JediDefender.com Forums
Collecting => Collector's Tips => Topic started by: shmashwitdaclub on October 16, 2012, 08:26 PM
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So I am toying with the idea of starting to set up ALL of my action figures - this is going to be an overwhelming task for sure. These have always been toys at my house - so I will have to basically go over each figure and accessory and find out what goes with who.
Anyway, I am probably going to go with those track like adjustable shelves like this: http://www.lovethyshelf.com/?p=187
So first what color tracks and brackets should I use: black or white?
what color shelves: black, white or a natural smooth wood (Alpine i think is what Lowes called it)
and then after those, what color wall paint? Currently my entire house - 1550 sqft ranch with an almost entirely finished basement - is a darker off white color. So I was thinking about changing the color in my kids playroom/aka my future display room.
My son is 9 and he rarely touches the action figures anymore and my collection is becoming overwhelming - I need to do something with it.
Perhaps I should take some pics tonight of the room in question and post them here...
Also FYI, I am going to be displaying many different action figure lines - not just Star Wars. Just wanted to throw that out there in case for some reason it impacts decisions.
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All I can say in regards to wall paint is that the lighter the color the larger the room appears...
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here are some pics of the room. I will need to upgrade my lighting in there.
This is the room from an entry view - I plan on putting shelves all across the wall with the Marvel poster on it:
(http://imageshack.us/a/img138/218/046dv.jpg)
Here is the back corner of the room. all of these fabric bins are basically filled to the top with action figures separated by line. I might move out the bookshelves and build more shelves here:
(http://imageshack.us/a/img802/5720/047xn.jpg)
And finally the other wall to the room, with more bookshelves. most of what is on this bookshelf is my daughters stuff. I will probably get rid of the old TV and all the stuff with it in that area. Again, maybe moving the bookshelves from this section. You can see the entry to this room on the left of this picture. Basically it is just a large opening with no doors - though I might be able to add French style doors (I think that is what they are called) to it later.
(http://imageshack.us/a/img203/2526/048wg.jpg)
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Hrmm, the way it turned out in the room that I have my figures in is that the shelves, figures and vehicles take up so much of the wall space that you can barely see any wall behind them. That said, I always thought black would look cool. Black walls, black shelves. When I finish my basement I think that's what I am doing in my collecting room.
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I don't think wall paint is quite so much the issue in a collection room. Generally speaking, lighter colors do aid in making a room look bigger. However, with a collection, the lighting can make a dramatic difference in how your displays look.
Track lighting that you can focus on your shelves is a great start. But with LED lights, you can also set up some lighting on the underside of shelves that will really make your displays look great. It's a little bit of an investment and will take a little work, but you're sure to like the results.
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I'll be building a new collection room in the new house next year, so great to hear everyone's experiences. Personally, I pack a lot of of things in on the shelves, to the paint impact is fairly minimal. That said, I've found darker colors in the background provide less contrast and make it harder to see things compared to lighter colored backgrounds. Depending on how much light you have, the darker walls also make the room seem darker overall. AS cool as I think black would look, I think I'm going to stick with white walls.
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I haven't even thought about painting. Will probably just stay with what the house is already done in. Need to get on the ball about shelving though - that's my issue. Currently have only 3 Detlofs set up and just tons and tons of boxes.... :-\
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I haven't even thought about painting. Will probably just stay with what the house is already done in. Need to get on the ball about shelving though - that's my issue. Currently have only 3 Detlofs set up and just tons and tons of boxes.... :-\
Paint is the easiest and cheapest way to really change a room around. And if you're ambitious, you can try to set up some sort of a theme. Will it look like a movie set? That depends on how ambitious you want to get. But combining decent paint with good lighting will give your collection some pop when you're setting up displays.
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project started up! new doors separating collection room and moved two bookshelves out of collection room and into main area of basement:
(http://imageshack.us/a/img4/1989/077fgz.jpg)
doors open, part of new lighting:
(http://imageshack.us/a/img17/6991/082pl.jpg)
one corner of room, shot of new overhead lighting:
(http://imageshack.us/a/img844/5185/081jj.jpg)
opposite corner of room:
(http://imageshack.us/a/img694/2043/083vr.jpg)
I will be painting and shelving the two open walls. Dimensions to come later to give you an idea of the size of the room.
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Cool! I can't see the lights very well, but looks like the room is really bright. What color are you painting? It looks great the way it is now!
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this is the light I got right here: http://www.lowes.com/pd_328385-47842-17828-000_0__?productId=3712860&Ntt=track+lighting
You can bend the arms however you want. It has 6 of these new GU24 13-watt light bulbs. I am getting way more that double the light with half of the wattage. Supposedly the bulbs last crazy long (10 years at 3 hours a day I believe).
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Love the double doors you used in that room, very nice.
Your doll houses are really nice too but not sure how you'll display them with your action figures.
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Love the double doors you used in that room, very nice.
Your doll houses are really nice too but not sure how you'll display them with your action figures.
thanks Jesse!
The yellow doll house in lower right hand corner of the third picture I have seen somewhere (hisstank.com maybe) someone repainted it and used it to make a sick ass Cobra Mansion style base. Maybe if my Daughter will part ways with it some day...... ;D
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See you conning her out of it for a new one at TRU or something, haha. Shrewd.
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painted the room. I used Lowes Valspar paint called "Drizzling Mist" and I am pretty happy with it. with the direct light shining on it, it has a bit of a purple tint unfortunately but I think when I put the shelves up and figures it will take care of all the light hitting the walls.
the two walls that I painted are roughly 16' x 7' and 10.5' x 7'.
(http://imageshack.us/a/img5/6654/20130303101003.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/5/20130303101003.jpg/)
(http://imageshack.us/a/img842/6366/20130303100944.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/842/20130303100944.jpg/)
I am looking at going with the 3/4"x16"x96" white Melamine shelves, they are $17.65 each.
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Looking good Smash!
You might want to hit Craigs List for shelves and displays. I have seen some really slick curios and fixtures for cheap in my area. Snagged all my track lighting there with bulbs for just $50.
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thanks!
I looked at craigslist and haven't found anything to my liking. I will keep looking
i gotta find out if Lowes will cut Melamine or not - for some reason I am thinking they won't because of the finish
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time for an update:
just realized this image below isn't the board length that I bought, but a shorter version of the same board.
(http://imageshack.us/a/img202/3852/20130329154334.jpg)
had 1/2 the boards cut down at Lowes and took a pic of the dude doing it but for some reason the picture is blowing up mega huge so anyway.....
(http://imageshack.us/a/img407/176/20130329160840.jpg)
(http://imageshack.us/a/img266/3645/20130401203548.jpg)
(http://imageshack.us/a/img820/2077/20130401203831.jpg)
(http://imageshack.us/a/img41/1671/20130409201125.jpg)
1/3 the way completed with my shelves - the rest of the shelves are going on the bigger (longer) wall
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Looks great!
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ok, pics above were of wall #1. here is the bigger, badder, longer wall #2
(http://imageshack.us/a/img713/4592/20130413162547.jpg)
i just need to remove some shelf stickers, screw down the shelves, and then...................
go through all of my toy bins that my son has played with over the years and piece together EVERY. SINGLE. FIGURE.!!!!
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Awesome! Looks great man. How long are those boards? I am looking forward to/dreading refilling the shelves with individual figures...
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I have four shelves that are 96.5 inches long and 16 inches deep - these are the "short shelves". The other 4 shelves, aka the "long shelves," are 157 inches long by 16 inches deep.
and yeah, I thought I had plenty of room.....
and then my Indiana Jones collection took up nearly 3/4 of one of my "short" shelves - and I kinda crammed stuff in!
vehicles take up a lot more space than one might think...
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I like the colour of paint you chose for the room, it should create a nice contrast between the wall and the figures. I'm going to be starting my new Star Wars room soon and have the same type of shelving to put on the walls. I look forward to seeing your collection come together!
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Those are some massive shelves! I couldn't even get those down my stairs. I'm sure they will fill up fast, but really nice to have long interuppted space like that. Congrats on making progress!