Wicked Brick Vario display cases
Posted by Huw,
Wicked Brick, the UK-based manufacturer of high quality cases and other display solutions for LEGO and other collectables, has sent us a few of its latest products to review.
First up are these display cases from its Vario range, which are designed for housing 32x32 and 48x48 square baseplates, so are ideal for displaying your MOCs.
They come in a variety of heights, from 90mm, as shown here, right up to 442mm, with prices ranging from £23.99 for the smallest, the 32x32 stud 90mm high, to £57.99 for a 48x48 stud 442mm high. Note that the baseplates are not supplied with them.
They are shipped flat-packed in seven pieces. The base is made from two layers of 5mm black Perspex held together with magnets. The upper layer is slightly smaller than the lower, forming a step all the way round.
The clear acrylic top and sides are precision cut to fit together very snugly, and to ensure they stay together when moved about. Tongues on their bottom edges fit into corresponding slots in the base.
The cases with higher sides have corners that are held together with small metal cubes, like those on the Land Rover case we looked at last year. The corners on the lower ones are simply held together with friction, and look very neat.
As we have come to expect from Wicked Brick, these are very high-quality products manufactured to an exacting standard. They provide a practical and attractive means of displaying your favourite models or MOCs dust-free.
These, and cases custom-sized for specific models can all be seen and purchased at Wicked Brick's website. International shipping via DHL is available.
Here's a link to our reviews of the company's other products.
Later in the week I'll take a look a stands for displaying minifigs on the wall.
Thanks to Wicked Brick for supplying the cases for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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22 comments on this article
Very cool
Doesn't look bad.
Just keep in mind, as it looks like now (no trade deal in sight for now), EU customers will likely have to end up paying extra VAT on orders over €22, after January 1st 2021 due to Brexit.
Awesome!
I need one... 3 times as big.
Wait...
Is that an actual LEGO (with the logo on the studs) dark pink 32x32 baseplate?
Really tempted to try the Vario display stands, has anyone here tried to use multiple vario stands for larger vehicles? I'm guessing you'd have to get lucky with the stud spacing to get a dynamic/angled effect. The dynamic stand for 76139 is brilliant but a bunch of single-purpose stands will start to get pricey.
@LegoSonicBoy said:
"Is that an actual LEGO (with the logo on the studs) dark pink 32x32 baseplate?"
Hasn't showed up in any sets as far as I'm aware, but good old Bricklink has a sales record:
https://www.bricklink.com/catalogPG.asp?P=3811&colorID=71
$10 to $20 to have a Magenta baseplate of your own!
I have 5, I think, and I believe they came from a LUGBULK order some time ago.
@Galaxy12_Import said:
" @LegoSonicBoy said:
"Is that an actual LEGO (with the logo on the studs) dark pink 32x32 baseplate?"
Hasn't showed up in any sets as far as I'm aware, but good old Bricklink has a sales record:
https://www.bricklink.com/catalogPG.asp?P=3811&colorID=71
$10 to $20 to have a Magenta baseplate of your own!"
Ah, foiled by the lighting once again. So it's magenta! And you know what? That doesn't sound like a bad price at all, especially if I were to build a Systarian Jungle (Plantimal planet) diorama. Sadly I didn't collect any of those sets.
@Huw said:
"I have 5, I think, and I believe they came from a LUGBULK order some time ago."
Does LUGBULK inform in advance what sort of elements they have available for order? That's really fascinating that there are some elements exclusive to that programme.
Yeet. Don't think I'll get any, but cool.
I wish there was a US based manufacturer of Display cases like Wicked Brick. Shipping from the UK is crazy.
@LegoSonicBoy said:
"Does LUGBULK inform in advance what sort of elements they have available for order? That's really fascinating that there are some elements exclusive to that programme."
Yes. Join your local LUG to participate!
Having said that, it's uncommon for parts not in sets to be available in LUGBULK so they might have come from elsewhere. I know I've had them a while.
@Millennium_Bricks
"I wish there was a US based manufacturer of Display cases like Wicked Brick. Shipping from the UK is crazy."
Me too. I bought three of their display stands a few years back and the shipping from the UK to the US made it very unlikely that I would buy anything from them again, despite the quality of the product.
@Snazzy_Bricks said:
"Where's the pink baseplate from?"
Read... the... comments!!!
@Snazzy_Bricks said:
" @560heliport said:
" @Snazzy_Bricks said:
"Where's the pink baseplate from?"
Read... the... comments!!!"
Hehe, sorry :D
I was in a tad of a rush"
A rush to go get a pink baseplate, as soon as you found out where? "Sorry, housemates, I gotta go get a pink baseplate!" "Now?!?" :)
It's-a me, Vario!
Was expecting a third-party hack for the Mario series.
@ALEGOMan said:
"These really should cost almost as much as the actual set, way too expensive, i bet the material isn't even pricey to get and make urself"
Having built very similar cases myself, I can tell you that unfortunately the material is actually quite expensive - at least if you go for the „good stuff“ (i.e. UV-resistant cast acrylic sheets), which I‘m assuming these are made of.
Manufacturing wise you need a decent laser cutter, which again is not exactly cheap and needs a good amount of space.
Then there is also packaging and logistics to take into account, even if they are comparatively simple flat-packs.
In summary I think that the price these are offered at is reasonable, though expensive as is often the case for premium product.
On a side note: because the acrylic is expensive, most of my dustproof Lego displays only have one or two sides made from it, with the others being wood (or wall, for shelves) - not quite as fancy as these acrylic cubes, but much more affordable when we‘re talking 100s of sets.
Just what I needed! I just don't know what size I actually need.
@ALEGOMan said:
"These really should cost almost as much as the actual set, way too expensive, i bet the material isn't even pricey to get and make urself"
If you're suggesting that you or someone you know can source this material and manufacture it to this level of quality while covering your design, marketing, tool, and other related costs, still leaving yourself room for a profit, all while charging less money than this company, then hop to it! I'll be your first customer.
It's also worth checking out their website as the far larger display cases for Star Wars UCS and other larger builds may be more useful for AFOLs and priced in the range at £50 to £90. There are other more local sellers around the world with similar display cases. My only concern is not 100% keen on building display cases from flat pack, rather collect from store pre-made if possible.
@LegoSonicBoy said:
"Wait...
Is that an actual LEGO (with the logo on the studs) dark pink 32x32 baseplate?"
I'm thinking it could be from their Friends line.
Spoiler alert:
Way too expensive!
Case + shipping + VAT + EU change = 100€