I like to build 1/144 modern military aircraft(they don’t take up much space). I like to build them ‘gear up’ so it looks like they are flying. I then put them on stands. I have a bunch of airplanes and not many stands. Anyone know somewhere you can buy just stands,or a good way to make stands. The stands I have that I like are about 2 inches tall. Like these only smaller:
Well I too was wondering about this but never got an awnser from anyone. Consider making your own out of a wood base and dowel or even a pvc tube on some sort of base.
Not sure how they connect on the bottom…
But that really doesn’t look like it would be that hard to make a piece out of a metal, tin snips or something…then bend them…the advantage there would be you could make them differing heights…IE make mroe room on your shelves…
You could use clear plexiglas. Go to a good builder’s supply , such as Home Depot and you’ll find various sizes and thicknesses of the stuff. Get a small size ( about 2’ x 3’ ) or smaller for ease of handling. 1/8th inch thick would be good for holding your models without “over-powering” them. Cut out the vertical and base pieces with a scroll saw, coping saw, cut-and-snap, etc. and join them with clear apoxy. Short sections of steel straight pin or music wire can be used for dowling the joint. Use another piece of steel pin to mount the model to the top of the stand’s vertical riser. ( a bit of super glue or clear apoxy will re-enforce that connection, too.) The clear plexiglas would not distract attention from the aircraft it’s supporting. In designing your own stands, you can use free-flowing curves or crisp straight lines. Good luck.
Hey Tinker, do you know any way to bend the acrylic rod? In theory it would work as it is a thermoplastic and will soften and melt with inceased temperatures but I’m not sure I want to try it without some pointers.
What I was thinking is to bend the rod 45-90 degrees and stick into the jet engine exhaust tube
I like to purchase wood bases (Hobby Lobby carries a wide selection - usually unfinished). I sand and stain to the preferred color and then gloss. Find several thickness of clear plastic rod and heat them in warm water. Bend to shape, and attach to hole drilled in the base and bottom of the aircraft. It’s cheap, easy and provides a simple in-flight display. p.s. The better the finish on the base, they better the entire model looks.
this might not be as pretty as you want it but it will work
just get a nice small wood display board and then put a rod in it at an angle and attach the other end to the plane
Hey toadwbg: Concerning bending clear rod—I haven’t done that, but if I did, I’d use the same techniques as bending sheet stock. Use an electric heat source and not an open flame. In the case of bending rods you probably could us a good heat gun. ( not a hair dryer ). You want to control the heat source so as not to burn, bubble, or smoke-up the rod. If I remember correctly, the acrylic will get a little more shine at the hot spot when its getting ready to bend. One more thing— think safety. Use eye protection and gloves and , if possible, do the job outside.
Thanks for the advice guys. I"m a plastic engineer so I know it will work, I just don’t have any practice actually doing it! It coudl be interesting.
PRE MADE ACRLIC STANDS ARE SOLD AT MODELEXPO-ONLINE.COM
I MANUFACTURE CLEAR ACRYLIC STANDS FOR THEM. THERE ARE 3 TYPES
MADE.FOR SINGLE AIRCRAFT AND I ALSO SELL ONE THAT HOLDS UP TWO
4 MODELS AT ONCE. LIKE A FLYING FORMATION. I ALSO DO CUSTOM STANDS TO THE PERSONS SPEC’S. IF YOU NEED A SPECIAL STAND MADE
E ME -AT DHI69@AOL.COM GOOD LUCK
Finally! A place to buy stands. Cool. Nice looking stands.
Here’s the stands I’ve been using:
The bad part of 1/144 modelling is the canopies aren’t that great:
