It's not cheep but the best clear shelving would probably be lexan. It is tough enough to be bullet proof yet perfectly clear. That is actually what is used in DDR pads. Hell, the stuff will hardly ever even scratch. Again, lexan is not cheep but damn nice. If not using that, I'd go for glass.

 

Right now, I keep my displayed figures inside plastic bag like thing (used for frabric mostly) away from direct sunlight in my room. I keep the non-display stuff in their original packaging, in multiple boxes, and then put them in my basement. Putting them in the basement is probably bad right?

 

Now I have a question. Will lights that are on in the same room with TFs harm them? The lights are not directly shining on them, but the glow of the light does hit some of the shelves. It's the lights from my Iguana cage. The cage is about 5 feet tall and on top of the cage are several bulbs and a flourescent light. The shelves are a few feet away from the cage, not directly under the bulbs, but some light does reflect on the shelves. The lights are on about 12 hours a day. Will this cause harm? I am concerned because this is where all my G1 stuff is. Perhaps I should move them to the finished basement? I was nervous about putting them down there. HELP!

 

NP it took me a month to see the response! Many thanks for the info.

 

I keep my Transformers in a dedicated room, which I'm lucky enough to have to spare, which is about 9.5'x10.5'. It's swiftly becoming TOO SMALL. Gah.

I've gone the slightly extreme route. I have the two windows in the room sealed over, using folded foil-like "space blankets", sealed to the window frames with duct tape, as well as 360 degree weather stripping sealing the door, to keep all light out.

For shelving, I use Sauder brand 72" black library bookshelves, number 155. They used to be $45 a piece, but have gone up to $50 recently. They're good and sturdy, have shelves that lock down onto the pegs for stability, and are 12" deep by 28" wide.

For lighting, I have a ceiling light, two can style, with a pair of 25 watt incandescents, which stays on all the time so I can see when I go in and such. I have a pair of 4' dual-tube flourescent lights, which each take two 40W bulbs. Those are only normally on when I'm in there, or going in and out, and provide superb, bright white light throughout the room. They get maybe 7 days total use in an entire year, all told, I'd say.

I also have an air cleaner, HEPA filter with ionizing ability, which is certified for up to 10x10 rooms. Cost about $40, and filters cost $25 for a two-pack, which is good for about a year, as it's not a "lived in" area. I also have the weather strip on the door to help keep dust infiltration out as well as light, and have installed inexpensive filters into the register vent.

 

I have them on several shelves in my room....so what if it isn't spectacular I dont have the money to sink into these fancy displays ya'll have

 

This was interesting reading guys great topic  

As for me..I have all my stuff in my room..and it is crowded.. not only TF as I have a wide range of stuff. I aint worryd about dust that mcuh and the climat here in south of Sweden si pretty good. I only have one window in my room and it is allways with the drapes down..NO sunlight goes in the only light is my roof light. the Tfs werent the first that would taken beating by the sunglight..my moc Star wars would..and that I wont allow.

other them me..no ppl touch a thing in this room execpt me..when it comes to dusting and cleaning them..and no smoking is allowed either

 

How about my set up. The lone window in the room faces east. The sun is only really on that part of the house for a few hours each day. I have the blinds always closed and a dark curtain of them. The curtain is thumb-taked to the window frame and along the bottom. It's safety pinned down the middle. The only light that comes through is at the very top, and it's not much. The shelf faces towards the room on the same wall as the window, so it's never in direct sunlight at all. The only light I have in the room is in the corner on the same wall, so when it's on, only a bit of it might hit the shelf. And I only use 40 watt soft light bulbs and only have it on at night if I'm in the room. I also have a TV in there so I don't know if that can hurt the toys or not. I'm sometimes in there for long periods of time playing video games but usually have the light off.

Can TV hurt the figures? Can my 40 watt soft light. I have the majority of my figures in a case with glass doors so they don't get very dusty.

Any tips to make this better? The room stays pretty cold all year long, winter it's above to garage so even when the eats running the room never gets warm and during the summer it's small enough to AC keeps it cool. And I never leave the door open unless I'm in there.

 

What's the best way to clean up the chrome on an old figure? I just got a G1 Swoop and I want to shine up the chrome, which itself is in pretty good condition for a 20 year old toy.

 

I have a pretty light tight setup, myself. My display room has two windows, facing north and west, respectively. Now, my low-cost solution to blocking UV (I had the perfect opportunity, since I changed which was my bedroom and which the display room maybe 2.5-3 years ago), was to secure a pair of those foil emergency blankets, overlap the edges onto the vinyl of the window frame, and duct-tape them securely in place, with no gaps in coverage. Each safety blanket is at least double-folded to fit, so there's multiple layers.

Atop those, just for aesthetics (despite that bookshelves line evry wall all the way around and mostly hide it), there's a set of blinds on each window. Plus the actual physical blocking of the backs of the bookshelves.

To keep dust down, I use a small air cleaner (about $30-40 depending on whether you get the current or older model) stated to work for rooms up to 10x11. Filters for it cost about $25 for two, and a pair is generally enough for a full year, since it doesn;t have human life traffic generating extra dust. I also have the hall door sealed with weather strip and a bottom foot seal, plus a threshold under the door with a rubber seal on it. To top it off, the air vent is fitted with inexpensive, removable vent filters (our house is 81 years old...the vents are funky, to be kind).

All in all it does a superb job. I've not seen one trace of yellowing and very little evidence of sticker issues anywhere, and those usually on older, pre-owned toys.

 

Dusting - I use a NEW and CLEAN makeup applicator brush (the big fluffy ones used to dust on makeup). Some or maybe all of that canned-air stuff contains hydrocarbon chemicals as the propellant, and, the stuff comes out really cold (may dissolve some things or flash freeze them).

I say keep the stuff in a comfortable (moderate temps and humidity) low-light room, if available.

 

Wow good info here guys a Few Questions In my Toy room I have one of those incandescent Bulbs the funky shape ones that use less energy are those safe? Also my friend uses the armorall wipes on his figures and the look great but will this stuff damage them? I want to try it out but have shyed from using them.