Shelf/showcase unit for my sets?

[Metal91]

Hello,

I recently I bought an ikea shelf unit to display my sets, but it is not large/deep enough and dust is a huge problem in my flat.

So I was thinking of getting a proper showcase unit but I don't know where to start. I looked around a bit, but most showcases are too small for the main set (pirates of barracuda bay) or can only fit one set, and some are insanely expensive (how come 4 plexiglass rectangles go for 200€+?).

I have a precise project in mind of how I want to display my sets: 

1st level: pirates sets (21322, 70409, 70410, 70411, 70412)

2nd level: UFO sets (6818, 6829, 6900, 6915, 6975, 6979)

3rd level: Desert sets (5958, 5978, 5988)

The shelf where the sets sit should be at least 120 cm in length and 35 in depth, and I'd like a plexiglass cover to avoid dust accumulation. Very simple in theory, but very hard to come by in practice. I tried to find some ikea combo to accomodate my needs, but I can't customize the measurements. Can you give me directions of where to look or who to ask? Also, if you have suggestions on how to better display them (mine was just an idea), you are very welcome. 

[1963maniac]

Yea, plexiglass is has a prohibitive cost. We were gonna make a plexiglass enclosure for a 3D printer. We're thwarted too. I hope someone out there has a viable solution. I wonder if glass is cheaper for a deep bookshelf.

[howitzer]

I believe the only budget-friendly answer here is doing it by yourself. Of course this assumes that you already have the necessary tools etc. to build something like this, though those tools aren't complicated or expensive (handheld power drill with some drillbits and a saw gets you pretty far in here.)

I once built a jewelry display case from stuff like wooden board, table legs, hinges, etc. from a hardware store and it had glass doors from Ikea. I got the doors first, in order to get the measurements for the board etc. and the rest was just a bit of sawing, gluing, painting and screws. It looked very nice and even had wiring for LED strip lights routed invisibly through one of the (tubular steel) legs.

In another case I built similar display case into an old bookshelf, first by taking out the individual shelf boards and then I got some glass doors (again, from Ikea) and as they didn't fit exactly I added some wooden board in the middle to fill the gap between the doors, which doubled as a place to install locks for the doors.

Yet another thing was a protective case for polishing station, which didn't need to look nice. So I just took some scrap pieces of plywood, cut them with a jigsaw and screwed them together. The top I made from polycarbonate glass which I bought from plastics store scraps bin for a few euros.

[Man with beard]

Those are some very cool sets! I don't know if I have any useful advice to give, but I'm curious whether you are planning to acquire more Lego in the future? You may want room to expand the collection...