Model Re-model
This article was featured in the July / August 2010 edition
of The Car Room
magazine, and is reprinted here with their permission.
Model Re-model
Somewhere in the not-so-wilds of Naperville, Illinois,
veteran car model collector Ron Abdoo was faced with a delicious dilemma: he
simply had too many model cars to display.
"I bought my first model, a (1:24 Franklin Mint) 1935 Mercedes 500SL Special
Roadster, about 25 years ago", says Ron, "and I've been collecting ever since,
to a total of about 280 models. These are mostly Franklin and Danbury Mint,
with some GMC, GMP and Highway 61. As the cars kept coming, space got tighter,
until critical mass was reached.
Enter local builder Marty Brummel (M. K. Brummel, Inc. / 630-554-1600),
who eyeballed Ron's basement and came up with a plan that would not only provide
a comfortable place to enjoy the Abdoo collection, but also conceal the kind of
things usually found in the unfinished areas of a house like Ron's.
"Marty came up with the idea to build seven cabinets into a false wall, which
would give us a lot of display space. It would also cover up the pipes, with
minimal loss of living area. Each cabinet is lighted, (and has) adjustable
glass shelves and a (mirror) back."
Other lighting is focused on the living space, and the clean, pleasing look of
the room is accented by free-standing displays for single models, tasteful
wooden accents, and a lighted, professionally-built case for Ron's 1:12 cars.
Separate switches, neutral colors, and the placement of the cases make the room
a dramatic place to enter, and a tough place to leave.
That false wall - and everything in and around it - is truly cool. Thanks for
sharing, Ron.
Feel free to e-mail us
or call 630.554.1600.
(Because e-mail uses a popup window, allow popups on this site if you wish to e-mail us.)