Hello Everyone!

I think everyone has asked themselves at one point or another, "how am I going to store/display all these models?" Storage and display needn't be mutually exclusive. Many people opt to toss their work into shoeboxes, cans, tupperware, etc., for ease or lack of a better option. This makes me cringe--all that hard work!

So, I set out to build the best display case I could without breaking the bank. People have any number of opinions on what the best display case is. However, Ikea's DETOLF is without question, the best value of any display on the market. Prove me wrong if you can. Prices vary by country, but let's say around $60 USD. (I live in Japan--everything is more expensive here). For that price you get: a heavy glass case (4 sides, glass), a metal frame, and 3 glass shelves. If you've owned ikea before, you'll know that their stuff is not constructed from the sturdiest of materials. However, as detolf is mostly glass and steel with only 2 flat wood pieces, the quality is somewhat higher than that associated with the brand. The deltof is great... but it's not ideal for our purposes for several reasons. First, it has only 3 shelves with 12 inches between and these are not adjustable. At this point most people would regrettably look for other options. Also, it doesn't come set up for lighting (well, not for efficient lighting). If lighting is to be included, cables can become an eyesore and need to be managed. Lastly, there are gaps around the front door, which could potentially result in dust getting in.

If I could compensate for these shortcomings, I was certain that this would the THE CASE for one and all. So, I tried my best and these are the results of that effort.

Materials you'll need:

-1x Ikea Detolf
-1x Ikea Dioder (4 strips)
-8x Glass shelves (cut to size, exact specs to be posted later) EDIT: 383mm x 286mm
-16x 5mm wire rope clips
-1x package of spiral tubing
-1x package of plastic cable ties
-1x package of weather stripping (adhesive foam backing)
-Blue tack
-Tiny wrench

First you need to assemble the detolf, get someone to help you. Pure comedy if you don't.

Adding shelves:

First, you need to attach your wire rope clips (seen here) to the metal frame. You can choose where you want the new shelves to be, based on what you are displaying.



I would be a good idea to measure and mark of where you want the clips to be. Getting the clips eactly level is a tedious process. 19cm intervals is roughly where I spaced mine.









Some tips: You will have to make adjustments, so don't tighten the nuts all the way yet. The glass will be resting on the nuts, so make sure when you do tighten them fully the tops of the hexagon nuts are level. Measurements are crucial for getting the new-cut shelves right. Not a time to practice guessing ranges. I measured with 3 different tape measures to be as accurate as possible. These clips grip very strongly, so have no fear of weight. Of course, you'll have to measure the dimensions yourself but I do recommend the following: safety glass, polished edges, 5-6mm thick (the stock shelves are 4mm, I think), otherwise the same length and width of the stock shelves to the mm. Go to a glazier and get 8 shelves cut to these specs. Again, be careful to get the sizes right. I can give you the exact L and W in mm that I used, if you want. This is no substatute for measuring it yourself, however. I ordered the glass from a different city and it fit perfectly to the mm.

Adding Lighting:

I wanted to to keep my lighting as unobtrusive as possible, which meant that I had to hide the lights and wires as much as possible. I decided to use the metal frame to conceal both. You could use the hole at the top of the deltof to mount a dome light, but that's inefficient as you'll be lucky to have any light reach the bottom half of the case. Also, you'll have wires sprouting from the top, or at the very least across the inside top. Alternatively, you could mount a dome light to every other glass shelf in the center but it blocks the light from the shelf above and it looks kind of ugly (or at least ruins the all glass effect). I took cable ties and attached a dioder LED strip (very bright, no heat, lasts 25000 hours, 4 pack) to alternating horizontal bars on the frame. I found this pattern gave the best light to all shelves. Another advantage is that they are held tight enough to remain in position, but they can be rotated to change the arc when it suits you to do so. As for the top strip, simple poster tack or blue tack can easily support the weight of an LED strip on the inside top. Later, this strip too will be concealed. Once you have the strips fastened, clip off the excess plastic from the tie.





This one is after some cable management took place.



Cable management:

I used two products for this job: spiral tube and plastic cable ties, seen below.



I choose translucent plastic so the grey metal would help the areas with tubing blend with the parts of the frame that did not. The lighting wires are white. A snazzy alternative would be to spray the frame black before assembly and use black tubing/ties.

Just run the wires along the frame, using the ties and tubing on the bars between the shelves.





Also, use the ties to bundle the wires you'll have at the bottom before tucking them between the bottom and the floor. Clean and neat.





Lastly, while it was not a huge concern for me, and I'll leave it for you to decide how you want to handle it, there is an issue of dust proofing the case. I don't want to go into installing fans for positive airflow or some similar scheme. It seems unlikely that you'll completely eliminate the issue of dust but you should be able to reduce the issue to like...once a year. I have an airbrush now so it'll take all of 2 minutes. I thought I would at least take some measure given the low cost and effort involved.

I used this stuff below.







You may find a better way. As I said, I was not terribly bothered by the idea of occasional dusting.

