Introduction: Lego Head Minifigurine Display Shelf

By Fixit Fingers YouTube Channel
About: I am a self-taught woodworker and DIY maker in Sydney, Australia. I've been documenting my learning and project on YouTube since 2018. Come join me as I muck around in my tiny workshop and share what I learn a…

I made this display for a friend at work as he is a mad Lego minifig collector. As minifigs are all roughly the same size, the overall proportions and shelf spacing could be dictated by their typical dimensions. This shelf will hold at least 50-100 minifigs depending on how tightly you pack them in. I'd call this an intermediate-level woodworking project, as the curved wall design requires kerf bending, which can be challenging but I will explain in some detail during the Instructable.

In addition to these written plans you can watch a short video of the build on my YouTube channel that will give you further visual aid. There is no commentary and as during filming I was designing on the fly, the process journaled below is a more optimised version of the video build, having learnt from my mistakes the first time around! Due to my tiny workshop, a one-car garage that has a car living in it most of the time, I mostly use handheld power tools and was still able to knock this out in a weekend.

Supplies

This shelf will end up painted in the classic shade of yellow you would expect a minifig head to be so I was able to use offcuts I found lying around my shop. Namely, some 6mm (¼") MDF for the backer board and some awkward thin strips of 12mm (½) marine plywood for the walls and shelves. The choice of backer board material is not critical, but as we will be kerf bending the side walls, avoid cheaper plywood as they can delaminate easily. Choose a good quality ply, MDF or even solid pine, whatever you have access to in the correct dimensions you’d like to use up. 

Quick Tip: This was designed in metric, so the imperial conversions have been rounded to nice figures. However, nothing in this project needs to be exact. We will be using relative measurements rather than absolute ones for the most part.

Materials

Minimum Tools Required

Alternative / Optional Tools to Make Life Easier

(NB: The links above will take you to Amazon where you can source some of the gear I use if you can't find it locally. It won't cost you any more than normal Amazon, but purchasing via that link gives me a small commission and supports my work. Thanks!)

Step 1: Prepare the Backer Board & Template

Cut your 6mm(¼") backing board to 480x440mm (19x17½"). These are the dimensions of the template I used. You will want to print the template out full size on paper or if you are feeling particularly artistic, attempt to replicate it freehand on your backer board. I am terrible at working out the correct radius of curves for such things so taping together a few bits of printed paper and sticking it to the backer board instead worked best for me.

Step 2: Prepare the Sides & Shelves

Rip enough of your 12mm (½") thick stock at 35mm (1 3/8") wide to produce the 6 shelves, the 2 short top and bottom walls, and the 2 longer side walls that will be kerf bent. Then cross-cut the material to rough lengths as per the cut list below. All of these pieces will be slightly longer than needed for now to make fitting them to the template easier later on. Save a few offcuts too, we’ll need those for the very short joining pieces and for testing our kerf bends. 

Rough Cutting List (Slightly Oversized)

6x Shelves at 430mm (17") each

1x Top Wall at 220mm (8¾”)

1x Bottom Wall at 260mm (10¼”)

2x Side Walls at 500mm (19¾”) each


Quick Tip: If you are using plywood for the walls, try to ensure the outermost layer of the material has longitudinal grain. The offcuts I used had cross grain and this caused some issues during the kerf bending later on. If you don't have a table saw or mitre saw, check out my Instructable that has a "Thin Strip Ripping Jig" & "Cross-Cut Jig" for your circular saw here.

Step 3: Kerf Bending the Side Walls

Kerf bending is the process of removing material from one side of your stock using the width, or kerf, of your blade at intervals, but leaving just enough material that when folded in on itself the wood bends rather than snaps. The closer together and more numerous your cuts, the tighter the curve you can usually achieve. Its main disadvantage is aesthetic, you will be left with triangular voids in the edges of your stock, but in many cases such as in this build, those voids can be hidden or filled.

You will need a decent amount of trial and error here. Every wood you use will have a different reaction to being kerf bent and some are more suitable than others. The kerf of your blade also plays an important role and will vary from tool to tool. While we can calculate the perfect spacing and number of cuts you’ll need to achieve a specific bend, the depth of cut required in each type of material will be a matter of conducting test bends first, so fine-tune the blade depth until you are happy with the result before committing to your final workpieces. 

Quick Tip: If you are using plywood a good place to start your depth trial is by trying to just leave the outermost ply layer. I had success with this. Also, don’t forget the spacer behind your workpiece if using a sliding mitre saw so your cut has even depth end to end.

I used a free online calculator (www.blocklayer.com/kerf-spacing) and the trenching setting on my sliding mitre saw for this step, though a table saw or circular saw will also work. You may need to play with these settings, but the ones that worked for me with 12mm (½") marine plywood are in the pictures of this step.

Once you are happy with your test bends, start the real side wall pieces by marking the two inside transition points of the top and bottom curves. I used the lego head template to mark the start of the curves on my stock. Yours should be about 200mm(10") apart, each 100mm (5") from the centre of your side wall stock. Use your tested settings to mark out the rest of the cuts for both the top and bottom curves then head to the saw. Gang the two sides up and make your kerf cuts at the same time to ensure they mirror each other perfectly. Perform a test bend and hopefully, if your previous trials were spot on, your sides can now conform to the template. Remember we cut these pieces oversize, and the top and bottom bends will be slightly different. Don’t worry, we’ll trim them down and fill those gaps soon.

