We have been really excited to show these off...
A couple of weeks ago the diecast displays we had made by Carney Plastics arrived, and a few days later they went up in the Lamley office. Diecast collecting is great, but it is even better when you can show some of your collection off. And we finally are.
If I am honest, I have thought a lot about how to display my collection over the last few years. Questions abound that I am sure many of you share. What should be displayed? How much should be displayed? Where should they be displayed? And most importantly, how should they be displayed?
Here is what I knew I wanted. I wanted it to be simple, clean, tasteful, artistic, focused on the cars (not the packaging), and appealing to anyone who saw the display, whether they were diecast collectors or not. Considering I don't live around many collectors, it is obvious that 99% of the people who see the display won't know the first thing about diecast collecting. But I wanted it to be interesting to them regardless.
I have seen many types of displays. Some use display cabinets that came from stores, some use open shelves, and many hang and stack packaged models on the walls. And those are only a few. Knowing what I wanted, I thought it made sense to borrow from art museums, and create something that had the feel of art hanging on a wall, that one could stand back and take in. And simplicity was the key. Packaged models, now matter how nice, can look terribly busy when stacked up next each other. The eye has no where to go. I wanted something that leads the eye right to the models.
That led me to the displays made by Carney Plastics. From what I have seen, the wall displays made by Carney are the most widely used by collectors. They are simple, well-made, and look great on just about any wall. They would be perfect for a museum feel. I especially liked the 108-car displays, because the cars sit straight.
The only problem for me was the backdrop. Standard Carney displays use clear plastic for shelving and sit on a mirrored background. The mirror is there to help show all angles of the car being displayed, but for me it made the look a tad too busy. Plus I hate glaring back at myself as I try to enjoy what I am looking at.
So I called Carney and asked if they could customize their 108-car cases in white, giving the displays a white acrylic "iPod" feel. Dave and the crew happily obliged, and a few weeks later the set of three arrived. They are now up, under the recessed lighting we had installed, and we could not be happier:
The background and shelves are all white, with a clear plastic cover that pivots and locks. Of course the real fun has been deciding what to put in each case. 324 covers only a portion of the Lamley collection, so I decided on a little bit of everything, with an obvious focus on my favorite models.
From left to right, Case 1 houses Hot Wheels/Matchbox JDM models, along with other Mattel models organized by carmaker. That continues with Case 3. Case 2, right in the middle, is full of higher end diecast, primarily Tomica Limited Vintage, Kyosho, and a couple of Auto World models.
In order:
Case 1
Case 2
Case 3
It is still a work in progress. I already know of a few models that are going in at the expense of some others. The rest of the loose collection is housed in 48-count cases in the closet. That means the contents of each case could constantly be changing. If you want a close-up of any model, just let us know.
Obviously we wanted to show these off, but we also wanted to use this post to give a shout out to the folks at Carney Plastics. It was a pleasure working with them, and their work is top-notch, especially considering these were custom-made. They also told me they are always open to custom orders, so give Dave and the crew a call to see what options they might have for you. You really should consider their cases if you haven't already.
Can you tell we are pretty stoked with these?
(Thanks Dave.)
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