Here are some pictures of the finished cases.









I really hope this is the push you need to go and undertake a similar project of your own. Feel free to ask questions, I'm here to help.

Good Luck!

That's Awesome!! I heard about this from the posts you made in my topic and I was logging on every 2 hours to see if you had posted it. But now that I see it I had been blown away, It looks really great. Once I get enough money I'll surely use this.
Can you provide a picture of the armies displayed inside the case, Just so I can get a Idea of the lighting.

Great work, best of luck on future projects,

Maximus Prime

Thats just brilliant! Thanks for the tutorial its really clever and looks great . Going to try to add more shelves and dust protections

That looks fantastic. God I wish there was an Ikea near me.

Great tutorial! Very clean, nice looking display. Now show us your army that occupies it!

Nice work! The lack of any significant amount of shelving in those cases always turned me off them, but I never really put much thought into how to fix that problem. Did you consider using battery powered LEDs to eliminate any cords?

One thing I'd like to chime in on is that similar cases may be able to be found cheaper if you can find a store by the name of Jysk. They're nowhere near as easy to find as Ikea (not even sure if they've made it to the US yet), but they're pretty much a discount Ikea clone.

This is awesome. Would you mind converting this to an article?

Really great! Thanks for sharing!

This would make an excellent addition to the Articles section of the forum, too.

This is a great article; really good stuff.

I recently saw someone's posting of this display here on Dakka and thought it was a good impulse buy upon receipt of my tax return, but was concerned about the lighting and gaps. Now it looks like a more feasible purchase!

Thanks!

Great stuff! Been waiting for this since you mentioned posting in that other thread, as well. I wasn't expecting nearly this thorough of a mod, so I'm all the more impressed!

I've been planning on getting DETOLF shelving after the move since I found out it existed. I'd agree 100%, having some experience with IKEA quality, that it's the best value, if not the best shelf.

My biggest question is on the price point - how much did the materials for your modifications cost? Being in Japan and all, a hard number for the rest of us will probably be skewed, but how about relative to the shelf, itself? Unless floor space is a serious issue, I would want to know if modding one shelf would cost as much or more/less than simply buying a second one. Hardware is cheap enough, but I have no experience getting custom-cut glass and those little things add up over a build.

Hmmm... I may try this!

Very nice. Thinking about doing this for myself. What do you think about using acrylic shelves instead of glass? Also, why did you specify 8 shelves? Doesn't the case already come with 3 + floor? Or did you spec 8 for consistancy?

Hey guys, thanks for all the praise. I’m just happy to contribute something people are finding so helpful 

@ MaximusPrime—When I left home to seek my fortune abroad, I was forced to leave behind everything hobby related. All my models and supplies are in boxes in my home country. These shelves represent the last step in my plan to get my hobby up and running in Japan. Over the next several months I will be filling these cases with my space wolves, tau, and 8 oop confrontation metal armies. Unfortunately, at present, I have no models I can use to show you how the lighting works. However, I can wait until dark and fill the shelves with my assortment of Vallejo paint bottles—this should give you the insight you are looking for.

@ Navarro—Awesome, you won’t regret it!

@ Ouze—I hear you on that. In Japan, people have made a business by simply living next to an ikea and taking orders from people living in say, rural japan. Then they walk the order into the ikea and place it for delivery to their customers home. Maybe look into that?

@ BloodWulf—Oh, I will. Once I have models painted, I will take pride in putting them on display. I’m not a shabby painter but I has been awhile.

@ Hungryp—I couldn’t find any battery powered strip LEDs in person that matched what I wanted. I did see a couple online that looked like they could have done the job. Ikea had the LEDs used in this tutorial on sale, so that pretty much sealed the deal.

About Jysk: nice find. I looked VERY thoroughly online to find the ideal case, settling on the detolf. The Jysk Seja is a close second for 3 reasons: first, the seja is smaller than the detolf, being 37 x 35 x 156cm while the detolf is 43 x 37 x 163. Second, the seja is more expensive than the detolf, seja retails for $79.96 before tax, while the detolf is $59.99 before tax. Third, as far as I know Jysk is only operating in Canada. Not having seen the Jysk case in person, my knowledge is limited to these details. Still, seja is a good option for those not living near an ikea but close to a jysk. Don’t know if the tutorial could be applied to a seja as the frames may be different. Thanks for bringing this to my attention, it’s a better option than most other cases.

@ malfred, Mannahnin—unfortunately, when I tried to convert it to an article I had the odd error that my internet was offline (it wasn’t). Also, the wiki editor defaults to Japanese so I can’t read it. If its possible and not a burden, please feel free to turn this into an article with my gratitude.

@ MVBradt—thanks, man!

@ Gavin Thone—go for it! I really do feel this is a case everyone in this hobby can afford. In terms of value, this case is a winner.

