Review: Wicked Brick wall mounted minifig display cases
Posted by Huw,
Last summer I reviewed one of Wicked Bricks' wall mounted display cases which had just been introduced at the time.
Since that review the range has been expanded to encompass a huge range of different sizes that can accommodate anything from 4 to 150 figures.
I recently managed to acquire a set of Vidiyo series 2 bandmates which meant I had a near-complete collection of figures from the failed musical theme, so I thought I'd display them in the largest case the company sent me to review, which is 11-wide and 4-high.
I think they look spectacular in it...
This particular one is 35x33cm and 7cm deep. The shelves are 7cm apart and figures are spaced 3cm apart, so it will accommodate the vast majority of minifigures.
The sides and front are held together with small metal cubes and screws, which does make it slightly awkward to access the figures, although you could leave most of the screws off the front to make it a bit easier.
The back is manufactured from three sheets of black Perspex which has holes in two of the sheets to facilitate hanging from screws on the wall.
The clear Perspex shelves are fitted with genuine LEGO 1x1 round plates on which the minifigures are mounted securely.
The 44 Vidiyo figures look particularly good in it: their bright, vivid colours really stand out against the black background.
The cases are available in any width from 4 to 25, and in any height from 1 to 6 shelves, so there will be a case available to fit exactly the number of figures you want to display.
Price wise, they start at £12.99 for a 4-wide by 1-high, right up to £158.99 for a 25x6, which accommodates 150 figures. The 11x4 one shown costs £52.99. Not cheap, but then quality never is.
They are an excellent solution to keeping your figures safe, secure and, most importantly, visible.
You can view the entire range at the Wicked Brick website.
Thanks to Wicked Brick for sending the case for review.
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40 comments on this article
Looks quite nice, seems a bit expensive.
What other options are available for displaying minifigs on a wall?
I've got quite a load of the collectable minifigs and for the future, i'm interested in dust-free wall cases that are fairly cheap since i'll be needing quite a lot.
Fantastic! I was looking for exactly this type of product, but was struggling to find the proper number of slots. Shot glass displays always had bigger slots for taller glasses that ruined the display, or the ones I could find didn't accommodate all the Vidiyo minifigs.
This is all of them right?
I had similar display case that I design, order parts to be cut from fiberglass and glue them together (it was like vertical drawer). One thing I forget to make holes for hanging/fixing/anchoring (I had it on my table beside a wall), so when we had earthquake last year it fall off on floor and broke :'( Good thing minifigs were not in.
This was mine: All transparent, so you could look at the back of minifigs too. It was high 10 shelves/rows. Each row had place for plates with, in total, 60 pins, that is for 10 to 15 minifigs in a row (6 or 4 pins for one minifig). It could fit bigfig and shelves were shorter in front so I cold add brackets and on "name tag" tiles. I bought 2x4 tiles (two rows of letters), so it can fit with 15 minifigs in a row.
I find lacking on this shelf: back is not transparent and shorter shelves with, at least 2 pins, for brackets to put tiles on
@Huw But where do you place the last two Vidiyo minifigs? ;-p
(Edit: corrected spelling error of your name. Sorry!)
@Jacopyright said:
" @Hew But where do you place the last two Vidiyo minifigs? ;-p"
Nowhere -- I don't own them. If I did, I'd buy a 12x4 or something.
I really like the Wicked Brick cases I have and have been considering these for minifigs. One thing this would benefit from is magnets on the front panel rather than screws which would make it easier to get at the figures and still hold the case closed.
They are great cases - pity the lead time is so long. I ordered a couple during Black Friday, as Christmas presents - they still haven't arrived...
@Huw said:
" @Jacopyright said:
" @Hew But where do you place the last two Vidiyo minifigs? ;-p"
Nowhere -- I don't own them. If I did, I'd buy a 12x4 or something."
It is confusing how you have the Shark Guitarist but not the other two figs from the same set! Especially with how the two missing are Squid Drummer and Mermaid Violinist, two great minifigs as well!
