My first stand attempt used 1"×3"×3" lucite blocks and wooden dowels.
It was simple, pretty cheap, and pretty stable, but the dowel rods warped over time
and the stands couldn't really be stacked when the planes got close together.
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In a scrap heap I found some solid metal iron stock, which didn't warp, but it
was so heavy the stands were falling over constantly.
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Finally, I found some lightweight hollow aluminum rods, which allowed a smaller
base for better stacking.
My original bases were made of plastic, but they were a bit unstable.
I finally went to a metal dealer and got bases made of steel, buffed them up,
painted, and marked, and the new stands are very stable!
Felt on the bottom of the base keeps the from scraping and provides just the
right amount of friction.
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My first attempt at attaching planes to the stands used rubber bands, pins,
dowels, and balsa.
While it had the advantage of making no modifications to the plane model,
it was a pain to use, put together, and maintain.
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Taking the suggestions of the Hostile Aircraft miniatures rules,
I moved to a system of wire, brass tube, and alligator clips.
The wire is ever so slightly bent in the section where it is inserted into the tube
to provide additional friction.
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I did't like gluing the brass wire directly into the model, though.
If you spend hours building and painting a model, the last thing you want to
do is stick a big brass tube or pin head into it.
Instead, I drill a hole into the bottom of the plane, thread it with a small
tap, and screw a ball joint into it. The brass tubing is glued into the ball
joint instead.
Another piece is glued into the alligator clip, and the wire is inserted into
that.
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By rotating the plastic ball joint on the wire,
or the wire within the alligator clip, you can
control the planes bank or pitch, or both at once.
Elevation is changed simply by moving the alligator clip up and down on
the stand.
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