@ Oadie—hard to say. Japan is the land of no cheap DIY. Materials like glass and wood are insanely expensive and very difficult to source. Also, without a thorough understanding of Japanese I couldn’t even execute an internet seach for a glazier with the efficiency I could in an English speaking country. As a result, took the first deal which was not necessarily the cheapest. In Canada, England, or the US, I’m fairly certain I could purchase the additional shelves for around 10 USD/each or cheaper. In Japan, I did seriously consider other options like the one which you mentioned. Glass is so expensive to get cut here I could have almost bought another detolf for the 3 shelves and tossed the rest. But that would have been so wasteful! And shipping… Also, weight could be an issue—as we agree on ikea quality, there is a concession they made in the quality of the glass shelves. They are 4mm and on the site they specify 6kg as the max load. The shelves I got cut are of much finer quality and at 5mm they seem much sturdier. The other materials were inexpensive—wire rope grips 59 cents, weather stripping/spiral tube/ties all totaled less than $8

@SlavetoDarkness—you owe it to your models, lol! It is scientifically proven that models stored in such a manner win more games.

@Ifurita—Acrylic shelves are certainly an option. I looked into it myself before buying the glass shelves. In terms of price acrylic was about about half the price of the glass shelves. The problem you may run into is that you will need to arrange the cuts on a large piece of acrylic rather than buying 4x small pieces to cut from. On a large sheet there will most likely be significant waste (you may reclaim some of the waste to make risers for character models ; ) ) If you can’t find a sheet big enough to get the cuts from (I needed 8 and couldn’t find a big enough piece) you’ll need to purchase another sheet and thus, increasing the expense. Also, acrylic tends to bend and warp to varying degrees based on load or possible temperature (?) I did handle some thicker pieces and the bending may be negligible. Ahhh…8 shelves…I did 2 cases at the same time. You’ll only need 4 per case.

Well it only needs one more thing: pics of miniatures in the case!

Fantastic. Pretty and Practical!

Nice article on something a bit different but still related to the hobby

Mrs Flashman would never tolerate a display cabinet that big, but maybe something smaller...

Thanks for the response. I figured it'd be hard to judge, but I thought there'd be no harm in asking. Guess I'll just source prices myself, if I ever get around to doing something like this. I would've had to anyway, to actually buy the stuff, so no real loss!

Nice work. Im going to pick up my Detolfs tomorrow. I may use some of these improvements. Im not sure Ill need the extra shelves, for a while anyways. The lighting and dust sealing may be done right off though.


For anyone considering having these shipped from Ikea...beware, they are heavy and the costs are huge. Ikea wanted almost $100 (US) to ship them to me. Since the closest Ikea to me is just over an hour away I decided to just drive and buy them in person.

bookmarked for my own use! this is awesome. Thanks!

Converted to an article. Thanks for this!

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Customizing_a_Glass_Display_Case_by_AesSedai

haha pretty good job frend...

@ Malfred--you are most welcome! Thanks for converting it to an article

Ouze wrote:That looks fantastic. God I wish there was an Ikea near me.

Since I posted this, I got 5 PM's indicating Ikea has online shopping. I'm aware of that. That's not feasible.



That's one shelving unit. AesSedai's suggestion is maybe workable.

I just picked up the unit and the Dioder kit yesterday. Now to pick up the other accessories and find a source for the glass or acrylic ... though I'm tempted to visit TAP plastics for the acrylic.

How much did the extra glass shelves set you back? TAP Plastics, who does cut to fit acrylic can do 4 1/4" thick pieces at that L x W for $44.

Japan DIY product prices are no indication of how much custom cut glass is in America. It will be much cheaper in the U.S.

The price for the acrylic pieces sounds reasonable. I'm assuming they will polish the edges too, right? Otherwise they would look out of place. I would probably pay the 5-6 dollars more for glass, but that's just my taste. You could certainly pull of a nice looking case with acrylic instead.

ooooh I am sooo stoked. I'm going with a friend to Chicago in 2 weeks, and guess what is 6 miles from our destination but... an Ikea!

I'm so getting up on this.

Do you guys think acrylic is likely to warp over time, if anyone would have a definitive answer?

I think it's a question of model weight, distribution, and shelf thickness. Not definitive, but when I held a piece of acrylic I was considering buying...well, I was satisfied that it could do the job. I still bought glass though.

I'm going to fly to you.

Then I am going to have sex with your face.

AWESOME.

I may have missed it, but what was the total cost for you all in?

EDIT - 40 quid from IKEA UK. Really doesn't break the bank!

awesome job. I have two of these and was trying to find a way to add some more shelves. next time I am at the hardware store I will look for the clips you used. nice job.

Awesome. I' think I will be making one or two of these very soon.

Great! I'm really happy to see so many people getting motivated to build themselves some of these cases.

To add another level of assurance, both of these cases survived a 9.0 earthquake with no damage. Also, survived the 200 or so aftershocks.

