How does everyone keep their displayed collection from getting so dusty?

[Bill Blackhurst]

 Hey everyone!
 I am putting some of my collection back on to shelves since we've settled into our new place, & have been wiping, dusting, spraying, washing,.... & thought I would ask the forbiddin question, how do you all keep yours clean, or do you even try ? Please be truthful  'cause you don't have to lie to be cool  ! I look at all of the small items....so many deserving to be tended to, & it seems so overwhelming to keep them as new, protected from all of the dust ! If you clean your items regularly, what soap, & procedures do you use? How often do you dust them, & to what extent? Obviously the best way to display them would be to put all of the items in an enclosed cabinet, or curio cabinet, but that can become as expensive as the items you are displaying ! My personal main weapon of dust attack is a soft barber shave cream brush for light dusting, but it only does so good until it takes more aggressive action to get the items looking like new again, & that can take for what seems like forever . Let me know your procedures for cleaning your collection, keeping in mind cabinets are not an option! I look forward to hearing your advise !

[Little Jo]

Items that went dirty (either by myself or because bought in such a condition on eBay) I clean with my washing machine (cf. for more detailed exposition here):

Items that are on display (mainly my customized figures; all the other stuffed remains boxed in zipper bags) are protected by a display case which keeps away the figures pretty well from any environmental "influence" (also cf. here)

Here the original "template" for the "mini-me" display case:

[Gustavo]

Hm ... Little Jo seems to be focused in Noah's Ark collection
Must be his favourite theme.

 

Hey everyone!
 I am putting some of my collection back on to shelves since we've settled into our new place, & have been wiping, dusting, spraying, washing,.... & thought I would ask the forbiddin question, how do you all keep yours clean, or do you even try ? Please be truthful  'cause you don't have to lie to be cool  ! I look at all of the small items....so many deserving to be tended to, & it seems so overwhelming to keep them as new, protected from all of the dust ! If you clean your items regularly, what soap, & procedures do you use? How often do you dust them, & to what extent? Obviously the best way to display them would be to put all of the items in an enclosed cabinet, or curio cabinet, but that can become as expensive as the items you are displaying ! My personal main weapon of dust attack is a soft barber shave cream brush for light dusting, but it only does so good until it takes more aggressive action to get the items looking like new again, & that can take for what seems like forever . Let me know your procedures for cleaning your collection, keeping in mind cabinets are not an option! I look forward to hearing your advise !

Hello, Bill!

I don't have that much playmo yet, so as to wish to display, but I believe I'll wish to do it, eventually, and I intend to display similarly to Jochen: a thin case with glass covering. (My displaying will be mainly klickys & small bits, furniture, and such.)

I don't have a clue on how to display a timbered house. Maybe I'll have to find out

About finding out, many of our questions are answered already ... Have you taken a look throughout all the "How to" board yet? I found the Spanish method there , when I was puzzled about disassembling the fat klickys ...

I'd recommend as well Jochen's site (linked in his profile). Jochen has one of the tidiest ways of treating his playmo, and he's very didatic in the way he exposes the subjects.

Hope I could help!


Gus

[Martin Milner]

I don't try, it would be hopeless.   

Fortunately we don't vacuum often in our house, so the dust doesn't get stirred up. 

[Gepetto]

I don't have enough out at a time for that to be  a factor, handling them keeps the dust off before they are bagged up again. If I have too much out on display at a time my wife is sure to comment on all the 'extra'  pieces I have that are surely redundant.



Gepetto

[Bill Blackhurst]

I don't try, it would be hopeless.   

Fortunately we don't vacuum often in our house, so the dust doesn't get stirred up. 

Thank you for your honesty Martin  ! My problem is that I have way too much, & feel guilty if I have to banish any of it to storage for an extended period of time  ! My feeling is, why have something if you can't see it  ? The shelves I display my themes on are 4 foot long by 16 inches deep, & that leads to a very time consuming cleaning chore  ! I don"t know how my fire department apparatus, police department vans, & cars, & other theme items would handle going through the washing machine process as recommended by Little Jo  ! I know that my 3551 Suzanne fishing trawler IS NOT going in the washing machine no matter how dusty she gets   !

[Bill Blackhurst]

I don't have enough out at a time for that to be  a factor, handling them keeps the dust off before they are bagged up again. If I have too much out on display at a time my wife is sure to comment on all the 'extra'  pieces I have that are surely redundant.



Gepetto

Hello Gepetto!

It seems that you, & I have a common "reminder"  regarding quantities that are exceptable! Although I keep pushing the envelope to put more on display  ! I tell my wife that once the shelves are mounted there's no going back, & there has to be something put on them, even new shelves  !

[playmofire]

My problem is that I have way too much, & feel guilty if I have to banish any of it to storage for an extended period of time 

I'll PM you my address Bill, then sned me your Playmobil and with it your guilt. 

[Bill Blackhurst]

I'll PM you my address Bill, then sned me your Playmobil and with it your guilt. 

Oh, you are a sly one Mr. Playmofire  ! But rest assured, my guilt is resolved by giving all of these poor Playmobil items a well deserving home !  I will keep you in mind though, should circumstances change !

[Martin Milner]

Thank you for your honesty Martin  ! My problem is that I have way too much, & feel guilty if I have to banish any of it to storage for an extended period of time  ! My feeling is, why have something if you can't see it  ? The shelves I display my themes on are 4 foot long by 16 inches deep, & that leads to a very time consuming cleaning chore  ! I don"t know how my fire department apparatus, police department vans, & cars, & other theme items would handle going through the washing machine process as recommended by Little Jo  ! I know that my 3551 Suzanne fishing trawler IS NOT going in the washing machine no matter how dusty she gets   !

I probably have 90% of my Playmobil stored away  I have my Very Useful Box storage boxes which hold a lot, but not bigger items like buildings and vehicles, and not even all my figures.

My Roman army is currently hogging my one table, though I also have the Red Dragon Rock castle still up on top of a chest of drawers on the other side of my 12" square study. I think it's time to pack that away and put something else there, like my pirate ships.