Building Your Own Display Case/Stand

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SilverSurfer57

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Two somewhat related questions:
  1. I don't know if it's true of most ship models, but the two I'm working on now don't come with stands. I don't have access to a router, so how do I make the base? I'd rather not buy one.
  2. I'm curious if y'all build your own display cases or buy them. Buying seems hugely expensive, but making one doesn't seem easy. If you make your own, do you use glass or acrylic?
Thanks!
Rich
 
Hi Rich, I would say that most kits will come without stands or a very basic stand made of plywood, MDF, or plexiglass (rare). For some of us, those stands are sufficient, but many of us prefer to buy or made the stand. Here are some ideas.



For the display case, you are correct, buying one could cost you more than a kit! But those are professionally built and can fit nicely into your house\room as a piece of furniture.

You can also make one yourself. Olya @shipphotographer.com, one of our members has a video of building the display case. Unfortunately, the link doesn't work when I paste it here. Here is the link to her channel. Look for video: DIY Display Case for Pinky Schooner - (Part 1)



 
I make my own stands and display cases. Display case I use acrylic. Not so heavy., plus, if glass breaks, it' would be like thousands of little razor blades.
 
SilverSurfer57 said:
Two somewhat related questions:
  1. I don't know if it's true of most ship models, but the two I'm working on now don't come with stands. I don't have access to a router, so how do I make the base? I'd rather not buy one.
  2. I'm curious if y'all build your own display cases or buy them. Buying seems hugely expensive, but making one doesn't seem easy. If you make your own, do you use glass or acrylic?
Thanks!
Rich
Click to expand...
I make my bases from 3/4" hardwood plywood. If there is a woodworking shop or kitchen cabinet builder near you, you can usually get one of their cut off scrap pieces of the right size for a few dollars and avoid the cost of a full or half sheet at a hardwood store. I then surround the base with a molding, normally about 1 1/4" high. A plelxi dust cover will then fit over the model and be held in place by the molding. No router needed. FYI on dust covers. Models continue to give off glue and paint fumes for a couple of years which will cloud the inside of the cover. This can be avoided by venting the case with some slots cut around the edge of the base.

For mounting the model, take a look on line for wood spindles. They come in various shapes and sizes:
ei-prod-spindles-short.jpg

They can easily be modified with a slit on the top to hold the model's keel and serve as a pedestal.
 
I definitely do not get fancy with my display base boards. I look for a nicely grained regular 1 x 6 or 1 x 8 plank board two or three feet long. I may need to cut a few inches off a standard length board to bring it fit the size of the model. Then I either apply a light stain and poly or just poly coat it. No routed edges. Just the plain square edged plank. Nothing fancy at all.

I have also used spindles for mounting the model. Most often I will cut down the spindle (across the fat middle section of the spindles illustrated above) to produce a solid stand with a wide flat base. I also use my drill press to run a hole down through the middle for a screw that will go through the base board, through the spindle, and a few inches into the model. This method requires pre-planning for the mounting. You need to add blocks where the screws will be and pre drill into the false keel. The blocks reinforce the false keel where you drill the screw pilot hole so the keel doesn’t just split apart rendering the pilot hole useless for securing the mounting screw. I then need a three or four inch wood screw as thin as you can find. Easy method but does require planning early in the keel and bulkhead stage of the build.
 
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Jimsky said:
Hi Rich, I would say that most kits will come without stands or a very basic stand made of plywood, MDF, or plexiglass (rare). For some of us, those stands are sufficient, but many of us prefer to buy or made the stand. Here are some ideas.



For the display case, you are correct, buying one could cost you more than a kit! But those are professionally built and can fit nicely into your house\room as a piece of furniture.

You can also make one yourself. Olya @shipphotographer.com, one of our members has a video of building the display case. Unfortunately, the link doesn't work when I paste it here. Here is the link to her channel. Look for video: DIY Display Case for Pinky Schooner - (Part 1)



Click to expand...
Thank you Jimsky for posting the link on how to build a boat stand by Olha Batchvarov. It worked out well, even for a large model, like my 57" long HMS Victory. Next will be the display case.

20210810_163947_resized.jpg 20210810_164039_resized.jpg
 
SilverSurfer57 said:
Two somewhat related questions:
  1. I don't know if it's true of most ship models, but the two I'm working on now don't come with stands. I don't have access to a router, so how do I make the base? I'd rather not buy one.
  2. I'm curious if y'all build your own display cases or buy them. Buying seems hugely expensive, but making one doesn't seem easy. If you make your own, do you use glass or acrylic?
Thanks!
Rich
Click to expand...
Hallo Rich alias @SilverSurfer57
we wish you all the BEST and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Birthday-Cake
 
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