Here are mine:



Total cost, for both, came out to"

Cabinets $59 x 2 = $118
Dioder sets $49 x 2 = $98
3/8" wire rope clips x 32 = $32
package of zip ties = $2
1/4" glass shelves, bevelled and polished = $140

Total = $390

Letting the cat live, because she can't knock down my figures anymore ... PRICELESS

Awesome! I'm so pleased to see that you built them up!

What do you think now that the process has reached its conclusion?

My god this is amazing! if I had the space to put one of these I would make 2 and squeeze it in!

Ifurita wrote:Here are mine:



Total cost, for both, came out to"

Cabinets $59 x 2 = $118
Dioder sets $49 x 2 = $98
3/8" wire rope clips x 32 = $32
package of zip ties = $2
1/4" glass shelves, bevelled and polished = $140

Total = $390

Letting the cat live, because she can't knock down my figures anymore ... PRICELESS

I'm definitely sold and will be purchasing some of those units when I go to Adepticon. I have no idea where to get glass shelves made/cut/polished though....

How many shelves did you get made for 140?

I had 8 made. If you search your local service directory for glass, anyone who does glass windows should be able to do it for you.

Definately recommend getting 4 wire rope clips to start. I picked up 2 different sizes and when I got home, it was pretty apparent which one was the right size. Measure your space a couple of times and cut out a cardboard template for the shelf to see how things will best fit. I also made/found a template (7 1/2 inch tall) to space all of my clips over the glass shelf. Then I got the rest of my clips and used my template to measure the space in each area.

Ok, thanks for the advice/input. Looks like 8 shelves to a unit with your spacing...that should hold a few models.

Ifurita wrote:I had 8 made. If you search your local service directory for glass, anyone who does glass windows should be able to do it for you.

Definately recommend getting 4 wire rope clips to start. I picked up 2 different sizes and when I got home, it was pretty apparent which one was the right size. Measure your space a couple of times and cut out a cardboard template for the shelf to see how things will best fit. I also made/found a template (7 1/2 inch tall) to space all of my clips over the glass shelf. Then I got the rest of my clips and used my template to measure the space in each area.

good job man! i was just facing this worry with a finished lizardmen army and an ever expanding IG army on the rise! at the moment, i have one carry case, a few pigeon holes (occupied, so not ideal) and the top of my Chest of drawers. I have a few shelves also that i am currenty displaying a few miniatures on (Grombindal, a termie, a Nob) and my Halo Reach Noble Team action figures too!(LOL, They're not dolls!). Apart from my new Quaker Parrots (Thanks mum ) i think i have jst found a new thing for my birthday list..... (ikea vouchers i need to save some for those yummy yummy meatballs they sell as well!)

Yeah, I'm a fan of their meatballs too. They must be made in Sweden because the beef tastes different than the stuff in Japan.

Here's a top view of one of the shelves that are included in the set. Hopefully, this will give you an idea of what each will hold.

Hey! I was looking on google for shelves for my models and I stumbled across this site. I am very glad to say that this article was so inspiring that I made an account here to say so haha. I hope to build the shelf myself using the tools you listed. Thank you so much, they look amazing.

Awesome. I'm glad you joined the site, welcome.

Good luck with your building and please post pictures of your completed display case if you are able to!

Great tut bud!

Amazing now I just need the money, out of curiosity cause i need to figure out where I can put these, what are the specs on the cases?

I need to snap some photos of my cases I bought via this tutorial. No added glass yet---but I can't recommend the cases enough. I've dust proofed them---unsure if I'll add lighting due to the amount of lighting I have in that room.

Thanks again though AesSedai +1. Great tutorial, great recommendation---really sharp cases. Information like this is what makes Dakka great!

Does anyone happen to know of something like a DETOLF, but half the Height?

Looking for an affordable display case for conventions...

I just went to IKEA and they got rid of all their DETOLFs!!!! Wtf? I have to order one online or something.

@lidsdapips--Thanks, glad you like it!

@ Ghost in the Darkness--

Width: 16 3/4 "
Depth: 14 3/8 "
Height: 64 1/8 "
Max load/shelf: 13 lb

Width: 43 cm
Depth: 37 cm
Height: 163 cm
Max load/shelf: 6 kg

You can get better shelves cut that will hold more than the recommended 6kg. I did.

@ AgeOfEgos-- I'd love to see the pics once you get the case set up. Thanks for the appreciation, feels good to help the community that has helped me so often and for so long!

@ Cyporiean-- Sorry, I haven't come across such a case. A cut-down modded DETOLF would be really cool though.

@ Dragoncurry-- I really hope that's temporary or just that particular store

AesSedai wrote:Yeah, I'm a fan of their meatballs too. They must be made in Sweden because the beef tastes different than the stuff in Japan.

Thats what my Japanese friend said as well.
We dont go to ikea for furniture, she goes to buy meat balls and i get ice cream(s)

Lunahound wrote:

Thats what my Japanese friend said as well.
We dont go to ikea for furniture, she goes to buy meat balls and i get ice cream(s)

You know, I could swear there are couples there on dates. As a test, I just asked my girlfriend "baby, do you wanna go to Ikea for a date?" and her face just lit up...first words were "can we have ice cream?". Then I explained that it was a test and she got offended. Thanks, Luna

Wicked man the lighting really sets it off

Great work - really adds to the collection, when you can display it like that!

