Lightsaber display case ideas and links

biggs79

Active Member
Greetings everyone from the UK, I am new to the community and have enjoyed discovering some of the awesome threads and opertunities to kick start a new collection of replica lightsabers built by some of the talented saber smiths in this community!

i am looking for ideas and contacts for display cases to hold my future sabers in!

If any one can point me in the right direction or show what they have used for this, ideally acrylic or glass boxes, mirrored or brushed aluminium effect bottome,maybe even lit up? Would also like to get ideas for plaques ect.... I've got tickets for the starwars celebration in London this year so hopefully opertunity to get some signatures to form part of the displays

any feedback most welcome

Cheers
Biggs79
 
Hi Biggs79

There are some people in the Classified > Projects Runs forum who make plaques and stands for lightsabers and other prop replicas, items, etc..

One of the most widely used glass cabinets used in collections is from Ikea called the DETOLF which is popular because of the cost. I plan to get some in the future myself.

Here is the thing you need to think about... Costs for these items and how much room you have to display. If you intend on having a large collection, you need to think carefully about each. Individual cases take up a lot of shelf space. A rack or case plus a plaque looks nice but think about what the cost for these items might be if you get a collection of 10 or more lightsabers. Determine the cost. You might spend $500 -$1000 total for display pieces for these 10 items. If money is not a concern then it might not be an issue. For me, I would rather utilize that money for other prop replicas in my collection.

In my personal collection, I look for the balance between making a nice display for my collection yet trying to do it at the best value.

Good luck.
 
I like the look of darklyte's stands for the sabers. I have had my sabers boxed up for years. Finally bought some display stands yesterday from darklyte on etsy.com $15-$35 per display, there isn't a glass covering over them but if you go with that $70 display case from ikea that mara jades father was talking about then you don't need a glass box to go over the displays anyways.

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I bought this on Amazon and then put some IKEA LED strip lights across the top.
You can change the color of the LEDs. The mirror background really shows off the sabers well.

Link to case:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000K...SY170_QL70&keywords=die+cast+car+display+case
 
This is something I was just thinking about since I have 5 sabers in a small acrylic box and will soon be expanding up to 8-10 sabers.

I know a couple guy's that do wood work and am thinking about seeing if they would build something for me to hold all the sabers straight across or vertically with a hinged glass face.
Another option is one of those large shadow boxes used for displaying sports shirts and stuff.
 
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saber rack.jpg I made this yesterday while weathering the big east coast blizzard. The materials for 2 racks cost about $30. I made it from a slab of oak, an over-the-door coat rack, and some little brackets and screws and such. It was super easy and probably only took about 10-15 minutes to really assemble the thing, plus I have the satisfaction of knowing that I made it myself :cool
 
Hi guys

some cool ideas there, I'm gonna have a hunt on Amazon and see what's available, I do like the ikea cabinet you can go wrong for the price!

paneflex loving the blue led lights I will defo draw some inspiration from that display! Also really like your casual on the wall display MCM good work!!

i don't have 1 lightsaber yet but I think I know the 5 that I want, initially looking to get the 4 sabers within this year and the 5th will happen when it happens, been messaging some people and researching sources from where to buy from, here's my wish list

obi one static weathered - from roman
Graflex replica (source tbc) with a crystal reveal chassis (source tbc) and soundboard (tbc)
darth Vader ROTJ - no idea where this ones coming from yet lol
luke skywalker v2 - missed out on Starkillers run but hoping he does another one day! - crystal chassis would be ace for this one, love the green

vintage Graflex - ANH - this one will take me a long time to source but I'm in this for the long game:)

will ll keep this thread updated if I find any cool other cool cabinets and if you spot anything keep the links coming in, would be great source of reference for others too who are starting out!

may the force be with you...... Always
biggs
 
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Take a look at my collection: http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=220906

it is a good example of someone who cares about proper display of a collection but struggling to do so.

youwill notice some budget ideas such as wine racks for displays. I also have had to rely on stacking display cases in order to save space. I have some ideas to improve on the display such as the ikea cases and a full grid wall that will replace the desk an showcase the items better.

The changes will enable me to add or subtract items with issue or additional costs.
 
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I bought this on Amazon and then put some IKEA LED strip lights across the top.
You can change the color of the LEDs. The mirror background really shows off the sabers well.

