Can you folks help me to identify an very old Ikea display case that was made in back in '04 (I know, very old school) and was the predecessor to the now Detolf? Here's the pic of the shelf that I got for $25 CDN via craigslist. Here is the safety glass label on the top left door when you open it. Presently I have it apart in my bedroom and will reassemble it back and will show it with my detolfs in comparison when done. Edit: With a little more digging done by @Scowly Prowl, we found out what the name is: Nartrop.
It looks like it should be a Bonde, but it has the wrong frame arrangement. These are old - probably 15 years old, at this point. You're not likely to find matching ones!
I believe that your looking at the Billy Bookcase in white. Is it correct @Gutay? BILLY Bookcase - birch veneer - IKEA
Yep! Sorry @KylerWilmoth for the late reply. I did get that bookshelf from IKEA. (Technically my mom got it.) I am super happy with it and think it looks really great.
By looking at the pictures you guys have on what you use to display your collections I might get something like a moducase....maybe. But I need to do some rearranging down the road.
So these are cases I made last summer for larger sized figures, since Metroplex wouldn't fit with his guns, Trypticon is non-humanoid, and it felt like the spawn of some fo the larger combiners dominated the deltolf shelves their on. I wrote a post about them here: Heavy/Scratch: - Affordable Ikea-based Case for Titans and Large TFs Basically I wanted a non-claustrophobic (so no book shelf) "case" that was affordable. What I set on was the Ikea Hyllis Shelf ($15 each). The back and sides are covered in cellophane gift wrap (which is quite tough), that costs $5 a roll. It is cut to the exact size they need to cover and taped to the shelf. The front is covered in Optic Acryllic Sheets from Lowes, custom cut (at Lowes) to fit the shelves. Each Hyllis need about $45 in this. The Acryllic fronts are attached via magnets (at the bottom) and "pegs holes" at the top. I drilled small holes into the shelf, and matched where I want them to mount on the Acryllic front. I then put a small screw + nut in the hole. The acryllic front's hole then goes on top of the "screw/peg", and the magnets keep them from falling off. Entire cost for a singe shelf is about $65. Roughly the same as a Detolf, but with better dimensions for large figures. I'm pretty happy with them for what they are. I'm probably going to end up getting rid of the one at right in the photo below, which doesn't have an Acryllic front, and get another Detolf or two. My desire to display more of my obscure or older figures has lead to it becoming another shelf, escaping its purpose. But I'm very happy with their use for the middle and left one, particularly left, as it lets Trypicon be displayed in an uncrompromised pose and dust free. If there was a pre built option with a bit more depth, I'd go with them but for anyone looking to do a relatively cheap shelf for Titans, this is a way to go. Next step is to put LEDs in them.
From this thread, someone requested a comparison between the Billy/Oxberg and the Hemnes glass-door display case. Seems like it might be useful here as well. Here are the items: Hemnes glass-door cabinet: HEMNES Glass-door cabinet - black-brown - IKEA Billy/Oxberg Bookcase: BILLY / OXBERG Bookcase - white - IKEA (Note: To get that one in the dark black/brown coloration at this time, you actually have to order the individual items (1x Billy bookcase Article Number: 402.638.48 and 2x Oxberg doors Article Number: 302.755.64, which is a quirk of the Ikea website) Here are the key differences: Billy/Oxberg Much better shelf spacing options. There are post holes nearly the entire vertical length of the cabinet so aside from the middle fixed shelf, you have a wide array of height options. I find this much more useful for a general collection. I have two, one for Autobots, one for Decepticons, and I'm about 95% satisfied with the shelf height options they provide. And because the shelf height is pretty flexible, I'm able to utilize all four of the adjustable shelves (plus the bottom fixed shelf and the middle fixed shelf) for six shelves of figures on display The doors are gappy and can be hellish to align. I've had 50/50 luck with alignment. The second one I built the doors were basically perfectly aligned upon install. My first one ended up with the doors a bit uneven and I couldn't get the adjustment screws to do enough to resolve it On both of them I ended up getting some weatherstripping from Home Depot to seal up the gap between the two doors and along the top above the doors Also, these cabinets need to be bolted to the wall, they are a legitimate tipping/fall hazard, especially with the heavy glass doors installed The doors on this cabinet have smaller frames so you can see a bit