Just got 2 of them, will assemble them in next weeks and add the ligthning. Great tutorial.

Thanks guys, glad you found it useful. Post pics if you can once your projects get underway.

I Just picked up a Detolf Cabinet and the Dioder lights yesterday. Need to pick up the other accessories and need to source the glass.

AesSadai, did you make 8 shelves so they were uniform (ascetics) or to support more weight?

I should be able to build it over the next week or so, wish me luck.

Made a special trip a while back to Ikea and got two myself. Still waiting to re-model the office and then I build me some as well. Pics will be posted. Soon?

@ice9172-- I made the shelves so they were uniform. You may notice that your glazier has a minimum thickness for custom cut glass and that thickness is thicker than that of the ikea shelves. As a result your custom shelves can support more weight than your stock shelves can. Good luck and please post up some pics!

@Slavetodorkness--looking forward to seeing your set-up! Please post pics!

Will do. Gotta paint the office, install new carpet then the cases go in. Hopefully this month!

AesSi old chap, if you visit Blighty, could you pop in and fit some for me please?

That is a really super display setup!
Green and sick with envy!!

Sure Chibi~~my brother has just started doing a PhD program at Oxford and I recently made friends with a GW bigwig (via his brother) living in Nottingham. Thus I see a trip to England in the not too distant future. We can game first and then I'll build ya a display! If you have trouble sourcing the metal doohickies, I'll even pick some up for you!

Glad you like the case

Well the finally got the glass into today and got it placed in side. Only change I did was run two sets of the Dioders lights one down each side. Now just need to finish building my armies and fill up the case

Wish i had supplies -.- ... either ways good job

@ ice971

Thanks for the update and pics. The double dioder lights are great. As for myself, I have two cases side by side, so they share illumination to some extent.

I love the pics, keep sharing please. Also, I'll be updating with pics of mine as they fill up.

Hi there,
I read your article on this last year and always wanted to do this.
Finally, I've gotten the chance and I'm just getting glass pieces now.

I do have a couple of questions though, especially regarding the type of glass you acquired for your cabinet and the sizing of the 4 extra pieces...

Did you get just standard glass or safety glass?
Edit: Above is a bit silly question, I am aware you used safety glass. I'm asking what type of safety glass you are using, Laminated or Toughened?
I see you provided measurements for exact replicas of the glass provided with the Detolf. When doing my own measurements I saw that if I get shelves 383x300mm then it should rest snugly on the rope clips body (Not the nuts) without potentially sliding around and falling. There is still ~4mm extra between the metal frame this way. Is there a reason you stuck with exact sizes?

Thanks for sharing this, and I have a pic, but I'm struggling to work out how to embed it here.

Hi Plonka,

I'm happy you found my guide useful. I believe I got toughened safety glass. Regarding the sizes, I really can't remember. I may have been a conservative for a reason, but it's lost to me now. Originally I had planned to sheath the threads of the rope clips in snug rubber tubing to prevent slipping or use some adhesive non-slip rubber "bumps", but the shelves don't move at all! I say this as a resident of Japan (the ground tends to move around).

I'd love to see your pics! You should upload them to your dakka gallery.

Hi and thanks for letting me know your reasons and answering. Been pretty busy so not been able to get a pic yet, but will soon.
Was planning to get glass this week, but it's not looking likely and also quite expensive.

I'm actually considering just buying another unit and using the glass because it may be cheaper than buying the extra 4 shelves separately.

Why Ikea dont sell extra shelves or make the actual unit the same size as the glass shelves they already sell, I have no idea...

Edit: It IS cheaper to buy a new unit.

In the end I just went to Ikea and bought another Detolf, and used only the glass shelves from that.
Finally, got a pic of the cabinet:

You know, buying a second Detolf is a really good idea. I'm sure that will be a cheaper option for many people!

It was definitely cheaper and easier for me just to buy another Detolf and use the shelves.
I do wonder if there is going to be an easy way to cut up and prepare the rest of the glass... My dremel perhaps.

Got the lights in today, not tidy yet, but at least installed:



Automatically Appended Next Post:
At this point, I think I'm going to go ahead and get my armies in.
I've waited long enough, and I can install cable tidies in easy enough I think.

Isn't that crazy that it's cheaper just to buy a second unit, use the shelves, and throw away the rest than it is to get 4 new shelves cut?

 Ifurita wrote:
Isn't that crazy that it's cheaper just to buy a second unit, use the shelves, and throw away the rest than it is to get 4 new shelves cut?

Yep, I don't know how Ikea manage to do it so cheap, but here in Netherlands, its 50 euros for a Detolf, and 50-100 euros for cut glass (I called a lot of places).
bear in mind that's just for 4 shelves.

Ridiculous pricing.

