Comic fortress

[Ditch Fahrenheit]

I found these while looking around.

 

 

 

 

 

[thehumantorch]

I was thinking of getting some as I have a tenedency to over handle my books and take them out of their Mylars to browse. So having them sealed up would dissuade me from doing this.

 

I was also thinking of having my framer knock up some museum quality frames that I can slot them into. But these are all just ideas at this stage.

 

A Want to Buy thread might get you some fortress'. They really are nice to own, they're aptly named and are tough as nails.

 

Also consider frameitagainsam for nice, reasonably priced frames to display your books. His frames have a swiveling top that allows you to swap in books quickly.

[The-Collector]

I have probably a dozen of them and all are in use. They are not nearly as thick as CGC slabs for golden age so much easier to store.

 

The thing about the little desicants is funny. Many people think those last forever. They dont. All of the fortress books in my collection are in the safe deposit box (they fit very comfortably), with a large desicant container in the box itself. This keeps every comic and other valuable dry.

 

They stopped making them due to the cost involved I beleive. But they do truly rock, and were the gold standard for big time books before CGC came into the picture.

 

Here are two of my books which are housed in Fortresses.

 

Those books make me so jealous.

[The-Collector]

I have wondered if dessicants could dry out books too much and cause brittleness? I am into some other hobbies were humidity is a fine line and it is a real pain to control. That being said the damage from too much humidity is often worse than too little.

[dgarthwaite-migration]

It is possible for something to be too dry. I'm not really sure how the vapor-lock system works on these. I was told at a convention that a fortress case was immersed in water for a demo and when it was pulled out the book inside was dry. The flyer says it allows the book to breathe. I'm not sure exactly how they achieve watertight but not airtight, unless the gasket swells when wet.

 

DG

[dgarthwaite-migration]

I found these while looking around.

 

 

 

Ugggh! $51/ea. no discount until you buy 20.

I like the way that the Fortress gasket is stackable and you can customize if for different thickness comic.

 

I'd still want a Mylar or Mellinex sheet in between.

 

DG

[InvstmntComcSuply]

Why are they so expensive? At that price, why isn't anyone making them anymore?

I think the fortress basic design with a couple modifications, is probably the best for storage and display of books, however there are many reasons why they are not being made anymore. It is difficult to convey the benefits of true archival materials. Archival materials are not as "sexy" looking as non-archival (compare the Fortress to the BCW). There is nothing to keep others from knocking off the product.

 

There is not a huge demand for these at an estimated $65-$75 retail price to make it cost effective. I can't imagine getting the production cost down to $25 without doing a $10,000 run. How long would you have to sit on 400 units? Add in storage cost, shipping costs, etc and it just doesn't seem viable as a stand alone product.

 

Besides many big books that warrant this type of enclosure are now in CGC slabs. Or will be when they sell, in order to maximize profitability. Once in a CGC slab, they are far less likely to be removed, due to costs of reslabbing. Stiff competition all around.

 

[HarryRod]

i would love to see CGC use something of this caliber for their slabs.

would be awesome!

[dupont2005]

Why are they so expensive? At that price, why isn't anyone making them anymore?

I think the fortress basic design with a couple modifications, is probably the best for storage and display of books, however there are many reasons why they are not being made anymore. It is difficult to convey the benefits of true archival materials. Archival materials are not as "sexy" looking as non-archival (compare the Fortress to the BCW). There is nothing to keep others from knocking off the product.

 

There is not a huge demand for these at an estimated $65-$75 retail price to make it cost effective. I can't imagine getting the production cost down to $25 without doing a $10,000 run. How long would you have to sit on 400 units? Add in storage cost, shipping costs, etc and it just doesn't seem viable as a stand alone product.

 

Besides many big books that warrant this type of enclosure are now in CGC slabs. Or will be when they sell, in order to maximize profitability. Once in a CGC slab, they are far less likely to be removed, due to costs of reslabbing. Stiff competition all around.

Yeah I guess that's true. I never figured they would be that much to manufacture.

[HarryRod]

I have been tossing around the idea of putting together a business plan to see if it is feasible to recreate something like these and if so, then throwing it out on kickstarter for funding.

What would the interest in the community be in something like this again?

I know most of us slab our more valuable/precious pieces, but what about those pieces which you may want to protect and preserve, but don't really care about a grade behind it?

 

The other idea I have been thinking of is to start a slabbing service.

Not grading.....just slabbing.

Using the same types of cases/materials as CGC and PGX, but just offering slabbing and protection. Will probably start a separate thread on this topic as i dont really have it fleshed out in my head too much yet.....just one of those vague ideas that seems plausible and something that people would like

 

Just a couple of the ideas i have had kicking around in my head for the last several months.....dont know if anything will come of it but i figure i would see what you guys thought.