Gwangi's Collection (Updated 2/9)

[Gwangi]

I had one of these collection threads years ago but gave up on it, this here is my attempt to do it again and be more proactive in the community. Rather then just post pictures of my shelves I'm going to use this thread to showcase portions of my collection and share some thoughts about them. It'll be random, I'll post whatever I'm into posting in the moment.

Although I don't want to do shelf pictures I am going to post pictures of my two main displays. One is a beautiful cabinet that my wife got me for my birthday last year. It has really changed the way I collect and display my prehistoric animals. This cabinet sets my limits, it's what forces me to avoid large figures or to many repeated genera. This also means that CollectA's large pterosaur and mammal figures, and BotM, as nice as they are, are out of the question. I want my collection contained within this cabinet and will cull figures periodically to make it happen. And now that my collection is in there I can't imagining displaying my collection any other way.



Less than a year ago this shelf displayed almost my entire collection, which is hard for me to wrap my head around at this point. I use it now to display action figures that are too large for the cabinet. It's a mix of Mattel, Kenner, and Tyco. There are some other things as well, like the Papo Jurassic Park inspired toys that I didn't want to get rid of or put in my cabinet. This shelf works well for these types of toys, and it allows my daughter easy access to them since she occasionally plays with them.



So here's the first set of figures I want to showcase, my Dimetrodon collection. It's a collection that spans the ages, from the SRG metal Dimetrodon from 1947, to Safari's 2018 figure. There are a lot of Dimetrodon figures here so I likely won't get any more (sorry, CollectA and Favorite). Currently these are all displayed in the cabinet or on the shelf but the Carnegie Dimetrodon will be leaving the cabinet as soon as I need the space it occupies, although I still adore it. I also need to track down the Invicta and Tyco figures, those are the last two Dimetrodon toys I need to complete this particular collection.

Pictured, back to front and left to right. Kenner, Safari, Carnegie, Papo, Mattel, Sell-Rite Gifts (SRG), and Marx.

[Fembrogon]

Oooh, that is a classy-looking display case - it gives the collection a real "curated" feel!
That's a smart way to regulate the size of your collection. Even with the limit set, it looks like you've maintained a very healthy and diverse range of figures.

I can also sympathize with the disbelief of looking at older storage size. I can still recall the shelves I once used for my collection(s) as a kid, and there's no way they could accommodate what I've amassed now!

[Grimbeard]

I agree with @Fembrogon , that is a really classy looking display cabinet. I like that it seems to proudly stand in the middle of the room. Are you using the lower compartment as model storage as well or for something else?

I also like how the top light gives each of the three stages a different lighting and feel.

[Duna]

Oh, that's a master piece of furniture! I really like that it's in the middle of the room, I wish I had enough room to put something like that in the middle ...

I love your other shelves, too. My children also play with some pieces of my collection whenever they want.

[Dusty Wren]

Wow, what a gorgeous display case! Please tell your wife that a random internet commentator thinks she has excellent taste in furniture. 

Are the small figures on the second shelf Kaiyodos?

[Libraraptor]

Thanks for sharing that gorgeous cabinet! It is beautiful, and the eclectic collection inside is just right up my alley! I will be following this thread with great interest.

[Psittacoraptor]

Oh wow, now that's an interesting way of displaying figures! I also like your approach to collecting. Setting rules and limitations is important, else collecting can turn into hoarding.

[Gwangi]

Thanks @Fembrogon , the cabinet definitely gives the collection a sophisticated, museum-like feel. When I first got it I thought I could fit my entire collection in there, including the Mattel stuff. I was very wrong!

@Grimbeard , I do use the drawers for storage. Mostly PNSO boxes and some extra figures that aren't on display. The cabinet is not exactly in the middle of the room, there is a wall behind it that divides my dining room (left) from my living room (right). I love the lights and the unique look it gives each shelf, but a lot of light gets filtered out by the time you get to the bottom shelf.

Haha, thanks @Dusty Wren. Yes, there are some Kaiyodo figures on the second shelf, which is where most of the smaller, vintage, oddball stuff is displayed. I need more Kaiyodos though, there are still so many I want. I suppose I should post shelf pictures just so people can see how the display is laid out.

Thanks @Libraraptor, there are a few Bullyland figures in there that I have thanks to you.

Thanks @Psittacoraptor, I agree. I have no interest in hoarding, plus not enough space and money. Quality, not quantity, is a rule I try to live by.

[Bokisaurus]

Wow, that is one impressive cabinet!😃
Love seeing the updates.

[triceratops83]

Do you store less impressive or potential culling candidates in the drawers and cupboard spaces at the bottom of the cabinet? Seems like there is plenty of room down there.

[Shonisaurus]

That showcase where you keep those prehistoric animals is stately. How well stored you have your dinosaurs is admirable. You have a very extensive collection from what I see. My congratulations.