EDIT: It would be cheaper if Ikea sold spares for the Detolf, as they do for a lot of stuff, but they don't.
I asked about this, and I was told they don't sell spares for glass things like this because its dangerous.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
And a final image with cables tidied to sides.
Time to get the armies in!

Looking great!

Thanks!

I got most of it filled now, mostly with Orks, but soon my Fists will be more in number.

That looks really good!

Would love to see more pics, Plonka. A full case of orks and fists sounds epic.

Subbing to this thread, nice work guys

Went out and grabbed these from Ikea a few months ago. The OP isn't kidding when he says a second person is required to assemble these. It's hell without a friend to help.

I'm now running out of space with some new armies in the works, so this thread is a huge help, time to expand them to 8 shelves per tower!! Thanks for the awesome tutorial, friend.

Apparently the 5mm rope clips are hard to find. Honestly Canada sucks for just about everything.

Both Ikeas in my area have a scratch/dent clearance area. There is often a room attached to that where they repair and/or /build display stock. Each time I go, I ask if they have any spare shelves for the Detolf and I got lucky on the second attempt. They had a spare set for $15. You can also inquire at the returns counter for spare parts like the shelves.

 Rickfactor wrote:
Both Ikeas in my area have a scratch/dent clearance area. There is often a room attached to that where they repair and/or /build display stock. Each time I go, I ask if they have any spare shelves for the Detolf and I got lucky on the second attempt. They had a spare set for $15. You can also inquire at the returns counter for spare parts like the shelves.

Awesome tip, I'll have to do this because I was contemplating just buying new units for the spares, since getting glass cut custom is insanely expensive. What's the deal? A whole unit for 79.99 yet custom glass cuts are hundreds. I wonder where Ikea sources their stuff, obviously not locally or anywhere near their HQ that's for damn sure.

Hey all. So listen, I've got the glass shelves now, and I'm searching for the rope clips. All my stores have the measurements in inches, not mm. The smallest sizes I see are 1/4" clips, and 1/8" clips. It seems like both will work if I just tighten them enough, but I'm not sure. I won't be able to return the items, can anyone give me some advice before I spend the dosh on them, pleeeeease?

 PrehistoricUFO wrote:
Hey all. So listen, I've got the glass shelves now, and I'm searching for the rope clips. All my stores have the measurements in inches, not mm. The smallest sizes I see are 1/4" clips, and 1/8" clips. It seems like both will work if I just tighten them enough, but I'm not sure. I won't be able to return the items, can anyone give me some advice before I spend the dosh on them, pleeeeease?

There are two types of Detolf display cases that I know of. I have one of each. One has thin wire-like supports that the glass rests on and the other has thicker poles with small suction cup extensions. The pole version can be built without the glass as the poles support the base and top while the wire version (I think is the current version they sell) can't.

I purchased the 1/8" wire rope clips and they fit the wire type rails but there was an issue. I bought one pack that fit perfect and tighten up to grip the rails and hold the weight of the glass. The pack only came with three clips and I wanted four so I bought a single somewhere else which is also 1/8 but the bracket where the U-shaped part slips through has some "feet" on it so that I could not tighten down the nuts to get a tight enough fit. I had to shave off the feet to get it to match the others.

I drew a diagram so that it makes sense what I'm trying to describe.

Yeah I'm concerned about having to do that. I don't have any tools that can shave steel like that. All 24 I need are only 30 bucks, I guess I can just try it, and if they don't work I'll just throw them in my dad's tool room and buy a different set. *sigh*

I have the wire support Detolf you described. This is the clip I'm going to get, if seeing it helps any: http://www.lowes.ca/ropes-chains/blue-hawk-14-chain-rope-clip_8785901.html

Thanks a lot RICKFACTORRRRRR.

Home depot probably sells them cheaper.

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/1-8-inches-wire-rope-clipthimble-set-14-7/966992

So wait, you think 1/8" is the optimal size for the wire-support Detolf? Not 1/4"?

Thanks for your help Rick.

Mine are 1/8. The loop fits better but I had to install them backwards as the internal concave portion is a bit too small. I may open them up a bit with a drill. The original poster used 3/16 so both sizes will work as they have a bit of play in the adjustment.

Another idea is to buy some brass or steel rod. Brake line from an auto parts store will do. Cut it into the same lenghts as the existing cross beams and wire it in with picture wire where you want it. I was going to do it this way first but they did not have thin enough rod at the local hardware store.

Success!

IKEA now deliver to my part of Scotland Might finally be able to try this.

Although I echo what Plonka2000 said above, it's cheaper to buy 2 x Detolf's than go finding made to measure shelving :/

Seems stupid but hey-ho.

As for dust proofing, I'd be quite interested to know from any ventilation experts out there on the size of fan one would need to positively pressure a glass cabinet!

Ah heck, I'll just use foam.

I know this may be taken as a slur, so let me preface my question by noting that I'm only asking out of curiousity, from what I've heard from japanese friends and those who've lived there.

