Storage / Displaying models?

Hey peoples,


Just wondering what everyone does with there finished models. I had a chance to meet a local builder who has hundreds of kits. Ran into him at teh local hobby store the owner was telling me that this guy orders every tamiya 1/24 kit that is made.

I ran into him at the local store cause i was looking for some white primmer however they where all out and this guy said he had some extra if i wanted i could get a can from him. So we went back to his place ( i know sounds like the start of a murder mystery) and i almost fell on my ass when i seen his garage full of kits. hundreds stacked floor to ceiling - However he only had about 10 on display. So i said to him All these kit and you have only made 10 models in the 30+ years you have been building..

He kind of chuckled and said nope he said this wall kits on top of each other are all completed and this wall are kits i have not started and the kits under my bench ( about 30 of them ) are kits in progresss. He said he only displays the ones he really loves and then just puts all the built kits back into there boxes for storage.

Then he pulled out his case of primmer and gave me a can :D

So what do you all do with your kits when they are done?

I have plastic display cases that I buy from hobby lobby. I can fit 4 race car models inside each case, but I think that I could fit 2 or 3 tank models, maybe even 4, depending on their size. Im also pretty sure I could fit several 1/12 motorcycles in each one.

Ive gone this route since my wife & I live w/ my parents right now, while Im working on an associates degree, so I have very little room to display my built models. The plastic cases provide a great way to display them, yet protect them from dust, and getting knocked around.

Here's a pic of what I have:

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh218/RangerMach1/Models/cave4.jpg

I've made up some thick acrylic display platforms. I set them on bookcases. Upside: they look great and you can see the models without interference from reflections. Downside: the models get dusty and require occasional cleaning.

Ddms

I use 1/24 and 1/18 display cases purchased from a local KB Toy Outlet. They 1/18 cases are $8 each and the 1/24 are $4 each. They're cheap but do the trick. I just purchased a Tamiya 1/12 display case on sale from Tamiyausa.com. It was $39.95 down from ~$140.

I also bought 3 CD/DVD cabinets from Ikea with glass shelves and sliding glass doors. There is a very small gap between the doors which lets very fine dust in, but its at least not the nasty dust. They were like $20 or $30. http://www.ikeaplus.co.uk/index.php?action=ik_viewProducts&idpr=2603&cl0=1&cl1=95&cl2=203&PHPSESSID=c18e7f3e8cf5847245f34561bb619bbc