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So I have a sizable Warhammer collection, and I mean sizable in the way that you would refer to most oil-tankers as being. Seriously, I have eight 3,000+ point fantasy armies (two of which are 5,000+ pts.) In addition to that, I have three 1,000pt work-in-progress armies, a War of the Ring army, and two full 2,500pt 40k armies. This is the painted stuff. My work room's closet has all my other crap in it.
I need a good way to display all of this crap. Right now I'm using cheap Walmart bookcases, which do ok, but look kinda cheap and sort of cramp the bigger armies, such as my Orcs and Chaos. I'd prefer a glass case with glass sides, like a trophy case, but I haven't found any that are reasonably priced. Also, there was a decent one from Ikea, except that it had doors on the front and a large wooden frame that would hide half the army. Any help is... err... helpful. Thanks.

Most glass cabinets are pretty expensive, but Ikea do one fairly cheaply:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10119206

Get rid of the books at the bottom for a start
Second I think the shelves are fine, put a layer of plexiglass over the top and problem solved
For the bigger armies you could turn one of the bookshelves on its side and take out the shelves.

-============== OR ==============-

You could just go out and spend more money on a bigger shelving unit/ Display cabinet. ( Display cabinets are the wardrobe like thinks with the glass fronts on them.
http://www.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http://www.designex-cabinets.co.uk/images/glass-display-cabinets-main-image.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.designex-cabinets.co.uk/display-cabinet/home-display-cabinet.asp&h=407&w=538&sz=47&tbnid=qP0uClp1o6Z-JM:&tbnh=100&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddisplay%2Bcabinets&usg=__bAxqMoyDrBvdrTtC7o5wr7ZKqh4=&ei=8EcVTOW1GpGFnQee3ZChDA&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=4&ct=image&ved=0CDYQ9QEwAw

A lot of people (including myself) use the Detolf line from Ikea:



Glass sides, door and shelves, affordable and you can easily add a light to the top (predrilled hole).

Edit: Ninja'd :(

Hmm, well I can't use the lower shelves because we have a dog and I'm not too keen on my minis getting chewed up. Unfortunately, as for the glass towers, they just aren't big enough. They're awesome for displaying single models and units, or even smaller armies, but they're hard pressed to fit a whole 3,000 point army, much less a 5,000 point one. Do you know of any that are a little bigger? Just a few inches more, like say 20"x20" or larger? The square shape really adds a lot, so I could probably squeeze something to a 20x20, though 24x24 would be absolutely ideal.

Can I come play at your house?!?

Awesome armies dude... good luck with the display.

I actually have the detolf display cabinet from ikea. To alleviate some of your concerns, unless you leave the case open your dog's not getting in. Fully four sides of glass with magnetic clips at top and bottom (similar in strength to rare earth magnets) which take a fair bit of tug to pull open. Be really difficult for a dog to get in.
However, if you were concerned, you could buy some childproofing multi-purpose latches for it. available at babies'r'us and other stores like it. I plan to childproof my display cabinet with those myself, and they would definitely keep a dog out.
I currently store approx. 185 space marine infantry models, possibly more, including about 40-50 termies, 2 predators, 1 whirlwind, 1 vindicator, 9 dreadnoughts, 3 drop pods, 1 valkyrie, 3 land speeders, 1 landspeeder storm, 9 space marine scout bikes, 1 shadow sword super heavy tank in one of those detolf cabinets. Given that the case itself is about $80.00, it's a good deal for a display case. Well worth looking into.

Here's a pic of what I've got in it:



Automatically Appended Next Post:
oh, and sorry, that was only eight dreadnoughts

I use 1 of the Detolf cases and 3 of these:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00093136

I get 2 units on each shelves (3 if you look at my 40k cases). I use the Detolf case for my Fellblade, and larger models.

I really love the wall cabinets as it keeps them out of the way of my dogs when they are playing.

Sigh... I love that Ikea stuff. Sadly, they won't ship the glass ones if you order online (understandably) and the closest Ikea store is 136 miles (that's 220km) away.

Are the detolf cases the ones you see in the GW stores where they display models? Or are those custom built? I've been thinking about building something along those lines myself, but the plexi at home depot was a little pricey for me to be delving into JUST about now. I really hesitate to go so far as cutting my own glass with a three year old in the house, and really have no clue how much glass costs anyway. Hmmmm....anyone ever try that?

The ones in GW stores are definitely not the ikea ones. the ikea ones are slimmer, shorter, and have fewer shelves. The GW cases are optimized for minis, with lots of places to mount spot halogen lights and their wiring without looking out of place. To buy those cases would probably cost however 3x or more the price of a detolf case. Ikea is still your better value, but if you want the GW cases I've no idea where you'd look. You would however pay a premium for the GW ones.

eledamris wrote:Unfortunately, as for the glass towers, they just aren't big enough. They're awesome for displaying single models and units, or even smaller armies, but they're hard pressed to fit a whole 3,000 point army, much less a 5,000 point one.

That specific one is recommend for its low price. There are plenty of larger versions if you are willing to pay the price for one.
You can always use each shelf to hold one unit lol and buy a bunch of shelves

Found a good one: its really really good

http://www.storefixture.com/store-fixture.asp?ID=1933

LunaHound wrote:

eledamris wrote:Unfortunately, as for the glass towers, they just aren't big enough. They're awesome for displaying single models and units, or even smaller armies, but they're hard pressed to fit a whole 3,000 point army, much less a 5,000 point one.

That specific one is recommend for its low price. There are plenty of larger versions if you are willing to pay the price for one.
You can always use each shelf to hold one unit lol and buy a bunch of shelves

Found a good one: its really really good

http://www.storefixture.com/store-fixture.asp?ID=1933

Wow, LunaHound, that store is absolutely fantastic. I found about 6 different things in there that would work great, but alas, they're all between $600 and $1500, and I would probably need more than one. The best ones were the glass towers that were 24"wx19"dx77"h but they were still about $700. If I could find something along those lines in the $100-$200 range, then I'd be set. I mean, they came with hologen lighting and everything, which is fantastic, but I don't really want to hock a kidney to buy them. Then again, I do have two kidneys and I'm not a big drinker, so...

It's probably no help but I don't display my figures.

I pack them away in storage or transport containers.