[Gwangi]

Do you store less impressive or potential culling candidates in the drawers and cupboard spaces at the bottom of the cabinet? Seems like there is plenty of room down there.

@triceratops83, those spaces are mostly taken up by PNSO boxes and yes, some figures are in there too. Other portions have my camera equipment and family board games but I would like to make it "collection only" storage.

Thank you @Shonisaurus, stately is a good word to describe it.

[Flaffy]

I really love that vintage-cabinet display.

[Lanthanotus]

Looks like your living room is as large as our whole base area That cabinet is gorgeous, and you can name yourself very lucky for a wife that makes you such for a gift and allows for it placed right where it now is

[triceratops83]

@triceratops83, those spaces are mostly taken up by PNSO boxes and yes, some figures are in there too. Other portions have my camera equipment and family board games but I would like to make it "collection only" storage.

Ah. The drawers also look like a good place to store fossils, like the sliding trays in the back rooms of museums.

[Gwangi]

@triceratops83, those spaces are mostly taken up by PNSO boxes and yes, some figures are in there too. Other portions have my camera equipment and family board games but I would like to make it "collection only" storage.

Ah. The drawers also look like a good place to store fossils, like the sliding trays in the back rooms of museums.

That thought did occur to me, but my fossil collection is displayed elsewhere in another cabinet.

It occurs to me that my cabinet picture might be causing an optical illusion of sorts @Lanthanotus, and others. I should have probably mentioned that the back of it is a mirror. The cabinet is up against a wall that's as wide as it is and that also divides my living room and dining room, it is not standing centrally in a gigantic room.

[Halichoeres]

That's an excellent piece of furniture, really showcases the collection well and no doubt cuts down on dust. The use of what looks like a riser on the center shelf helps keep those little guys from being drowned out.

On another note, I had no idea the SRG Dimetrodon was as old as that! I would have guessed wrong by about two decades.

[suspsy]

I'm loving that display cabinet.

[Gwangi]

Than
That's an excellent piece of furniture, really showcases the collection well and no doubt cuts down on dust. The use of what looks like a riser on the center shelf helps keep those little guys from being drowned out.

On another note, I had no idea the SRG Dimetrodon was as old as that! I would have guessed wrong by about two decades.

Thanks @Halichoeres and @suspsy.

The cabinet definitely helps in the fight against dust, although now I have to contend with child fingerprints. Thankfully it's easier to clean fingerprints off of glass vs. dust from between Stegosaurus plates.

Those risers are repurposed toiletry containers from Target, I think they were $1 each. They do the job well enough. The Dimetrodon is actually from 1947, I was off a couple of years. Those SRG figures would have been some of the first commercially available prehistoric animal collectables ever made. It's the only one I have as they command quite a bit of money on eBay. I found mine in an antique store for $10.
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Since there's so much interest in the cabinet I figured I would post a few more pictures of it from different angels to give a better idea of it's structure and where it's located.





And here it is with the front doors open. The top shelf has my incomplete Invicta collection and my favorite dinosaur figures. The second shelf is a mix of small and oddball stuff with synapsids on the left and other animals that aren't dinosaurs on the right. The bottom shelf is oversized dinosaurs, and all of the dinosaurs that didn't make the cut for the top shelf. If a dinosaur gets removed from the bottom shelf that means it's off to storage.



While I'm here I'll showcase the Bullyland portion of my collection. When I first started collecting, over a decade ago now, I adored Bullyland and their non-dinosaurs in particular. Since that time I've kind of lost interest in the company but still retain the few figures I got way back when. I don't really collect the company anymore but I would still like to find the Arizonasaurus and Mastodonsaurus, and the Edaphosaurus too but I have CollectA's so I can live without it.

Apatosaurus, Liliensternus, and Deinonychus. Interestingly, the Liliensternus has feathers but the Deinonychus does not. I don't display many scaly dromaeosaurus but I keep this one in the cabinet due to its obvious influence from Bob Bakker's classic illustration.


An assortment of non-dinosaurs. Batrachotomus, Chalicotherium, Paratypothorax, Procynosuchus, Protochirotherium, and Pteranodon. I adore all of these and the Pteranodon is still one of my all time favorite pterosaur figures.


And I also have these micro figures (image stolen from my blog review) that for the moment still have a place in the cabinet. I also have a mini T. rex, Velociraptor, and Allosaurus but they're in my daughter's toybox and I'm not going to dig for them.


Special shoutout to @Libraraptor who helped me acquire some of these figures.

[Lanthanotus]

Despite not being a "walk around" cabinet as I had the impression at first, it is nevertheless a very impressive piece of furniture. Bit too crowded for my personal taste, but the range of figures showcased is worth the tightness