Basic shelf question....

That will work just fine. I took an area and played around. Wall shelves are great but really don't hold a lot. I used a 12 inch pine board and started board about 1, inch from wall using L brackets as you mentioned.  I put washers between bracket and board in front so shelf tips back a tad. I arranged cars diagonally so you can see fronts and sides. Makes it easy to swap cars in and out of service. It does not work for the longer cars. Just another option.  Can put a fair amount cars in limited space. Now what to do with the darn boxes. 

Sounds good. Can you do a picture?

Not sure how much woodworking you want to do but rather than use metal brackets I used a 1"x4" board for the shelf and attached a 1x2 to the shelf to form an L.  I then screwed through the 1x2 into the wall to hold the shelf.  I also fashioned a couple of triangular shaped blocks that act as brackets keeping it level.  Don't know if that makes sense.  I just wasn't fond of any of the metal brackets available.  

Thanks,

Ed 

Michael 1X4 pine, grooved for flanges, works for me.  2 1/2" brackets.  I needed a lot and this works for me.

Wow John. Now that's some serious shelving. Looks awesome and it's all right there to use. Not under a table in a box somewhere. Very very nice.