[moped rider]

Some of us have massive collections but as a result have problems displaying the collection properly.

Do you prefer to keep the cars in the case or display the car on a plinth or some other form of home made stand?

What about cleaning and dusting?

Do you make display furniture or do you purchase it?

What about lighting?

What about storage when items are not on display?

How do you rotate your display and do you have display themes?

I genuinely have problems because my display areas are overflowing. This can make it look a bit untidy. How best is it to make your cars look their best?

I attempt to display everything. Maybe I shouldn't?

Any ideas would be welcome and I am confident that others here have similar problems to me!

Moped

 

[mtucker666]

Mine are not displayed in the best environment but all are easy access and all can be seen. Open fronted cabinet with 6 shelves split down the middle making 12 compartments (care of Ikea).

95% are not in boxes and are placed on a bit of track in groups within the cabinet e.g all rally together, classics, GT etc. Two of the cars displayed are in boxes just cause they look good that way: my 512S Coda Lunga and a Jag XK120. I have 9 other MIB that I intend to sell and they are not on show.

On top of my cabinet I display my 'treasures'. These include a few non-slot related things, some browsing material for others (Mas Slot, Borchures etc.) and my fav oogling cars. These are currently my Ferrari 550 Marenello and the Scaly TVR T400Rs.

Don't bother dusting they don't hang around long enough to gather it.

Once collection grows more I will remove cars from their track plinths and I should be able to get load more cars quite happily displayed. Only real drawback is lighting and when if I could be bothered I would sort that out.

Tuck

 

[Swissracer]

Mine are all boxed (where I have a box ) and shelved by Race type in my cellar.

I don't have a suitable place or space to show them. However once my public / club track premises are finalized, they will be on Public Display , even if just to tempt visitors and show them what's around.

I have a side issue that is very linked, to add to this great topic from Mophead

...

Storage over long periods of time..

Should the wheels be kept off the ground to prevent flat spots ? or does it not matter.

Bear in mind that 90% of cars are presented in boxes that DON'T accomodate keeping the wheels in the air . Should they?

 

[JEXY1]

First you need to convince the wife that the spare room really should be yours!

I'm a little lucky, my company designs and produces exhibition stands and interiors world wide, so I have a number of great construction companies to make stuff for me.

My collection is housed in a number of MDF constructed display cabinets with glass shelves. The MDF is spray painted white and the glass shelves are toughened glass on small clip brackets. The fronts are sliding glass doors. Units are bolted to walls (heavy duty). The tops of the units have Ikea low voltage lights. 1200mm wide, 300mm deep, 800mm high (about 130mm between shelves)

Nice and neat. Only problem is the cars displayed at the top are viewed from the bottom - so I tend to put all the big stuff at the top - trucks, lorries, vans, 4x4 TT's etc.

The cars are displayed by make (Ford, Porsche etc.)

Cars are out of their boxes! - boxes in the loft!

From experience I also add a thin glass shelf to the bottom of the cabinets, the reason for this is so that the tyres do not stain/mark the paint.

No need to dust, because they are all enclosed!

Buildings, special track etc, is all housed in kitchen type cabinets under a worktop awaiting the build of my layout in the garage (when I get round to selling the MG!).

Main problem as always is space, i only have space for another two smaller cabinets and probably 150 more cars! - will probably thin out the collection in the near future.

Sad or what!

 

[speedyweenie]

Swiss asked, "Should the wheels be kept off the ground to prevent flat spots ? or does it not matter."

Several of my cars had been inactive for awhile, and upon cranking up the MRRC 275P, I was surprised to see that not only did the rear tires have flat spots, but that they had melted! There were actual drops of oil on the case under the tires and the rubber had become very hard and brittle, as if the oil had leached out and separated from the rubber. I'm sure everyone has come across rock-hard tires on vintage cars but this was the first time I had seen tires of recent vintage deteriorate (evaporate?) before my eyes. The fronts were fine, and so far I have not noticed any of my other cars suffering from this affliction. Is this common to other brands too, or was it due to a particular formulation used by MRRC?

mp

 

[cgingras]

To display my cars, I have made a stand with slide-out shelves.

I don't have to do any cleaning because nearly all the cars get to run regurlarly on the track. There's no particular lighting in this self-made stand. It is on wheels so I can put it where it's more convenient.

The problem I have right now is that the stand is getting too small for my collection. Guess I'll have to make another one.

The crystal cases are in boxes under the track.

On the picture above, there's one car of each type on the top shelf and the remaining cars are grouped on the bottom shelves.

 

[JEXY1]

speedyweenie

Your note about your tyres is the reason I put glass on the bottom run.

Basically if your tyres are on a wood shelf (or another material that is porous) then the tyre will have it's oil/mositure sucked out.

Pop down to your local glass shop and get some cheap window glass cut to size (Watch the sharp edges!) pop this under the cars.

It will not stop the tyres going hard, but it does slow the process down.

Good luck

 

[speedyweenie]

Actually, the car was still in its crystal box, stacked in a cabinet, in a climate-controlled room. I haven't noticed tires from other cars behaving the same way, so maybe it was just the MRRC rubber formulation. Interesting observaton about porous surfaces degrading tires though.

mp

 

[Intergrali]

mope, your worried about displaying your cars?? dear me!

I have 2-3foot stacks simply in the middle of my room! viewable from 360 degrees and easily accessible.. that's the cars not my room!

oh the other place.. where ever I can hide them for a sufficent time before I can say.. I've had this ages!!!

Inte

 

[bluetoes591]

QUOTE (speedyweenie @ 25 Sep 2003, 10:08 AM)Actually, the car was still in its crystal box, stacked in a cabinet, in a climate-controlled room. I haven't noticed tires from other cars behaving the same way, so maybe it was just the MRRC rubber formulation. Interesting observaton about porous surfaces degrading tires though.

mp
I have known Fly tires to do this...

Had the car been run before?

And if so had the tires been treated with anything?

 

[Tropi]

Tyres on some older Fly cars were prone to actually cracking over short periods of time.
I have a 512S exhibiting this problem on all four of them.
The cracks run zig-zag across the tread.

Tyres in general:
Most 'rubber' formulations are affected by oxygen, ozone, sun light (ultra-violet does the damage) and temperature, to some degree. Some are much more susceptible than others. Silicones are among the least susceptible - almost invulnerable.

Unfortunately, the best bet is not to display the cars at all!
Best kept in a medium'low temperature, in the dark with little ventilation.
Some sun burn prevention lotions help keep the air away from the rubber and some of them actually filter out ultra violet light - both very helpful attributes.

 

[moped rider]

So what you are saying Tropi is that the best place to store cars is in the fridge.

I will come back to this topic later but thank you for the ideas so far to help me with my storage problems.

3 more cars have recently entered "Moped Towers" and them Fly specials come in bloody great big boxes!

Moped

 

[Wankel Ickx]

QUOTE So what you are saying Tropi is that the best place to store cars is in the fridge.

Good one.

 

[Tropi]

QUOTE So what you are saying Tropi is that the best place to store cars is in the fridge.
Fridges are quite cold, rather than the medium/low temperature I suggested - too extreme for cars or tyres imho. So let's confirm that I didn't say that. Someone might though . . .

But the fridge is an excellent place to keep motors unexposed photographic film, and even to stick your superfluous traction mags on the door, where they really belong.