more of the contents when they're closed than you can on the Hemnes series products that have a thicker wood border on the doors Slightly more overall inside storage vertical space since the Hemnes stands on post legs that are taller than the Billy's base, but ends up slightly taller overall height vs the Hemnes. They're pretty close in overall height though Hemnes This cabinet is slightly deeper and slightly wider than the Billy/Oxberg cabinet and can swallow four MP-scale combiners. I could not successfully fit Constructor in a Billy with the door closed and it seemed like a big waste of space since it was questionable whether a second MP combiner could stand next to him on the same shelf The doors are lovely in comparison to the Billy/Oxberg style doors. They fit well upon install and are designed with a lip to slightly overlay one another so there is no gap down the middle. They also have the soft-close hinges Hemnes cabinets have the adjustable feet so you can balance them better and set it to bias its weight backward a bit to minimize the risk of tipping over without having to bolt it to the wall The wood quality is decent but thinner and less-good than the Billy/Oxberg. Having had other Hemnes furniture, I fully expect some warping over time, especially given how long the doors are. So long as it doesn't result in any significant gaps, it's all good This is a great cabinet for Masterpiece-sized combiners. It has no trouble swallowing four of them on two shelves, with two other shelves, one in between and one at the top for displaying other figures. Since that leaves two extra shelves (it comes with four adjustable shelves, one fixed in the middle, and the bottom floor is a shelf, so six total just like the Billy/Oxberg), I doubled up the shelves the combiners stand on, by installing a shelf and then placing a second shelf directly on top of the first one, creating a thicker platform for a heavy load. While a single shelf should hold the weight no problem, I want to minimize any potential for warping or sagging, just in case You are unlikely to be able to use all of the shelves given the much more limited range of shelf position options. There are just a handful of sets of post holes. Thankfully they work well for MP combiners. Having had the single-wide version that worked for two combiners, and looking closely at the photos on the Ikea website, I was able to confirm the double-wide version had the same post hole options and I now have space for four combiners in total I haven't tried it but I'd imagine it's possible to get all five Dibots on a single shelf in the Hemnes cabinet since it is a bit deeper and wider than the Billy, however you won't be able to do that if you arrange the shelves for 4 MP combiners AND want to have Swoop flying in Pterodactyl mode on his stand since him on his stand is around 14-15" in height and the middle shelf between the two combiner shelves is around 12" in height and the top-most shelf is around 10.5" in height All in all, with just two Billy/Oxberg cabinets and one Hemnes, I'm able to fit comfortably Masterpiece-grade figures for all of the Seasons 1 & 2 characters plus the '86 Movie main cast, including space for the handful of figures still to come (X-Transbots still has 3 Stunticons to go, FansToys Jabber (Blurr), and whenever Ocular Max gets around to releasing the Autobot cassettes).
To give all members here as heads up. For those in Canada and want a Billy bookshelf - It's 25% off from February 21 to March 3: BILLY series - IKEA For those in the States, here are some prices that are lowered on the Billy: BILLY series - IKEA
The other advantage about the Billy/Oxberg sets, is that you can buy a half-width cabinet, and the same door fits cleanly right to the edges, giving you a "one and a half" cabinet look.
I will sooner or later make a diy detolf. But I still have doubts about the "right" depth of shelves. I display lots of bots in alt modes and some special one in robot mode. So I have to think about a mix between small depths and bigger depths (for airplanes) and taller shelves and smaller ones. Is there a thread of people showing their shelves except this one?
There's a 'collection showcase' subforum that includes displays from a number of people, showing off some of their units nicely - I'd trawled through it before deciding on the unit to go for: Transformers Collection Showcase
I spent today building this new shelving unit and cabinet. I think I’m going to dress up my photo area next, it needs some attention.
Many big Thanks to @Sy-Rein and @Destructimis Prime for the dimensions on the figures so I could create a concept plan. Here is my first attempt at what I would like to do, after I figure out a price of getting this room finished (ie: carpet, lighting, paint, heating, etc..) I can put a price on my shelving. Edit: Image removed
