Light is the expensive one
UV fades pigment, and it does it slowly enough that you do not notice until you move a figure and find a bright patch where it used to stand. Direct sun through a window is the worst case; a few months is enough to visibly shift a pale colour.
The fix is a shelf that never gets direct sun, or a film on the glass. UV filter film costs a few pounds for a window and blocks most of the damaging spectrum. If you want to light a display, use LED — LEDs emit almost no UV, unlike halogen.
Dust is the abrasive one
Dust is not just ugly. It is mildly abrasive, and every time you wipe a dusty figure dry you are moving grit across the paint. Over a few years that dulls a matte finish permanently.
Two rules. Blow before you wipe — a camera blower or a hairdryer on cool, from a distance. And use a soft brush rather than a cloth, working from the top down so you are not pushing dust into crevices.
If dust is a constant problem, a closed cabinet with a seal is cheaper than replacing figures. A glass door with a magnetic catch and a foam strip is enough.
Heat and weight
Resin and vinyl both soften before they visibly deform. A shelf above a radiator, or a windowsill that catches afternoon sun, is the classic mistake — the figure leans slightly, and then it stays leaning.
Weight matters more than people expect. A 20cm resin figure can be 800g or more. A glass shelf rated for 5kg is fine for six of them and not fine for fifteen. Check the shelf rating, not the bracket rating.
The cheap setup that works
- Risers: acrylic risers of 5cm and 10cm turn one shelf into three visual tiers for a few pounds.
- Never stack: a figure resting on another figure marks both.
- Keep the box. Flat-packed boxes take a fraction of the space and roughly double resale value.
- Leave a gap at the back. Figures pressed against a wall trap moisture.
- Humidity under 60%. A cheap hygrometer costs less than one figure and tells you whether you have a problem.
Questions people actually ask
Do I need a glass cabinet?
No. A shelf out of direct sun with occasional dusting is fine. A sealed cabinet helps if you live somewhere dusty or humid, but it is a convenience, not a requirement.
Should I keep the boxes?
Yes, flat-packed. Original packaging roughly doubles resale value on collectible figures and costs almost nothing to store once flattened.
Can I clean a figure with alcohol?
No. Alcohol strips matte finishes and printed detail. Use a soft brush and, if needed, a barely damp cloth with water only.
Where this comes from. Everything above is based on handling these products ourselves — packing orders, checking batches, answering the emails that follow. Where a number appears, it's a number we measured or a published figure we can point to. If something here is wrong or out of date, tell us and we'll fix it.
Next step. If you are starting a shelf, our figure range lists height and weight per piece, which is what you need to work out whether your shelf will hold them.