When I first started collecting figures on bookshelves I quickly ran into an issue. Each shelf was deep and could allow for 2-3 rows of figures, but you wouldn’t get a good view of the figures in the back rows. The first time I attempted to fix this situation I bought some cardboard building blocks, spray painted them to match the bookcases, and used them so that my figures were displayed in tiers. This worked well but there was the issue of how much work it took to spray paint each block, arranging the blocks in a way that let me utilize all the space, and each block wasn’t as level/flat as I would have liked.
I took measurements of the particularly tall (eye level) shelf that I wished to use for figures. I love displaying my figures at my eye level so there was no way I was going to put manga on this shelf. I also took measurements across the tops of the three bookcases I use. I went to Home Depot and bought two pieces of wood. I had one piece cut into all the legs (1 pair of 3″ legs and 3 pairs of 6″ legs), and the other piece was cut into the tops of the 4 shelves. Usually at Home Depot only the first two cuts are free (50 cents for each additional) but luckily my cashier was lazy and didn’t charge me the $5.00 in cuts that was due.
I decided against spray painting the shelves because I felt the natural color of the wood already matched most of the bookcases I own, plus it’s easier to not spray paint them. Then I just nailed them all together and VOILA! I now get to better display my figures in deep shelves with more visibility and I can actually use the back portion of the top of each bookcase. Up until now I just lined figures up along the edge of the top of each bookcase. By the way each bookcase shown here cost me $20 which I think is a great deal, I realize they’re mismatched and not exactly gorgeous but I can’t say no to that price. I would love to own the fancy glass cases that so many other collectors have, but I can’t stand the high prices for what you get out of them. And yes that includes the Ikea Detolf, I dislike the number of shelves in it and its short height. So for me this is the perfect solution, and might be a decent solution for anyone else that is a cheapskate when it comes to things like this. I spend money like crazy on my hobbies, but when it comes to anything else…I tighten up.
AND NOW, I have plenty of room to expand my collection of figures!
#1 by anonymous_object on June 17, 2010 - 7:33 pm
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Nice job! I need to do something similar for my display cases. I’d rather have my figures in a stair-step arrangement instead of placed one in front of another. I might just follow your example, thanks for the post ^^
#2 by bluedrakon on June 20, 2010 - 6:13 am
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This is much better than what I did – used single silverware trays. My wife had this this same issue with her small books. Since we got our bookcases from them, then had some inexpensive bookcase metal shelf’s.
We were both able o add a second higher row of books behind the others which is nice.
I like the block idea as well as it can add a nice color background to the figures
#3 by Persocom on June 20, 2010 - 8:53 am
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Hey that’s really cool. I keep a bunch of figures on the bookshelf in front of manga, etc, but this is a great way to utilize the top of them. I guess my only concern with doing something like this is figures that high up are only going to get dusty that much faster. Still that’s a great way to do things and something I’ll consider trying out ^^
#4 by meronpan on June 22, 2010 - 12:32 am
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i could also use a custom setup like this. as you say, the ikea detolfs are less than ideal ;_;
like persocom i do have a concern about dust… i’m so bad at dusting my figures as it is, leaving them out in the open is just not idea in my room ^^; is it that much to ask for a cheap air tight, staired plexiglass display case? … ^^:;
#5 by lovelyduckie on June 28, 2010 - 7:47 am
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@ anonymous – It’d have been better if I had 3 pieces of clear plastic that I could have put together. Back in college the shops had lots of odd pieces of clear plastic that you could cut and use that was very sturdy. To connect them you just used some stuff that went on like super glue except it melted the pieces together.
@ Blue – My bf liked the blocks better, I prefer this myself. But it would be EVEN better if the shelves could be clear.
@ Persocom – You know I actually haven’t noticed my higher up figures getting too dusty. But I have my figures in a room that’s completely separate from all the traffic of my home.
@ meronpan – My work has these glass display cases that are taller than me with huge shelves. I love those, all I can picture is putting sooooo many figures in them! I always wonder how much they cost.
#6 by Yi on July 1, 2010 - 7:44 am
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That’s a really good idea. I should try making something like that. I keep many figures on my desk right now, but it’s clogging up space, so having another tier for figures would be really helpful.
#7 by xJAYMANx on July 2, 2010 - 9:40 pm
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@Duckie-chan: Hmm, I wonder what it would cost to add mirrored walls, mirror and glass shelves, studio lights and simply transform the entire room into a huge display case, hehe. ^o^
#8 by IshokuOsero on July 12, 2010 - 12:58 am
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That’s a great idea, I should probably start working on that in my room so I’ll have more room for new figures myself. It’s getting a little cramped currently, and with all the larger figures coming in lately, I’ll be needing the space. ^^;
Then the only problem would be, where do I display all the plush that are currently scattered all over the top of my shelving units? Haha. ~
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