Paint or Stain, what color?

[LegoMan1212]

Since getting a table saw, cutting items to exact measurements and straight (vs a circular saw) has been much easier and much more fun too.  I've create the following over the past day or so and am basically down to the final phases (including gluing and nailing, I know the shelves are not straight in the picture).  I'm leaning towards staining this cherry but figured I'd ask the community other preferences to make sure I don't overlook something I may like more.  The majority of mini-figures displayed will be Star Wars.  I also did this as a 4 stud deep to accommodate more mini-figures as it allows for them to be side-by-side if I really wanted to squeeze them in there by simply shifting them up or down a row.

Edited December 29, 2016 by LegoMan1212

[Phil B]

If you stain (which gives a nicer effect) make sure you polyurethane afterwards - you don't want stain stains (sic) on your LEGO

[Guest brickcrazyhouse]

My vote would be for staining cherry.  I'ld also suggest making some for sale and posting here on BC

[MarleyMoose]

Paint it Imperial Gray.

[LegoMan1212]

15 minutes ago, Phil B said:

If you stain (which gives a nicer effect) make sure you polyurethane afterwards - you don't want stain stains (sic) on your LEGO

Of course, I just wish it worked better with 1 coat vs having to do 3 

[LegoMan1212]

26 minutes ago, brickcrazyhouse said:

My vote would be for staining cherry.  I'ld also suggest making some for sale and posting here on BC

I would take a stab that someone out there on the internet has made something just like it and is mass producing them in some way or fashion. We'll see though, can never rule it out.

[nolanfan34]

3 hours ago, MarleyMoose said:

Paint it Imperial Gray.

This is a good idea. I would vote for a gray colored stain. 

[TheOrcKing]

I generally like the look of stained wood over painted any given day but that is just me.
 

5 hours ago, MarleyMoose said:

Paint it Imperial Gray.

[Huskers1236]

Stain for sure.  If your figures are going to predominantly be Clone Troopers or Strormtroopers, I would go dark.  If not and you're looking for a mixture of figures, somewhere in the middle would be my pick.

[jaisonline]

14 hours ago, LegoMan1212 said:

Since getting a table saw, cutting items to exact measurements and straight (vs a circular saw) has been much easier and much more fun too.  I've create the following over the past day or so and am basically down to the final phases (including gluing and nailing, I know the shelves are not straight in the picture).  I'm leaning towards staining this cherry but figured I'd ask the community other preferences to make sure I don't overlook something I may like more.  The majority of mini-figures displayed will be Star Wars.  I also did this as a 4 stud deep to accommodate more mini-figures as it allows for them to be side-by-side if I really wanted to squeeze them in there by simply shifting them up or down a row.

 

 

Dark stain (then 1-2 layers of polyu) and add some small led lights on each shelf.  If you don't intend to add LEDs, then go with a light stain.   I'm a fan of cherry stains but find chestnut to look better when done (from personal experience ). With certain chestnut stains, you still get the cherry look but chest color dries deeper and "pops".

color chart = 

http://www.minwax.com/wood-products/stains/minwax-wood-finish

[jonnyhanukkah]

Are you leaving the front open or putting some sort of acrylic face on it?

[KShine]

I might consider using a lighter shade for the background, and a darker shade for the framing. The colors would depend on the surrounding environment (room they would be in, etc).

[LegoMan1212]

3 hours ago, KShine said:

I might consider using a lighter shade for the background, and a darker shade for the framing. The colors would depend on the surrounding environment (room they would be in, etc).

From all comments above, thanks for them.  I'm leaving the front open as I want the ability to get in and out and also let others "touch" them to give them  a sense of being closer to the object instead using just their eyes to look.  I also want to give access to my son so he doesn't feel like they are untouchable.  Since all the wood pieces are still unattached, I'm going to play around with all one shade vs shading the background lighter, which I'll do by just flipping it over and changing the back to another shade and seeing what looks best.

This is my first project using Pine (as far as staining) as I normally always use Oak and I can already tell that the stain has a much different affect on the wood.  More than likely I already see myself making a 2nd one of these using Oak to match the rest of my basement materials if it is that obvious of a difference.

[LegoMan1212]

Here is the final project with most of the star wars family that I have currently.  I feel pretty good about the top 3 rows with how I put the mini-figures in there. I can fit, if I squeeze them, at least 105 minifigures in here (21 per row). I don't think I'll be doing that though as it would look very tight. The 3rd row has 17 in it while the top 2 have 11.  I'm trying to keep set guys next to each other which is primarily row 3 at this time.  Hope you like it. I plan on making another one, when I get some time as I really enjoyed putting this together and love the results of it.  My wife is even impressed with how exact the rows were with the plates put in.  The bottom area I'm not sure if I like or not, but wanted somewhere smaller to lay in the excess guns, helmets, etc... or just leave it empty.  It's not perfect but it sure as hell does the job and will look great on the wall.  The pictures don't do enough justice to the depth you can see by having the 4 stud deep plates in there.

another with glare on the top from flash

Edited January 10, 2017 by LegoMan1212