I'm aware that Japan has earthquakes that occur often and are sometimes disastrous. We'd only need to look at fukushima to find an example of that. Assuming you get even mild tremors in your neck of the woods, doesn't it worry you that these cabinets may shatter or be damaged?

Of course, I've never experienced an earthquake, so maybe this isn't a concern. Call me crazy?

Hi guys, just thought I'd chime in and answer some questions from my experiences.

The clips I used were 5mm clips ordered from this very same ebay seller here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wire-rope-grip-U-bolt-clamp-5mm-wire-pack-10-/111067247320
they work great by the way, I'll try and take a pic of how mine are mounted if I can find time.

Also to answer NiallCampbell and others, yes, it worked out much cheaper to order a second Detolf than buy custom cut glass. Something I'm still looking into is finding somewhere that will cut up the spare glass from the 2nd Detolf into more shelves, as this would make it much cheaper for me to buy a 3rd and have shelves...
I put some extra pics on my blog here:
http://followkman.com/?p=1294

So yeah I just finished mine today. Sadly my only complete army is my Necron force, but the rest will fill the shelf as they become display-worthy. I refuse to put anything in there that isn't fully painted. I'll gradually fill it:



I bought two additional Detolfs for their three shelves, and then sold the rest of the unit locally to offset the cost of the shelves. FAR cheaper than getting them custom cut. My Ikea didn't have Dioder strips (claim they won't be getting them again) so I went ahead and just grabbed the round LEDs, which have a neutral soft tone to it, instead of a super bright white blast so I can actually use it as a light for the room rather than purely a display solution.

I went with the 3/16" rope chain clips, they fit perfectly. I decided to make the middle area the wider open spot, to put the bigger items in the center. On the left side where my little lone Slann is, I plan to have a large conversion there, so lots of space was needed. AesSedai you really did a great job pioneering this for us, it worked flawlessly and could be done pretty cheaply if you play your cards right. Great work!

 PrehistoricUFO wrote:
So yeah I just finished mine today. Sadly my only complete army is my Necron force, but the rest will fill the shelf as they become display-worthy. I refuse to put anything in there that isn't fully painted. I'll gradually fill it:

[removed image for reply]

I bought two additional Detolfs for their three shelves, and then sold the rest of the unit locally to offset the cost of the shelves. FAR cheaper than getting them custom cut. My Ikea didn't have Dioder strips (claim they won't be getting them again) so I went ahead and just grabbed the round LEDs, which have a neutral soft tone to it, instead of a super bright white blast so I can actually use it as a light for the room rather than purely a display solution.

I went with the 3/16" rope chain clips, they fit perfectly. I decided to make the middle area the wider open spot, to put the bigger items in the center. On the left side where my little lone Slann is, I plan to have a large conversion there, so lots of space was needed. AesSedai you really did a great job pioneering this for us, it worked flawlessly and could be done pretty cheaply if you play your cards right. Great work!

This is real nice, like the central open area.

What lights did you use for this?

http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/00119424/

These here. Thanks for the reply.

Prehistoric UFO - tidy those cables soldier!

But excellent work, looks great. This really is a great thread, you'd have though GW would make their own by now and charge oodles of dosh for it

I did zip tie them to the supports on the inside but on the outside I have nowhere to anchor them to rawwwrrrr. Normally my cable management inside a PC is flawless, but I have no options with the location of these shelves. :(

Hi Guys,

Great to see people using the tutorial and helping each other out

@ scipio: I built my cabinets exactly one day before the major earthquaje hit Japan...! One of the first things I did after the panic passed was to check for damage--no problems. Since then we have had a thousand aftershocks, tremors, and minor quakes and still not even one mini has fallen!

It is cheaper to buy a second detolf for shelves, however some things to consider: detolf shelves are thin, maybe 3mm or 4mm...I can't recall exactly. The place that cut my glass didn't even offer glass that thin for shelving. thickness of the glass affects how much weight it can support--not an issue in most cases, just an FYI. The quality of the detolf glass is adequate for the task, but inferior to glass used for most custom jobs. I think mine are made of "safety glass" whereas detolf glass seems quite different. Also, if you get shelves cut, you can make them bigger than the stock shelves. Realistically you could probably squeeze in a couple dozen extra figures or more. Lastly, if you live in a country where garbage disposal for bigger items is paid for by the person, a shelf less detolf will cost you money to dispose of it. You could have a go at it with a brick and bag up the shattered glass! In the end, I paid a price equivalent to two detolfs for eight shelves--but Japanese prices are weird, and so YMMV.

In the end, I think buying a second case for parts is a valid idea and perhaps the preferable option for many people.

Also, someone mentioned rigging up a positve airflow system to manage dust--I think the circular hole at the top could be a good place to install a fan.

 NiallCampbell wrote:
Prehistoric UFO - tidy those cables soldier!

