Glass Display Cases and Painting Impetus

For several years, dating back to when I lived in Washington, DC, I would stare at this glass display case at IKEA and jot the number down so I could pick it up when I got down to the warehouse floor. At least a dozen times I talked myself out of actually buying it. Concerns about having to move it, a hang up I had that it didn't match my other IKEA furniture, worries that the dogs would break it (or my friends!), and whatever else I could come up with consistently prevented me from buying this glass display case. Well around this time last year I finally broke down and bought it. It met with mixed reviews, some people loved it, yet others said it was the final nail in the coffin of me ever getting laid. Truth be told, though my models don't keep me warm at night, seeing them on display and having visitors compliment them fills me with pride. As a mediocre player, my greatest joy in the hobby has always been when people stop at my table at a tournament or when I used to display them in the cabinet at the GW store I managed, and they would compliment my painting. Even I periodically walk past my own models on display and stop to look at them. I'm proud of them and I feel they are worthy of display.

One of the greatest things about owning a display case is that it reinforces the feeling of accomplishment you get when you complete a model. Instead of the finished model going straight into the hard shell figure case for storage in the closet until the next battle, it goes up on display and you get a constant visual reminder of your army growing. This often acts as a catalyst for continued progress. For someone who has trouble staying focused, its just another tool for keeping my eye on the prize.

A few months ago, as I was working on my Redemptors of Golinar Imperial Guard army I quickly discovered that I was basically out of space in my cabinet. I was storing all of my IG tanks in progress in the case so I could maintain a visual reminder of my progress and I had to pull all of my other models out of the display case to make room for them. My beautiful Orks and Angels of Absolution were shelved and put back into cold storage.

Last week I dusted my display case which had gone half empty from various models going to tournaments or getting pulled out of their cases for gaming nights and re-shelved elsewhere. Now nice and clean I started re-organizing the display case and dragging out my completed models for display. This is what actually prompted me to repair Chaplain Vitus - I wanted to get him back in the case.

In the last couple of days I've repaired a few other marines that had fallen into disrepair. I scraped off old glue to make sure the new bonds were solid, and I touched up chipped paint on the metal bits. I've actually repaired and restored 4 models - which I consider a bit of an accomplishment with how much I've been working the last 3 months.

As I've been going through and re-organizing my display case I realized that I had outgrown it. Its overcrowded and an overcrowded case doesn't create much of a demand for completing or repairing models. It was time to get another display case. I actually had 2 days off in a row for the first time this summer, so yesterday I made the 40 minute trek to IKEA up in Schaumburg and I got another DETOLF display case to match my original and not surprisingly, I'm exceedingly anxious to get to the painting table for a few hours today to help fill it. Its funny how these things work.