Link to case:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000K...SY170_QL70&keywords=die+cast+car+display+case

oh my i love that! nice work with the lights, thanks for sharing the link! i have bought a few glass shelfs from IKEA, what i hate it every time i order glass piece online it comes to my house broken. i then drive the 50 minutes to the nearest store and exchange it. now i dont even bother shipping glass from IKEA.com. i was curious how it was packaged from amazon? looks like you got it in 1 piece ;)

i can't really blame UPS for the damage allot of time the factory doesn't pack their glass products well enough...

anyway beautiful display!
 
oh my i love that! nice work with the lights, thanks for sharing the link! i have bought a few glass shelfs from IKEA, what i hate it every time i order glass piece online it comes to my house broken. i then drive the 50 minutes to the nearest store and exchange it. now i dont even bother shipping glass from IKEA.com. i was curious how it was packaged from amazon? looks like you got it in 1 piece ;)

i can't really blame UPS for the damage allot of time the factory doesn't pack their glass products well enough...

anyway beautiful display!

Thats a cool part of this case, the mirror back is not glass so it's lightweight and won't break in Shipping. It ships in a cardboard box.

- - - Updated - - -
 
Thanks. I was not going to stain it, the original idea was to have a very archaic rustic piece of wood that the saber was sitting on. The idea got refined down to this hunk of walnut. It looks great now as I have cleaned up the edges of the saw burn. You could use this Idea in any material, per the thread I bet it would look cool with a metal base.

I really like that! Ever thought of throwing a dark stain on over that?
 
Not all lightsabers but just some ideas for affordable display i have done in the past: http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/bonofl/slideshow/Display Ideas

These ideas are all relatively inexpensive.

Some of these we for family members.

Some of them I no longer have either due to the fact that I no longer have the item, or upgraded, or had to eliminate due to space issues.

A lot of times the idea for a display evolved from seeing the item. For instance, a lot of the box displays were due to finding the boxes and thinking, "Hey, that would make a great ___ display."

Not pictured is a box display I made for a Obi The Phantom Menace hilt. The box was a decorative hinged box from Kirklands which was roughly 12" x 3", a great size for a hilt. I lined the bottom with that moldable green planter craft foam and covered it with a black poly/wool fabric shoving it snugly down the sides between the foam and the box with a butterknife. I then took the hilt and pressed it firmly downward some that it would make a custom form fit in the foam. This was basically what i did for the Bajoran phaser

The large wine rack was a nice solution to displaying many hilts in a small space however it did nothing to protect from dust.

The jedi remote hook was an ornament display hook that was on clearance after the holidays.

The jedi remote bell jar was an affordable jar and base found at Hobby Lobby but it was too tall, so I made the base of the higher using precut wood circles so it fit better.

The grid wall for helmets is a grate way to display items when you do not have shelf space and you are going to constantly add and subtract items. It allows you to easily re-arrange items with little effort. I plan to do this to display Efx/MR cased items using their shelving accessories and my blasters using their hooks.

Shadow boxes found at craft stores are great for showing off small random items.

You can also show off items like pins with off the self frames and replacing the backings with self sticking felt and foam board. In the case of my son's Jurassic World badge display, it is simply a $1 acrylic frame and a photoshopped 4x6 image I created and printed via Walgreens.


Basically what i am trying to say is that you can come up with a lot of ideas without having to spend a lot. A lot of people often think of trying to find and purchase MR/Efx cases. There is nothing wrong with that but they get pricey. For instance, I got an MR Leia blaster off eBay. It came with a base but no cover. I had a cover made and it costs $90 with shipping. That was just the acrylic cover. And that was actually a great price. But you see how that might add up if you start trying to get similar displays for every hilt. Sometimes you might have a special prop which you don't mind spending a little extra on, but as a standard, just think about it. For every 2 display stands you buy, you could have bought another hilt. Would you rather have 6 hilts with elaborate display cases or 9 hilts displayed on a budget? IMHO.. I would rather have the 9 hilts.
 
Here's how mine are displayed, for what it's worth. This room is where I'm going to start keeping my smaller pieces, that way they are separate from the big props/busts/etc.

I'm using Ikea Billy frames with glass doors and glass shelves. LED spot lights. The doors are sealed to make them more dust proof:

hilts wide.jpeg

hilts.jpeg
 
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Here's how mine are displayed, for what it's worth. This room is where I'm going to start keeping my smaller pieces, that way they are separate from the big props/busts/etc.

I'm using Ikea Billy frames with glass doors and glass shelves. LED spot lights. The doors are sealed to make them more dust proof:

Hey dmpsk8 - where did you get the small stands for the sabers? Very nice!
 
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Hey @dmpsk8 - where did you get the small stands for the sabers? Very nice!

I've actually kept that little secret quiet while I picked up a set of them. Time to spill the beans. They are the bases for these little silver plated certificate holders. I found a couple locally (thrift stores) and had to hunt online for the rest. I pick up most of mine for about $14-$17 shipped.

Check it out:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Graduation-...916586?hash=item21091e87ea:g:exkAAOSw~bFWKjn3
 
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