But excellent work, looks great. This really is a great thread, you'd have though GW would make their own by now and charge oodles of dosh for it

They would sell a frikkin' ton of these shelves if they could just get a production contract with someone. People wouldn't need to mod them or buy dupes like us, although I know they'd charge a ridiculous premium, this is GW after all.

Hey, saw that this thread had some activity..
I have a few questions before I start to build my case.

1) Can the door be installed on either side (right versus left)?
2) How difficult is the built case to move?

And a comment about the Dioder lights, it looks like there are two types of lights available.
A) LED with ROYGBV color selection (greater cost)
B) LED with WHITE only (~ 1/2 the cost)

Thanks for the tutorial, this is most excellent.

Also, if price wasn't an issue for the glass, how many shelves would be ideal in your opinion ? And of which thickness ?

@Pause Game

1) Yes, you can choose which way you want the door to swing open. It's quite convenient, very considerate of Ikea.

2) If you buy furniture sliders - those little plastic thingies to put under heavy furniture - they won't be an issue to move at all. This is how I do it. The feet are made of nylon, so they are tough indeed and fastened VERY tightly to the unit.

@SkyFury

Probably 7 shelves + the bottom wooden shelf. Anything more and you risk not being able to fit the larger units. Tyranid monstrous creatures, Baneblades (because of their antennae) and Monoliths just fit with evenly spaced shelving. If you do purely infantry, you can probably have an embarrassing amount of shelves - as many as you can fit really.

And there's already 3 shelves in the kit right ?
4 mm ? 5 mm ?
I guess it doesn't need to be tempered as miniatures doesn't weigh that much.

There are already 3 shelves in the kit, yes. Plus the bottom shelf which is the wooden base gives you 4 platforms to mount models.

As far as thickness goes, I believe in the OP the dimensions of the stock shelves are listed.

Minis, even lots of them, don't weigh much. I suppose lots of old heavy Forge World tanks may be an issue but modern stuff is negligible.

I would stick with tempered. Un-tempered glass is much more brittle and dropping a metal model onto it could shatter a shelf.

I have both of mine set up but no models in them yet. I'm waiting to make another trip to Atlanta to get some more Ikea furniture for my office and I will get the lights then. Pics then!

I love this idea. May have to borrow it :-)

Crap sorry for Thread Necromancy :-(

I think that as a tutorial thread for an item that is quite sought after, it can easily be overlooked. Especially since this thread actually pops up in Google Search when you look up terms like Warhammer + glass + display + case. That's why the VIEW COUNT for this thread is unusually high.

The rules for necro'ing tutorial threads are quite different.

As long as the thread still serves it's educational purpose, and any photos or videos in it are still live, then there is no amount of time to consider it dead. Le's home wash is a good example. as that thread is from about 2009 iirc.

On topic: Detolf shelves are on sale right now for $65 USD!!!

Hey Guys,

Just a heads up to everyone interested in displaying models. This week I took a trip with my wife to Ikea for some baby stuff (i'm going to be a dad!). I had to take a look at their display cases given my interests, and I was surprised to see that there is a new case on offer.

This is the Fabrikor:



This is a new case as far as I can tell (2014). Also, I thought I would list some of the advantages and disadvantages that struck me after checking it out.

First, the fabrikor seems dust-proof. Though I made an effort to dust-proof my detolfs and it was a simple and cheap solution, nevertheless they aren't DUST-PROOF. The fabrikor door is flush and there is no gap as far as I could tell. See below:



Next, it come with a lock and key system. This is doubtless a major advantage for people in certain situations.



On the flip side, I hate the legs.



And the price is double that of the detolf...

What do you guys think?

I don't like it--seems like wasted space below with the legs. The dust is a positive, as I've noticed my Ikea cabinets seems to attract it--but not worth the space lost.

Has an interesting retro look to it, especially with the green. Can you provide some more pics, of the full unit?

Do you have a Detolf nearby for comparison?

Also, how is the shelf space, have you seen if there is any ability to add more shelving like Detolf?

Thanks for sharing.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I've just noticed that the shelves are adjustable via metal pegs.

I wonder if they sell additional shelves...?

Hey guys,

I didn't actually buy any fabrikor units, so I'm unable to do a side by side comparison.

@ AofE: Fabrikor legs do seem wasteful, but they do have more surface area per shelf.

@ Plonka: The metal clips system is an interesting feature. See diagram 16 in the link below.

http://www.ikea.com/au/en/assembly_instructions/fabrikor-glass-door-cabinet__AA-758751-3_pub.pdf

Thanks for the tip with that new case, but the design isn't all that modern/attractive and it appears to lack moddability.

Also I think the price is what made that first one so attractive.

The legs look like they'd be trivial to remove - likely a single bolt in every leg into the bottom of the shelving unit. So you could remove them and put the shelves on top of an entertainment-center-like piece of furniture or something like that.

I like the frabrikor, double the price is a bit steep but not overly so, I think some people can do very good with it

It has come to my attention that "Aldi" sells display cabinets. Anyone want to chime in on how they stack up to the detolf?