Tuesday, November 4, 2008

IKEA! Let's build a cabinet!

Five years ago, if someone would have said, "Let's go to IKEA!" I would have laughed. It is not that I did not like home improvement and decor, but I had always felt that IKEA was just toy furniture and needed to be assembled similar to a plastic model kit.


Now that over half of my furniture comes from IKEA it doesn't seem so funny anymore. So what would an Otaku~ish person find interesting at IKEA? Bookcases and display cases obviously!
Work in progress
I just recently purchased this case and am currently playing with different light set-ups

To make your own case, this is what you will need:
  • Furniture lighting, Grundtal 3 pack (I am using nickel-plated)
  • 3M Double-sided mounting tape, usually used for things like mirrors (you can use screws to mount the lights, but when you want to rearrange them it will leave holes)
  • Mini-clippable spotlights (sadly, I have not found ones I like yet, IKEA does offer a few book case lights, but I don't like them, I will be trying some over the next few weeks)
Remember, lights get hot! Be sure not to cover up their air vent holes and don't put them too close to your figures! To be safe, don't leave the lights on when you are not viewing the case. Always keep figures out of direct sunlight! To help hide electrical cords you can buy plastic shrink wrap tubing, I believe at IKEA it is called Montera.

No, this is not my whole collection. Hopefully, over the next few weeks I'll get the lighting squared away and post pics of the complete case. Please post any suggestions on lighting or background displays! I still have not decided if I should just leave the back of the case clear or to cover it up.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you have good stuff to put at the back, just as transparent stickers, or posters, then yeah, covering them up just at the back would be good.

I got problems with lighting, rather the lack of technical skills however, than actually setting them up or whatever. Since I am familiar with the usage of LEDs, having gotten them for my bike before, I have a feeling I will be using LEDs for my figure display...and yes it is a DETOLF too.

Anonymous said...

I plan on getting 2 of these DETOLF cases for my figures too.

I say to keep the back uncovered or it will look cluttered and keep stickers and such to a minimum.

Q said...

Wow more and more people are getting DETOLF. I like it how you've displayed the boxes along with your figures.

Anonymous said...

oh wanted to get one of those cabinet since last year but hadn't the time to go to ikea >_>