Far too expensive for what you get. I know how cheap perspex is, so I'm guessing that its the lego studs that are pushing the price up on this.
@Huw It'd be nice if we could get some sort of comparison article of various different minifig display from different companies. Mainly so we could have a single resource of what alternatives are availible for people.
@Phoenixio said:
" @Huw said:
" @Jacopyright said:
" @Hew But where do you place the last two Vidiyo minifigs? ;-p"
Nowhere -- I don't own them. If I did, I'd buy a 12x4 or something."
It is confusing how you have the Shark Guitarist but not the other two figs from the same set! Especially with how the two missing are Squid Drummer and Mermaid Violinist, two great minifigs as well!"
I bought 3 figs on BrickLink from sets I didn't own just to fill the case.
Nice but a bit expensive.
When you factor in the shipping costs to the USA, Wicked Brick products are far too expensive. My son displays his Star Wars ships using monorail supports, which we find in bulk at two local stores that specialize in the secondary market for LEGO. For minifigs, we have a stud wall made with Creative QT adhesive base plates. We insert the minifig stands perpendicularly between the studs of the baseplates and can fit hundreds of minifigs on a 3'x3' wall.
The shelf looks fantastic and the collection looks very cohesive. That is a really good set of figures to use with that particular display case. Thanks for sharing it..
Do you insert the figs through the front? do the whole front come off?
Interested to see how easy it is to access and rearrange?
@nerick9006 said:
"Do you insert the figs through the front? do the whole front come off?
Interested to see how easy it is to access and rearrange?"
Huws photos are all taken without the front cover by the look of it and he does comment that leaving some screws out of the front panel will make access easier
Failed theme??
Just a camera artifact that the second shelf up is bowed/deflected down in the middle pretty visibly in this promo shot?
Nice collection of bandmates.
I have a large frame that I bought a few years ago that was reviewed on brickset. Can’t remember who it was by thought. It was white mdf with a Perspex door. It holds loads of figures, maybe around 16 sets. Maybe Huw can remember and mention it here? It’s a very different product than this Perspex one so could give people a different option.
@AndyB1 said:
" @nerick9006 said:
"Do you insert the figs through the front? do the whole front come off?
Interested to see how easy it is to access and rearrange?"
Huw's photos are all taken without the front cover by the look of it and he does comment that leaving some screws out of the front panel will make access easier"
Correct. It was not possible to avoid reflections in the front panel so photos of it in place looked terrible.
@Jedijon said:
"Just a camera artifact that the second shelf up is bowed/deflected down in the middle pretty visibly in this promo shot?"
Probably -- I can't see what you mean but in any case the shelves slot into the back panel so there's no chance of them bowing.
@meesajarjar72 said:
"I have a large frame that I bought a few years ago that was reviewed on brickset. Can’t remember who it was by thought. It was white mdf with a Perspex door. It holds loads of figures, maybe around 16 sets. Maybe Huw can remember and mention it here? It’s a very different product than this Perspex one so could give people a different option."
I have three of them, housing series 1 to 21. I'll see if I can locate the review.
@Phoenixio said:
"Fantastic! I was looking for exactly this type of product, but was struggling to find the proper number of slots. Shot glass displays always had bigger slots for taller glasses that ruined the display, or the ones I could find didn't accommodate all the Vidiyo minifigs.
This is all of them right?"
Michael's often has super good deals on shadow boxes. You could get 4 of them for the price of 1 of these
@wilcosu35 said:
"Looks quite nice, seems a bit expensive.
What other options are available for displaying minifigs on a wall?
I've got quite a load of the collectable minifigs and for the future, i'm interested in dust-free wall cases that are fairly cheap since i'll be needing quite a lot."
If you want them cheap, you have to make them yourself. No manufacturer would offer such cases for peanuts; look at the LEGO cases themselves - they cost an arm and a leg!
