10"x10" display case). Note: The inner frame and groundwork are for a little something I’ve been working on. … Let’s just call it an empty nest for now.
Here’s a big shout-out for these guys from New Jersey, my old home state! I really like the work they do: ‘shopPOPdisplays’
—mike
Well here is another Jersey boy -
Some of my stuff is in a small cabinet in the living room.This was an unfinished pine cabinet that I finished and had glass shelves made for it.
And my 1/48 aircraft stuff in a display case in my shop .
I built the casework of birch ply and had the local glass shop make the doors and shelves.
I built my own shelves; you can see the years of master craftmanship I applied based on my career as a retail bookstore manager in Manhattan. None of which applies to carpentry.
And just outside that room I have 5 Detolfs that I have added some shelves to.
Looking to upgrade my lighting situation as soon as I find a good source of LED strips in sufficient lengths and priced to move.
Nice cabinets and shelving goin on here! I could really use a little more space.
Thank you all for contributing to this post, it’s really interesting to see your displays. I had no luck with the detolf, as the brush weather strips wouldn’t want to stick to glass. I bought this case on amazon, looks nice and is almost 100% dust proof. To close the gaps between the panels they give you some clear double sided rubber tape which makes a pretty job.
On a side note, do non-modellers that come to your living place take notice of your models and the work involved ? Or is it something taken as a toy ?
Here’s a different twist on displaying/storing your models from ‘AHHQ’…
‘Store & Stack Acrylic Display Boxes’
Inside dimensions in inches (W 13.6" x D 9.8" x H 7.5")
Note: I have no affiliation with any companies.
—mike
Nice ! Is there an option to put an intergraded led light inside ?
@ blacksad. I don’t believe so. However, with all the LED lighting options out there, I would think it’s something that could be easily rigged.
—mike
I went to an upper end thrift store that sold furniture. They had a nice curio cabinet with mirror back, top lit and nice solid wood furniture for 69$. It came with no shelves. 78$ from the glass shop bought me 6 shelves. The shelves are 26 inches wide and about 10 inches deep. SWMBO was OK and thought it looked nice. Win/win.
I put my finished models on an IVAR bookshelf from IKEA.
This sort of thing is readily available at lower prices. Do a search for Clear Acrylic Shoe Box.
Interesting… per your suggestion, I found some on Amazon which do look to be very similar (various sizes and pricing options). I guess AHHQ saw an opportunity and decided to jump on the bandwagon.
Thank’s!
—mike
Ayup. There are a lot of variants. Many have ventilation holes. Some are solid units while others build up from panels. I live in earthquake counter and deemed the panel construction ones unsuitable because a given box might collapse under a load, when given a hard shake, or when picked up the wrong way. However, gluing such a box together with cement for acrylic plastic should solve those problems.
Companies like TAP Plastics sell cut to size acrylic sheet. A 8" x 10" x 32" box built out of 1/8 inch plexiglass costs about $50 US and will store 4 1/35 scale Panther tanks or the equivalent.
The problem I ran into with all small display box solutions is that, purchasing enough boxes to store a display case worth of models costs more than an equivalent budget display case.
In my opinion, the best solution is to make a custom display case out of real wood and plexiglass. That requires building a woodworking bench and acquiring some tools, but those same tools can be used to upgrade the house. Increased property value will pay for the tools many times over.