Step 4: Rough Cut the Backer Board Curves

Now is a good time to rough cut the curved sections on the backer board (and trim it perfectly square to the template size if you left it oversized initially). Transfer the outline to the backer board with a marking knife. I then go over it with a pencil to darken the line. Using your jigsaw or bandsaw remove most of the material, staying far enough from the line that we can come back later and use a flush trim router bit to clean things up easily. 

Step 5: Attach the Bent Side Walls

Prepare your bench for a glue-up and mark the exact centre point of each of the straight sections of both the side walls and backer board side edges. Fill the kerf cuts with glue while you’re applying it to one edge of the side wall and use your centre marks to line up your backer board to the side wall piece. (See the photos). I worked from the centre marks with my brad nailer, slowly moving outwards, bending the walls to fit and ensuring a perfect 90° curve. If you don't have a brad nailer, finishing nails and a hammer will work too. You can then use a hand saw to trim the excess material from the side walls square to the top and bottom.

Step 6: Attach the Top & Bottom Walls

Grab some 12mm (½") thick wall offcuts from earlier and use them to pack out the short vertical transition sections between the bent side walls and the top and bottom walls. Tack and glue them in place. Next, cut, fit and brad nail the top and bottom walls snuggly in place. Be wary of putting brads in too close to the corners… we’ll be attacking those next step. 

Step 7: Flush Trimming & Rounding Off

First, you’ll probably need to tackle the square corners at the top and bottom of the head. Hopefully, you positioned your brad nails in such a way that makes taking a chisel to these sharp edges simple. With the corners rounded you can then flush trim the backer board edges to the final template shape. This is easiest at the router table but can be done with a handheld router or even a little block plane like I did if you don’t have a table set up. While you’ve got the router out, I gave the external edges of the frame a nice 6mm (1/4") roundover on the front and back.

My clamping bench really came into its own during this build. If you like it, it is perfect for small power tool workshops. You can see how it was made here. If you think it will work for you, I have plans available for purchase here.

Step 8: Wood Filler & Sanding

As we mentioned previously, the main drawback of kerf bending is the voids it leaves. Break out the wood filler, or make your own from sawdust and PVA glue, and get to plugging all the ugly gaps. I also put a thin layer over the exposed plywood edges to better prepare them for painting later. Let it dry and sand it gently back.

Step 9: Fit & Install the Shelves

Measure the gap between your top and bottom shelf and divide by 7. Hopefully, this gives you about 55mm (2 3/16"). The average minfig stands at about 40mm (1 5/8") tall. So this height will accommodate most hats and props they may carry. Cut yourself a few spacer blocks of that size, trim your shelf stock to a tight fit, and we’ll use the blocks to position your 6 shelves evenly spaced. “But hang on James, my top and bottom shelves need rounded ends to fit properly! How do I match the curve?” Easy! I didn’t. Instead, I eyeballed the curve and grabbed the block plane, taking off small amounts until they roughly matched the frame. (You can do the same by sanding too). Nothing a bit of wood filler can’t hide later on. Once you are happy with the fit and spacing, glue and brad nail the shelves in from the sides and behind. 

Quick Tip:Don’t forget you can re-saw plywood too. I ran out of scrap 12mm (1/2") ply and cut down some 15mm (5/8") on the table saw to the correct thickness. Super easy and efficient use of spare materials.

Step 10: Finishing Preparation & Painting

With assembly complete grab the wood filler for one last round of touchups, fixing any gaps in the curved shelf joints and brad nail holes. Once dry, give it all a good sand and apply a coat or two of an all-purpose primer. Head to the hardware store and grab some canary yellow paint, gloss if you are going for the authentic plastic-looking minifig head finish. Two or three coats should have you singing “Everything is Awesome”.

Step 11: Embellishments

You could stop here, you’ve made a cool display shelf worthy of holding many prized minifigs or small Lego models. However, with a little extra effort, we can really make this guy pop. Reprint or cut out the templates for the eyes and the mouth. Use them to trace onto some scrap 6mm (1/4") MDF, cut them out roughly, refine the shapes with a variety of sanders (a drum sander in your drill is handy), paint them black, and don’t forget to add the little white reflection dots to the eyes. I super-glued mine in place on the edge of the shelves and they looked excellent. They certainly gave the project some extra character. 

Step 12: Wall Hanging

I used a simple picture frame hanger to finish this build off and made sure I placed two small felt pads at the bottom to hold the shelf unit level away from the wall. The last thing we want is a wave of minifigs taking a dive over the edge! It has been suggested to me you could cut up and glue some stud sheets to the shelves so the minifigs can click in securely, but my testing indicated this was not essential if your shelves were level.

So there you have it, one Lego Minifig Display Shelf. It makes a great present for the brick-lover in your life, or perhaps to show off your own collection. If you build one and use social media, be sure to tag me on Instagram @FixitFingers  and Facebook., I love seeing other makers take on my projects. Have fun and remember, “Everything is Awesome!”

If you have any questions, need clarification or spot an error, please don't hesitate to contact me.

I release regular woodwork and DIY content on my YouTube Channel - Fixit Fingers including lots of content for beginners. I'd love to have you come check it out and join me.

Cheers! James

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