People know LEGO is expensive, they know fanatics pay loads on popular or rare items - a simple brick or a three-part minifig -, so manufacturers cater to such customers.
Luckily, I do not need such displays - I want my minifigs in my city. But then, indeed: I do not buy to collect, I buy to play.
I don't think these are expensive at all. Compared to the official Lego display cases, for example.
These cases represent less than £1 per minifigure to display. I can't think of another solution for better value, without making your own.
@Huw is it easy, if possible, to add your own background images to these cases?
@The_Sly_Fox said:
"I don't think these are expensive at all. Compared to the official Lego display cases, for example.
These cases represent less than £1 per minifigure to display. I can't think of another solution for better value, without making your own.
@Huw is it easy, if possible, to add your own background images to these cases? "
Possible, but not easy. You'd need to cut slots in it to accomodate the shelves.
It always strikes me as odd that people are willing to pay an arm and a leg for minifigs but then not want to spend a little more on a decent way to display them. There's no point owning them to just keep them tucked away in storage boxes, IMO.
I tested buying the 150 case just to store my LotR and Hobbit figures since it can hold them all with some room to spare. The cases are top notch but you have to do a lot of peeling; don't mind the assembly though. Only criticism is you can't fit bigfigs and they are a little expensive to ship across the pond (to Canada).
I've got a few stands and smaller display cases from WickedBrick, and would certainly recommend!
Certainly expensive but the quality is top notch and I've always felt it was worth it.
If I've spent X amount on sets/ minifigures, it's worth spending that bit extra to ensure they are displayed perfectly.
I prefer by far the black and white displays of digsforfigs, they look much better and are cheaper
Conceptually, I like the overall aesthetic, I don’t even mind the screws. Price? While shipping to the US is prohibitive I think the core price is solid.
I’d pay more, in fact, if the etch lines could be improved, because now they look a bit melty. The striations along the plastic cuts…would want those improved. .
I don't know if it is accurate, but when I calculated shipping it said for the East Coast that one of the largest cases would ship for 20 quid to the US.
If I were to spend $215 plus tax on the case, $25 in shipping doesn't seem so bad.
@Altair1970 said:
"I prefer by far the black and white displays of digsforfigs, they look much better and are cheaper"
Thanks for bringing that to my attention, didn't knew about that brand!
Actually, @Huw, do you guys know of other solutions currently out there?
@Huw said:
" It always strikes me as odd that people are willing to pay an arm and a leg for minifigs but then not want to spend a little more on a decent way to display them. There's no point owning them to just keep them tucked away in storage boxes, IMO."
I think I'm in the minority here, but these displays always remind me of the "Think Tank" prison in The Lego Movie. It's as though all these great characters are trapped in static displays and can never actually *do* anything.
Ideally, they would be interacting, doing what they do best, all within a built environment. A handful of these in a brick-built amphitheater performing for an audience of minifigs would be more interesting than row upon row of immobilized characters that resembled an array of pinned beetles.
Again, that's my opinion, and fans who see it as a Pokemon-style "catch and display" challenge have every right to enjoy the hobby as they choose.
@tne328 said:
" @Huw said:
" It always strikes me as odd that people are willing to pay an arm and a leg for minifigs but then not want to spend a little more on a decent way to display them. There's no point owning them to just keep them tucked away in storage boxes, IMO."
I think I'm in the minority here, but these displays always remind me of the "Think Tank" prison in The Lego Movie. It's as though all these great characters are trapped in static displays and can never actually *do* anything.
Ideally, they would be interacting, doing what they do best, all within a built environment. A handful of these in a brick-built amphitheater performing for an audience of minifigs would be more interesting than row upon row of immobilized characters that resembled an array of pinned beetles.
Again, that's my opinion, and fans who see it as a Pokemon-style "catch and display" challenge have every right to enjoy the hobby as they choose.
