Adults in toyland

Photo: Martha Williams

Action figures
Whether they’re Hasbro original Star Wars figures or Bart and Lisa Simpson, these works of modern art were meant to be seen, not packed into Rubbermaid in the garage.

Lefkovitz puzzled over how to display her and Endicott’s collection of miniature figurines, then came across an economical and DIY knickknack shelf for displaying them (merwing.livejournal.com/ 34846.html) while surfing the Internet. The shelf is simply a yardstick supported by strips of ribbon that are tacked to the wall. Lefkovitz hot-glues the ribbon to the stick to keep it from slipping, and voilà—a minishelf for miniatures.

Heisner, a DIYer through and through, is also a collector of Japanese “vinyl,” those limited-edition designer creatures Rotofugi carries. In his Wicker Park basement, he custom-built his own cabinet with removable glass to show off the figurines—he suggests heading to local lumber centers like Wood World (2460 W George St, 773-267-3800) for hardwoods such as mahogany or walnut, which are luxe compared to the typical pine and birch that Home Depot (locations throughout the city, homedepot.com) stocks.

For a modern look, Kerr of Rotofugi suggests IKEA’s floating shelves (Lack wall shelf, $14.99–$24.99, ikea.com) or CB2’s cube wall shelf ($14.95, cb2.com). At home, he has an Asian-style red lacquered cabinet from Crate and Barrel to show off his pieces, but knows that for most collectors, the choice is clear. “The de facto standard for the toy collector is the Detolf case from IKEA—it’s a clear glass tower case that’s, like, 60 bucks,” he says. “When you’re spending all your money on toys, you need to save on the case.”

For some, the sheer volume of a collection demands a lot of surface area. Chicago artist Wirsum collects a lot of things: metal toys, X-rated plaster figures, bottle-cap figurine ashtrays, antique cameras, rubber action figures and much more. When friends visit, “they are overwhelmed by the density of stuff. It has a joyful component in that it refers to play and a childhood element,” he says. Wirsum has gone with the improvised approach, which he likens to an urban landscape’s randomness—“It’s kind of like different housing structures from different time periods: the new rehab job, the condo and then something from the 1890s thrown in together”—in part because his collection is so large, and also because he enjoys the accidental juxtapositions of the often ungrouped items. He sticks to thrift shops near his house where he often finds display furniture as old and worn as his treasures. He has a custom-made glass case, but he’ll consider any available surface for showing off his toys—even the curtain valances near the ceiling are used as exhibition space.

Photo: Martha Williams

Trophies
Diving, math team, three-time regional Pinewood Derby champion—yes, you excelled at competition in your younger years and brought home the bling to prove it. Remind visitors to your crib that you were a total badass by showing off the heavy metal you acquired. Heisner suggests using angle irons—metal- bent at right angles in an L shape—for shelving to give trophies a modern edge. “It can look industrial but clean,” he says. “You can get [the metal piece] at a welder’s shop—buy a piece of steel and have them cut it for you. You can make four shelves out of one piece for $100 and just buy the hardware at Home Depot. Paint with iron paint [like Benjamin Moore’s IronClad] or a clear coat; it’s got a bluish sort of black look to it. Worst case, you take a file and clean up the edges.”

Dolls
Kirkman grew up in Montana, where her father owned a drugstore. Every year, she’d get a few dolls as gifts, often limited editions produced by Revlon and given away by sales reps who worked with her dad. She ended up with an extensive collection that includes a doll made in Germany in 1776.

Her doll display solutions emphasize preservation—certain dolls are fragile and can fall apart if exposed to the elements—as well as adaptive reuse of materials and furniture.

“If you are going to display a collection, you want to get them behind glass, something that’s going to preserve them but has ventilation,” she says. “I had a steamer trunk and I used that to display the dolls, just by turning it over on the side. I’ve also taken a big old trunk that opens from the top, had a piece of glass made, put two or three antique dolls inside and used that as a coffee table. I can display them, and the glass covering them protects them.” A little bit creepy perhaps, but that’s collecting for you.