4 Dec 2019

Detolf Cabinets Conundrum - Ideal Xmas Present Idea

If you are a hobbyist with the ability to store and display your minis in a dedicated space, chances are you may have an IKEA Detolf glass cabinet or two :)  The problem I see often is hobbyists have rows of minis on the shelves and a massive air gap above the troops which is wasted space. Several cabinets is expensive and eats into the dedicated hobby space we have. So, what to do...

I addressed this somewhat with my first idea - Perspex Display Plinths from eBay, seen in the top shelf of the above picture, these are great at lifting up a row or two to fill the big spaces and allow more in the same cabinet footprint. They come in many sizes, I recommend the 15cm High, 20cm Deep, 30cm Wide ones for a great Detolf Shelf space, the smaller 10cm Deep ones are good for raising the back row in the Detolf shelf.
Or, my second idea - you go one step further and search eBay for "Replacement Detolf Shelves", or something similar, and there are a number of options from sellers of 1,2 or 4 perspex shelves and brackets. These kits are great, clamp around the wire support frame in the Detolf and double your storage area for your minis.
Here is a close up of the perspex shelf kit, the 'clear' edge ones are the perspex, the 'green' edge ones are the original glass shelves. Amble room for most miniatures, the gap between shelves is 20cm, originally 40cm. Enough room is there to place Imperial Knights without the top carapace weapons.
And another close up, I saved enough space to empty my Titan Detolf to just display the Titans on their own shelves and place the Inquisitional and Custodes forces into the bottom of the Necrons cabinet. You can see a Custodes Imperial Knight sitting fine in the smaller gaps.

Hopefully this helps someone out with a Christmas Present idea and gives more room to display the miniatures in a protected (from cats and majority of dust) environment.

Cheers all, Siph.

7 comments:

  1. This is a great idea! I’ve got a really beautiful display cabinet I inherited, but the shelves leave a lot of room unused, so I definitely need some display plinths, I just didn’t want something that detracts from the overall aesthetic, but completely clear stands should look just fine!

    https://imgur.com/a/cL59O1w

    I’ll have to take some measurements when I get home and make an order

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    1. Yeah they are great space multiplier and totally removable and no work needed, sound ideal for your needs.

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  2. Extra shelves are totally the way to go with that Detolf cabinet.

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  3. Brilliant ideas, and timely as I just built one of these and was wondering if there are ways to better utilize the space, so thank you for posting this!!

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    1. Glad to help mate, it took me several years to realise there was an alternative!

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  4. We don't got IKEA in NZ but it definitely looks sweet. We do have a hole in the ozone layer however and I worry about sunlight fading the paint jobs. I keep my models in the dark. Which is a shame really

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  5. That's a great idea, I have been considering doing something similar with my shelving.

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For the Emperor! (and other Xenos welcome...)