I'm sure many of you are veterans of the risers and display stand game. I was hoping we could share some tips. I'm having a pretty hard time sourcing decently priced risers in Canada. Some of you have mentioned the container store. There shipping prices are pretty steep outside US though. Here's what I have found: http://www.collectingwarehouse.com/ Price seems high, but I love the idea of round, mirrored risers. Anyone had experience with these? Please feel free to post and good places to get risers.
I have some from the container store, they are clear cubes that separate into two pieces that work as risers. I also used Legos to build some custom ones
alot of options on ebay. just search acrylic risers. I've heard that some hardware stores will cut and bend acrylic, but I've never tried to find a place to do it.
You could make your own by cutting up a block of wood, beveling the edges, heating up the acrylic and laying it over the wood. Ive got some glow acrylic laying around, I'll have to try it when I have some time.
Michaels crafts stores also has these cube types in several different sizes, and I think they are a bit cheaper than the container store. Especially when they go on sale. I mostly use these in my detolfs.
I'm pretty new to risers also. I ended up getting mine from a local marine aquarium store that does custom acrylic aquariums. They were fast, local, relatively cheap, and willing to make them any size I wanted.
not easy without a strip heater found this site with nice ones for pretty cheap. http://www.delviesplastics.com/mm5/..._Code=DPI&Category_Code=Plastic_Strip_Heaters
I used a heat gun to do a handle that was more organic than boxy. It could be done but would be a pain. I'll end up posting what I come up with. Thanks for the link!
I use photo cubes, got mine at a pound shop in the uk, they're perfect because each one splits into 2
If you wanna go DIY in a very simple but cheap and effective way, you can recycle food containers. A lot of food pots (for example, microwavable fried-rice or couscous) are made from very clear plastic. After washing the used pot, let it soak in the warm water for a while and the label should come clean-off. If the pot came with a rip-open plastic top you can trim that away so it looks nice and clean. I have used different sized plastic packaging in this way to good effect.
For risers in my Detolfs I just take and use UPS Express Boxes. The small boxes work best, since they are the narrowest so you can fit more risers per shelf. I can get 4 risers of varying heights on a shelf, then I just take and just wrap and tape the boxes up with white printer paper. When all is said and done it looks pretty good, and can't beat the price of using free office supplies
Great idea Charlie! Now I know what to do with all of the smaller boxes I get in the mail that I seem to be hoarding
MUJI storage boxes work for me – lots of different sized acrylic CD, minidisc, cassette boxes, pen pots, plus they do actual risers too. Not the cheapest option but nice and chunky. Tails can tuck inside the open sides too...
if you live in Richmond, BC theres a store called Daiso its a japanese 'dollar' store and they have lots of acrylic display boxes/risers they range from a couple dollars to about 8 bucks max (unit 1080 - 4151 Hazelbridge Way)
Medicom Kubrick/Be@rbrick interlocking clear display cases for me. They lock together like legos and can create some useful stands that stay in place nicely. Also, I use wooden blocks from a toy roman colliseum display that work well for minis.
Well the carpenter finally hung 3 large Ikea Nornas cases on the wall and put in the glass shelves! Yay! Doors get put on next. Then massive unpacking of toys, cleaning, and arranging. Displaying your toys, what a concept! FYI, I have 3 long skinny cabinets and one square-ish cabinets, that look like... So, just wondering if anyone could suggest more ideas for risers? @Lixx mentioned that each shelf has a 4 lb. limit, so the risers will have to be fairly light. Suggestions and ideas most welcome please!
According to Ikea the squarish one has a 11lb load limit per shelf. Plastic risers are extremely light so I suspect (given the actual space of shelf and mish mash of size differential in toys) you won't approach anything critical for shelf failure. Toys are pretty light and I think you'd run out of space before reaching 4lbs. I never even bothered to check my detolf shelf limit (I did just now and it's 8lb) and I just jammed whatever I could on each shelf. You see (from my photos on flickr) they are quite full and I've never had an issue. I would perhaps put bigger toys in the skinnier shelves and maybe group smaller and mid sized in the squarish one? You can find loads of risers on ebay in all shapes and sizes. Search for Acrylic risers.
Since the shelves are fairly shallow, and assuming they will hold mostly Buta-sized figures, I would use something like clear Amac acrylic boxes as risers. The long, thin boxes work well as risers in tight conditions when laid end-to-end. You can find them at most craft stores.
I concur with @akum6n Before buying acrylic risers on ebay I raided Michaels for acrylic boxes in various sizes. They are usually taller than any riser you would get and sturdier. Great for the back rows.
Thank you @Lixx and @akum6n ! Much better to see what the materials are like in person! I will definitely make a trip to Michaels! p.s. Thanks for the specs on the square case Chris! Good to know the shelf weight-bearing limit is 11 lbs. One thing I'm worried about still, is fat cats prying open the front doors and trying to hop in the case. They could really hurt themselves, if they caused the glass shelves to shatter. Might have to think of an improved latching system, other than a magnetic tab on the glass door keeping things shut.
Daiso has some small acrylic risers, for 1.50 each. They hold maybe one fight figure or two to three minis on each of three levels. Not the best, but hard to beat the price!
Usually I buy the little acrylic containers from the Container Store cause they're cheaper and get the job done. They range from $1.50-$3 each. I also keep a look out for stores that are going out of business, most times they'll sell their risers if they have any. Recently a candle shop in a mall by me had a closing sale. I went and cleaned them of their risers for just $1 each.
Have a search for plastic or polypropylene business card boxes – two parts (box/lid), small size and cheap... Work well for me!