"
Space gets to be an issue with that line of thinking, but I understand the point you’re making. One thing I enjoy about the official LEGO cases is that there is just enough room to build tiny vignettes for a minifigure. Gets cramped and you can’t do it as cool for some as for others, but I like that as a middle ground compromise between ‘environment’ and ‘space efficiency’. Would like to see other cases that have cubicle style separations and variations.
As for the shipping calculations, I just did one for the Hot Toys standard case. Unit cost of $60.88 US. Shipping cost of $27.04 US through DHL.
Couple of things that make this prohibitive. I need more than one case, for my LEGO and Hot Toys. Also, DHL is not a carrier I would like to use.
I’m not saying this isn’t a good option for other buyers, it’s just not an option that can work for me.
Any idea if these cases have UV protective coating / resistance ?
@Librarian1976 said:
"...For minifigs, we have a stud wall made with Creative QT adhesive base plates. We insert the minifig stands perpendicularly between the studs of the baseplates and can fit hundreds of minifigs on a 3'x3' wall."
But.. but.. that's an illegal building technique! You monster!
It looks great! The theme is maybe a financial failure but I love the minifigs!
Question about the display case: How does it fare with big figs like LOTR troll?
Thank you in advance!
@Altair1970 said:
"I prefer by far the black and white displays of digsforfigs, they look much better and are cheaper"
I was looking for this exact type display case but could not find one and no search I used led me to digsforfigs.
Wish I came across this before ordering what I did
@PaudieFett said:
" @Altair1970 said:
"I prefer by far the black and white displays of digsforfigs, they look much better and are cheaper"
I was looking for this exact type display case but could not find one and no search I used led me to digsforfigs.
Wish I came across this before ordering what I did"
I have purchased the displays digsforfigs makes, after reading about them here on brickset (the site was called displayframes.uk back then) I love them because of their size and flexability. They fit (7x16) 112 minifigs, but if you want you can build a second level behind the first row of figs and fit 224 figs. The shelves are 6 studs deep, so this is easy to do. Also you can create your own brickbuilt scenes. My recommendation would be their display cases!
How about fitting a Mesusa from CMF Serie 10?
https://www.sfdisplay.com/collections/mirror-backed-display-cases/products/large-mirror-backed-and-7-glass-shelves-shot-glasses-display-case-cabinet
https://www.sfdisplay.com/collections/lego-figures-display-cases/products/7-adjustable-shelves-mirror-back-lego-men-minifigures-legos-figurines-display-case-cabinet
I found one of these display cases for $25 at Savers. Just ordered 2 more for $99 each ($40 off) from the first link above. The second link is the same case, but $10 more expensive because it is populated with LEGO on the website. These are deep enough to handle stuff like COL382, and open from the front for easy access.
@ra226 said:
" @Librarian1976 said:
"...For minifigs, we have a stud wall made with Creative QT adhesive base plates. We insert the minifig stands perpendicularly between the studs of the baseplates and can fit hundreds of minifigs on a 3'x3' wall."
But.. but.. that's an illegal building technique! You monster!
"
I used to think so too, but in 2020 I learned that it is not an illegal technique. The 4L sides of the minifigure stands do not have studs on them and those sides therefore have the property of a tile, which is perfectly legal to insert perpendicularly between studs. For proof of this legality, see step 8 (page 22) in the instructions for 10272 Old Trafford - Manchester United in which two 'Panel 1 x 2 x 1 with Rounded Corners and 2 Sides' are inserted perpendicularly between studs to create soccer goals. This element does not have studs and therefore also has the property of a tile. The illegality that you are referring to is a technique whereby one inserts a *plate* perpendicularly between studs. Jamie Berard gave a presentation on this once, in which he demonstrated that this is *clearly* illegal as the receiving brick has smaller dimensions than the brick connected to it. You can see his presentation at https://www.hellobricks.com/pdf/jamieberard-brickstress-bf06.pdf.
As for your claim of me being a monster, set the Monster Fighters on me and lets tangle! :-)